Amazingly and epically hilarious!

Loved the story and the narration. Great story, and the narrator did such a great job with all the different voices and intention, all the sass and banter. LOVED IT!

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The most hilarious narration and story ever

If you are in need of a hilarious way to pass the time, this is worth every second. Mr. Lesley has ramped up his narration game a thousand-fold and takes this tale to the next level. I dont think I’ve laughed so hard in ages. If you like snappy dialogue, an interesting cast cast of characters brought to life by an award wining narration, true love and some of the unexpected, this is for you. I have recommended it to everyone I know.
Thank you to all involved. (Gary especially. But of course he’d know that already.🦄)

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Insert monologue here.

Gay Unicorns, Sexually Aggressive Dragons, Mr. Perfect Knight Deliciousface and a Powerful Twink Wizard.

6/5, this book is hands-down THE funniest shit I have ever read. A story for the gayest of gays. The writing? Brilliant. The narrator? Brilliant. Smash that credit button...and as always, happy listening. ❤️

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Fantastic story and incredible narration!

I loved the book and Michael Lesley brings it to life with his amazing voices!

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Fantastic !!!!

I have no words to describe how much I enjoyed this book. It was brilliant and I laughed till I cried.
Thank you TJ Klune for all this joy you gave me.
Thank you Michael Lesley for an wonderful performance and bringing these characters to life.

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:)

Entertaining, frequent laughing outbursts, content might be objectionable to some, but I found it hilarious

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Uproariously funny!

A laugh-out-loud funny book that I absolutely devoured. I have never listened to narration that better suited the book!

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Oh my GODS.

The Lightning-Struck Heat by TJ Klune is unlike ANYTHING I have ever read before.

I’m… not sure if that’s a good thing or not.

This novel follows a VERY lively cast of (extremely lovable) characters as they embark on quest after quest. Sam, an apprentice to the king’s wizard who holds unimaginable power; Tiggy, a kind-hearted half-giant who would do anything for those he loves; and Gary, a hornless gay unicorn who speaks in sass and rainbows.

This trio of best friends are the core of this novel, but there are a few characters that deserve an honourable mention. There’s Ryan, a very handsome knight that Sam just so happens to have a crush on, and there’s Justin, the prince, next in line to the throne, and… Ryan’s boyfriend.

That’s all well and good until a sexually aggressive dragon kidnaps the prince, and the king sends Sam, Tiggy, Gary AND Ryan on a quest to save him.

And what a quest it is.

As I’ve said, The Lightning-Struck Heart was different from anything I’ve ever read before. Before I begin, an honourable mention HAS to go out to Michael Lesley, who narrates these audiobooks. I am SO thankful that I decided to listen to this book instead of reading it traditionally, because there is absolutely no way I would have ever finished it if I had tried to pick up a dead tree copy and physically read this.

Simply put, this book is ridiculous. There’s no other way for me to say it, I don’t think. It’s silly and ridiculous and it doesn’t take itself seriously, ever, not even when it maybe should. It is essentially one joke after another. And don’t get me wrong; the jokes ARE funny. In fact, this book is hilarious. Multiple points had me laughing out loud no matter what I was doing or where I was. I snorted at least three times a chapter. I truly, genuinely, enjoyed my listening experience — but I also believe that is LARGELY because I listened to it, and that’s all the kudos to Lesley for being such a talented narrator.

I gave this novel three stars because it is VERY unlikely I would ever read this book again. I would ALMOST call this novel a comedy, and while I didn’t know that going into it, It was certainly funny. It was well-paced, well-written, and well-thought-out, but it's simply not a story I feel like I’d want to consume again.

Now, that’s largely a personal preference, and it’s because I hate pinning. Like, I hate it. It’s the bane of all romance novels to me. Specifically, situations where one character (usually the main character) is helplessly in love with someone who (to literally everyone else in the world) is very obviously in love with them back. However, neither of them ever realize that the other is legitimately interested, especially the main character.

And this book has a lot of pining. Then it has even more longing. The pining and the longing were just… they were almost more than I was capable of handling the first time around, let alone a second time. It just wasn’t for me, which is totally okay! I know that’s a trope a lot of people like, but I personally found it exhausting in this novel.

Additionally, there were a few comments and jokes made that made it clear this novel was published in 2015. I am very interested to see how things change throughout the series, as I know the final book was published this year.

Now, I do want to end this on a positive note. Again, I DID enjoy listening to this book (and I am continuing to enjoy the rest of the series), so I want to highlight some of the things I specifically loved.

Firstly, I would like to take my designated <em>Klune is fantastic at narrative voices</em> moment and just gush over Sam.

As a main character, Sam is incredible. He is lively and loving and he cares so, so deeply, even if he often hides his hurt behind a mask of humour. It was a lot of fun to read a character like this, one who was amped up on (largely) false bravado that somehow wasn’t false at all? He’s a series of contradictions that I don’t understand even after listening to him for nigh twenty-hours.

But while I might not understand him, I DO love him.

I also absolutely adore the queer found family that exists in this novel. Klune is a wizard in his own right when it comes to crafting this type of heart-warming found family, and he does it time and time again in his work. The Lighting-Struck Heart has one of the most amazing casts I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting, and I love all of them.

Even Justin with his prickly heart, though that took a LARGE portion of the book to get to.

(Also, the KILF!!! The K I L F!!!)

The Lighting-Struck Heat puts a very interesting twist on magic, and I really enjoyed the magical system Klune created for this novel. This, along with Sam’s level of power, made for an exceptionally interesting read. Any time the novel got a little bit more serious during an action scene, I was on the edge of my seat listening, riveted to hear the way Klune skilfully crafted his world.

In all, I didn’t give this novel a three-star rating because it wasn’t good. No, The Lighting-Struck Heart is an INCREDIBLE piece of fiction that is exceptionally written. It is silly — often to an extreme that can take some getting used to — action-packed, and ripe with emotion.

Unfortunately, this novel heavily features a theme I’m not a huge fan of, which made certain parts difficult to get through; that, coupled with the way it doesn’t take itself seriously, means I would only recommend this novel (and series) to people looking for a light-hearted read filled with A LOT of sex jokes.

Now, if that sounds like a good time? You HAVE to check out this book.

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absolutely hilarious

never in my life have I laughed so hard at a book. it's ridiculous, but also a genuinely good story, can't wait to listen to the rest of the series

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Many laugh out loud moments

This was a great story. It had everything you can ask for, humour, adventure, romance and a great storyline. The only con, I would say, is sometimes certain characters' obliviousness gets frustrating! You're just waiting for them to figure things out already! lol

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