Shades of Henry Audiobook By Amy Lane cover art

Shades of Henry

The Flophouse

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Shades of Henry

By: Amy Lane
Narrated by: Steven James
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A Flophouse Story

One bootstrap act of integrity cost Henry Worrall everything—military career, family, and the secret boyfriend who kept Henry trapped for eleven years. Desperate, Henry shows up on his brother’s doorstep and is offered a place to live and a job as a handyman in a flophouse for young porn stars.

Lance Luna’s past gave him reasons for being in porn, but as he continues his residency at a local hospital, they now feel more like excuses. He’s got the money to move out of the flophouse and live his own life—but who needs privacy when you’re taking care of a bunch of young men who think working penises make them adults?

Lance worries Henry won’t fit in, but Henry’s got a soft spot for lost young men and a way of helping them. Just as Lance and Henry find a rhythm as den mothers, a murder and the ghosts of Henry’s abusive past intrude. Lance knows Henry’s not capable of murder, but is he capable of caring for Lance’s heart?

©2020 Amy Lane (P)2025 Dreamspinner Press Military Romance Romantic Suspense Heartfelt
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I love this story and all it's connected series. This is my favorite author. However, the narration was just ok. He had a nice voice and spoke well, but he did not change his voice for different characters, rarely spoke with emotional inflection, or paused when speaking character dialogue. Since he did not change voices when speaking different character voices, the lack of space or hesitation made it really hard to know when a different character was speaking. I think he could be a good narrator with some small changes. I love audio and am still glad I purchased the book. As I said, the narrator does have a very good voice and it made up for a lot.

Loved the story narration just ok

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Amy Lane is a master at fitting all the elements of a spectacular story into a tiny package. I tend to prefer longer reads, but I know even her shorter books are going to have hilarious dialog, great character development, lovable side characters, believable tension and endings that make you wish you could spend more time in the worlds she has created. This book checks all these boxes.

One warning: This story will be a much more enjoyable read if you realize that it takes place at the nexus of two other series. Read those first!!! Start with Lane’s Johnnie’s series, then her Fish Out of Water series. This book moves way, way too fast to be able to explain all the backstories, but the story is so much better if you know them. You can probably enjoy it on its own, but it’ll shine so much brighter in context.

A note on the narrator: at first, I HATED his voice. It just seemed all wrong. Too clipped and abrupt, almost disinterested. I mean, over-acting is bad too, but at the outset I felt like this guy could have been reading a menu, for all the inflection and storytelling quality he was demonstrating. But 1, stick with it, he does actually loosen up and get better, and 2, increase the playback speed a bit. It helps.

On brand, between two series

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The first book/audio of The Flophouse series, it’s also related to the Fish series, book 6. I loved seeing how Henry and Lances relationship grew.

Great listen!!

Loved it!

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I was initially overjoyed to see this title released in audio, but wary over a narrator I was not familiar with. This is the first part of a spin-off from the Fish Out of Water series, which is MASTERFULLY narrated by Greg Boudreaux/Tremblay. I wondered why he wasn’t doing this as well, but was willing to give James the benefit of the doubt. That lasted until approximately one minute in. I had to up the speed to 2x to make his style even a little bit tolerable. Emotionless is the best word I can use to describe it. If I hadn’t read the print version, I would have been totally lost as to whether or not he was narrating audible dialogue, internal dialogue, or descriptions. If Greg really wasn’t available, I can think of three narrators off the top of my head who would have done this better: Nick J Russo; Iggy Toma; Gary Furlong. I really hope James is not brought back on board for the rest of the Flophouse series. As much as I love the books, I would rather go without having them in my Audible library than listen to James butcher them too.
I intend to return this title and get my wasted credit back as soon as possible. If the rest of the series is done by James, I will not buy it. If it was redone with a competent narrator, I would happily buy it again.

Destroyed by narrator

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Amy Lane is one of my favorite authors. She writes emotional, relatable, and entertaining stories. Shades of Henry is prime example of that and I was so excited to have it in audio... until the narrator put his spin on it. I'm sorry to have to say it, but Seven James performance was entirely lacking in emotion and inflection. There was very little if any attempt to give the characters life and a voice that would make one distinguishable from another. Passages in the story that brought tears to my eyes when I read the book, were given no more significance than the description of the apartment in which Henry was living. It's such a shame. Shades of Henry deserved a narrator who could have truly given life to the story. If the rest of this series comes to audible with the same narrator I won't be buying it.

Wonderful Story / Bad Narrator

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