Heart, heat, and humour - so perfect!

Mathew Bellman is a bartender in a go-go boy bar and hasn’t met a drug, a drink, or a drag queen he hasn’t liked, especially when encouraged by his best friend, Latrina Divina (aka Glenn). When Mathew’s parents die suddenly, no one, including him, thinks it’s a good idea that he move in to take care of his icy 11-yo sister, Helen, whom he’s nicknamed ‘Hel’. Much to Helen’s embarrassment and horror, Mathew sets his sights on Charlie Beckham, the cute mathematics teacher at her swanky private school and everyone’s in for a wild ride. I loved every minute of this redemption romance, we watch Mathew valiantly struggle to do the right thing in the face of the incredibly low expectations of all concerned. The story has humour, heart and heat - Mathew is a beautifully flawed and wonderfully sassy character, and Charlie’s introductory lesson and the period party were both hilarious. Chris Chambers has become one of my most favourite audio narrators and he absolutely excels himself here. All in all, the perfect book!

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So true to life

Chris Chambers narration is spot on, truely one of the best at bringing the characters to life. Matthew in the story jumps out as a real, flawed young man that I see so much of my own youthful life reflected. His growth and that of all the characters was not unlike so many people I know and love. A true reflection on life.

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Deeper and darker than other stories, but so good!

I love Daryl Banners stories, especially the light and funny ones, but this was an exception. A good exception. This story leaned heavily into a darker place than other stories by Daryl that I have read, with the emotional journey of Mathew and Helen circling around each other as they started to understand each other. Enter Charlie and the circling gets wider and deeper. Thrown together by a tragedy and learning to value themselves and each other is the crux of this for me. I found it often confronting and I admit to pausing it at times (I listened to the audio version) but I came back and devoured it.
Excellent narration by Chris Chambers by the way, his characterisations were top notch.
A great read with real heart and depth.

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Sue.55

Charlie and Matthew are a match made in heaven. Fantastic story with a fair share of angst (which I cried a river over) but fell in love with the boys, Helen and the cast of extras. Luckily Charlie could see the hidden depths in Mathew, he just needed someone to believe in him. Definitely worth listening to this book.

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I loved this story

Mathew and Charlie
Sigh
I love the gritty story and real life scenario
Definitely worth it

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totally enjoyed.

it was hard to listen to at the start but I am glad I keep going. One of the best reads .

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Hellish read

Started out as a good story with interesting characters, then after the creepy period party chapter I gave up listening.

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