Audiobook Review: 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.

Listening Length: 2 hours and 49 minutes
Narrator: David Ross

Jimmy Patterson has dumped his boyfriend for cheating on Jimmy’s birthday, and seems to have attached himself to a bartender who wears a different name tag every night at Stonewall. This was a pretty intriguing concept. Jimmy has to guess what the guys name is in seven guesses, each name to be guessed after a date with “Guy”.

I enjoyed the way this relationship developed and the way “Guy” was a stable support for Jimmy while things were going wrong in his business life. Jimmy is trying to open up another Coffee shop but he is getting resistence, and what appears to be a hate crime is perpetrated on his existing shop.

What I loved most about this, is that Jimmy still managed to stay upbeat about everything and had fun with “Guy” while organising his life without his ex in it. I wouldn’t have blamed him if he got all stormy about his ex being a cheater, or his shop being trashed, but he picked himself up quickly and got on with succeeding. That’s not to say he was unaffected, he just gave off the impression that sometimes shit happens, and it shouldn’t stop him from doing what he set out to do.

The guessing game was fun, if a little cheesy. Their chemistry was beautiful, regardless of whether a real name was known. “Guy” was still authentic and passionate, real and practical. There was no subterfuge or mystery with anything else about him. What was presented was honest, and refreshingly straightforward.

David Ross, of course, is a wonderful narrator, and gave depth to the characters in this story. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of his voice as a storyteller. Great voice acting is a skill I would never be able to master, and he does a superb job of bringing life to even the most mundane character in this book.

Fun and flirty, with some serious content thrown in for depth, this was a great short story to listen to while I did boring cleaning chores around my house.

Recommended for all MM romance readers.

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