REVIEW BY: Christie
TITLE: A Kind of Romance
SERIES: A Kind of Stories, Book 2
AUTHOR: Lane Hayes
NARRATOR: Seth Clayton
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 9h 1m
RELEASE DATE: September 27, 2016
BLURB:
Zeke Gulden is a ruthless Wall Street exec. His hard-edged, no-nonsense attitude has served him well in the cutthroat business world, but less so in his personal life. When he finds out his ex-boyfriend cheated on him with a coworker, Zeke can’t let go until he finds a way to get even. However, his meddlesome father has other ideas. The new hire at the family-owned bagel store is somewhat colorful, but his dad is sure he’s the perfect man for Zeke.
Benny Ruggieri is a fiercely proud New Yorker who dreams of making it big as a costume designer in the theater. In the meantime, he’s working two part-time jobs in the food biz. When his new boss sets him up with his successful son, Benny has zero expectations. If nothing else, he figures he can entertain himself by making the uptight businessman squirm. Instead, the two become unlikely friends with an inexplicable attraction they can’t ignore. Benny might be the one to help Zeke set aside his quest for revenge, if he’s willing to let go and forgive what he can’t forget and give in to an unexpected kind of romance.
REVIEW:
So, A Kind of Romance is a fantastic addition to the A Kind of Stories series. Honestly, Lane Hayes and Seth Clayton have done it yet again, with another brilliant story and fantastic narration. If and when you listen to this audiobook, you will understand why I affectionately call these two the Perfection Coalition.
In A Kind of Romance, we have Benny’s story. If you have not read A Kind of Truth (book 1 in the series), this is where we first met Benny. He is an out and proud, highly flamboyant gay man with two jobs, a tiny apartment, and huge aspirations in becoming a household name in the costume designer/ theater world. I loved him in the first book, and even more so in this one!
Zeke is one of George’s sons. And George is the owner of the bagel shop where Benny has just taken a part time job. The shop owner’s son is actually a successful Wall Street exec with a ruthless streak wider than the ocean is deep. Zeke is newly single after catching his boyfriend cheating on him with another man. Who just so happens to be one of Zeke’s coworkers.
After having a medical emergency, Zeke’s dad George has to take things easy for a while. But that doesn’t mean it will stop him from meddling in their lives by playing matchmaker. And George has his sights set on Benny and Zeke becoming a couple. However, this scheme of George’s gets off to a very rocky start. It turns out that our Wall Street executive harbors quite a bit of resentment over the vast difference between how his father treats people nowadays versus when Zeke was a child (mainly to those within the LGBTQ+ community). You see, there was a time when dear ol’ dad was quite the intolerant person, especially toward his son of whom was expected to one day find a woman, settle down with her, and have lots of kids.
Benny and Zeke eventually become friends, but can anything more come out of this relationship? Was George right in believing that the two men would be perfect together? Can Benny help Zeke come to terms with his past relationship with George? Well, my dear, for the answers to these questions and more that you may possibly have from reading my quick synopsis, I highly recommend getting this audiobook!
Benny and Zeke are easily one of my most favorite couples of all time. I love them together so very much! In fact, I even tweeted the following to Lane Hayes whilst in the middle of listening to this audiobook, “You are KILLING ME with how perfect Benny & Zeke are together in A Kind of Romance!” You should get the audiobook and see for yourself how perfect these two main characters are for each other!
The last sentence in the tweet I sent to our spectacular author, was: “Plus, Seth Clayton’s performance was brilliant!” And, holy buckets! It really was an amazing. Seth, you are phenomenal! If you have never heard a book narrated by Mr Clayton, you are missing out. Big time. Please do yourself a gigantic favor and get not only A Kind of Romance, but also book 1 (A Kind of Truth) and treat your senses to an audiobook as read by Seth Clayton. Lane Hayes, you. are. magnificent! I laughed, I cried, I cringed, and I cheered all while experiencing your book. You have such a way with words! I can’t wait to see who gets their own story next, in this series.
RATING: 
BUY LINKS: