There's This Guy

By: Rhys Ford

Narrated by: Greg Tremblay

How do you save a drowning man when that drowning man is you?

Jake Moore's world fits too tightly around him. Every penny he makes as a welder goes to care for his dying father, an abusive, controlling man who's the only family Jake has left. Because of a promise to his dead mother, Jake resists his desire for other men, but it leaves him consumed by darkness.

It takes all of Dallas Yates's imagination to see the possibilities in the fatigued art deco building on WeHo's outskirts, but what seals the deal is a shy smile from the handsome metal worker across the street. Their friendship deepens while Dallas peels back the hardened layers strangling Jake's soul. It's easy to love the sweet, artistic man hidden behind Jake's shattered exterior, but Dallas knows Jake needs to first learn to love himself.

When Jake's world crumbles, he reaches for Dallas, the man he's learned to lean on. It's only a matter of time before he's left to drift in a life he never wanted to lead and while he wants more, Jake's past haunts him, making him doubt he's worth the love Dallas is so desperate to give him.

©2017 Rhys Ford (P)2017 Dreamspinner Press

Cute, but boring!

The author doesn't show. He tells. Over and over again, every little thing passing through the minds of our two heroes. They are adorable, but unfortunately, the story is so incredibly boring that I couldn't finish the book.

So romantic & heart warming

It may be cliche but those words sum up this novel! Brilliant, idiosyncratic and well informed writing and narration as is usual for a R. Ford/G. Tremblay combination are enjoyable. But the love between the characters in the face of hate is something to cherish now and in the future. Quick read because it was engrossing from the first word.

Why hadn't I read this earlier.

If you love Hurt/Comfort as a sub-genre of romance then "There's This Guy, " must count as one of the perfect examples of H/C. This is a tale of the courage one man has to walk towards a better self wrapped in a story of acceptance, love, and acknowledgement of how hard it can be to step away from a dark past.
Rhys doesn't drop an easy fix on us; she shows the growth, the development of trust, and the acceptance of self that are the cornerstones of healing.
Add Greg Tremblay and you have perfection.

There's this guy.

Would you consider the audio edition of There's This Guy to be better than the print version?

Not at all, each is fantastic on their own, each presenting itself as a different version of the story.

What did you like best about this story?

Dallas's unwavering patience and loyalty where Jake was concerned.

What about Greg Tremblay’s performance did you like?

Every-damn-thing! Not only does he give the characters a voice and bring them to life, makes them real not just words on paper. He puts his heart and soul into these characters in a way that the listener can feel their joy and pain along with them.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When Jake finally opens the door and flies into Dallas's waiting arms.

Any additional comments?

Tams eBook Review March 2017...

Jake Moore tries very hard not to be who he is, deep down, inside. He spends his hard earned money on a home for his homophobic father who truly deserves to rot in a ditch. But Jake is loyal to a fault, he's also buried so deep in the closet that it takes an almost stagnant body, wrought iron calligraphy, a confident drag queen and Dallas to break down the door.

Dallas Yates buys the building across from the shop Jake works at with a hope and a dreamy, not even realizing that destiny was his buy two get one free. But anything worth having is never really free, it takes hard work and stamina, which Dallas has in abundance.

Dallas is patient and unwavering, as is Celeste, both hovering and holding Jake up as he figures out that he's finally found the family he's ached for. But daddy dearest doesn't make it easy, the emotional abuse and self loathing are painted on so thick that Jake's welder may not even be able to burn it off.

I always know when I get my grabby hands on a book penned by Rhys Ford it's going to be juicy, sexy, invigorating and there simply must be the obligatory body(s) hidden somewhere waiting to pop out at the exact right moment, like a jack in the box. Nestled somewhere in the middle is this young man that has been told since he was a boy that he wasn't right, that to be true to himself was deplorable and disgusting. Somewhere along the way, Jake started to believe it.

I think that the wrought iron and the bars on the windows was meant to be a healing aspect of the story for Jake. It was like, working on them, perfecting them, changing them, everything lined up with the steps he was taking in his life at the same time. Maybe I'm reading too much into that, but that's what I took away from this story when I finished. Super sexy, of course, flowed well from start to finish and seriously grabbed my attention from that first, awkward chapter to the end.

Poetry Masquarading as Prose

This book was simply wonderful and the performance by Greg Tremblay was magnificent. The words in this book were exquisite, The way Rhys makes dialogue come to life is absolutely fantastic. It was like listening to poetry about love, life, and the horrors some people live through to get to the beauty. I was moved beyond tears. The descriptions of the art that Jake made was brethtaking, I wanted to see it and I could in my minds eye.

Excellent!

I loved it. Wept like a 6 year old girl with a skinned knee, at the end. I wish I could give it more than 5 stars!

Another winner from Rhys Ford

What did you love best about There's This Guy?

I really enjoyed seeing how Jake evolved as a person, in his view of himself and his self worth.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Jake, he was a very troubled soul when the book first started but overcame much by the end.

Have you listened to any of Greg Tremblay’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have listened to MANY books narrated by the very talented Greg Tremblay. This is another superb performance, although I think the voice he used for Dallas might've been slightly feminine.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

yes, it's always a hard choice, to savor so it lasts a bit longer or "more, more, more"

Any additional comments?

There are many secondary characters in this book that are well described & memorable, like Dallas' family & Jake's boss. Would love to see a sequel where Celeste gets a HEA.

Just a warning, this is not a light & fluffy romance novel. There are some dark moments, angst & a dead guy (it is a Rhys Ford book after all) but it does have a HEA.

Not enough action--Too much mush

What did you like best about There's This Guy? What did you like least?

This gets just a 3 star for me and I'm being generous. This is probably at the bottom of my Rhys Ford books. I LOVE Ms Ford's books, but I was skeptical about purchasing this because I am an action/mystery girl and from the blurb it did not sound like a typical Rhys Ford. It sounded like a typical troubled, wounded guy and the man who fixes him romance fluff and I was not wrong. When a dead body turned up in the abandoned building being renovated I thought, ok here we go, I was wrong and there is going to be a mystery after all--NOPE--just a dead guy in the attic. If there is one thing I can't stand in a romance is over-mush! And this had heeps. Very unnecessarily melodramatic. By about half I was so over Jake--there was no dimension to him but wounded. By the last couple of chapters I was skipping ahead at 30 second intervals just to get to the end.

Would you recommend There's This Guy to your friends? Why or why not?

No, don't waste money or a credit

Did Greg Tremblay do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

I normally love Greg Tremblay, he has such a wide range of accents and inflections. He has a pleasant narrative and sets a nice pace. But in this case I did not like the voice he used for Dallas. It was just a bit too high and country bumpkin. This is the voice that he usually uses for women (minus the country bumpkin unless it is warranted) and it was very distracting throughout the book.

Do you think There's This Guy needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

I don't know. The ending was confusing because WHO STABBED THE MOM! and why. There was no closing of that thread (or was there and i just jumped past it in my constant 30 second jumps in the last two chapters to just get this story over). The only reason I finished the darn thing was because of the mystery of the dead guy and the mom stabber. But there was a very dull explanation by Detective O'Brian (from the Cole McGuinus mysteries) for the body situation. So why have the mom stabbed by a mysterious guy trying to break into the building? Are we to believe Jakes explanation of a robber after copper (hehe I rhymed) who was startled and stabbed her in a panic. I don't know...what thief who's breaking and entering quietly in the dark back alley has their knife at the ready? So this lead me to believe that the mom stabbing fwas for the story arc of Jake's mommy issues. Don't like good mom's being used like that.

Any additional comments?

Just that I expected better from Rhys and hope her future releases are planned out better. I will still purchase her stories as long as they are NOT fluff.

lovely sad and romantic book

so beautiful! I was so touched by this book... it was difficult for the both of them but the amazing love they have is so tender I fell for this story and for them

awesome!

Rhys Ford has never disappointed me with her books and Greg Trembley makes the charactors do much more sexy! i recommend all her books!