The Reality of Us

Written by Vanessa North

Narrated by Alfred Vines

The reality of Alden…
Arrogant. Aloof. Argumentative. Antagonistic. Angry. Alden Kaufman is many things, and none of them are nice. Trauma has left him deeply scarred and incapable of easy friendships. He doesn’t know how to let anyone past his walls, and he doesn’t think it’s worth the trouble.

The reality of Kit…
Everybody’s best friend, nobody’s boyfriend. In spite of a lifestyle that doesn’t invite attachments, Kit Taylor gets along with everyone he meets—except Alden. He can’t entice his prickly co-worker out of his shell, and has given up on trying.

The Reality of Us…
Two men at odds with themselves and each other embark on what should be a simple team-building exercise, but nothing goes as planned. Unexpected intimacy and a freak accident leave Kit and Alden dependent on each other long after they leave the mountain behind. Now they have a choice—to continue as they’ve been, or trust a shaky new reality together.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bryant Street Publishing
• Release date: Jun 21, 2022
• ISBN: 9781094444000

Vanessa North

Vanessa North is a romance novelist, a short fiction geek, and a knitter of strange and wonderful things. Her works have been shortlisted for both the Lambda Literary Award and the RITA© Award, and have garnered praise from The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Publisher’s Weekly. She lives in Northwest Georgia with her family: a Viking, twin teenagers, and a very, very large dog.

Reviews for The Reality of Us

[Michy Grems · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Super cute short romance, loved the characters and their development.

[ycatsn430 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Absolutely loved it, funny quips and fun dinamic, such a nice story line that just pulls you in for more.

[Unathi Guma · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

✨✨✨✨ it was lovely. I enjoyed it very much. Recommend

[Vlad Lazar · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The story is actually good ? really really recomend ❤

[Rachael Harrell · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Very sweet. Perfect frenemies to FWB to lovers. Kinda spicy, so watch out for that if it’s not your thing!

[Marty · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

So lovely and sweet and frustrating but satisfying. It’s a well-written story about a very sadly damaged young man who finally lets go enough to live his life a little more happily and finds someone whose edges soften his own. I loved it.

[dawn · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

meh.
Not very interesting. I could have used a lot more lost in the woods stuff, and a lot less forced proximity in an apartment stuff.
It was interesting that Alden suffered PTSD from a mass shooting. But Alden is A LOT of work. I just don't understand why Kit likes him. I guess Kit's desire to be liked overwhelmed his good sense.

[Mesha Taylor · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The story itself was A1, but I did take 1 star away for the narrator. He pretty much used the same voice for every character, so it was hard to tell who was speaking at times. He also failed to relay the emotion of scenes that were supposed to be more intense. All-in-all, I'd still recommend this book. ??

[Tony · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A nice combination of different guys then belonging to one another. Makes this older guy at the end of these stories. Always cry. All I wanted was to be looked in the eyes and with total commitment and hear the words I love you. Heard them a lot but never that way. If you are a younger reader and someone older says “If only I knew rhen what I know now,” ask why and really listen. I wish I did.

[Ashlyn Heiner · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

This reads like badly written fanfiction updated one chapter at a time. I wish I could have the hours back I spent listening to this

[Jenna Vaughn · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I liked the story overall, but sometimes it was hard to follow which guy was which.

[Annie · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This story is written about adults but written as if they're teenagers? It's bizarre. The characters are so underdeveloped and immature. I gave it two stars because I didn't dnf it but there weren't many redeemable qualities in this book.

[Jennifer Orton · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The story was great. It suffered terribly from faulty narration.