Review of Audiobook Femme by Marshall Thornton and narration by Joel Leslie

by Marshall Thornton and narration by JoelLeslie

4 stars

Queeny cocktail waiter, Lionel, wakes up to find himself in bed with Dog, a straight-acting softball player and the two embark on a rocky road to romance. A journey that requires coming out of the closet, going into the closet, a pair of red high heels, many pairs of red high heels, a failed intervention, a couple of aborted dates, and homemade pom-poms. Mostly, Lionel and Dog learn what it means to be a man.

This is our first Marshall Thornton book, and in all honesty we kind of like to read a book before listening to the Audiobook, but Femme was so good, we don’t miss not reading the book first.

This is a story of Lionel, a queeny waitress in a gay bar, that is fine with who he is, take it or leave it. After a drunken night he finds himself in bed with family-closeted Dog, a softball player, who is fine living his life half-in-or-out of the closet.  These two men couldn’t be more different and although they keep finding themselves drawn back together. 

Femme is a hoot, so funny; we couldn’t help ourselves form laughing out loud! On the outside these men are so different, but when they start peeling back the layers they both realize that they struggle with the same things, and want to same things for their lives.  Through the laughter, Femme is a thought provoking book.  Lionel and Dog struggle with being true to who they really are, coming out, and standing up for what is right.

Now let’s talk about the audiobook – so good!  We love Joel Leslie, and he does an amazing job capturing Lionel and Dog.  The book switches points of view, and Joel creates very distinct voices that keep both characters and others in the book, very easy to recognize.  This isn’t your typical flowery romance, there are no grandiose declarations of love, but the relationship between Dog and Lionel is so real.  With everyday struggles, and falling in love when you don’t even realize.  And listening to Joel brings life to Femme makes you feel like it is a friend telling you a story. 

Femme by Marshall Thornton is a fantastic book, but with Joel Leslie’s narration brings this story to one of the best audiobooks we have listen to this year!