What's in a Name?

Foothills Pride #1

by Pat Henshaw

Barista Jimmy Patterson thinks it's a good idea to get rip-roaring drunk on his birthday after he’s dumped by his boyfriend. When the burly owner of Stonewall’s Saloon rescues Jimmy, the night starts to look up.

Now Jimmy just wants to know the bartender's first name since he's worn a different name tag every time Jimmy's seen him. "Guy" Stone gives Jimmy seven guesses, one for each night he takes Jimmy out on a date.

While Jimmy’s trying to come up with his name, he's distracted by the destruction of his coffee shop and what looks more and more like a hate crime.

Genres: M M Romance, Romance, Contemporary, Gay, Novella, LGBT, Short Stories

90 pages, ebook

First published January 21, 2015

About the author

Pat has lived on both coasts and in the middle of the United States. Pat’s been a book reviewer for too many years to count as well as an English composition instructor and theatrical costumer. Places visited include Canada, Mexico, Europe, Egypt, Nicaragua, and Thailand. Pat's found that people everywhere are remarkably similar.

See Pat Henshaw.

Reviews

[~✡~Dαni(ela) ♥ ♂♂ love & semi-colons~✡~ · Rating 1 out of 5]

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, and I really dislike trashing new authors right out of the gate, but this book was like a manual of How Not to Write Your First M/M Romance Novel:

1. Do not have your MCs fall in love and become boyfriends within one week.

2. Go beyond stereotypes. The big bear daddy doesn't need to ride a bike AND own a bar. The twink doesn't need to cower behind said bear daddy at every interaction.

3. The ex can be a bad guy, but he does not need to be a psychopath.



4. If you choose to include a psychopathic ex, do not include the evil homophobe too.

5. If your story is only 80 pages long and doesn't develop the MCs beyond shadow puppets, limit the number of secondary characters you add.

6. Vandalism is not a necessary plot component.

7. Sex, or at least some kissing or petting, is a PLUS for most readers. And if you don't include steam, knock the plot and character development out of the park. If you don't have plot or porn, you got nothin'.

This book, this book, you guys. It was just SO BAD on every front.



And the whole guessing the name thing? Silly and contrived.

Jimmy (whose full name is King James *ding, ding*; LOOK: it's a clue!) doesn't take real guesses, and Guy's big name reveal on the last page of the book made me want to scream. I may have sobbed a little. Because. Stupid.

I didn't think the book could get any worse. And then it did.

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

A Barista walks into a bar...
I have to admit I thought this one sounded interesting. The premise was cute. It's Jimmy's birthday and he decides to get drunk, his boyfriend decides to get laid...just maybe not by Jimmy. The bartender whose been watching Jimmy for a while now decides it's time to make his move since said boyfriend has left the bar with someone else. Jimmy wants to know the bartender's name, bartender then decides to make this a challenge because he wants to spend more time with Jimmy. Add in some work related trouble for Jimmy and his bestfriend and partner Felicity and things are looking interesting...wait let's not stop there...let's make the ex-boyfriend a total nutbar and add a homophobe or two, a bagful of idiots, some dumb as a post law enforcement and bad guys...I know throw in some instalove/lust, we'll make Jimmy a bit of a whimp (turns out Jimmy knows karate, he just didn't get to use it), ...you see where this is going right? We're developing a laundry list. So needless to say like the laundry the focus on this one got a little scattered.

I actually liked the 'guess my name' part of this story or I would have if it had been done differently. I mean seriously 'guess my name and I'll buy you a motorcycle?' really? WTF? and I'll give you a week to figure it out in? and if you're wrong I get a kiss and apparently we're now joined at the hip...sorry this just went south real quick.

I've had this book for a while now and when the opportunity presented itself to me to listen to the audio book I figured why not and now I'm kinda' wondering why?

Sadly along with the laundry list of things already mentioned as to why I didn't enjoy this book is the fact that when Jimmy confronted his nutbar ex, said ex called him a stupid c*nt...really? why? why is it that you're insulting another man and the first that comes to mind is female anatomy? why isn't he a stupid dick, or a useless dick (I'm pretty sure he qualified for this one). I admit it this is a bit of a pet peeve for me. One that I haven't encountered in quite a while.

As for the audio portion of this review, it just didn't work for me. I couldn't put the correct visual to the voices that I was hearing. I'm not saying they were bad, just that they didn't work for me and if I'm going to listen to an audio book with a big, motorcycle riding bear in it I need a voice that brings that image to my mind. I need him to sound like
Dwayne Johnson, because seriously when I read that description that's who came to mind...
until I heard the voice and then it was...

Sean Hayes don't get me wrong I love Sean Hayes
I'm sure he's a really nice guy and I know he's funny. But he's not my image of a kick ass biker dude/bar owner and his voice doesn't conjure that image but Dwayne Johnson head to toe, voice included gives me the full package and that may not be the case for everyone but it was for me.

Actually, Sean Hayes would have been a good Jimmy for me. So yeah, if these two had done the audio book I probably would have liked it a whole lot more. But they didn't and the voices that I got didn't work...end of story.

David Ross was the narrator on this one and I honestly think different voices/characters and he would do a good job, I'm certainly willing to give him another listen on something else in the future and I've peeked at the reviews for book 2 on this series and it's looking a little better so I may give book 2 a chance as well, only this time I think I'll just read the book.

********************
An Audiobook of 'What's In A Name?' was graciously provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[Katrina Passick Lumsden · Rating 1 out of 5]

It actually had nothing to hold my interest. No cohesive plot, no character development, no romantic buildup, no humor, no chemistry, no sex. None. Not even descriptive cuddling.

Nothing.

So what was the point? I guess the point was to meander aimlessly and stumble upon a few stereotypes along the way. The "bear" owns a bar and rides a motorcycle, the twink cowers and simpers and is pathetic and weak and oh yeah, is a coffee snob. The best friend is spunky and cute and adorable, but also a fierce business woman, some of the townsfolk are raging homophobes who do everything short of actually screaming, "We don't take kindly to yer kind 'round here!" And the ex is a slutty, raging psycho.

The name guessing was just plain stupid. I guessed it on their third night, but since Jimmy (aka King James) is a complete and utter moron, he never does, just happens to luckily stumble upon it at the end.

But there's always at least one line that makes me giggle. This book's highlight:

"His body was taunt and ready to snap."

I think the thing I enjoyed the most was that Jimmy was constantly in the dark and asking the people around him what was going on.

Right there with ya, Big Jim. Right there with ya.

[⚣Michaelle⚣ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.0 Stars

I listened to this for BINGO and for it to count there has to be some sort of review that consist of more than just, "I liked it" or "It sucked." So...I'm gonna say it was just kind of "Meh." Not the boring "meh" but the average "meh."

There are lots of interesting books that don't have any on-page sex but this was so heavily suggestive at first that when it didn't get detailed I was a little puzzled. But I was willing to roll with that...until everything just sort of got thrown into this story. Homophobic townsfolk, a psycho ex, a high-school kid with a crush, some destructive bullies and an (off-page) gay biker gang. Oh and let's not forget the "supportive" (white?) wives of the 'phobes - whose sole purpose seemed to be to validate the existence of the gay coffeeshop owner and his plans to expand while admonishing their hubbies for being mean to him and his boyfriend. Whatever would those poor gay boys do without their support? [/sarcasm] *eyeroll*

I did like the Sheriff; given the way some of the town "leaders" acted I was worried he'd be a typical good ole boy; glad I was wrong.

And while the name-game was sort of humorous...I just couldn't with that reveal. Seriously? Prince Charming? So that would make the MCs Prince and King (for King James, Jimmy's real name)? JFK. *eyeroll* Talk about cheesy...

[Joyfully Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Joyfully Jay review.

3.75 stars

So this is a cute story about a twinky guy and a hunky bear who fall for each other. They have gotten to know each other without really realizing it over all the nights Jimmy and Alex are in the bar and Alex is off flirting with others. So when Jimmy and Alex break up, the relationship with Guy finally takes a turn from friendship to something more romantic. There is some definite playfulness here with Guy refusing to tell Jimmy his real name, and the guys have a little bet Rumplestilskin style about whether Jimmy can guess it in a week. I found this part of the story to be entertaining and enjoyable. The guys move from friends to in love pretty fast, but they do have the long friendship to support it and I thought they were cute together. So this part of the story worked well for me.

Where I struggled somewhat is the change partway through from this sort of light, romantic comedy to suddenly this new focus on homophobic business owners and bat wielding thugs. It just felt out of nowhere. Jimmy signs the papers on the new shop and suddenly he is being threatened. Apparently there is a brutish council member who is not interested in more gay businesses and suddenly there is this battle going on between those that support Jimmy and guys who want to see him gone. I just found it all kind of strange. I mean, first off, Guy knows all about these problems with our bad guy, and yet he doesn’t say anything to Jimmy at all when he hears Jimmy is going to buy the store. Why not warn him? Not to mention Guy and seemingly many others are aware of this issue, yet Jimmy has no idea, despite already being a small business owner in the town. And it is not super clear why the haters even care. It is coffee shop, not a gay bar. There is no reason to think his shop will attract more gays than any other downtown business. The events all just seemed kind of over the top and out of nowhere and perhaps just a little contrived feeling to set up the conflict. There is also this kind of weird “isn’t Jimmy wonderful” vibe going on with everyone on the other side of the fight. I just felt like this portion of the story felt a little off to me and it took the book in a direction very different from the initial set up. We went from this rom com, guess my name kind of thing to a town divided. And then when we find out who is actually behind the attack and why, it felt even more over the top.

Read Jay’s review in its entirety here.

[Cindi · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars



Full review can be found at -



I tried to summarize this for Goodreads, but couldn't do it. While the story isn't horrible, it is extremely unrealistic and full of clichés that got tiring after awhile. While not full-on insta-love (Jimmy and Guy had become friends over a period of months at a bar Guy owns), the relationship happens entirely too quickly in my opinion. It went from Jimmy being dumped by Alex to him practically living with Guy in a span of 24 hours. There's also a thing in regards to Guy's real name. The blurb explains that so I'm not going to. I will say this - it took me next to no time to figure out his name and who the so-called bad guy is in the book.

Cute story, but extremely predictable and full of pretty much every stereotype you can imagine. This is one of those cases when I really wish that Goodreads had half stars.



This book was provided by the author in exchange for a fair and honest review.

[namericanwordcat · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are seeds of a good book in here. I didn't not enjoy it but the plot took the easy way out too many times and several ideas were undeveloped.

Here is what I liked: The setting in the foothills of the Sierra's during the migration out of the Bay Area for a portion of the queer community. The heroes are kind. I like that even though this romance is super fast, they have really been falling in love for months. I like the friends and businesses.

The wish fulfillment of dating and courting is a bit saccharine but I enjoy that sometimes. The villains are cartoonish--especially the ex boyfriend.

If the characters had been more developed, out side of the Twink and the Bear, then the book's plot would have been driven more by internal factors rather than a bit manic external ones.

The sex is off page. I don't mind that but sex scenes based in their character would have let us seem them intimately and moved the romance plot forward in ways that this book lacked.

I liked the writing so I will try again with this author.

[Dutchgirl · Rating 1 out of 5]

What can i say i think this is one of the worst books i have ever read. The main characters have no chemistry and aren't really developed, this story is very shallow. There are to many secondary characters and secondary plots for such a short story. We do get the name of "guy" at the end of the book and let met tell you it is ridiculous.

I just hope Dreamspinner will be screening their authors/books better next time. because this book wasn't worth the money i paid and i'm really mad about it. I´ve deleted it from my e-reader.

[Blue Bayou . · Rating 2 out of 5]

Total clean fluff.
Not really good fluff. No humor. No sex. No real story. The vilans are goofy and there is a 'murder of wives' that come to the aid of the gays. I'm not sure that's good, bad or what really. Not insta love but then again it was insta love, sorta. It ( install love ) was commented on at the end but because there is no back story beyond the first 5-10 pages...doesn't work.
I did not see any editing issues. There that's something positive.

[Gigi]

Poor reviews.

[Maryann Kafka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pat Henshaw first entertained me with this sweet, funny and a little bit of drama, 2015 novella “What’s In A Name”. The story introduced two very opposite characters in Jimmy Patterson a barista and “Guy” Stone the bartender.

This isn’t Jimmy’s first time at the Stonewall Saloon, but it’s the first time to celebrate his thirtieth birthday. He’s made one mistake already and that’s being involved with a cheating boyfriend. Mistake number two, is feeling sorry for himself and tying-one-on.

Luckily for Jimmy, Guy winds up being more than a bartender to talk too. Guy knows when Jimmy needs to be cut-off and goes above and beyond to take care of Jimmy.

As Jimmy and Guy get to know one another they realize that they’ve actually known each other for some time now. When they officially start to date they find more things in common and what’s important in a relationship. As they date, there’s a little fun between them as Jimmy tries to guess Guy’s real name.

Unfortunately, the small Sierra community still has its issues with intolerance, from threats to serious danger, Jimmy and Guy find a way to work through it all.

Pat Henshaw also brings the Sierra Foothills alive with her colorful descriptions of the area. She gives an in-depth look into Guy and the history behind Old Town, the Stonewall Saloon and how it all connects. Besides Jimmy and Guy she creates some other characters like: Felicity co-owner of Penny’s coffee shop and best friend to Jimmy. Along with some not so nice characters too.

I have to say, I like both versions of “What’s In A Name”. I was torn between covers though, I like the 2015 version just a little better. As for the additional content the story is still one worth reading over and over again. It’s a quick read, not something to tax the brain, with a sweat HEA. Lover’s of easy reads and HEA’s watch for Pat Henshaw’s “Foothills Pride” series!

[Morgan Skye · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jimmy is having a terrible birthday! His boyfriend was supposed to take him on a romantic date in San Francisco and instead picks up a stranger and ditches Jimmy at the bar, alone. Jimmy drowns his sorrow in beer but luckily the bartender, Alex2/Guy/Stone is there to help when it gets messy.

“Stone” aka Guy, aka Alex2 has been keeping an eye on Jimmy for awhile and swoops in to help when Jimmy’s worthless boyfriend ditches him at the bar. Stone won’t tell Jimmy (or anyone) his real name because it’s so awful. Instead he makes Jimmy a deal that if Jimmy can guess his real name he’ll buy him the motorcycle he’s been after for his birthday.

Jimmy and Stone get along right from the start. Stone helps Jimmy to get free from the ex-boyfriend, gives Jimmy a place to crash when needed, helps Jimmy with his new coffee-shop plans and is generally an amazing boyfriend – right from the start.

Jimmy can’t believe his good fortune and realizes that in all the months he’s been going to the one gay bar in town, he’s actually spent more time talking with the bartender than his (now ex) boyfriend.

**
This is a fast story with very little angst and no on page sex. Some people are going to find fault with it for those reasons. But… it’s a tremendously sweet story with a lot of heart and lots of ooey gooey feels that just made me smile. Sure, the ex boyfriend was a bit too psycho. Sure, I’d have liked to see the relationship take more than a week but as is pointed out in the story – they’ve known each other for months already. Sure, I wish there was some sex in the story, but the chemistry is there and the two clearly love each other.

Overall, I really enjoyed this short story and recommend it to anyone willing to suspend their disbelief and smile at a sweet tale of love.

4 of 5 hearts

[Alison · Rating 4 out of 5]

“What’s in a Name” is a funny, sweet story that put me in a really buoyant frame of mind, which I needed at the time. It is sweet, funny, and although I knew what Stone’s first name was before I got to the end, there were a few surprises there too. I loved the fact that Jimmy had worked hard to get where he was as a business owner but was obviously a bit clueless when it came to picking men, and Stone’s strong personality was a great foil for his can-do attitude.

I don’t know if I could only pick one best bit, but I can say that I loved the story and that it is staying on my ereader under favourites for when I need a pick-me-up. The personal histories are brilliant and the characters wonderfully imperfect, and the story had a way of not taking itself too seriously.

I would recommend “What’s in a Name” for anyone who needs a pick-me-up or sweet read with a bit of humour. Seriously. No matter what genre they usually read. I am definitely looking to see if Pat Henshaw has any more stories out there.

[Dani Elle Maas · Rating 4 out of 5]

simple sweet story

liked the characters , very enjoyable read

[Love Bytes Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 star review by Dan

Pat Henshaw has delivered a wonderful tease! I so want more, more, more! I absolutely loved this short book and can’t wait for more of the story. Ms. Henshaw, you will crush me if you tell me there isn’t more coming…..and soon! Honestly, if this were a standalone, I would not be as happy with it, because there is a lot of story yet to come…..

Jimmy Patterson is getting very very drunk at the Stonewall Saloon. His boyfriend of a year has decided to take off with another man he hooked up with at the bar. To make it worse he is taking him home to their apartment. To make it far, far worse, it is Jimmy’s birthday! What a total douche.

Enter the hot bear behind the bar. Jimmy doesn’t know what his real name is, even though he has been frequenting the bar for a year with his boyfriend. During most of the visits, the boyfriend has been off “socializing” with other men in the bar, leaving Jimmy to talk and get to know the bartender. He noticed very quickly, months ago, that the bartender always has a different name tag on, so no one really knows his name. He has been teasing the bartender for months to tell him his real name. The bartender is described as a totally hot, bald, hairy, bear, biker. My personal favorite. That drew me into the story instantly!

When Jimmy falls off his barstool (literally) and then has to be rushed to the bathroom to get sick, the bartender helps him. With vomit breath, Jimmy turns around and licks the guy’s nipple, which the guy finds just a little gross. Then Jimmy starts running his fingers through the guy’s chest hair. The bartender finally cleans him up, takes him out and sits him at a table and tells him to “stay”.

The next thing Jimmy knows he is waking up in a strange bed somewhere he doesn’t recognize. I’m sure you can all guess where! Hot bartender’s house.

The title of the book relates to the bet that Jimmy makes with the bartender. He will have one guess per day for a week to figure out what the bartender’s real name is. If he succeeds, the bartender will buy him his own motorcycle. If not, Jimmy will have to kiss him. There really isn’t a down side for Jimmy since they’ve already done WAY more than that, although in a fade to black sort of way since the book doesn’t have any actual sex scenes. I’m kind of on the fence on that aspect. I wouldn’t have minded some sex scenes, but I think the book works fine without them.

As the story goes on we find out that Stone, as most of the town knows him, owns the Stonewall and that is where his nickname came from. It seems no one actually knows his name. He was raised by his grandfather who owned the bar and has been in the bar his entire life.

Jimmy, with his friend Felicity, owns a coffee café named Penny’s and they are getting ready to open a second location only four doors down from the Stonewall.

The problem is some of the good old boys aren’t down with the whole homosexual invasion in and around their town and don’t want another gay spot downtown. When Penny’s gets trashed, in a fit of what looks like homophobia, the town might have a hate crime on their hands. I loved the steaming mad wives that show up because of that!

I loved this book, I loved the development of the storyline, characters and locations. The background characters had depth and I’m thinking there is a story in there somewhere for the chef. It is a fairly light but really fun to read story which will leave you eagerly awaiting more! As I said above, it is devoid of actual sex scenes, so if that is something you have to have in a book, then this one isn’t for you. Some people, ok one person in particular, posted a pre-release review on a well known website slamming the book for no sex, insta-love, and the fact that SHE didn’t approve of the hairy biker daddy/bar owner and cowering twink aspects. She obviously skipped the entire part about them having known each other for a YEAR and having been talking seriously and getting to know each other for six MONTHS, as well as every time that Jimmy stood up on his own! It isn’t often I call out other reviewers, but frankly that is why I don’t usually read the garbage reviews on that website. I mean seriously? Posting photos to show your disdain?

Rant complete. In this reviewer’s opinion, the book was very well written, had me laughing in spots and even had me mumbling from time to time “god I LOVE this book”. It is a short tale of 7 days that covers that initial infatuation stage in any relationship. I read it as what it was, I believe. I believe it is an introduction to the characters and locale that will be further expanded in future books. I can’t wait to see where they go from here. Please Ms. Henshaw do not let the negative jerks get you down. I am truly hoping as I said at the top that there is more coming. I highly recommend this book for anyone looking for a short, fun, without a lot of sex read. Get it today.

The only negative I found? The cover. Not the whole cover, the motorcycle caught me instantly, as did the rest of the picture. The problem? Stone is supposed to be really hairy. What part of that didn’t the cover artist understand? There needs to be some hair on that there chest! :-)

A copy of this book was provided in exchange for an honest review. Please visit www.lovebytesreviews.com to see this and many more reviews, author interviews, guestposts and giveaways!

[Keris Shay]

Not seeing many good reviews. So going to skip this

[Pixie Mmgoodbookreviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 Hearts

Reviewed by Prime for MM Good Book Reviews Click link for giveaway (Ends 18th March 2015)

This is one pretty damn cool and well written story. Jimmy is a sweetheart and it’s difficult not to instantly feel sorry for this self-confessed twink. To top it all off, he’s attracted to the big bear of a man behind the bar at the only gay bar in town. The mystery is no one knows his name. They just know him as whichever name tag he was wearing when last seen or taken notice of. This makes Jimmy determined to work it out.

It’s certainly different having the entire plot predicated on a character trying to guess something about the other main character. In fact, I really enjoyed how the chapters were set up and it was really well paced too. Every couple chapters, when it gets to the end of the night after Jimmy and “Guy” have been out, it’s a short period of calm as we see what Jimmy has come up with. Then between all these guesses, Jimmy chronicles the drama that is unfolding around him, drama that “Guy” is more than willing to get involved in as long as Jimmy is kept safe. “Guy” is a teddy bear in every way possible and I found him instantly likable. His refusal to give his real name is more mischievous than annoying.

I really enjoyed the pacing and the cast of characters in this book. This is the type of book you can sit back and just read without thinking too much. Really, this is just a bit of funny with some mystery thrown in but not too much danger.

[Becky Condit · Rating 5 out of 5]

What’s In a Name starts with the best description of a drinking binge and followup hangover I’ve ever read. It goes on kind of long but it made me laugh with each turn of the stomach. Jimmy is a twink who is more mature than first imagined. He owns a business and is getting ready to expand. He has a boyfriend who is not worth his time or his love but he’s a little slow to figure that out.
Guy is the owner of a gay bar in a small valley town in California. He’s had a bit of a crush on his regular customer Jimmy and one night he sees his chance to make a move and jumps on it.
This book is a series of fun little guessing games. There are a couple of things to guess. The first is what is Guy’s real name? It isn’t Guy and it isn’t any of the various names on his work name badge. He says it is an awful name so he never tells anyone. He challenges Jimmy to guess it within a week and if he does he’ll buy Jimmy the motorcycle he’s been wishing for. Jimmy has his own really terrible name, for which Jimmy is a nickname, so this is a case of two men with terrible names who meet and fall in love. I kept trying to figure out Guy’s real name but never did.
The next guessing game is a little more angsty. Who has it in for Jimmy and his coffee shop? Somebody does and it becomes very dangerous. I did figure out this mystery but not until just before it was revealed.
This is a book with no on-page sex and only a little fear-filled action, but the two MCs work through everything for a satisfying ending. There is a nice setup for another book involving at least one of the minor characters and I’m looking forward to reading it.

[Ulysses Dietz · Rating 4 out of 5]

What’s in a Name?
By Pat Henshaw
(first of the Foothills series)

Jimmy Patterson Is having the worst night of his life. Dumped by his boyfriend on his birthday, Jimmy decides to drown his sorrows at the Stonewall, the lone gay bar in his small foothills town. The only one who will listen to him seems to be the big bartender, who Jimmy has known ever since he and his best friend Felicity opened their coffee shop in the mall outside town. Thing is, Jimmy doesn’t know his name, because he wears a different name tag every night.

The first of a five-part series inspired by the relocation of Bay Area gay folks to the Sierra foothills after the economic downturn in 2008, “What’s in a Name” is a sweet-hearted look at romance and the importance of community. From the big lug of a bartender who saves Jimmy from himself—and gets him to try to guess his real name over the course of a week—to the various community characters Jimmy meets during that same week; Pat Henshaw’s novella is full of charm and a warm sense of place.

Confronted with prejudice and vandalism for the first time since leaving San Francisco, Jimmy looks increasingly to the Big Guy, as he calls his burly savior. Sure, it’s great to be independent, but it’s just as important to have good people at your back.

I’ve already bought book 2 in the series, for next time I need some sweetness to lighten my day.

[Clare O'Beara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this story, which is quite a sweet tale of a lad who has just left a harmful relationship and gets rescued from his misery by the hunky bartender at the only gay bar in town.

The scene is California and while most people in town seem tolerant of alternative culture, an undercurrent is troubling and causes the characters difficulty in a new business. The bartender goes by a different name every night so the main character, a barista, while rebounding from his doormat life and growing in strength and ambition, tries a guess each night at his new lover's real name.

While the story is written for adults, it should have broad appeal and some women may be inspired to compare the young barista's experiences with their own relationships. Characters and settings are well portrayed and the key theme is respect for all.

[Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words Review An Alisa Audiobook Review:

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

This story is told from Jimmy’s point of view, which gives us a good look at his thoughts and feelings, but we are able to see the other characters fairly well even though Jimmy was a bit oblivious at times. Guy is so patient with Jimmy’s questions and sweet I loved him from the beginning. Guy and Jimmy are just perfect for each other and they are both willing to make their quick building relationship grow and develop.

David Ross did a wonderful job narrating this story. He did a wonderful job of showing the characters’ emotions in his reading of the story. It helped with connecting to the characters even more than the story already did.

Cover art by AngstyG is wonderful and gives a great background for the story and visuals of the characters.

[Marge · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book was a lot of fun. There were a few cliches and a few times where the plot was a bit simplistic. But I really liked both of the guys, there was a lot of good humor in their relationship, and I believed in their feelings for each other. I enjoyed many of the secondary characters and look forward to seeing more of them in the sequels to this book.

[Suzy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short and sweet - really liked it.

[Riva · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audiobook Review:

There is quite a lot of story in the short, sweet romance; although no sex, which I didn't mind. The name is kind of deceiving as the "can he guess my name" game the MCs have is a very minor plot point. I guessed his name halfway through, although I was hoping I was wrong, I wasn't. The gist of the story is the budding romance between Jimmy and Guy. They get together in the beginning of the book. What starts up as a random hook up when Jimmy's jerk of a boyfriend dumps him on his birthday, ends up a sweet "love affair." There is a little drama, but the town they live in plays as big a part in the story as the romance. The narrator is new to me and, although he has a nice voice, it did seem appropriate for a big "bear" of man, that Guy is suppose to be. Guy sounded more like an accountant than a bear biker guy. He just didn't bring the baritone or bass I would have pictured for that character. Overall, a nice, sweet listen.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Story of "Jimmy" and"Stone". Love what both the names of the characters are. Jimmy is at Stones bar with his so called boyfriend Alex (who is off picking up other men), Having his Birthday drink. He ends up drunk and in Stones bed while Alex takes some random guy home. The storyline is fast paced all happens in a matter of days for Stone and Jimmy to be together, for Jimmy business to get trashed. I didn't really mind the fast pace of the book where they went from no relationship to full relationship. Was a good book and I enjoyed it.
Spoiler

King James and Prince Charming are the characters real names.

[Monika · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great beginning, to what I hope, turns out to be a great series! I love the MCs even though the author stereotyped them they still worked for me. I'm not a big fan of insta-love but this one didn't really feel like insta-love, not to me at least. The guys have known each other casually for a while it's just not evident right away.

I could have done without the psychopath ex, he was a bit over the top but his bit came and went quickly so I over looked it....mostly. Overall What's in a Name? is a feel good, very sweet romance and just what I needed.

[Ro · Rating 3 out of 5]

First off I'm glad to see the cover was changed. My edition is old, having been sitting on my TBR pile for a while and the bear that is Gus is completely hairless on the cover. Second, there was a little too much going on here for the length of the book. Alex, the asshat boyfriend, didn't just suddenly become a cheating piece of work. He always was one, so why did Jimmy stay with him at all? The whole thing with Thomas was okay except happening at the same time as another issue was too much. And speaking of that - how did they get into the mall? Just so many questions and too much going on with not enough time to really go into it.

[Lada · Rating 3 out of 5]

2* for the story + 1 * for the fade-to-black sex.

It's actually an insta-romance story, but it didn't feel instant, maybe because there's no graphic sex therefore the story could focus on the romance part. I think for a story that spanned a week, it's successful enough to make me believe in Jimmy and Guy's relationship.

[Elayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not quite sure what set me on these books, just that this one appealed. It had strong interesting diverse characters, some humour, some (should be obsolete) conflict with homophobes and bigots. It has lovely MC's and I've already bought the rest.

[Lorraine · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really easy to read sweet romance

I really enjoyed this story. I hadn’t read any books by this author,but this romance was fun and the ending slightly unexpected but well written.
The plot was fun and I look forward to the rest of the series.