Stanley Sternbaum is a shy, very shy, grad student who is just now leaving the nest to study Anthropology in San Diego. He rents his first apartment ever at the somewhat dodgy Belladonna Arms, a place full of gays with only one “pesky” heterosexual in the bunch. He is immediately entranced by one of his neighbors, Roger Jane. To Stanley, Roger epitomizes all things perfect and in fact, god-like, and therefore unattainable to a little, “nobody” like him. Even when it seems that Roger might be interested in him, he has a hard time believing, and is in fact doing what he can to avoid the man so as to avoid a broken heart.Though he is avoiding Roger, he is not avoiding the rest of the wacky tenants, and though he wished he could, his mother. There’s ChiChi, the rent boy. Ramon, the beauty student. Charlie, the kleptomaniac. Sylvia, the transsexual. And we can’t forget Arthur, the super. Each of these characters go out of their way to bring Stanley out of his shell, and in fact spend quite a bit of time waxing poetic about Roger!Though it is a tough road, it is very entertaining and Roger eventually manages to win over his “little mouse” and together they find their very HEA.**I can’t believe I missed this book when it first came out! I ended up reading this in preparation for the sequel, Work in Progress, and boy am I glad! John Inman is an excellent writer. He is funny, sweet, descriptive and his characters are sublime.Stanley and Roger almost, almost!, take the back seat to the secondary characters in this book. Arthur is hysterical! He’s an obese drag queen forever having to haul himself up 6 flights of stairs and nearly passing out. He looks for love for all his tenants while quietly pining for his own unrequited love.ChiChi and Ramon are two colorful neighbors who aren’t afraid to put in their two cents while in between entertaining “massage customers with special needs” (ChiChi) or practicing new hair techniques like pink hair dye for Stanley’s mother (Ramon). Charlie is a diagnosed klepto, off his meds and you can imagine the antics he gets up to.Stanley’s mother is a foul-mouthed, chain-smoking, busy-body who only wants what’s best for her son but has a hard time showing it.All in all they make for a hysterical crew of well-meaning friends who gently nudge Stanley into Roger’s arms and help him to see for himself that he is more than worthy of that kind of love.I highly recommend this book and give it 5 of 5 hearts.Audio:Tyler Stevens is a favorite narrator of mine and I think this ties as the best I have heard from him. He did a fantastic job with all the many and varied characters of the Belladonna Arms. Arthur is appropriately swishy/queeny. Sylvia is sweet and delicate. Ramon and ChiChi both have a fantastic accent with “attitude” and Stanley’s mom is perfect in her smoke roughened way.I really, really enjoyed his narration and hope he does the sequel as well.I give it 5 of 5 hearts.Overall, 5 of 5 hearts. I picked up this book because the blurb kinda reminded me of Gakuen Heaven and it had me with a transgender female and a drag queen because I believe they need more representation. And man, I couldn't have been happier after reading this.The book centers around a young, shy man named Stanley and his evolving relationship with the tenants of Belladonna Arms. Not only did he find the love of his life in this old, almost dilapidated yet charming building, he also found a new family and the courage to love and trust not only Roger but himself as well. Stanley endeared himself to me even when I want to smack sense into him at times because I see myself in him. He is shy all his life and is scared to love somebody (especially if this somebody is an epitome of perfection) because he doesn't trust himself to let somebody in. Battling fear and insecurity has always been a part of my life as well and this book made me think (at least for a moment or two) that I deserve to be loved completely and somebody will find me perfect for them too.So yeah, this book had me because I am a sucker for character growth and slow burn romances, and 'Serenading Stanley' had that in spades. Also, though I still can't believe in love at first sight, I believe in attraction at first glance and building relationships and connection through communication and this book perfectly portrayed that. It also kinda reminded me of 'Notting Hill' actually with the 'ordinary boy fell in love with a perfect human being' but this was loads better because of the awesome supporting characters (is it wrong to feel overly attached to Arthur?) who also did a lot of growing up. I cannot stress how much I love all the side charas (sometimes even more than the two MCs), and I am so elated they found their own HEAs as well. Like I said, a book with a transgendered character is rare indeed, and a book portraying how hard it is to be one without having to be so overly dramatic is more difficult to find. Sylvia is trans female who is still 'under construction' and because of monetary issues and the stigma of changing her sex, she has a lot of baggage, and has also some difficulty in believing that somebody can love and accept her. I fell for her and her courageousness and her lavender eyes and her strength. Stanley sure is fortunate to have a friend like her. There's a couple of lines from this book that had me nodding as I read:“Shy people are always in awe of fearlessly friendly people. It’s a trait they wish they could duplicate but never can."and“Beyond caring about herself, she was happy for her friend. Only a big heart can do that. Stanley smiled, too, at the way Sylvia spoke the word “woman.” With respect, with even a certain amount of awe. The way only another woman will say the word. With understanding. With… knowledge of all it means to be one.”And yes, there's also Roger who seems too good to be true with his pretty eyes and beautiful body and his kindness and humor and his caring personality (all the 'ands' are to show how perfect he is, okay). Though I don't feel that attached to him mostly because he's still too perfect for me, I loved his persistence and courage the most. Because communicating is hard and laying it all on the line for another person is tougher. I think him always trying to consistently reach out to Stanley in order to battle his insecurities made me believe his... intentions along with Stanley.The things that made me take off one star are the sex scenes--it became too mushy for me (and fine, saliva as the only lube is one of my pet peeves) and the switching of POVs (though I appreciate that some parts were done in Roger's perspective because it made me see what he was thinking, I felt a tad confused in the sudden change of POVs). But overall, it was a great read, and this book is already included in my favorites.
What do You think about Serenading Stanley (2013)?
The 2nd half of the book picked up, but not much.
—Rose98
Reserving review until after release.
—Maldonadoooooo
