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raynebair's review against another edition
4.0
Mr. Magic 8 Ball...how awesome is Davo? I love this guy! He is a hoot. And he endeared me to him with his issues about those gays. And Lee...such a sweetie.
tobcont's review against another edition
5.0
Davo is an idiot but you gotta love him. He's funny, sweet and crazily dependent on a Magic 8 Ball. His idea of what it means to be a manly gay guy is shaken. I enjoyed the development of the relationship between Davo and Lee. Lee was confident about who he is and how he should be treated. I also enjoy seeing how previous book couples are making out after their story ends.
Dave Gillies has a unique voice and always enjoy his performance.
Dave Gillies has a unique voice and always enjoy his performance.
the_novel_approach's review against another edition
5.0
~ Narration Rating 5 Stars ~
Davo is gay. He always has been, always will be, and doesn’t give a ra’ts rump how you feel about that. Davo isn’t frilly: he loves his sport and can be over-the-top manly. His parents have accepted that’s not going to change, and they encourage Davo to quit being a lad and find someone to settle with. So, when Davo is on the prowl and meets a “girl” named Lee, he gets thrown for a loop at their immediate attraction. Perhaps it’s the drinking. Perhaps it’s her forwardness. Or maybe it’s because she’s helping a trans person to be their true self in a public setting that Davo is drawn to a… girl.
Over the course of the book, Davo makes a few discoveries about himself. When his idol in life settles into a domestic situation that now involves a baby girl, Davo finds he can be just as domestic (with the help of his new love). He discovers that gender roles aren’t always black and white. And, he discovers that an open heart and honesty are things that can complete your life when you’re not so focused on “rules”, but open to all the possibilities the world has for you.
Once again, the fullness that Renae Kaye draws in her books give the narrator so much material to work with that it is a treat for the ears when Dave Gillies speaks them. The characters are so richly rendered by the narration that you don’t need name markers to know exactly who is speaking. That is a true skill that regular listeners of audiobooks will tell you makes them seek out certain narrators.
Because Kaye loves her characters, you forgive their occasional thickness. The rich settings she provides in her native Australia makes them as much a living part of her books as her characters. And any one of those characters has a backstory worthy of a book of their own.
With Gillies fine hand and talented voice, you can really appreciate a well-formed story that does not spare words, and leaves you fully satisfied by the end. As with Kaye’s multiple series, we get visits from men in her Western Aus universe. It’s lovely to see them come by and share updates with us. It is also more than grand that the narrator treats each character as their own person with their own vice.
Buy this book. While You Are the Reason is a book two, this is a standalone and you need not have read the first book to completely enjoy this story. The narration is great, the story is complete, and the ending is perfect for all involved.
Reviewed by Mike for The Novel Approach
Davo is gay. He always has been, always will be, and doesn’t give a ra’ts rump how you feel about that. Davo isn’t frilly: he loves his sport and can be over-the-top manly. His parents have accepted that’s not going to change, and they encourage Davo to quit being a lad and find someone to settle with. So, when Davo is on the prowl and meets a “girl” named Lee, he gets thrown for a loop at their immediate attraction. Perhaps it’s the drinking. Perhaps it’s her forwardness. Or maybe it’s because she’s helping a trans person to be their true self in a public setting that Davo is drawn to a… girl.
Over the course of the book, Davo makes a few discoveries about himself. When his idol in life settles into a domestic situation that now involves a baby girl, Davo finds he can be just as domestic (with the help of his new love). He discovers that gender roles aren’t always black and white. And, he discovers that an open heart and honesty are things that can complete your life when you’re not so focused on “rules”, but open to all the possibilities the world has for you.
Once again, the fullness that Renae Kaye draws in her books give the narrator so much material to work with that it is a treat for the ears when Dave Gillies speaks them. The characters are so richly rendered by the narration that you don’t need name markers to know exactly who is speaking. That is a true skill that regular listeners of audiobooks will tell you makes them seek out certain narrators.
Because Kaye loves her characters, you forgive their occasional thickness. The rich settings she provides in her native Australia makes them as much a living part of her books as her characters. And any one of those characters has a backstory worthy of a book of their own.
With Gillies fine hand and talented voice, you can really appreciate a well-formed story that does not spare words, and leaves you fully satisfied by the end. As with Kaye’s multiple series, we get visits from men in her Western Aus universe. It’s lovely to see them come by and share updates with us. It is also more than grand that the narrator treats each character as their own person with their own vice.
Buy this book. While You Are the Reason is a book two, this is a standalone and you need not have read the first book to completely enjoy this story. The narration is great, the story is complete, and the ending is perfect for all involved.
Reviewed by Mike for The Novel Approach
jubs's review against another edition
5.0
~4.5~
From the blurb we already know that Davo will meet this woman and feel confused about her. Until he discovers she's actually a he. Having this previous knowledge was a bit of a let down for me. It would be so much more fun to see super macho gay Davo, who hate anything slighly womanish, fall in love with cute Lee while I don't know what's going on. It would be a surprise. When I recommend this book to somebody I'll definitely be adamant about them not reading the blurb before starting.
About the rest, we have the same amazing flow of the first one. I could go on for hours and just had to stop after falling on sleep on my kindle and having to wait for it to charge.
I really loved Lee's character. He's sweet, understanding, accepting and more important pacient. Davo was really struggling afterbullyings that he suffered when he was small . He was having a hard time getting past he's misconceptions and almost made me distrust Mr Magic Ball 8 s great wisdom.
This book is about accepting who you really are, without caring about others opinions and enjoying your own life. It's a great book.
What bothered me a little was how everything came to place easily.Everybody was so accepting and unfortunately we know life is not like that.
The end felt kind of missing something. I wanted more of a conclusion to them. Didn't need to be the full packet, like the first book, but something more y'know. Something more concrete. Like a time skip and a engagement..rs
Overall: As amazing as the first one. Made me laugh and reflect about issues the same. I liked this one better, because I loved Lee. You should just take your conclusion about wihich one you like better, because you will like them both!
From the blurb we already know that Davo will meet this woman and feel confused about her. Until he discovers she's actually a he. Having this previous knowledge was a bit of a let down for me. It would be so much more fun to see super macho gay Davo, who hate anything slighly womanish, fall in love with cute Lee while I don't know what's going on. It would be a surprise. When I recommend this book to somebody I'll definitely be adamant about them not reading the blurb before starting.
About the rest, we have the same amazing flow of the first one. I could go on for hours and just had to stop after falling on sleep on my kindle and having to wait for it to charge.
I really loved Lee's character. He's sweet, understanding, accepting and more important pacient. Davo was really struggling after
This book is about accepting who you really are, without caring about others opinions and enjoying your own life. It's a great book.
What bothered me a little was how everything came to place easily.
The end felt kind of missing something. I wanted more of a conclusion to them.
Overall: As amazing as the first one. Made me laugh and reflect about issues the same. I liked this one better, because I loved Lee. You should just take your conclusion about wihich one you like better, because you will like them both!
knrt_17's review against another edition
5.0
Another wonderful book from Renae Kaye. This mm contemporary story is set in Australia. A perfect read on AFL grand final weekend!!! This is a light humorous book, with a strong meaning. Loved this couple. I’ll read everything this author writes!!!
frothy's review against another edition
3.0
I like Renae Kaye, but I'm not into blokes or babies. This book has an abundance of both, and Renae gets right into them with a vengeance. If this is your cup of tea, you will be very happy.
atheresa's review against another edition
1.0
I'm in the minority. DNF. These are the issues that I had while reading up to this point:
I did not care for the MCs. Dave was pretty low intelligence to miss all of the signs that Lee was a guy, especially when they were fooling around. I couldn't suspend disbelief enough to like him - he was TSTL. Lee was an unethical ass - he deliberately took advantage of Dave's low IQ and got off to deliberately deceiving Dave with his cross dressing. Lee was a pretty egotistical know-it-all too.
There was too much baby - she was a prop to shake Dave's definition of gay and to create a situation where Dave and Lee could play house.
Both Dave and Lee were awful caricatures of gay men that weren't funny to me. Dave was a partially closeted gay with a lot of irrational hang-ups. I did not consider him a homophobe because he didn't truly hate himself. Now Lee was definitely a teenage-chick-with-a-dick plus a spoiled-drag-princess.
Sorry, this particular drag mm romantic comedy book just wasn't very entertaining to me.
maiborn's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
rissa53's review against another edition
5.0
At first, I was all, I'm so not going to like Davo. For some reason, I remembered not liking him all that much in the first book (which I need to reread!).
I liked Lee from the beginning and was totally clued in! ;) But then Davo/Dave showed his true colors and I understood. I definitely was rooting for them all the way. After the tough stuff was explained, I couldn't put the book down!
I loved it! It was so great reading about Jake and Patrick again! :) Enjoyed so much! <3
I liked Lee from the beginning and was totally clued in! ;) But then Davo/Dave showed his true colors and I understood. I definitely was rooting for them all the way. After the tough stuff was explained, I couldn't put the book down!
I loved it! It was so great reading about Jake and Patrick again! :) Enjoyed so much! <3
tink535's review against another edition
5.0
I could read about Davo and Lee all day, I didn't want their story to end, such a lovely lovely story. Would love to hear more about the drop in centre...figures crossed there's another book...