What do you think?
Rate this book
At First Sight #1
Tell Me It's Real
This edition is out of print. For current Paperback edition see: Tell Me It's Real
Do you believe in love at first sight?
Paul Auster doesn't. Paul doesn't believe in much at all. He's thirty, slightly overweight, and his best features are his acerbic wit and the color commentary he provides as life passes him by. His closest friends are a two-legged dog named Wheels and a quasibipolar drag queen named Helena Handbasket. He works a dead-end job in a soul-sucking cubicle, and if his grandmother's homophobic parrot insults him one more time, Paul is going to wring its stupid neck.
Enter Vince Taylor.
Vince is everything Paul isn't: Sexy, confident, and dumber than the proverbial box of rocks. And for some reason, Vince pursues Paul relentlessly. Vince must be messing with him, because there is no way Vince could want someone like Paul.
But when Paul hits Vince with his car - in a completely unintentional if-he-died-it'd-only-be-manslaughter kind of way - he's forced to see Vince in a whole new light. The only thing stopping Paul from believing in Vince is himself - and that is one obstacle Paul can't quite seem to overcome. But when tragedy strikes Vince's family, Paul must put aside any notions he has about himself and stand next to the man who thinks he's perfect the way he is.
Do you believe in love at first sight?
Paul Auster doesn't. Paul doesn't believe in much at all. He's thirty, slightly overweight, and his best features are his acerbic wit and the color commentary he provides as life passes him by. His closest friends are a two-legged dog named Wheels and a quasibipolar drag queen named Helena Handbasket. He works a dead-end job in a soul-sucking cubicle, and if his grandmother's homophobic parrot insults him one more time, Paul is going to wring its stupid neck.
Enter Vince Taylor.
Vince is everything Paul isn't: Sexy, confident, and dumber than the proverbial box of rocks. And for some reason, Vince pursues Paul relentlessly. Vince must be messing with him, because there is no way Vince could want someone like Paul.
But when Paul hits Vince with his car - in a completely unintentional if-he-died-it'd-only-be-manslaughter kind of way - he's forced to see Vince in a whole new light. The only thing stopping Paul from believing in Vince is himself - and that is one obstacle Paul can't quite seem to overcome. But when tragedy strikes Vince's family, Paul must put aside any notions he has about himself and stand next to the man who thinks he's perfect the way he is.
350 pages, Paperback
First published February 15, 2013
340 people are currently reading
4711 people want to read
About the author
T.J. Klune
68 books60.1k followersTJ KLUNE is a Lambda Literary Award-winning author (Into This River I Drown) and an ex-claims examiner for an insurance company. His novels include The House in the Cerulean Sea and The Extraordinaries. Being queer himself, TJ believes it's important—now more than ever—to have accurate, positive, queer representation in stories.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,494 reviews
May 1, 2019
****Only $1.99 today at Amazon US! 5/1/19!***
~~~~~~~~~
I'm going to Freddie Prince Jr. the crap out of this review!!
Okay folks, picture this: You are on an airplane cross-country smushed between your husband, who is trying to sleep, and a stranger, who happens to be a dude. You start reading this book and literally... cannot... stop... laughing... for the whole flight. Not dainty chuckles but full out, unladylike guffaws.
Friends, I suffered some pretty dirty looks from both my husband and said stranger over this book. I caught my husband reading over my shoulder at one point, probably to find out what strange book has caused his wife to go from semi-normal to a hyena-laughing fool, and the first words he caught were "giant black dildo."
Let's just say my hubby's respect of my reading materials went way down.
This book is certainly not for everyone, as others have said. This book is chock full of crazy one-liners and improbable situations that serve sole the purpose of causing me to snort my coffee up my nose (which I did... ouch). I can see how some people may find it tedious. I, on the other hand, found it to be irresistible and hilarious. I loved that the MC is a slightly overweight, effeminate man with a drag queen bestie. I adored Paul's parents and grandma. ADORED. I found the book as a whole to be really, really, refreshing.
Okay, if I'm going to nit-pick, I'd say that Vince didn't seem nearly as dumb as everyone made him out to be (minus his comments about Asia- WTF). Overall, he seemed to be rather quick-witted. However, this book is easily 5 stars for me because it was just so much FUN. I had a blast reading it and would 100% recommend it to anyone who loves funny, lighthearted reads.
goodreads|instagram|twitter|blog
~~~~~~~~~
I'm going to Freddie Prince Jr. the crap out of this review!!
Okay folks, picture this: You are on an airplane cross-country smushed between your husband, who is trying to sleep, and a stranger, who happens to be a dude. You start reading this book and literally... cannot... stop... laughing... for the whole flight. Not dainty chuckles but full out, unladylike guffaws.
Friends, I suffered some pretty dirty looks from both my husband and said stranger over this book. I caught my husband reading over my shoulder at one point, probably to find out what strange book has caused his wife to go from semi-normal to a hyena-laughing fool, and the first words he caught were "giant black dildo."
Let's just say my hubby's respect of my reading materials went way down.
This book is certainly not for everyone, as others have said. This book is chock full of crazy one-liners and improbable situations that serve sole the purpose of causing me to snort my coffee up my nose (which I did... ouch). I can see how some people may find it tedious. I, on the other hand, found it to be irresistible and hilarious. I loved that the MC is a slightly overweight, effeminate man with a drag queen bestie. I adored Paul's parents and grandma. ADORED. I found the book as a whole to be really, really, refreshing.
Okay, if I'm going to nit-pick, I'd say that Vince didn't seem nearly as dumb as everyone made him out to be (minus his comments about Asia- WTF). Overall, he seemed to be rather quick-witted. However, this book is easily 5 stars for me because it was just so much FUN. I had a blast reading it and would 100% recommend it to anyone who loves funny, lighthearted reads.
goodreads|instagram|twitter|blog
March 7, 2013
This is the second book I've read by T.J. Klune and while I liked Bear, Otter and the Kid, it was too rambly and angsty for me to be very interested in the follow up. But this one was supposed to be more of a lighthearted comedy, so I thought I'd give it a shot. Klune writes in one of his blog posts :
“I decided, in my infinite wisdom, to write a story about love at first sight, but to make it as realistic as possible. Once I gave in to the idea that it could happen, I wanted to see if I could write it and have it be believable. After writing ITRID [Into This River I Drown], I wanted it to be lighter, funnier, sweeter (though with a bite to it). It needed to be snarky, and sarcastic, and outrageous and ridiculous (in a good way).”
I thought that sounded promising.
The second part of this book was indeed a lighthearted romcom with even some poignant moments. Both Vince and Sandy's grief are well done, touching without going into melodrama. Once Paul and Vince start interacting for real, the story starts to flow nicely. The book was light on the tropes, which was refreshing. Paul and Vince were not totally standard characters, which was also nice. And yet this ended up with an abysmal star rating from me, because to get to this part of the book I had to struggle through the first 30%, which was completely off-putting. Too many times the sweetly funny parts were derailed by slapstick, even in the second part. Like the scene where Sandy helps Paul dress for his first date with Vince. That started really good: funny while still making you feel for Paul and his insecurities. And then it tanks when Paul steps on the dog, crashes into a wall and starts a long diatribe about selling the dog to a Taiwanese restaurant. Over the top and bye bye mood.
Paul Auster has only one friend, Sandy. Paul tries to convince us that this is because he is shy and insecure, but as the first chapters go by it becomes clear that this is because Paul is rude and very judgmental. Making fun of other people creates an easy us-vs-them kind of humor here, but with all the people Paul is adding to the 'them' list, it is not surprising there are so few people left in 'us'. In the first few chapters Paul makes it clear he has issues with his doctor, his randy old nudist neighbors, ladies with spray tans, cats, chihuahuas, vaginas, the bitches who don't want to keep reading his self centered ramblings, lesbians, vegetarians, tree hugging hippies, office sluts, fratty jockish dudes, twinks, large breasts, and people named Tad or Santiago. To name a select few. At some point Vince tells Paul's mom how kind Paul is. And all I am thinking is: “He is? To whom?”
Vince, the love interest, is an uneven character. He is supposed to be a dumb guy with a heart of gold, but his lack of intelligence seems to be limited to not knowing the meaning of certain words. He doesn't always understand what Paul is saying, but then again, Paul is reduced to inane spluttering most of the time when he talks to Vince, so that's not so strange. The rest of the time he is perfectly normal. Vince is dumb, because we're told he is dumb, and that is pretty much all there is to it.
In the first chapter Paul talks directly to the reader. Not subtle, with an occasional aside to the reader, no, he tears the 4th wall down and dances on the rubble. He is talking to you. He is going to tell you all about himself: what he looks like, what he wishes he looked liked, where he works, how he got his dog, how shy and insecure he is, all these people he doesn't like and on and on in one big rambling mess. And when I say rambling mess, I mean it just keeps on going with irrelevant stuff and has dog shit and vomit and regurgitated spinach and tons of other unnecessary hilarity of the Chevy Chase kind that obscure the real humor that can be found in this book if you bother to look. I've read awkward introductions before (Oh, look, there is me in the mirror, look at my brown hair and blue eyes, blah blah), but this a particularly lazy and clunky introduction to a character.
Paul breaks the 4th wall to get the reader on his side. This is 'us' vs 'them' after all and we're supposed to be on Paul's side. Just like toddlers yell the Spanish word for 'jump' at the tv when Dora the Explorer tells them to, so are we supposed to yell 'bitches' at those losers who do not like this book when Paul tells us to. Because we are Team Paul. But, personally, I don't want to be on Team Judgy McJudgerson. I am not an aging, overweight, large breasted vegetarian hippie butch lesbian or anything, but that doesn't mean I want to point my finger at them and laugh.
What makes me really, really want to get the hell off Team Paul, though, is how every time he does something reprehensible, he dubs that 'being a vagina'. As in '….[but he] was now waking up in Bear Dude's bed, all because I was a gigantic vagina'. And '[the idea of carpet munching] kinda grossed me out because vaginas have more folds than a pile of laundry. Blargh.' Add similar references to labia, ovulating, uteri, menstruating ghosts and tampon strings and I seem to have misplaced my sense of humor somewhere. I completely understand that gay guys have no use for vaginas and probably find them kind of gross. And if Klune says that it is a common derogatory term in the gay world, I'll even buy that. Just because none of my gay friends are suicidal enough to say such things around me doesn't mean they don't talk shit when there are no women around. Just like straight guys, really. However, I am sure Klune is aware that roughly 80% of his readers are women. I can't be the only one not finding this funny.
Let's say you're a gay guy and you're reading a book about straight guys, written by a straight guy. You know, like the majority of the books out there. Say the straight main character does something stupid and then thinks to himself: “I can't believe I missed that field goal, I am such a worthless filthy faggot!” Potentially funny the first time, maybe. The 10th time he says something similar? Really not so much. Does it matter at that point that it's the character saying that and not the author? In this case, when the character doesn't repent his homophobia/misogyny at the end, or isn't even aware of it, and the character himself is a bit of an author-insert (gay Arizona insurance employee and (maybe would be) romance novelist), I'm going to go with 'no, it doesn't matter who says it'. Besides the misogyny, every person of color in this book is a stereotype: Sassy Black Nurse is sassy, Sexually Aggressive Latino Waiter is sexually aggressive and Jennifer Lopez insists on talking about her vagina.
Yes, Jennifer Lopez is a bike shop assistant here. Paul Auster, outside of this book, is of course a fairly well known novelist, Vince Taylor was a British rock star and is a professional body builder, Helena Handbasket is Chandler Bing's dad on 'Friends' (as played by Kathleen Turner) and even the Sassy Black Nurse makes an appearance on 'Family Guy'. Pop culture trivia, anyone?
On the other hand, the editing was really wonderful! No typos, homonyms, repeated phrases, etc. Really excellent job. Hahaha. Gotcha. Not really. The editing was bad. Besides all fore-mentioned issues, Sandy comes out to his parents a year after they die and Paul apparently keeps corduroy pants from when he is 10 years old. If you think it's funny what I just did there with the gotcha, you might actually like the last chapter. If not, you'll probably groan and roll your eyes, like me.
To recap: If Paul was less judgmental and more likable and had quit yammering; if the misogyny, the racial stereotypes, all the slapstick and almost every single scene that features the dog had been taken out, this would have been a funny lighthearted romantic comedy that would have been well worth reading. As it is: not for me.
“I decided, in my infinite wisdom, to write a story about love at first sight, but to make it as realistic as possible. Once I gave in to the idea that it could happen, I wanted to see if I could write it and have it be believable. After writing ITRID [Into This River I Drown], I wanted it to be lighter, funnier, sweeter (though with a bite to it). It needed to be snarky, and sarcastic, and outrageous and ridiculous (in a good way).”
I thought that sounded promising.
The second part of this book was indeed a lighthearted romcom with even some poignant moments. Both Vince and Sandy's grief are well done, touching without going into melodrama. Once Paul and Vince start interacting for real, the story starts to flow nicely. The book was light on the tropes, which was refreshing. Paul and Vince were not totally standard characters, which was also nice. And yet this ended up with an abysmal star rating from me, because to get to this part of the book I had to struggle through the first 30%, which was completely off-putting. Too many times the sweetly funny parts were derailed by slapstick, even in the second part. Like the scene where Sandy helps Paul dress for his first date with Vince. That started really good: funny while still making you feel for Paul and his insecurities. And then it tanks when Paul steps on the dog, crashes into a wall and starts a long diatribe about selling the dog to a Taiwanese restaurant. Over the top and bye bye mood.
Paul Auster has only one friend, Sandy. Paul tries to convince us that this is because he is shy and insecure, but as the first chapters go by it becomes clear that this is because Paul is rude and very judgmental. Making fun of other people creates an easy us-vs-them kind of humor here, but with all the people Paul is adding to the 'them' list, it is not surprising there are so few people left in 'us'. In the first few chapters Paul makes it clear he has issues with his doctor, his randy old nudist neighbors, ladies with spray tans, cats, chihuahuas, vaginas, the bitches who don't want to keep reading his self centered ramblings, lesbians, vegetarians, tree hugging hippies, office sluts, fratty jockish dudes, twinks, large breasts, and people named Tad or Santiago. To name a select few. At some point Vince tells Paul's mom how kind Paul is. And all I am thinking is: “He is? To whom?”
Vince, the love interest, is an uneven character. He is supposed to be a dumb guy with a heart of gold, but his lack of intelligence seems to be limited to not knowing the meaning of certain words. He doesn't always understand what Paul is saying, but then again, Paul is reduced to inane spluttering most of the time when he talks to Vince, so that's not so strange. The rest of the time he is perfectly normal. Vince is dumb, because we're told he is dumb, and that is pretty much all there is to it.
In the first chapter Paul talks directly to the reader. Not subtle, with an occasional aside to the reader, no, he tears the 4th wall down and dances on the rubble. He is talking to you. He is going to tell you all about himself: what he looks like, what he wishes he looked liked, where he works, how he got his dog, how shy and insecure he is, all these people he doesn't like and on and on in one big rambling mess. And when I say rambling mess, I mean it just keeps on going with irrelevant stuff and has dog shit and vomit and regurgitated spinach and tons of other unnecessary hilarity of the Chevy Chase kind that obscure the real humor that can be found in this book if you bother to look. I've read awkward introductions before (Oh, look, there is me in the mirror, look at my brown hair and blue eyes, blah blah), but this a particularly lazy and clunky introduction to a character.
Paul breaks the 4th wall to get the reader on his side. This is 'us' vs 'them' after all and we're supposed to be on Paul's side. Just like toddlers yell the Spanish word for 'jump' at the tv when Dora the Explorer tells them to, so are we supposed to yell 'bitches' at those losers who do not like this book when Paul tells us to. Because we are Team Paul. But, personally, I don't want to be on Team Judgy McJudgerson. I am not an aging, overweight, large breasted vegetarian hippie butch lesbian or anything, but that doesn't mean I want to point my finger at them and laugh.
What makes me really, really want to get the hell off Team Paul, though, is how every time he does something reprehensible, he dubs that 'being a vagina'. As in '….[but he] was now waking up in Bear Dude's bed, all because I was a gigantic vagina'. And '[the idea of carpet munching] kinda grossed me out because vaginas have more folds than a pile of laundry. Blargh.' Add similar references to labia, ovulating, uteri, menstruating ghosts and tampon strings and I seem to have misplaced my sense of humor somewhere. I completely understand that gay guys have no use for vaginas and probably find them kind of gross. And if Klune says that it is a common derogatory term in the gay world, I'll even buy that. Just because none of my gay friends are suicidal enough to say such things around me doesn't mean they don't talk shit when there are no women around. Just like straight guys, really. However, I am sure Klune is aware that roughly 80% of his readers are women. I can't be the only one not finding this funny.
Let's say you're a gay guy and you're reading a book about straight guys, written by a straight guy. You know, like the majority of the books out there. Say the straight main character does something stupid and then thinks to himself: “I can't believe I missed that field goal, I am such a worthless filthy faggot!” Potentially funny the first time, maybe. The 10th time he says something similar? Really not so much. Does it matter at that point that it's the character saying that and not the author? In this case, when the character doesn't repent his homophobia/misogyny at the end, or isn't even aware of it, and the character himself is a bit of an author-insert (gay Arizona insurance employee and (maybe would be) romance novelist), I'm going to go with 'no, it doesn't matter who says it'. Besides the misogyny, every person of color in this book is a stereotype: Sassy Black Nurse is sassy, Sexually Aggressive Latino Waiter is sexually aggressive and Jennifer Lopez insists on talking about her vagina.
Yes, Jennifer Lopez is a bike shop assistant here. Paul Auster, outside of this book, is of course a fairly well known novelist, Vince Taylor was a British rock star and is a professional body builder, Helena Handbasket is Chandler Bing's dad on 'Friends' (as played by Kathleen Turner) and even the Sassy Black Nurse makes an appearance on 'Family Guy'. Pop culture trivia, anyone?
On the other hand, the editing was really wonderful! No typos, homonyms, repeated phrases, etc. Really excellent job. Hahaha. Gotcha. Not really. The editing was bad. Besides all fore-mentioned issues, Sandy comes out to his parents a year after they die and Paul apparently keeps corduroy pants from when he is 10 years old. If you think it's funny what I just did there with the gotcha, you might actually like the last chapter. If not, you'll probably groan and roll your eyes, like me.
To recap: If Paul was less judgmental and more likable and had quit yammering; if the misogyny, the racial stereotypes, all the slapstick and almost every single scene that features the dog had been taken out, this would have been a funny lighthearted romantic comedy that would have been well worth reading. As it is: not for me.
May 11, 2025
How do I negative star this?
Disrespectfully.... TJ Klune/his team need to DELETE, BURY, HIDE AND DENY THE EXISTENCE OF THIS MOTHERFUCKING BOOK????? 🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢
BECAUSE THE FACT THAT THIS BOOK IS ACCESSIBLE IS HORRIFIC, ATROCIOUS, APPALLING???
Because what in the misogynic, racist, fatphobic, women-hating, ablest, PEDOPHILIA JOKE MAKING, self-hating, disgusting book fuckery did I just suffer through 55% of??
............. is the respect for women in the room with us?
............. is the comedy in the room with us?
............ are any good characters in the room with us?
THE VAGINA BASHING IS RELENTLESS BRUH. i'm not just smacking my head, i'm laying it on a road infront of a truck so I can forget this atrocity to literature.
One "I don't like vagina, i'm gay" joke.... whilst not overly funny, I could disregard, whatever. I'M 55% IN AND THE AMOUNT OF COMMENTS ON HOW DIGSGUSTING WOMEN'S ANATOMY IS???????
Dude. Delete this book.
Srsly, just delete it.
Look at the cover, and think, the world doesn't need Paul.
NO ONE is better off for having Paul in it.
Delete this book.
If you're a TJ hater or a TJ lover, DO NOT READ THIS.
I CAN'T STRESS THIS ENOUGH.
A hater will hate it, because ✨fair and valid✨ this book is literally the worst thing i've ever read.
And a lover, will question that love because how did someone write this and think... that is an acceptable amount of vagina jokes, and racist jokes.
The best part of this book (besides the dog side character) is Paul's bestfriend, but he always says like "I want people to love you, and see you for who you really are" WHAT DO YOU ACTUALLY FUCKING MEAN????? ARE WE SEEING THE SAME PAUL???? BECAUSE THIS CUNT PAUL IS SO FUCKING AWFUL WITHOUT A SINGLE REDEEMING QUALITY???????? WHAT ARE WE TRYING TO SEE HERE????
The man who wants Paul, named Vince, in this story is so fucking delusional and dumb, that at times, I can see why he could be likable in a silly goose kind of way..... BUT TO BE INTERESTED IN PAUL??? NEIGH NEIGH, U R FUCKING STOOPID BRO???? I draw the line at showing interest in Paul.
I also really couldn't see any way to appreciate Vince after making some offhanded comment like "that's my reason 6042th reason i'm glad that i'm a man" after commenting something about how tampons/periods were disgusting. grow le fuck up.
Paul's self hatred & woe is me attitude problem, along with deep seeded insecurities mainly around being overweight, are all so outwardly projected onto other humans, and it's actually fucked. And he copes so well with these insecurities....... in the most healthy way..... ✨BEING A FUCKWIT TO EVERYONE AROUND HIM AND CALLING EVERYONE SLURS OR REMARKING ON THEIR LOOKS✨ Very un-mindful, very cow manure.
Paul is sometimes socially awkward in a fun way. There are times my brain was like... maybe this is more like a 3 star read??? he's fun and realistic to some extent??? no. I can't do it. I can't lie to myself.
I'm not easily offended, I can just whatever my way through things, deep thoughts aren't for me. But I think this is the worst book i've ever read.
This is a negative 5 star read.
I hate this, and feel it should be deleted for public safety.
I know it was written a long time ago, I know times have changed, I know things we said in the 90's/00's are not things we use/say anymore... AND THANK FUCK THINGS DID CHANGE BECAUSE 🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢
If you took out all the awful shit in this book, it would be 3 pages long.
Pre:read thoughts:
What in the 1995 MS Paint job - basic bitch font is this fucking coverrrrrr, I CAN'T 💀💀💀
Disrespectfully.... TJ Klune/his team need to DELETE, BURY, HIDE AND DENY THE EXISTENCE OF THIS MOTHERFUCKING BOOK????? 🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢
BECAUSE THE FACT THAT THIS BOOK IS ACCESSIBLE IS HORRIFIC, ATROCIOUS, APPALLING???
Because what in the misogynic, racist, fatphobic, women-hating, ablest, PEDOPHILIA JOKE MAKING, self-hating, disgusting book fuckery did I just suffer through 55% of??
............. is the respect for women in the room with us?
............. is the comedy in the room with us?
............ are any good characters in the room with us?
THE VAGINA BASHING IS RELENTLESS BRUH. i'm not just smacking my head, i'm laying it on a road infront of a truck so I can forget this atrocity to literature.
One "I don't like vagina, i'm gay" joke.... whilst not overly funny, I could disregard, whatever. I'M 55% IN AND THE AMOUNT OF COMMENTS ON HOW DIGSGUSTING WOMEN'S ANATOMY IS???????
Dude. Delete this book.
Srsly, just delete it.
Look at the cover, and think, the world doesn't need Paul.
NO ONE is better off for having Paul in it.
Delete this book.
If you're a TJ hater or a TJ lover, DO NOT READ THIS.
I CAN'T STRESS THIS ENOUGH.
A hater will hate it, because ✨fair and valid✨ this book is literally the worst thing i've ever read.
And a lover, will question that love because how did someone write this and think... that is an acceptable amount of vagina jokes, and racist jokes.
The best part of this book (besides the dog side character) is Paul's bestfriend, but he always says like "I want people to love you, and see you for who you really are" WHAT DO YOU ACTUALLY FUCKING MEAN????? ARE WE SEEING THE SAME PAUL???? BECAUSE THIS CUNT PAUL IS SO FUCKING AWFUL WITHOUT A SINGLE REDEEMING QUALITY???????? WHAT ARE WE TRYING TO SEE HERE????
The man who wants Paul, named Vince, in this story is so fucking delusional and dumb, that at times, I can see why he could be likable in a silly goose kind of way..... BUT TO BE INTERESTED IN PAUL??? NEIGH NEIGH, U R FUCKING STOOPID BRO???? I draw the line at showing interest in Paul.
I also really couldn't see any way to appreciate Vince after making some offhanded comment like "that's my reason 6042th reason i'm glad that i'm a man" after commenting something about how tampons/periods were disgusting. grow le fuck up.
Paul's self hatred & woe is me attitude problem, along with deep seeded insecurities mainly around being overweight, are all so outwardly projected onto other humans, and it's actually fucked. And he copes so well with these insecurities....... in the most healthy way..... ✨BEING A FUCKWIT TO EVERYONE AROUND HIM AND CALLING EVERYONE SLURS OR REMARKING ON THEIR LOOKS✨ Very un-mindful, very cow manure.
Paul is sometimes socially awkward in a fun way. There are times my brain was like... maybe this is more like a 3 star read??? he's fun and realistic to some extent??? no. I can't do it. I can't lie to myself.
I'm not easily offended, I can just whatever my way through things, deep thoughts aren't for me. But I think this is the worst book i've ever read.
This is a negative 5 star read.
I hate this, and feel it should be deleted for public safety.
I know it was written a long time ago, I know times have changed, I know things we said in the 90's/00's are not things we use/say anymore... AND THANK FUCK THINGS DID CHANGE BECAUSE 🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢
If you took out all the awful shit in this book, it would be 3 pages long.
Pre:read thoughts:
What in the 1995 MS Paint job - basic bitch font is this fucking coverrrrrr, I CAN'T 💀💀💀
Read
January 19, 2013Okie Dokie =D Everything has been updated correctly now. You've got yer blurb, the page count (still... slightly...wrong... but hey, who gives a nut?)
I can't wait for you all to read this. Oh, and did you know (apparently I've been out of the game for a while, because DSP wasn't doing this when Who We Are came out) that you can pre-order the book? Just follow the link and you can buy your very own copy! .... that you can't read for another few weeks. Isn't pre-ordering neat?
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/stor...
Love,
Travis
I can't wait for you all to read this. Oh, and did you know (apparently I've been out of the game for a while, because DSP wasn't doing this when Who We Are came out) that you can pre-order the book? Just follow the link and you can buy your very own copy! .... that you can't read for another few weeks. Isn't pre-ordering neat?
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/stor...
Love,
Travis
August 25, 2016
I do this with a heavy heart, because I know everybody loves this book.
But there were so many jokes here, so many damn asides, and so much random rambling that I could barely get through this missive without an anxiety attack.
There were funny parts, sure, but the sheer volume and redundancy and nearly hysterical pitch of Paul's inner monologue strangled me. Paul was insecure. But he was also a shithead.
Where was the steam? There was the one scene. You know the one where Paul tripped on a shoe and his face bounced off the bed? Hot. (no, not really)
And since when is "vagina" the root of all evil? Look, I love me some cock, yeah? But we don't need to dis the vagina; it serves a purpose. What did labia ever do to deserve this?
The first part of last chapter was all kinds of bullshit. What was the point of THAT ridiculous story? (It was a JOKE. I know. But was it necessary?)
Please, let's put that fourth wall back up where it belongs.
But there were so many jokes here, so many damn asides, and so much random rambling that I could barely get through this missive without an anxiety attack.
There were funny parts, sure, but the sheer volume and redundancy and nearly hysterical pitch of Paul's inner monologue strangled me. Paul was insecure. But he was also a shithead.
Where was the steam? There was the one scene. You know the one where Paul tripped on a shoe and his face bounced off the bed? Hot. (no, not really)
And since when is "vagina" the root of all evil? Look, I love me some cock, yeah? But we don't need to dis the vagina; it serves a purpose. What did labia ever do to deserve this?
The first part of last chapter was all kinds of bullshit. What was the point of THAT ridiculous story? (It was a JOKE. I know. But was it necessary?)
Please, let's put that fourth wall back up where it belongs.
March 1, 2020
Paul's a little crazy.
Vince is a little *simple*.
Sandy/Helena are a whole lot twisted.
And Johnny Depp needs to be deep fried at times.
But the whole story, start to finish, is fuckloads of awesome. : )
If it doesn't make you laugh, then you simply have no soul and need to get the hell over yourself.
Highly recommended.
NOTE: If you loved this book, then chances are you'll *really* love TJ's new book, "The Lightning-Struck Heart," which is even more over-the-top humor-wise than this book. I laughed on every single one of its insane 400+ pages.
July 22, 2019
Look at this book cover. LOOK AT IT!!!
You have to wonder what the hell anyone involved was thinking. Just.. how? .... why?? Was it Crack Friday (like casual Fridays at work, but with crack)? That's the only reasonable explanation.
See? It happens. More often than you would think. I hear it's refreshing.
You know what would have been better than this book cover?
Anything. Anything at all.
Maybe even just a plain cover with the title typed in 12 point New Times Roman font. Double spaced. You can never go wrong with that. College has taught me that. Never doubt the power of 12 pt New Times Roman.
I have straight A's.
Okay, so crack-cover or not, this book is hilarious. TJ Klune is hilarious. His The Lightning-Struck Heart had me laughing my ass off, and this one did too. I am ass-less now. It looks good on me.
Thank goodness my mom jeans have an elastic waist because my ass can't hold those things up anymore. Too much LMAO's.
It is also a super gay book. Like, it needs a cape or something with how super it is. And, a cape might help this book cover. So, if you don't like super-gayness. If it's your kryptonite, then you better stay far away. Maybe cover yourself in lead paint. It's for the best, really. For all of us. Not you, of course, but for the rest of us.
Hands up on who wishes the Boomers would just die already. ..... wow, that's a lot of hands! Keep wishing, guys. They can't possibly last that much longer. We can win this thing.
This is an epic romance between a slightly, and by that I mean VERY, awkward and self-conscious gay man and a homo-jock. The homo-jock is so epic that our awkward hero thinks that he must be Freddy Prinze Junioring him.
But, he's not. It's real. And awesome.
There is also the most supportive family of a gay man ever, a best friend drag queen, a nana, and a homophobic parrot.
What more can you ask for?
You have to wonder what the hell anyone involved was thinking. Just.. how? .... why?? Was it Crack Friday (like casual Fridays at work, but with crack)? That's the only reasonable explanation.
See? It happens. More often than you would think. I hear it's refreshing.
You know what would have been better than this book cover?
Anything. Anything at all.
Maybe even just a plain cover with the title typed in 12 point New Times Roman font. Double spaced. You can never go wrong with that. College has taught me that. Never doubt the power of 12 pt New Times Roman.
I have straight A's.
Okay, so crack-cover or not, this book is hilarious. TJ Klune is hilarious. His The Lightning-Struck Heart had me laughing my ass off, and this one did too. I am ass-less now. It looks good on me.
Thank goodness my mom jeans have an elastic waist because my ass can't hold those things up anymore. Too much LMAO's.
It is also a super gay book. Like, it needs a cape or something with how super it is. And, a cape might help this book cover. So, if you don't like super-gayness. If it's your kryptonite, then you better stay far away. Maybe cover yourself in lead paint. It's for the best, really. For all of us. Not you, of course, but for the rest of us.
Hands up on who wishes the Boomers would just die already. ..... wow, that's a lot of hands! Keep wishing, guys. They can't possibly last that much longer. We can win this thing.
This is an epic romance between a slightly, and by that I mean VERY, awkward and self-conscious gay man and a homo-jock. The homo-jock is so epic that our awkward hero thinks that he must be Freddy Prinze Junioring him.
But, he's not. It's real. And awesome.
There is also the most supportive family of a gay man ever, a best friend drag queen, a nana, and a homophobic parrot.
What more can you ask for?
February 14, 2019
5 Stars
At this point, I shouldn’t be surprised by how much I connect with Klune’s stories or by how much I find myself loving his highly memorable characters.
Much like with my experiences reading Klune's fantasy epic Tales From Verania series, and also his heart-warming and emotionally charged Bear, Otter, and the Kid series, I found myself enjoying countless elements of Klune’s remarkable storytelling this time around, too.
Once again, his characters were all highly lovable and impressively fleshed out, and the romance that unfolded between MCs Paul and Vince was sweet-as-pie and pure perfection in my eyes.
Furthermore, the humour was bang on point (again and again and again) from start to finish. This wasn't just funny, it was laugh until you almost pee your pants funny.
And those sneaky Klune-specific “feels bombs” (as I call them) were intricately located and set-off at moments of maximum emotional impact throughout this otherwise good-natured and hilarious story.
Honestly, everything about this story worked for me, with the small exception of the cover art – because in what world is that dude on the right Vince?! Seriously!?! I don’t see it, like, at all!
But if my biggest complaint here is about the wrongly cast cover models then things are generally looking real good from what I’m sitting.
At the end of the day, the humour in this story may not appeal to everyone (as is evident from some of the reviews), but what might not work for others always seems to work wonders for me where Klune is concerned, and I’m beyond grateful for that positive personal reaction. I’m not exaggerating when I say that from the moment I opened this book until the moment I turned the final page I was held captive in a happy mood.
Making someone laugh as much as this book made me laugh is such a rare and welcomed experience, and one that isn’t the easiest reaction to accomplish by any means.
Over the last few years, Klune really has cemented himself among my favourite authors, and I continue to feel giddy with anticipation at the prospect of reading all his stories, whether I’ve missed some along the way or just ones I wish to re-read, or simply those which haven’t been told yet - whatever the case, I’m 100% in.
At this point, I shouldn’t be surprised by how much I connect with Klune’s stories or by how much I find myself loving his highly memorable characters.
Much like with my experiences reading Klune's fantasy epic Tales From Verania series, and also his heart-warming and emotionally charged Bear, Otter, and the Kid series, I found myself enjoying countless elements of Klune’s remarkable storytelling this time around, too.
Once again, his characters were all highly lovable and impressively fleshed out, and the romance that unfolded between MCs Paul and Vince was sweet-as-pie and pure perfection in my eyes.
Furthermore, the humour was bang on point (again and again and again) from start to finish. This wasn't just funny, it was laugh until you almost pee your pants funny.
And those sneaky Klune-specific “feels bombs” (as I call them) were intricately located and set-off at moments of maximum emotional impact throughout this otherwise good-natured and hilarious story.
Honestly, everything about this story worked for me, with the small exception of the cover art – because in what world is that dude on the right Vince?! Seriously!?! I don’t see it, like, at all!
But if my biggest complaint here is about the wrongly cast cover models then things are generally looking real good from what I’m sitting.
At the end of the day, the humour in this story may not appeal to everyone (as is evident from some of the reviews), but what might not work for others always seems to work wonders for me where Klune is concerned, and I’m beyond grateful for that positive personal reaction. I’m not exaggerating when I say that from the moment I opened this book until the moment I turned the final page I was held captive in a happy mood.
Making someone laugh as much as this book made me laugh is such a rare and welcomed experience, and one that isn’t the easiest reaction to accomplish by any means.
Over the last few years, Klune really has cemented himself among my favourite authors, and I continue to feel giddy with anticipation at the prospect of reading all his stories, whether I’ve missed some along the way or just ones I wish to re-read, or simply those which haven’t been told yet - whatever the case, I’m 100% in.
September 30, 2021
man, this book really rubbed me the wrong way and left a sour taste in my mouth. the constant misogyny, the casual ableism, the weird pedophilia jokes... just ew. the humor, in general, was just really off-putting to me, and even when the jokes weren’t super gross, they just didn’t land. this book was just not my thing at all.
this is the third TJ Klune book i’ve attempted to read (the other two i didn't even finish nn), and will definitely be the last. his writing style is just not one that appeals to me personally, and his sense of humor is.... well, it speaks for itself.
this is the third TJ Klune book i’ve attempted to read (the other two i didn't even finish nn), and will definitely be the last. his writing style is just not one that appeals to me personally, and his sense of humor is.... well, it speaks for itself.
October 3, 2017
I loved this book the first time I read it almost five years ago.
I loved it the second time I read it in 2016.
I LOVED the audio version that I just finished.
I LOVE THIS BOOK.
This book is my comfort read.
It's funny, it's ridiculous, it's charming: it's just a feel-good book for me. As my tastes have changed over the years, I haven't seemed to move on from this story and these characters.
The narration was simply spot on. I can't imagine anyone else other than Michael Lesley reading this story.
I think I'm going to have to shell out for more audios in this series because when I need a pick me up, this series is here to comfort me, and the audio is just one more way to get my fix.
Check out my previous review of this book here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
April 9, 2016
DNF page 224 of 350
I guess I love authors who use angst greatly, but then they try their comic streak and they crash noisily. So, note to myself: Beware of funny experimentations.
I'm sorry, but I'll interrupt this book. I can't go on like this: sometimes boring, sometimes funny... It's turning into homework for me and that's not what I'm looking for. Reading is something that brings me joy and thrill and this is not the case.
I'm totally able of giving 5 stars to one book and then rating 1 to the same author or even DNFing. See Amy Lane, see TJ Klune, see Laura Kinsale. Maybe I'll try this one in another moment in my life, but I'm stuck in this one and I don't want to end up hating it.
In the beginning it was ok. I'm not really fan of light romances but I read them in spades because I have a tendency of running from the angsty ones even though they are my favorite. I guess I like to suffer, but it's difficult to start suffering voluntarily. Paul's banter and jokes are amusing sometimes but most of the time they are very forced and unrealistic. Comedies are supposed to be like this but I think making a good comedy is by far more complicated that making a good drama. I've seen very few comedies that won the Oscar! (Not that I trust them nowadays, anyway). TJ is the master of drama but he took his chances in all that doesn't define him and I felt only an empty shell. I must admit I laughed harder in Bear, Otter, and the Kid, by a long shot.
I liked the fact that we switch gears and have a not that perfect guy as a MC. He doesn't have a six pack and huge biceps and a hard butt. He is fat, period. That's a change few people are brave to write about and I value that from the author. But I just can't get it. Can't get why Vince falls for him from a distance, even before they even talk to each other. I don't understand that thing about love at first sight generally but here I believe it even less. I could get Paul feeling some attraction to Vince, but that's it. I can't help myself form criticizing that scene. That is partially corrected by the slow burn romance that comes after, but not completely. I want to know WHY they begin their relationship, because I'm not convinced.
Vince is supposedly to be silly, or not bright enough for Paul. But I didn't feel like he was stupid, just uncultured. Not knowing Asia is that big doesn't come from a dumb person, just from a person who didn't read or didn't study or didn't bother to know. And not catching Paul's jokes is not his fault. I had a problem analyzing his words sometimes, too. And lots of them are very related to Paul's mind, and Vince not being in it makes it difficult to understand them. Paul's verbal diarrhea is something serious, and I had to concentrate very hard several times.
Lately I'm running into authors who are infected by the disease called "I-know-Spanish-as-a-native-so-I-don't-need-to-ask-one-because-it's-a-piece-of-cake-to-use-Google". It's a miracle the day I read two or three words in Spanish without wrecking the sentence. Here is goes further, as in one moment of the book I found this entire paragraph:
Not only he uses Spanish badly, but he even translated it to English, the audacity is so big I can only admire it.
Correct version:
Sí and Toda la cerveza se ha acabado, pero puede comerse algunos de estos tacos que hice.
Yes, this is correct and I had high hopes this wouldn't be a bummer.
¿Qué le pasó al Sr. Rodríguez? No ha sido el mismo DESDE que su esposa LE dejó.
These ones where painful for my ears.
He oído que ella era una PUTA BASTANTE GRANDE.
This one sounds good grammatically speaking, but as a whole it sounds very weird because you are saying that the bitch is big, that means, fat. What the author wants to say is "putón" or "hija de la gran puta".
It looks like these are my reasons for quitting, but that is not true. My real reason was that I didn't feel that pull for going on. I rarely DNF if a book has lots of mistakes, it's more due to the style and boredom, and here I had both.
I guess I love authors who use angst greatly, but then they try their comic streak and they crash noisily. So, note to myself: Beware of funny experimentations.
I'm sorry, but I'll interrupt this book. I can't go on like this: sometimes boring, sometimes funny... It's turning into homework for me and that's not what I'm looking for. Reading is something that brings me joy and thrill and this is not the case.
I'm totally able of giving 5 stars to one book and then rating 1 to the same author or even DNFing. See Amy Lane, see TJ Klune, see Laura Kinsale. Maybe I'll try this one in another moment in my life, but I'm stuck in this one and I don't want to end up hating it.
In the beginning it was ok. I'm not really fan of light romances but I read them in spades because I have a tendency of running from the angsty ones even though they are my favorite. I guess I like to suffer, but it's difficult to start suffering voluntarily. Paul's banter and jokes are amusing sometimes but most of the time they are very forced and unrealistic. Comedies are supposed to be like this but I think making a good comedy is by far more complicated that making a good drama. I've seen very few comedies that won the Oscar! (Not that I trust them nowadays, anyway). TJ is the master of drama but he took his chances in all that doesn't define him and I felt only an empty shell. I must admit I laughed harder in Bear, Otter, and the Kid, by a long shot.
I liked the fact that we switch gears and have a not that perfect guy as a MC. He doesn't have a six pack and huge biceps and a hard butt. He is fat, period. That's a change few people are brave to write about and I value that from the author. But I just can't get it. Can't get why Vince falls for him from a distance, even before they even talk to each other. I don't understand that thing about love at first sight generally but here I believe it even less. I could get Paul feeling some attraction to Vince, but that's it. I can't help myself form criticizing that scene. That is partially corrected by the slow burn romance that comes after, but not completely. I want to know WHY they begin their relationship, because I'm not convinced.
Vince is supposedly to be silly, or not bright enough for Paul. But I didn't feel like he was stupid, just uncultured. Not knowing Asia is that big doesn't come from a dumb person, just from a person who didn't read or didn't study or didn't bother to know. And not catching Paul's jokes is not his fault. I had a problem analyzing his words sometimes, too. And lots of them are very related to Paul's mind, and Vince not being in it makes it difficult to understand them. Paul's verbal diarrhea is something serious, and I had to concentrate very hard several times.
Lately I'm running into authors who are infected by the disease called "I-know-Spanish-as-a-native-so-I-don't-need-to-ask-one-because-it's-a-piece-of-cake-to-use-Google". It's a miracle the day I read two or three words in Spanish without wrecking the sentence. Here is goes further, as in one moment of the book I found this entire paragraph:
I look pretty good in a poncho, and I could have gotten a big sombrero and grown a sweet mustache ans spent my days saying things like Sí and Toda la cerveza se ha acabado, pero puede comerse algunos de estos tacos que hice. ¿Qué le pasó al Sr. Rodríguez? No ha sido el mismo hace que su esposa él dejó. He oído que ella era una puta bastante grande.
(Translated: I am all out of beer, but you might have some of these tacos I just made. What is up with Mr. Rodríguez? He hasn’t been the same since his wife left. I heard she was quite the whore).
Not only he uses Spanish badly, but he even translated it to English, the audacity is so big I can only admire it.
Correct version:
Sí and Toda la cerveza se ha acabado, pero puede comerse algunos de estos tacos que hice.
Yes, this is correct and I had high hopes this wouldn't be a bummer.
¿Qué le pasó al Sr. Rodríguez? No ha sido el mismo DESDE que su esposa LE dejó.
These ones where painful for my ears.
He oído que ella era una PUTA BASTANTE GRANDE.
This one sounds good grammatically speaking, but as a whole it sounds very weird because you are saying that the bitch is big, that means, fat. What the author wants to say is "putón" or "hija de la gran puta".
It looks like these are my reasons for quitting, but that is not true. My real reason was that I didn't feel that pull for going on. I rarely DNF if a book has lots of mistakes, it's more due to the style and boredom, and here I had both.
January 4, 2018
This gets 5 stars because it make me LAUGH. Like so hard!!! In places you shouldn't laugh out loud, like public!!!! That and it's one of the best books I've read in a long time.
TJ Klune is an author I have come to love and reading more of his work just showed me what a talented author he is. He can write funny, he can write serious, he can write steamy. He just never fails to disappoint! Next time I am in a massive book slump again, I am turning to his books for help.
Tell Me It's Real has possibly one of the worst book covers ever, which is why I've waited so long to read it. But this is one of those books where you have to look past the awful cover to get to the amazing inside of the book. Paul is a husky guy, insecure and settled in his life. Until he meets the stunningly beautiful Vince who is interested in Paul right away. Except Paul thinks Vince is playing a joke on him, never thinking Vince could be actually interested.
Loved this book, obviously from my 5 star rating. Again, it had me laughing out loud in public, a rare feat for me as I try to remain stoic when reading. I highly recommend this book!
Follow me on ♥ Facebook ♥ Blog ♥ Instagram ♥ Twitter ♥
TJ Klune is an author I have come to love and reading more of his work just showed me what a talented author he is. He can write funny, he can write serious, he can write steamy. He just never fails to disappoint! Next time I am in a massive book slump again, I am turning to his books for help.
Tell Me It's Real has possibly one of the worst book covers ever, which is why I've waited so long to read it. But this is one of those books where you have to look past the awful cover to get to the amazing inside of the book. Paul is a husky guy, insecure and settled in his life. Until he meets the stunningly beautiful Vince who is interested in Paul right away. Except Paul thinks Vince is playing a joke on him, never thinking Vince could be actually interested.
Loved this book, obviously from my 5 star rating. Again, it had me laughing out loud in public, a rare feat for me as I try to remain stoic when reading. I highly recommend this book!
Follow me on ♥ Facebook ♥ Blog ♥ Instagram ♥ Twitter ♥
October 20, 2018
4.5 So Not Surprised Stars!!
Having read 2 of Klune’s most likely popular series BOatK (shout out to my top book hubby, Otter!!!) and Tales from Verania (Tiggy 5eva!!), this comes as no surprise that I truly enjoyed myself. As with those books, this brings plenty of laughs that are absolutely based on inane ridiculousness and some gut wrenching feels to kick you in the literal or proverbial balls.
So, if you like seemingly underdog stories, heavy with familial feels, and deep romantic story arcs, all peppered with so much snark and fun, then this fan favorite is a no brainer and should not disappoint!
Having read 2 of Klune’s most likely popular series BOatK (shout out to my top book hubby, Otter!!!) and Tales from Verania (Tiggy 5eva!!), this comes as no surprise that I truly enjoyed myself. As with those books, this brings plenty of laughs that are absolutely based on inane ridiculousness and some gut wrenching feels to kick you in the literal or proverbial balls.
So, if you like seemingly underdog stories, heavy with familial feels, and deep romantic story arcs, all peppered with so much snark and fun, then this fan favorite is a no brainer and should not disappoint!
July 30, 2016
Written August 26, 2014
5 Chuckling Stars - There is simply two word: AMAZING hysterically FUN!!
This romantic comedy novel seems to be much loved by a lot of my friends and readers here. I spuned around on the big book-seller's web page and found Tell Me It's Real
It was time to try if this one really was as funny and great as they all say.
• OMG: I'm glad I picked this one
It was simply hilarouis fun.
• OMG: Getting 10 hours of laugh fest
A nice priced audiobook worth every penny.
• OMG: I love this chubby so amazingly cute anti-hero
Though he often is stubborn, clumsy, foolish and foul-mouthed.
• OMG: These second characters where the "Best"
Wow, they are such a bunch of memorable sweeties.
• OMG: This narrater nailed it
He had Paul's outrageously chatting (high) inner voice.
• OMG: ...I'm stunned for now.
Will it be more about them?
***********************************************
The narrator Michael Lesley made this funny story even funnier to listening to. He did this to an amazing audiobook in a slightly hysterical "gay style".
***********************************************
One day it happens Prince Charming shows up.
But it's hard to take it seriously when a goodlooking sexy hunk starts to flirt with you. Really?!? Yes, at least if you are a 30 year old slightly insecure guy with low self-esteem, too fat belly, curly hair, cheesy clothes, and is one of the embarrassing failure of the gays in the town dork gang.
~ It must be a Freddie Prinze Jr. joke. Or, could this be for real?
***********************************************
I have a weak eye for those funny, stubborn characters whish always are belonging to the poor nerd gang.
Our hero here, dear Paul Auster, was exactly such a crazy "boob-head". A character who always said too much, took the wrong choices, created much hysteria and accidents, talked down (ear killed) poor innocent receptionists and bike shop assistants, had too short temper and was sometimes completely immune to romantic feelings.
Course, in the end was he a sweet nice guy with a big heart. Albeit sometimes cynically. But an unforgettable anti-hero. I loved him...
Thanks for this fantastic anti-hero, he is needed in romances.
***********************************************
And the romance and the gorgeous hunk?
It was a romantic sweet love tale. Not just a lot of smex but rather sweet romantic troubles. If the underpants are sexy enough, if a untrained pale body is good enough, am I expected to....the first time?, etc etc.
The hunk, he was just fine. Vince Taylor was a persistent, tender-hearted very sexy guy who liked to talk dirty and simply charmed Paul (to the bed) in the end. Maybe Vince wasn't the city's smartest "nugget", but a perfectly stable future boyfriend for Paul. I loved him because he loved Paul at first sight. ~ Two needs were met and it was adorable cute.
...Then there were all the others:.
- Paul's sweet bestie buddy Sandy (aka the glamorous drag queen diva Helena Handbasket - a hard-core bitch who doesn't take shit from anyone ).
- His caring and loving parents (who like to think about matters as gay "pony play" for their son) and old wise Nana Gigi (with a homophobic parrot called Johnny Depp).
- Last but not unimportant - Paul's picky two-legged dog Wheels (whith just two wheels - a mutt picked and choosed from a dog-shelter in competition against a confident perfect golden retriever).
They are all in my heart now. Eewww I'm going to miss this awesome gang. Sob!!
***********************************************
Stories in books, told directly to the reader by one of the book's MC's are naturally so amazingly perfect as audiobooks (if there is a good narrater). This was just such a book. ~ I want to see the movie also. Please!
I have no more words...(it's true). ~ Earnestly recommended to all who wants to laugh more.
I LIKE - still giggling and chuckling. Yes, really!
*****
A book #2? - I just saw the author answered a reader question. - Woot, it will be a second book with Paul's drag show buddy Sandy / Helena and his/hers love story with...
5 Chuckling Stars - There is simply two word: AMAZING hysterically FUN!!
This romantic comedy novel seems to be much loved by a lot of my friends and readers here. I spuned around on the big book-seller's web page and found Tell Me It's Real
It was time to try if this one really was as funny and great as they all say.
• OMG: I'm glad I picked this one
It was simply hilarouis fun.
• OMG: Getting 10 hours of laugh fest
A nice priced audiobook worth every penny.
• OMG: I love this chubby so amazingly cute anti-hero
Though he often is stubborn, clumsy, foolish and foul-mouthed.
• OMG: These second characters where the "Best"
Wow, they are such a bunch of memorable sweeties.
• OMG: This narrater nailed it
He had Paul's outrageously chatting (high) inner voice.
• OMG: ...I'm stunned for now.
Will it be more about them?
***********************************************
The narrator Michael Lesley made this funny story even funnier to listening to. He did this to an amazing audiobook in a slightly hysterical "gay style".
***********************************************
One day it happens Prince Charming shows up.
‘He was hard lines, chiseled flesh, bronzed skin. I was a marshmallow melting in a cup of cocoa.’
But it's hard to take it seriously when a goodlooking sexy hunk starts to flirt with you. Really?!? Yes, at least if you are a 30 year old slightly insecure guy with low self-esteem, too fat belly, curly hair, cheesy clothes, and is one of the embarrassing failure of the gays in the town dork gang.
~ It must be a Freddie Prinze Jr. joke. Or, could this be for real?
***********************************************
I have a weak eye for those funny, stubborn characters whish always are belonging to the poor nerd gang.
Our hero here, dear Paul Auster, was exactly such a crazy "boob-head". A character who always said too much, took the wrong choices, created much hysteria and accidents, talked down (ear killed) poor innocent receptionists and bike shop assistants, had too short temper and was sometimes completely immune to romantic feelings.
“JUST so you know, I don’t have a gargantuan penis.”
Course, in the end was he a sweet nice guy with a big heart. Albeit sometimes cynically. But an unforgettable anti-hero. I loved him...
Thanks for this fantastic anti-hero, he is needed in romances.
***********************************************
And the romance and the gorgeous hunk?
It was a romantic sweet love tale. Not just a lot of smex but rather sweet romantic troubles. If the underpants are sexy enough, if a untrained pale body is good enough, am I expected to....the first time?, etc etc.
The hunk, he was just fine. Vince Taylor was a persistent, tender-hearted very sexy guy who liked to talk dirty and simply charmed Paul (to the bed) in the end. Maybe Vince wasn't the city's smartest "nugget", but a perfectly stable future boyfriend for Paul. I loved him because he loved Paul at first sight. ~ Two needs were met and it was adorable cute.
...Then there were all the others:.
- Paul's sweet bestie buddy Sandy (aka the glamorous drag queen diva Helena Handbasket - a hard-core bitch who doesn't take shit from anyone ).
- His caring and loving parents (who like to think about matters as gay "pony play" for their son) and old wise Nana Gigi (with a homophobic parrot called Johnny Depp).
- Last but not unimportant - Paul's picky two-legged dog Wheels (whith just two wheels - a mutt picked and choosed from a dog-shelter in competition against a confident perfect golden retriever).
They are all in my heart now. Eewww I'm going to miss this awesome gang. Sob!!
***********************************************
Stories in books, told directly to the reader by one of the book's MC's are naturally so amazingly perfect as audiobooks (if there is a good narrater). This was just such a book. ~ I want to see the movie also. Please!
I have no more words...(it's true). ~ Earnestly recommended to all who wants to laugh more.
I LIKE - still giggling and chuckling. Yes, really!
*****
A book #2? - I just saw the author answered a reader question. - Woot, it will be a second book with Paul's drag show buddy Sandy / Helena and his/hers love story with...
August 30, 2017
HILARIOUS and ROMANTIC!
This is probably one of the most feel good and funniest M/M Romance I've read so far. It's just so funny and so crazy! I love the banter between Paul and Sandy/Helena, between Paul and Vince, and between Paul's family! (Paul's Dad mix up of his divas is just so hilarious!)
The only thing holding me back for giving this a 5-star rating was Paul & Vince romance were too good to be true.
To Mr. T.J. Klune, thank you for writing this. This book gives me hope. I've related so much to Paul. I hope I can find a Vince someday!
If you wanna LOL, LMAO, or ROFTL, you better read this!!!
A very RECOMMENDED READ! :D
This is probably one of the most feel good and funniest M/M Romance I've read so far. It's just so funny and so crazy! I love the banter between Paul and Sandy/Helena, between Paul and Vince, and between Paul's family! (Paul's Dad mix up of his divas is just so hilarious!)
The only thing holding me back for giving this a 5-star rating was Paul & Vince romance were too good to be true.
To Mr. T.J. Klune, thank you for writing this. This book gives me hope. I've related so much to Paul. I hope I can find a Vince someday!
If you wanna LOL, LMAO, or ROFTL, you better read this!!!
A very RECOMMENDED READ! :D
February 28, 2018
4,5 stars
I struggled a little with my rating. And I will explain why.
I really loved the writing!! It's pure comedy at its finest! I don't remember when or if I ever laughed so hard while reading. This book is SO funny, I chocked with laughter so many times! It was really hard to read next to my sleeping husband, because I ended making some ... let's just say unexpected sounds, while covering my mouth with my hands and trying not to wake him up. That's how much I laughed, until the bed started to shake.
Paul was SO odd! Paul talked so much to himself. His dialogues with Sandy/Helena - his best friend/super sassy drag queen - were hilarious!!! I loved him so much.
Vince was like a wet dream, handsome, packed with muscles, had DIMPLES ... but didn't speak Asian. Well actually he didn't know Asia is a continent. At first I was kind of disappointed in having one of the MC's being so beautiful but with no brains. But he grew on me and he had such a big heart! In the end I think pairing him with sarcastic and odd Paul was great. They made quite a pair.
2/3 of the book is light and funny and I didn't expect more. So I was surprised by the hotness we got at some point. And then the last chapters brought angst, sadness, but also a sweet ending.
I think Paul's family was super crazy but amazing. I would love to revisit them! The homophobic parrot named Johnny Depp was hilarious too. But I did see the "pretty" coming from him. Traitor. Him and Wheels, the two legged dog.
I'm not rating it with 5 stars because there were some things that didn't work for me. I don't want to give too much away, so I will only admit that I don't like insta-love stories. And this one kind of was exactly that.
Overall I think it's the funniest book I have ever read. It was sweet, it was hilarious, it was also super hot and it ended on such a positive note, so I can't wait to read the next book! It's Sandy's time to fall in love.
I struggled a little with my rating. And I will explain why.
I really loved the writing!! It's pure comedy at its finest! I don't remember when or if I ever laughed so hard while reading. This book is SO funny, I chocked with laughter so many times! It was really hard to read next to my sleeping husband, because I ended making some ... let's just say unexpected sounds, while covering my mouth with my hands and trying not to wake him up. That's how much I laughed, until the bed started to shake.
Paul was SO odd! Paul talked so much to himself. His dialogues with Sandy/Helena - his best friend/super sassy drag queen - were hilarious!!! I loved him so much.
Vince was like a wet dream, handsome, packed with muscles, had DIMPLES ... but didn't speak Asian. Well actually he didn't know Asia is a continent. At first I was kind of disappointed in having one of the MC's being so beautiful but with no brains. But he grew on me and he had such a big heart! In the end I think pairing him with sarcastic and odd Paul was great. They made quite a pair.
2/3 of the book is light and funny and I didn't expect more. So I was surprised by the hotness we got at some point. And then the last chapters brought angst, sadness, but also a sweet ending.
I think Paul's family was super crazy but amazing. I would love to revisit them! The homophobic parrot named Johnny Depp was hilarious too. But I did see the "pretty" coming from him. Traitor. Him and Wheels, the two legged dog.
I'm not rating it with 5 stars because there were some things that didn't work for me. I don't want to give too much away, so I will only admit that I don't like insta-love stories. And this one kind of was exactly that.
Overall I think it's the funniest book I have ever read. It was sweet, it was hilarious, it was also super hot and it ended on such a positive note, so I can't wait to read the next book! It's Sandy's time to fall in love.
May 26, 2014
EDIT: re-read 25th May 2014... If I could double the stars on this I would. Laughed my ass of , snorted and cried all the way thorough this once again. Absolutely adore this story!
Original review January 22nd 2013
Oh God! Snark, snark and more snark. My type of of book with bells on! Hilarious, witty, quirky and it made cry too. My idea of story heaven, and to add to my many happy dance moments there is a conversation about Val Kilmer that matches an in joke that me and my big sis have - except ours includes a reference to " Willow " and a Geordie accent, ( don't ask! ) - that made me squee in my head when it came up in the story!! Actually I had many moments like that whilst I was reading this absolute gem of a book. * claps hands and giggles*
Years ago I worked with a guy who had a major jones for the film Grease and Olivia Newton John. He watched it every single night ( true story I swear to god ! ) and every day we teased him about it, but he NEVER missed a nights viewing. He could quote that film word for word!! I once asked him why he didn't get bored watching it night after night and his answer was " Why would I get bored ... I love it? " OK at the time we did think that was more than a bit ' sad ' because at that time we were all "out every night Vodka guzzling twenty something's " ! Who stayed in and watched videos?
So whats the point the of that useless little gem of wisdom ? Well, I think I've just found my " Grease" !! I could happily start it again straight away and I can see many re-reads in the future...Why? Because I love it! :D
Whose got the last laugh now!
Original review January 22nd 2013
Oh God! Snark, snark and more snark. My type of of book with bells on! Hilarious, witty, quirky and it made cry too. My idea of story heaven, and to add to my many happy dance moments there is a conversation about Val Kilmer that matches an in joke that me and my big sis have - except ours includes a reference to " Willow " and a Geordie accent, ( don't ask! ) - that made me squee in my head when it came up in the story!! Actually I had many moments like that whilst I was reading this absolute gem of a book. * claps hands and giggles*
Years ago I worked with a guy who had a major jones for the film Grease and Olivia Newton John. He watched it every single night ( true story I swear to god ! ) and every day we teased him about it, but he NEVER missed a nights viewing. He could quote that film word for word!! I once asked him why he didn't get bored watching it night after night and his answer was " Why would I get bored ... I love it? " OK at the time we did think that was more than a bit ' sad ' because at that time we were all "out every night Vodka guzzling twenty something's " ! Who stayed in and watched videos?
So whats the point the of that useless little gem of wisdom ? Well, I think I've just found my " Grease" !! I could happily start it again straight away and I can see many re-reads in the future...Why? Because I love it! :D
Whose got the last laugh now!
December 15, 2015
Unlike most of you, I was already able to read The Lightning-Struck Heart before I started with this. And I can say that more or less, T.J. incorporated the same elements in both stories. Great secondary characters in both family and friends, relatable underdog main characters, a little drama, more heart, and lots of humor. However, I think in the case of this book, the humor was overkill. And I justify that by saying that in TLSH, it's fantasy and set in a completely different universe, so it was okay. But in this book, man, saying it was over the top is an understatement and it just didn't work for me.
However, I did like that it was not only Paul who had self-esteem issues. At first, I thought that Paul was going to meet this perfect guy and Mr. Perfect proves to Paul that he's just fine the way he is. You know, the usual story. But it was good that both Paul and Vince had insecurities and they tried to work it out together.What I loved most about this book though, is Paul and Sandy's relationship. It was so genuine and special. Sandy just stole the show, for me. So, I think I'll give this 3 stars. Slightly disappointing, but I'm pretty much still looking forward to the sequel.
February 19, 2013
Not only is the narrator a rambling manchild with a ten-year-old's mind in a thirty-year-old's body, he's constantly racist, to boot. I really don't understand what was up with that, but it was gross. He had all these weird, immature takes on various minorities (Chinese people, Black people, Mexicans, Taiwanese people, etc. etc.) that were never really addressed in any meaningful way. There was a lot of weird sexism, too-- all symptoms of the larger problem, I think, which is that Paul is basically worthless. The other guy was stupid. That's about all I got from him. Nobody felt like a real person, they all spoke with the same voice, and the things they did and said shattered my verisimilitude to the max.
As for the story, nothing of any note happened until near the end. Most of the word count (good God, the book is 300+ pages long!) was Paul's incoherent yammering, and the actual plot of the novel hardly existed. It took me ages to finish this, though it's not particularly dense; I just kept dropping out and having to go back and force myself to continue. No thank you.
Also: "Sweat balls" wasn't cute the first time, and it certainly wasn't cute the fiftieth time.
As for the story, nothing of any note happened until near the end. Most of the word count (good God, the book is 300+ pages long!) was Paul's incoherent yammering, and the actual plot of the novel hardly existed. It took me ages to finish this, though it's not particularly dense; I just kept dropping out and having to go back and force myself to continue. No thank you.
Also: "Sweat balls" wasn't cute the first time, and it certainly wasn't cute the fiftieth time.
April 17, 2014
This book was a slooow read, okay?
Why? Because I had to stop ALL THE TIME to...
*********************************************************************
I loved the characters:
Paul, a drama queen with an very active imagination and a bad case of mouth diarrhea and some serious bad luck
"And I started to choke. At first, it wasn’t so bad. I thought I could still breathe around it and I made a noise that made me sound like an Ewok: “Urka. Urk. Urk.” (...)And then I felt everything go dark and my breath stopped and my heart thudded lightly in my chest. I saw a white light and went into it. My body died, but I ascended into heaven, where a group of shirtless and way-hot angels waited for me and wanted nothing more than to cater to my every whim. My favorite was an angel named Esteban Ortega who whispered dirty words in Spanish in my ear and who I called “Papi.” I was happy, happy at last, and that’s where I stayed for all eternity, with a Latin angel and my ginormous penis. And a halo. And wings. And I also could make unlimited wishes. The end. Okay, I’m just fucking with you. I didn’t die. That’d been a bummer way to end the story, don’t you think? Gay people get happy endings too, Hollywood!"
Sandy/Helena, Paul's best friend and diva drag queen extraordinaire
"Helena reached out and grabbed my hand and squeezed. Without moving her lips from that big, showgirl of a smile, she muttered, “On a scale of one to ten, how pissed are you?”
“Seventy-two,” I murmured back. (...)
“Thank God it’s that low,” she said, her smile going wider."
Vince, sexy, dimpled, confident
“You may as well just give up now,” he said.
“What do you mean?”
“You’re going to go on a date with me. It’s just easier if you say yes now.”
“Cocky fucking bastard.”
“Nah, I just see that you want to, but for some reason you’re saying no.”
Larry and Matty, Paul's parents
“You guys are just biased.”
“Well, even if we weren’t, we’d still love you to pieces,” Mom said. “We know you’re shy, Paul, and maybe you’ll always be like that. But one day, someone is going to come along and sweep you off your feet and it will be like magic. You’ll open up like a blushing, virgin flower filled with rainbows and sprinkles”
“Rainbows and sprinkles,” my father agreed. “The most sprinkliest virgin flower ever.”
“I love you guys,” I told them honestly, even if they were batshit insane.
Nana Gigi, Paul's grandmother
She smiled sweetly at me and reached up to cup my face.
“Paul, I’m going to tell you this once and only once, okay?”
I nodded at my beautiful grandmother.
She slapped me upside my head.
“If you spout any of that bullshit to me ever again, I will tan your hide, you hear me? You need to get over yourself and stop being a whiny little bitch. If he sees something in you that the rest of us have seen for years, then God almighty, you better be giving it as good as you get.”
“Ow,” I mumbled.
She rolled her eyes. “Don’t be such a baby."
and the homophobic parrot Johnny Depp
“Fairy!” Johnny Depp told me. He sat in a large cage in the corner, his gorgeous plumage hiding his evil, beating heart. He glared at me as I entered the room, clicking his claws against the wooden beam as he moved closer. “Don’t put your finger in my bum!”
***********************************************************************
Most of the story was hilarious, but at the end it turned surprisingly serious. I bawled my eyes out. is a sore spot. I felt , and reading about .
Some negative points though.
Paul did some stupid things, but something really pissed me off. I can't believe Paul ! Waay out of line I think. I was so angry with him, I can understand Vince's reaction. And Paul's , that was lame reading I think.
But still, this book...
Very worth reading! :D
ps. if you liked/loved Tell me it's real, you also should check out Slam!
It's in the same Laugh My Ass Off category. There's even a dog in that story as well. His name is Bubbles. "Bubbles by name, bubbles for brains." LOL!
Why? Because I had to stop ALL THE TIME to...
*********************************************************************
I loved the characters:
Paul, a drama queen with an very active imagination and a bad case of mouth diarrhea and some serious bad luck
"And I started to choke. At first, it wasn’t so bad. I thought I could still breathe around it and I made a noise that made me sound like an Ewok: “Urka. Urk. Urk.” (...)And then I felt everything go dark and my breath stopped and my heart thudded lightly in my chest. I saw a white light and went into it. My body died, but I ascended into heaven, where a group of shirtless and way-hot angels waited for me and wanted nothing more than to cater to my every whim. My favorite was an angel named Esteban Ortega who whispered dirty words in Spanish in my ear and who I called “Papi.” I was happy, happy at last, and that’s where I stayed for all eternity, with a Latin angel and my ginormous penis. And a halo. And wings. And I also could make unlimited wishes. The end. Okay, I’m just fucking with you. I didn’t die. That’d been a bummer way to end the story, don’t you think? Gay people get happy endings too, Hollywood!"
Sandy/Helena, Paul's best friend and diva drag queen extraordinaire
"Helena reached out and grabbed my hand and squeezed. Without moving her lips from that big, showgirl of a smile, she muttered, “On a scale of one to ten, how pissed are you?”
“Seventy-two,” I murmured back. (...)
“Thank God it’s that low,” she said, her smile going wider."
Vince, sexy, dimpled, confident
“You may as well just give up now,” he said.
“What do you mean?”
“You’re going to go on a date with me. It’s just easier if you say yes now.”
“Cocky fucking bastard.”
“Nah, I just see that you want to, but for some reason you’re saying no.”
Larry and Matty, Paul's parents
“You guys are just biased.”
“Well, even if we weren’t, we’d still love you to pieces,” Mom said. “We know you’re shy, Paul, and maybe you’ll always be like that. But one day, someone is going to come along and sweep you off your feet and it will be like magic. You’ll open up like a blushing, virgin flower filled with rainbows and sprinkles”
“Rainbows and sprinkles,” my father agreed. “The most sprinkliest virgin flower ever.”
“I love you guys,” I told them honestly, even if they were batshit insane.
Nana Gigi, Paul's grandmother
She smiled sweetly at me and reached up to cup my face.
“Paul, I’m going to tell you this once and only once, okay?”
I nodded at my beautiful grandmother.
She slapped me upside my head.
“If you spout any of that bullshit to me ever again, I will tan your hide, you hear me? You need to get over yourself and stop being a whiny little bitch. If he sees something in you that the rest of us have seen for years, then God almighty, you better be giving it as good as you get.”
“Ow,” I mumbled.
She rolled her eyes. “Don’t be such a baby."
and the homophobic parrot Johnny Depp
“Fairy!” Johnny Depp told me. He sat in a large cage in the corner, his gorgeous plumage hiding his evil, beating heart. He glared at me as I entered the room, clicking his claws against the wooden beam as he moved closer. “Don’t put your finger in my bum!”
***********************************************************************
Most of the story was hilarious, but at the end it turned surprisingly serious. I bawled my eyes out. is a sore spot. I felt , and reading about .
Some negative points though.
Paul did some stupid things, but something really pissed me off. I can't believe Paul ! Waay out of line I think. I was so angry with him, I can understand Vince's reaction. And Paul's , that was lame reading I think.
But still, this book...
Very worth reading! :D
ps. if you liked/loved Tell me it's real, you also should check out Slam!
It's in the same Laugh My Ass Off category. There's even a dog in that story as well. His name is Bubbles. "Bubbles by name, bubbles for brains." LOL!
March 6, 2013
I adored this book. If there were an annual MMOscars, I'd start a volunteer fan group to promote this title. It made me laugh often and hard. It gave my highlighting finger carpel-tunnel.
The snarky voice of the narration would often digress upon digressions, to the point where I could see how it might annoy some of the readers who gave this book a lower rating. But for me, the flights of fancy the narrator went on was all part of the charm of the character, and hilarious to boot.
If I had one small nit with the book, it's that all the characters were equally, brilliantly snarky. The mom, dad and grandma all had at least modestly unique voices, and even if they were as snarky as the narrator, you could consider it a family trait. But Vince also soon started sounding a lot like the (smart, snarky) narrator, even though he was supposed to be not very bright. However, it would be churlish to complain about that when the dialogue is so freaking entertaining.
It's a gift to be able to make people laugh, so I give T.J. Klune all the props in the world for that. Thank you! I expect there's a sequel planned for Sandy/Darren. Yes, please!
The snarky voice of the narration would often digress upon digressions, to the point where I could see how it might annoy some of the readers who gave this book a lower rating. But for me, the flights of fancy the narrator went on was all part of the charm of the character, and hilarious to boot.
If I had one small nit with the book, it's that all the characters were equally, brilliantly snarky. The mom, dad and grandma all had at least modestly unique voices, and even if they were as snarky as the narrator, you could consider it a family trait. But Vince also soon started sounding a lot like the (smart, snarky) narrator, even though he was supposed to be not very bright. However, it would be churlish to complain about that when the dialogue is so freaking entertaining.
It's a gift to be able to make people laugh, so I give T.J. Klune all the props in the world for that. Thank you! I expect there's a sequel planned for Sandy/Darren. Yes, please!
August 31, 2016
4/9/14
I just realized I never wrote a review for this book!
I'll just answer a few quick questions:
Did it make me cry?
Did I laugh?
Smut index:
Not too high but that's ok. This story has so much more to offer!
Should you read this?
This is such an endearing book with a wonderful group of characters! This is an easy one to rate: 5+ Stars ♥
***********
2/4/14
LOVED this to bits! Review to come!
I just realized I never wrote a review for this book!
I'll just answer a few quick questions:
Did it make me cry?
Did I laugh?
Smut index:
Not too high but that's ok. This story has so much more to offer!
Should you read this?
This is such an endearing book with a wonderful group of characters! This is an easy one to rate: 5+ Stars ♥
***********
2/4/14
LOVED this to bits! Review to come!
February 28, 2013
I loved this book, I loved the rambling, and I loved Paul. I also loved his family, Sandy, and of course Vince and also Darren. When a book makes you laugh out loud, you know you picked up a winner.
April 30, 2014
♥♥♥ 5 "HI-larious and Real" Stars ♥♥♥
● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
"Sometimes I wonder if you should be on medication," Charlie said. "It can't be healthy to have you thinking all by yourself without some kind of pharmaceutical intervention."
● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
Oh, how I loved this book. I loved it to pieces!! It was just so perfect to me. I kind of want to marry this book and all the characters in it, it was that good. Just a warning to all those who are considering this as a future read...DO NOT READ IT IN PUBLIC!! Trust me...unless you want to get stared at like some weirdo, then by all means do it, if that's your kink. Oh yeah, and DO NOT DRINK WHILE READING THIS!! There was a moment my life flashed before my eyes and I thought I would for sure die from choking on my water. Not fun.
● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
"I get what I want. You better be ready, Paul."
"That's just...well, I never. I don't even...who does he think he is? Tasting like coffee and...bastard...this is my work...running out of Post-its and shit. I'll show you until five o'clock on Wednesday. I don't need no man. Fucking Kelly Clarkson. She ruins everything It's not going to happen, Paul. Not going to happen. Oh sweat balls."
● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
I was 1% into this book, and already it had me laughing like a loon. I love the funny inner monologues that Paul had. Like I said before, my laughter garnered a lot of attention from family and co-workers. And of course when they ask what is so damn funny, I'm not about to tell them what it involves!!...Like a huge black dildo, or a menstruating ghost, or sex faces for example. Yeah, then they would for sure think I was weird...which I'm not...much.
● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
"It was as if God himself saw that my intention was to make my outer self match my inner fabulosity and didn't think the world could handle such an explosion of amazingness. So instead of letting me get to the gym where I would have transformed myself into a walking sex god, he created a Dunkin' Donuts out of nothing and then gave them away for free. I didn't make it to the gym. I had a bear claw instead. And a maple bar. And some donut holes. And then some more donut holes."
● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
Paul was an insecure because he doesn't have the physique of a male runway model. He complains a lot, is sarcastic, a cynic, and just says things that pops into his brain. He also rambles a lot. He was so funny and entertaining, and he just didn't see that. He is also a big klutz, who has unfortunate things happen to him...constantly. But, he is smooth-ish when it comes to recovering from those things. He is also quite dramatic and freaks out easily. All those things were what I really liked about him. See, how wonderful he is? Okay...he also has a big heart, happy? Oh, and he thinks Vince is "Freddy Prinze Junioring" him, it's a real word.
● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
"You may as well just say yes. I saved your life, and that means you belong to me now. I'm totally going to Freddie Prinze Junior you so hard later."
"That's not what that means!" I shouted after him, causing people to stare at me like I was the ridiculous one. "You don't get to make it sound dirty and hot!"
● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
Then there is Vince. He was smoking hot jock with abs made for doing laundry. He was everything Paul wasn't. Vince was incessant in his pursuit for Paul. Sometimes it was hard to understand Vince, but the more you read, the more you got him and how genuine he was. He wasn't the brightest bulb but he was loving and sweet to Paul. He even made me swoon so hard at one point. He was also an animal whisperer, I think, because of how easily he bonded to Paul's two legged dog named Wheels, and the homophobic parrot named Johnny Depp. Together, Paul and Vince were just perfect for each other.
● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
"Isn't it obvious? Vince is the Dominant and Paul is his submissive. Look how Vince is holding onto him like he owns him. It was probably just from a rough scene in Vince's playroom. Vince may have made him pretend to be a pony, like on that one HBO show that we watched. You remember? Where that one man put that bit in the other man's mouth and made him wear a saddle? We promised ourselves we'd always support Paul with whatever he chose to be. It just so happens he's kinky. We'll support him not matter what."
My father nodded as if this made complete sense. "You a pony, son?" he asked me.
● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
This book was just amazing. I can't stop saying how I laughed so hard I almost peed myself--which I was glad I had the forethought of wearing a pair of Depends for just the occasion. I loved the secondary characters like Paul's sassy best friend/queen Sandy, his parents that shared too much information, his rude grandma Nana, and even Darren. I also loved the lessons learned here, because believe it or not, there was one in here mixed with all the humour and craziness. I loved it all.
● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
"Because sometimes it’s about letting go of what your mind tells you and following what your heart shows you instead. That’s how you know it will always be real."
● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
Near the end, things got a bit emotional and I teared up bad, some even falling down my cheeks. It was painful but I loved how strong and more secure Paul became. I loved how things concluded for Paul and Vince. I was all warm and tingly and smiling so big. It was beautiful!! I completely adored this book and definitely recommend you give this a try. Especially if you want a light funny read. Don't let the cover dissuade you, because this was freaking brilliant!!
September 25, 2017
This was my first TJ Klune book. So I have now popped my cherry. And it was delicious. I laughed a lot. I cried a little. And I had those aww moments with a big old silly grin included.
Let me tell you what I learned from this book.
Sometimes you need to believe in ghosts.
Everyone should read Dr Seuss.
There are just some things you don’t ask your friends to do.
Don't forge someone else's name.
- Everyone needs a nana.
There’s a time and place for everything.
Never jump to conclusions.
Sometimes we just need reassurance.
You never know when you'll fall in love.
How you know it’s real.
Let me tell you what I learned from this book.
Sometimes you need to believe in ghosts.
"I felt bad that I was going to ruin his joy of my fake period ghost. “No,” I said, and his face fell. “But that doesn’t mean she’s not there!” Now all I wanted was to see the vaginal-bleeding ghost in my house just to make him happy again. What’s a little spectral menstrual blood when a hot guy is smiling at you?”
Everyone should read Dr Seuss.
There was a pause. “I still have spunk in my junk,” he finally said. “You’re like a dirty Dr. Seuss.” “I’ll do you on the grass. I’ll do you during mass.” “No thanks. I think I’ll take a pass.” Dammit! Stop rhyming! He snorted. “You just want a piece of my ass.” Believe in a higher power.
"It was at that time I learned Vince liked to wear a black jock under his bike shorts. It was also at this time that I found out that I really enjoyed black jock straps. Like intensely enjoyed them. To the point that I was sure God himself had come down from heaven and said, “Here, my son, I’ve brought you a gift. Check out that sweet ass framed by black straps. You’re welcome.”
There are just some things you don’t ask your friends to do.
"Friendship should never be about asking your friend to hold your balls out of the way so you can shave your taint.” Don’t piss off your waiter who’s been eye-fucking your man.
"Keep your fucking voice down,” I hissed at him, looking around to see if Santiago was listening in, trying to eavesdrop for the intel he could use to tear me away from Vince like some Victorian heroine. I saw the top of his perfectly manufactured head through the window near the kitchen, and I wondered if he was pulling out his pubes one by one in preparation for when we ordered”
Don't forge someone else's name.
“That’s a federal crime,” I told him. “Punishable by three to five years in a minimum-security prison. You’ll get passed around like condiments at a barbeque”
- Everyone needs a nana.
“Don’t be such a baby. There’s too many other people in the world who want nothing more than to kick you when you’re down. Don’t you dare do that job for them.”
There’s a time and place for everything.
“Because we still have to have dinner with my fucking parents. I don’t want to do that sitting in my own spunk. And besides, having sex at my grandma’s house is not one of the things I wanted to do before I die.”
Never jump to conclusions.
“…maybe he and Darren have been together for twelve years and I was meant to be a present for Darren’s birthday and we’re going to have a threesome and then they’ll throw me to the curb like a box of unwanted newborn kittens before they go back to their lives, where they’re planning on adopting a Croatian baby named Braslav.”
Sometimes we just need reassurance.
“Vince?” “Yeah?” “Is this for real?” “What?” “You know.” I swallowed. “You and me.” No hesitation. “It is.” “Okay.” He watched me. “If you need me to, I’ll tell you every day it’s real.”"Okay.” “It’s real.”
You never know when you'll fall in love.
"You just watched a YouTube video of me falling into a hippo exhibit at the zoo and swallowing hippo-shit water and now you’re halfway to being in love with me after knowing me for only a few days?”
How you know it’s real.
“…sometimes it’s about letting go of what your mind tells you and following what your heart shows you instead. That’s how you know it will always be real.”
March 14, 2022
2022 audio
I needed a comfort read to get me my reading MOJO back. Le sigh, love these guys.
2020 audio
I missed them. 😢 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
2018 audio
Yep, TJ did it again. This was hilarious!! I listened to the audio and thankfully was never in front of people. I was always in my car or home, so I could laugh as loud as I wanted!!
What else can I say that other's haven't already said? This was cute, funny, sweet, sad, tender, LOL, and yes improbable. The characters were of course over the top, but TJ does this in a way that makes it ok. I don't know how he does this, maybe he has super powers? Anyway, Vince and Paul and Sandy, and everybody else were too much and I loved it!! I do recommend this story and of course a fan of TJ's won't let this one pass them by for long. I myself am trying to spread them out so I don't run out of books to read/listen to. I just don't want the magic to end. :)
I needed a comfort read to get me my reading MOJO back. Le sigh, love these guys.
2020 audio
I missed them. 😢 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
2018 audio
Yep, TJ did it again. This was hilarious!! I listened to the audio and thankfully was never in front of people. I was always in my car or home, so I could laugh as loud as I wanted!!
What else can I say that other's haven't already said? This was cute, funny, sweet, sad, tender, LOL, and yes improbable. The characters were of course over the top, but TJ does this in a way that makes it ok. I don't know how he does this, maybe he has super powers? Anyway, Vince and Paul and Sandy, and everybody else were too much and I loved it!! I do recommend this story and of course a fan of TJ's won't let this one pass them by for long. I myself am trying to spread them out so I don't run out of books to read/listen to. I just don't want the magic to end. :)
June 4, 2016
This book had me snorting with laughter, some real funny lines. I was also in tears by the end. A longish m/m novel written by a male author for a change. Told in the first person from Paul Auster's pov throughout.
"Okay, that'll be $1,976.25."
"The fuck you talking about," I shouted at her. She recoiled as if I'd slapped her. Everyone in the store stared at me.
"Sorry," I said quickly. "I was startled. I thought you said that bike was over nineteen hundred dollars."
She nodded slowly. "It is?"
"For a bike? I didn't put that much down when I bought my car!"
"It's a 2012 Diamondback Podium 3 road bike," she said as if that explained everything.
"I bought a Prius," I said as if that made everything better.
"These things can be expensive."
"Is it made of blood diamonds?" I asked incredulously. "Did children forced to work in deep, dark mines dig up the diamonds with their bare, bleeding hands?"
"Okay, that'll be $1,976.25."
"The fuck you talking about," I shouted at her. She recoiled as if I'd slapped her. Everyone in the store stared at me.
"Sorry," I said quickly. "I was startled. I thought you said that bike was over nineteen hundred dollars."
She nodded slowly. "It is?"
"For a bike? I didn't put that much down when I bought my car!"
"It's a 2012 Diamondback Podium 3 road bike," she said as if that explained everything.
"I bought a Prius," I said as if that made everything better.
"These things can be expensive."
"Is it made of blood diamonds?" I asked incredulously. "Did children forced to work in deep, dark mines dig up the diamonds with their bare, bleeding hands?"
January 1, 2024
TL;DR Grow up.
Partial CWs for: jokes about lack of manliness means you're a vagina, Taiwanese eating dogs jokes, Chinese jokes, Mexican jokes with ponchos, sombreros and big mustaches, multiple jokes about black women so sassy, racial profiling jokes, post-op transgender jokes "menstrual ghosts", misgendering because you're still a woman "even if you have an artificially constructed penis", too many jokes about Asia to count although fortune cookies is a big one (knowing different countries in Asia is hard and they "speak Asian")
>and had probably missed meeting the man who would undoubtedly be the love my life but was now probably waking up in Bear Dude’s bed, all because I was a gigantic vagina.
>It was a good thing I never wanted to play baseball, because I threw like a girl. Who didn’t have arms.
>I was pretty sure I was about to flop my vagina on the table.
>For all I knew, maybe he was bisexual and he’d have both Brittany and Tad at the same time (which did nothing to help my overactive imagination, and I quickly had to curtail those thoughts because even though I hated their stupid faces, the idea was still kind of hot. Except for the part with the vagina).
>and I got kind of grossed out because vaginas have more folds than a pile of laundry.
>But then he started to move his lips over mine and my eyes started to flutter closed like I was some kind of goddamn teenage girl.
>Jesus, I’m such a fucking girl sometimes.
>I am a walking vagina.”
>One who would pick me up with his massive arms and cradle me against his chest and tell me, in varying accents (sometimes he was Cuban and other times Chinese—I didn’t use the Chinese one too often because I couldn’t stop giggling at the Chinese voice I’d hear in my head. Don’t ask me to do it. It’s way wrong.)
>The lady at the front desk asked me calmly if I was part of a dog-fighting ring. I felt properly rebuked and apologized, telling her no, I just needed a dog to live with me and my menstrual ghost. She must have thought the phrase menstrual ghost was somehow referring to me because she asked if I was pre-op or post-op transgender. I almost reached over and plucked the two gross black hairs growing out of her chin.
>But she looked so pleased with herself that she was showing the world how open-minded she was that I couldn’t bear to rip out those gnarly hairs or break her heart, so I told her I was post-op and that my name used to be Chaz Bono and that I missed my menstrual cycle more than I thought I would. She reached over and rubbed my arm soothingly and told me she’d help me find an “animal companion” to help me forget all about the vaginal bleeding. “After all,” she said, laughing, “we women have to stick together, even if one of us has an artificially constructed penis now. Girl power!”
>“Hello?” I said to the pretty black woman at the front desk at the hospital a couple hours later. I couldn’t help but think that if this were a TV show, she’d be the sassy black nurse that always had something funny to say before dispensing pearls of wisdom.
>I couldn’t help but grin. “I knew you’d be the sassy black nurse.”“Now you racial profilin’ me?” she huffed. “Just because I’m black doesn’t mean I’m gonna be sassy, you hear me, cornbread brother lover?”
>Yeah, but when we go on vacation in Asia. They eat jellyfish there That’s disgusting U could eat one and get stung and then I’d pee in ur mouth You are so fucking gross. I’m not going to Asia with you
>“Will you look up the nearest Taiwanese restaurant for me?”“Of course, Paul. Can I ask why?”“You may. I’d like to see if they would buy my dog.”“Wheels, Paul? You want to sell your dog?”“Yes, Sandy. To a Taiwanese restaurant. So they may cook him and serve him to a table of four. I may even give him up for free.”“Table of four. Got it.”
>“They’re just messing with you, sugar,” Helena said to Vince. “Paul doesn’t do stuff like spanking. His idea of kink is having a gang bang with six black guys who have names like D’Wayne and The Dominator.”
>And I’m pretty sure that my ancestors once owned slaves and we’ve never made reparations for that, so my family is probably cursed by some ancient form of African voodoo magic. So… you know.”
>“No. Paul made the very good point that most likely someone else’s balls or vagina had been smooshed in that before I got my hands on it, and I couldn’t in good faith wear it without getting grossed out.”“Oh, man,” Dad groaned. “Maybe I should be a homosexual. Smooshed vagina? No offense, Matty, but yuck.”
>“We’re going to Asia?”“Parts of it, but yeah. You and me. Three whole weeks.”“Do you think we could go see the fortune-cookie factories?”“Sure,” I said, even if I didn’t know if those were real things in Asia. If they weren’t, I’d hunt around until I found one just so he could see it. Who cared if his dreams were weird? They were starting to become mine too.
Partial CWs for: jokes about lack of manliness means you're a vagina, Taiwanese eating dogs jokes, Chinese jokes, Mexican jokes with ponchos, sombreros and big mustaches, multiple jokes about black women so sassy, racial profiling jokes, post-op transgender jokes "menstrual ghosts", misgendering because you're still a woman "even if you have an artificially constructed penis", too many jokes about Asia to count although fortune cookies is a big one (knowing different countries in Asia is hard and they "speak Asian")
>and had probably missed meeting the man who would undoubtedly be the love my life but was now probably waking up in Bear Dude’s bed, all because I was a gigantic vagina.
>It was a good thing I never wanted to play baseball, because I threw like a girl. Who didn’t have arms.
>I was pretty sure I was about to flop my vagina on the table.
>For all I knew, maybe he was bisexual and he’d have both Brittany and Tad at the same time (which did nothing to help my overactive imagination, and I quickly had to curtail those thoughts because even though I hated their stupid faces, the idea was still kind of hot. Except for the part with the vagina).
>and I got kind of grossed out because vaginas have more folds than a pile of laundry.
>But then he started to move his lips over mine and my eyes started to flutter closed like I was some kind of goddamn teenage girl.
>Jesus, I’m such a fucking girl sometimes.
>I am a walking vagina.”
>One who would pick me up with his massive arms and cradle me against his chest and tell me, in varying accents (sometimes he was Cuban and other times Chinese—I didn’t use the Chinese one too often because I couldn’t stop giggling at the Chinese voice I’d hear in my head. Don’t ask me to do it. It’s way wrong.)
>The lady at the front desk asked me calmly if I was part of a dog-fighting ring. I felt properly rebuked and apologized, telling her no, I just needed a dog to live with me and my menstrual ghost. She must have thought the phrase menstrual ghost was somehow referring to me because she asked if I was pre-op or post-op transgender. I almost reached over and plucked the two gross black hairs growing out of her chin.
>But she looked so pleased with herself that she was showing the world how open-minded she was that I couldn’t bear to rip out those gnarly hairs or break her heart, so I told her I was post-op and that my name used to be Chaz Bono and that I missed my menstrual cycle more than I thought I would. She reached over and rubbed my arm soothingly and told me she’d help me find an “animal companion” to help me forget all about the vaginal bleeding. “After all,” she said, laughing, “we women have to stick together, even if one of us has an artificially constructed penis now. Girl power!”
>“Hello?” I said to the pretty black woman at the front desk at the hospital a couple hours later. I couldn’t help but think that if this were a TV show, she’d be the sassy black nurse that always had something funny to say before dispensing pearls of wisdom.
>I couldn’t help but grin. “I knew you’d be the sassy black nurse.”“Now you racial profilin’ me?” she huffed. “Just because I’m black doesn’t mean I’m gonna be sassy, you hear me, cornbread brother lover?”
>Yeah, but when we go on vacation in Asia. They eat jellyfish there That’s disgusting U could eat one and get stung and then I’d pee in ur mouth You are so fucking gross. I’m not going to Asia with you
>“Will you look up the nearest Taiwanese restaurant for me?”“Of course, Paul. Can I ask why?”“You may. I’d like to see if they would buy my dog.”“Wheels, Paul? You want to sell your dog?”“Yes, Sandy. To a Taiwanese restaurant. So they may cook him and serve him to a table of four. I may even give him up for free.”“Table of four. Got it.”
>“They’re just messing with you, sugar,” Helena said to Vince. “Paul doesn’t do stuff like spanking. His idea of kink is having a gang bang with six black guys who have names like D’Wayne and The Dominator.”
>And I’m pretty sure that my ancestors once owned slaves and we’ve never made reparations for that, so my family is probably cursed by some ancient form of African voodoo magic. So… you know.”
>“No. Paul made the very good point that most likely someone else’s balls or vagina had been smooshed in that before I got my hands on it, and I couldn’t in good faith wear it without getting grossed out.”“Oh, man,” Dad groaned. “Maybe I should be a homosexual. Smooshed vagina? No offense, Matty, but yuck.”
>“We’re going to Asia?”“Parts of it, but yeah. You and me. Three whole weeks.”“Do you think we could go see the fortune-cookie factories?”“Sure,” I said, even if I didn’t know if those were real things in Asia. If they weren’t, I’d hunt around until I found one just so he could see it. Who cared if his dreams were weird? They were starting to become mine too.
April 15, 2014
This book is AWESOME!
The premise is adorable and every single one of the characters is sweet, endearing, ridiculously over the top, and fucking hilarious. Seriously, Tell Me It's Real is hands down the funniest book I have ever read in my entire life. I'm fairly certain that I laughed at something on every single page (except for the handful of pages where I was crying big, sappy tears).
If you haven't read this book yet, consider yourself forewarned: DO NOT EAT OR DRINK WHILE READING THIS BOOK. You will laugh, choke, and potentially die. Or, you know, give your laptop a coffee spitbath like I did. Twice. Okay... three times. (I'm definitely more of a Paul than a Vince)
The premise is adorable and every single one of the characters is sweet, endearing, ridiculously over the top, and fucking hilarious. Seriously, Tell Me It's Real is hands down the funniest book I have ever read in my entire life. I'm fairly certain that I laughed at something on every single page (except for the handful of pages where I was crying big, sappy tears).
If you haven't read this book yet, consider yourself forewarned: DO NOT EAT OR DRINK WHILE READING THIS BOOK. You will laugh, choke, and potentially die. Or, you know, give your laptop a coffee spitbath like I did. Twice. Okay... three times. (I'm definitely more of a Paul than a Vince)
April 18, 2014
It's not easy to review this book!!! It's not!!! Mostly because I don't want to spoil anything! I want everyone, who like to laugh and that enjoy a great romantic comedy, read this book!
When I saw the movie Hangover for the first time, I almost suffocated laughing, I couldn't breath and my eyes were crying because I couldn't control myself! Well, that was what happened while I was reading Tell Me It's Real! This book is insanely hilarious, crazy and at the same time, very romantic!!!
What you will find? A intelligent writing, a clever sense of humour, surprising characters, crazy minds... crazy animals, and romance!
You will meet Paul, and you will find that in his head there is a all new world (he has a special tendency to Mexico)! You will meet his loving family, his father and mother, and his very special Nana! You will meet Sandy/Helena, his best friend!!! And you will know better Vince! The man that turned his life upside down! Of course there are two special characters that you will adore: Wheels and Johnny Depp!!! That's right!!!
But most of all, you will be reading a great book, and you will see how impressive it is that in the middle of so much crazyness and laugh, there are serious feelings and real emotions...
How I wish someone would made a movie with this script!!!
A fabulous BR with amazing friends HERE
When I saw the movie Hangover for the first time, I almost suffocated laughing, I couldn't breath and my eyes were crying because I couldn't control myself! Well, that was what happened while I was reading Tell Me It's Real! This book is insanely hilarious, crazy and at the same time, very romantic!!!
What you will find? A intelligent writing, a clever sense of humour, surprising characters, crazy minds... crazy animals, and romance!
You will meet Paul, and you will find that in his head there is a all new world (he has a special tendency to Mexico)! You will meet his loving family, his father and mother, and his very special Nana! You will meet Sandy/Helena, his best friend!!! And you will know better Vince! The man that turned his life upside down! Of course there are two special characters that you will adore: Wheels and Johnny Depp!!! That's right!!!
But most of all, you will be reading a great book, and you will see how impressive it is that in the middle of so much crazyness and laugh, there are serious feelings and real emotions...
How I wish someone would made a movie with this script!!!
A fabulous BR with amazing friends HERE
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,494 reviews