Reviewed by Larissa
TITLE: Here Comes My Man
SERIES: The Hopelessly Bromantic Duet, Book 2
AUTHOR: Lauren Blakely
NARRATOR: Teddy Hamilton, Shane East and full supporting cast
PUBLISHER: Lauren Blakely Books
LENGTH: 9 hours and 57 minutes
RELEASE DATE: June 28, 2022
BLURB:
A red-hot enemies-to-lovers fake-boyfriend second-chance romance and the conclusion to the Hopelessly Bromantic Duet!
Let me just say this—fake dating the cocky movie star was not my idea. Especially since he’s my former roomie and, gulp, my secret ex.
But my agent tells me I have no choice since I’m ridiculously overdue with turning in the next big blockbuster love story to my publisher.
Not to mention, ahem, writing it.
Hooking up with the smooth-talking English hottie once upon a time—fine, twice—were huge mistakes that I shouldn’t repeat, but pretending to like the guy who drives me crazy is my only chance at saving my job. That is, as long as no one finds out that every date we go on, every smile we flash each other for the cameras, and every hot, desperate kiss on the streets of Manhattan is absolutely fake.
Except…it’s not. At least for me. And he can never know….
Here Comes My Man is the final novel in the epic two-book Hopelessly Bromantic Duet! Performed with a full supporting cast including: Vanessa Edwin, J.F. Harding, James Joseph, Faye Adele, Evan Parker, Shakira Shute, Robbie Martino, Blake Lockheart, Stephanie Németh-Parker, Stella Hunter, and, in a special performance, Sebastian York!
REVIEW:
In the category of clever writing, Lauren Blakely sits atop the author list. Blakely is queen of the pun, the double entendre, the play on words. In Here Comes My Man, Blakely shows us. This. Is. How. It’s. Done.
Here Comes My Man is an exceptionally clever title with a multitude of meanings, including some deliciously dirty ones, that all describe an ultra-delectable, fake boyfriend rom-com with a storyline that’s as multi-layered as the title. Some are more obvious, but at least one may be a bit more obscure, although perhaps most notable. It connotes the wedding processional “Here comes the bride”. Fun fact: “Here comes the bride” actually originated in Wagner’s opera Lohengrin (yes, I am an opera buff), but was played/sung as the newly wedded couple made their way to the “bridal chamber” after the wedding ceremony to physically consummate their marriage. I’ll just leave that there for your amusement and appreciation of Blakely’s brilliant wordplay. (As an aside, Blakely also has a knack for providing fantastic book covers. The covers for the Hopelessly Bromantic duet perfectly capture how I picture Jude and TJ, the yummy model on the cover of Here Comes My Man. I definitely haven’t drooled over them. Nope. Not me.)
Here Comes My Man completes the Hopelessly Bromantic duet. I’m convinced that after Blakely ripped our hearts out at the end of book one, Hopelessly Bromantic, she took her laptop and went to get a celebratory drink, where she relished in being a diabolical mastermind (perhaps cackling maniacally) and began plotting ways to torment Jude, TJ and her readers in this second and final book. We desperately waited for Jude and TJ’s love story to continue so they could find their way back to each other. And that’s exactly what Blakely gives us in Here Comes My Man, along with a glorious HEA. Blakely’s epilogues are par none and the conclusion to this duet is no exception.
Jude and TJ are two men deeply in love and denial. They brutally broke up under the most frustrating of circumstances at the end of Hopelessly Bromantic, and neither has recovered. Ten months later, TJ has created more muscles in the gym than written words on the page for his overdue book. He’s stymied by writer’s block because he’s a romance writer who’s fallen out of love with love. Then, when he finally delivers a manuscript to his beleaguered agent, Mason, he discovers he’s unwittingly written a breakup book, not the witty romcoms he’s known for, and Mason’s had enough.
Jude, for his part, is also suffering, perhaps moreso because he’s got the albatross of guilt around his neck. He knows he screwed up. He also knows there’s no going back. But moving forward leads him into a scandal just as his career is reaching new heights due to his Oscar nomination. Damage control is in order and his agent Holly has had enough too. Joining forces, Mason and Holly engage in machinations that throw Jude and TJ together to play fake boyfriends to restore Jude’s image and help TJ start writing again.
Blakely and her deceptively complex storyline keep us riveted. She gives us real boyfriends that no one knew were boyfriends but now are fake boyfriends who become real boyfriends again, but still have to pretend to be fake boyfriends. It’s a twisty conundrum borne of Jude and TJ’s inability to communicate.
Communication is the primary theme in Here Comes My Man – how what Jude and TJ say and don’t say can be turned against them based on flawed perceptions and presumptions. The irony is that presuming based on suspicions and assumptions is what fractured Jude and TJs relationship, yet when the media and the fans do it to them, it brings them together.
Jude and TJ are one of my favorite of Blakely’s M/M couples, perhaps just shy of Fitz and Dean from A Guy Walks into My Bar, and definite counterparts of Grant and Declan from her Men of Summer series. Jude and TJ have incendiary chemistry. It’s a good thing I read this book on my e-reader. If this were paperback, it would have gone up in flames.
What amps all of this up to stratospheric levels is the sublime narration of Teddy Hamilton as TJ, Shane East as Jude, and a stellar full supporting cast including spot-on performances like JF Harding’s narration of Mason (perfection) and Fae Adele’s narration of Olivia (Jude’s BFF) and Holly (fantabulous). Hamilton’s voice oozes sensuality, and he is exceptional at juxtaposing TJ’s vulnerability alongside his anger, his sensitivity alongside his bravado. East’s British accent is so lovely and welcoming, I could listen to him talk all day. It’s hypnotically sexy and conveys the myriad emotions Jude experiences, including his passion and commitment toward his craft and ultimately for TJ. The duet with full cast format is the way an audiobook should be heard. It sounds and feels like you are at a play. The performance is dynamic, encompassing, exceptionally acted all around, and completely immersive.
Here Comes My Man is a low-key, high-impact, meaningful, magical, blazing hot, swoonily romantic love story of two men I cannot get enough of. Blakely’s two-story Hopelessly Bromantic duet is phenomenal all on its own, but if you haven’t listened to Hamilton, East and cast perform it … well, I don’t know what you’re doing with your life. The seamless, stellar story arc of Jude and TJ’s romance is incendiary, immersive and incomparable. This is one addictive, sexy, flirty, fun, fantastic ride. #JudeandTJ4ever
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