What do you think?
Rate this book
Feels like Friday
There’s nothing like the feeling of coming home on a Friday afternoon after a hard week of work. To Evan weekends are when life really begins, spending quiet Friday nights at home with Jacob; sleeping in on Saturday mornings; shopping in Market Square downtown; going to the movies after Sunday brunch with friends. It has defined his life with Jacob for twenty happy years.
Then, one Friday he comes home and his whole world is shattered.
Determined to help Evan through his sorrow his best friends, Curt and Donna, decide to keep him distracted by taking him to Curt’s favorite hangout. It seems the harder they try the more Evan resists, that is, until he meets Jase.
The hottest bartender in town, Jase, with his blond hair and blue-eyed good looks, is the center of attention and the object of every man’s desire. Never in a million years would Evan think that Jase could be attracted to someone like a nerdy, middle-aged accountant with high blood pressure. It takes Evan’s best friends to convince him that he is the kind of man Jase is looking for.
But just as the relationship between Evan and Jase blossoms, tragedy strikes and Evan is forced to make a decision that will change his life forever. Will he do what his heart tells him or what his guilt demands?
Then, one Friday he comes home and his whole world is shattered.
Determined to help Evan through his sorrow his best friends, Curt and Donna, decide to keep him distracted by taking him to Curt’s favorite hangout. It seems the harder they try the more Evan resists, that is, until he meets Jase.
The hottest bartender in town, Jase, with his blond hair and blue-eyed good looks, is the center of attention and the object of every man’s desire. Never in a million years would Evan think that Jase could be attracted to someone like a nerdy, middle-aged accountant with high blood pressure. It takes Evan’s best friends to convince him that he is the kind of man Jase is looking for.
But just as the relationship between Evan and Jase blossoms, tragedy strikes and Evan is forced to make a decision that will change his life forever. Will he do what his heart tells him or what his guilt demands?
328 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 5, 2017
13 people are currently reading
48 people want to read
About the author
Allen Renfro
15 books49 followersAllen Renfro is a native of Tennessee and a graduate of Tusculum College. A published poet and artist in the zine culture of the 1990s he considers himself a "fringe" artist who unabashedly tackles controversial subjects. An admitted history buff, horror movie watcher and reader of fiction, he is the author of twelve novels.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
February 20, 2017
As most of you know, I'm not a 'sappy story' lover.
Man left? Yeah, well get on with life. It's only a man. There's more out there.
And yet, once in a while I come across a story that explores the softer side and it pulls me in. Not surprisingly, it was A. Renfro who made me want to slap his MC in the beginning, then cheer for him through the ups and downs.
I'm a fickle reader and most books can't touch that soft spot in me, but this one did.
Recommended.
Man left? Yeah, well get on with life. It's only a man. There's more out there.
And yet, once in a while I come across a story that explores the softer side and it pulls me in. Not surprisingly, it was A. Renfro who made me want to slap his MC in the beginning, then cheer for him through the ups and downs.
I'm a fickle reader and most books can't touch that soft spot in me, but this one did.
Recommended.
January 13, 2017
If you own this book, read it. The roller-coaster is worth it. While the story starts on a "low" note, the banter and humorous descriptions bring you up, and give you and the main characters hope.
While the story progresses quicker than maybe real life might be, this story of loss and gain, delivers doses of truth about how even when life seems its lowest, that is the time to reach for the strength in others, find solace in their arms and in their words.
So, very, very good.
While the story progresses quicker than maybe real life might be, this story of loss and gain, delivers doses of truth about how even when life seems its lowest, that is the time to reach for the strength in others, find solace in their arms and in their words.
So, very, very good.
January 9, 2017
4 stars
Lovely story.
I was excited reading the first chapter and I kept on reading because it was quite funny at times but damn I wasn't ready for the sad parts
Lovely story.
I was excited reading the first chapter and I kept on reading because it was quite funny at times but damn I wasn't ready for the sad parts
September 17, 2017
I don't quite know what this book was supposed to be about.
If it was supposed to be about Evan reclaiming his life after the sudden shock of being left by his partner of twenty years, I guess it worked, to some extent.
The writing was good, even if it tended a bit on the rambling side. Also, while most feelings and reactions of the characters were realistic and appropriate to the situation, others didn’t feel believable.
Take Evan’s friends reactions after Jacob left him, for example.
This man came home one day after work to find out from a half empty closet and a note on the fridge that his partner left him after 20 years together, two months before they were supposed to get married. While his friends were all very supportive and appropriately angry with the ex, Evan’s best friend told him it was time to move on an hour after the fact and he and the other friends kept telling Evan that life goes on, he should be grateful for the good years they had together and most people never get to have 20 years with someone.
Aside from the fact that the actual quality of those years and memories is at the very least debatable, since the ex revealed himself to be a selfish, lying, cheating coward, I think Evan was entitled to at least a couple of days to process his new situation and, yes, feel sorry for himself a little. I was actually impressed he managed to get out of the house the very first night it all happened.
I know their hearts were in the right place, but the story started on a Friday and, by the time Monday came around, I had lost count of the times Evan had been told to stop whining, keep the good memories and move on. Going by the comments and reactions of his friends, you’d think he’d been wallowing in his misery for months and everyone around him was fed up with him.
Considering the romance side of the story, it failed a little in my opinion. Evan and Jase just didn’t spend nearly enough time together.
For most of the book Evan spent more time thinking about his failed relationship and interacting with his best friend and his friend/possible love interest (not a spoiler, it’s obvious from the blurb that Jase is the love interest and anyway Brad was never seriously presented as a viable alternative) than being with Jase.
Jase was a great guy, so great in fact that he seemed almost too perfect, and I liked him and the way he treated Evan, but the simple truth is that when the ILYs came, it was out of nowhere.
Up until that point, , the story and they themselves hadn’t focused enough on their relationship for them to even know each other enough to talk about love. I believe they liked, respected and cared about each other and that they surely were on their way to fall in love, they just weren’t there yet.
About the rest, there’s a plot twist that would usually be considered just a convenient way to manufacture drama-on-demand, but sadly it didn’t feel unrealistic at all. have happened in real life before, they’ll probably happen again in the future and they’ll be out of nowhere and just as it was described here. So I had no problem with it.
Well, I had a problem with it, not because of the plot choice in itself, but because it was clearly used to manufacture the perfect set-up for Evan to have his epiphany and make his choice and to wrap the story up in a completely unrealistic and unnecessary feel-good ending.
If it was supposed to be about Evan reclaiming his life after the sudden shock of being left by his partner of twenty years, I guess it worked, to some extent.
The writing was good, even if it tended a bit on the rambling side. Also, while most feelings and reactions of the characters were realistic and appropriate to the situation, others didn’t feel believable.
Take Evan’s friends reactions after Jacob left him, for example.
This man came home one day after work to find out from a half empty closet and a note on the fridge that his partner left him after 20 years together, two months before they were supposed to get married. While his friends were all very supportive and appropriately angry with the ex, Evan’s best friend told him it was time to move on an hour after the fact and he and the other friends kept telling Evan that life goes on, he should be grateful for the good years they had together and most people never get to have 20 years with someone.
Aside from the fact that the actual quality of those years and memories is at the very least debatable, since the ex revealed himself to be a selfish, lying, cheating coward, I think Evan was entitled to at least a couple of days to process his new situation and, yes, feel sorry for himself a little. I was actually impressed he managed to get out of the house the very first night it all happened.
I know their hearts were in the right place, but the story started on a Friday and, by the time Monday came around, I had lost count of the times Evan had been told to stop whining, keep the good memories and move on. Going by the comments and reactions of his friends, you’d think he’d been wallowing in his misery for months and everyone around him was fed up with him.
Considering the romance side of the story, it failed a little in my opinion. Evan and Jase just didn’t spend nearly enough time together.
For most of the book Evan spent more time thinking about his failed relationship and interacting with his best friend and his friend/possible love interest (not a spoiler, it’s obvious from the blurb that Jase is the love interest and anyway Brad was never seriously presented as a viable alternative) than being with Jase.
Jase was a great guy, so great in fact that he seemed almost too perfect, and I liked him and the way he treated Evan, but the simple truth is that when the ILYs came, it was out of nowhere.
Up until that point, , the story and they themselves hadn’t focused enough on their relationship for them to even know each other enough to talk about love. I believe they liked, respected and cared about each other and that they surely were on their way to fall in love, they just weren’t there yet.
About the rest, there’s a plot twist that would usually be considered just a convenient way to manufacture drama-on-demand, but sadly it didn’t feel unrealistic at all. have happened in real life before, they’ll probably happen again in the future and they’ll be out of nowhere and just as it was described here. So I had no problem with it.
Well, I had a problem with it, not because of the plot choice in itself, but because it was clearly used to manufacture the perfect set-up for Evan to have his epiphany and make his choice and to wrap the story up in a completely unrealistic and unnecessary feel-good ending.
May 7, 2017
While this book had some good parts it does have the tendency to ramble on which in my opinion would have been better if it got compacted in shorter bits, so now it got just an ok from me.
Then there is a thing I start to hate because it happens in a lot of books, and this one is no exception:
Somewhere in the second half of the book something major happens, which often involves violence, a kidnapping, a big accident, a suicide (attempt) you name it.
Somehow this leads to the Mc('s) realising their love or whatnot and they get a big happy ending.
Is this a marketing strategy because it sells well?
Is it the authors lack of imagination for character development?
Is it trendy to do this?
Is it derived from so many movies and other written stories, where these kind of major events happen 'all the time', that it seems to be lacking in intensity, action, suspense, ...something, for the author if it isn't included?
I don't know;
What I do know is that it often doesn't add anything to the story for me, and nowadays it even comes as a big disappointment because I would've loved to read how the MC('s) would have ended up without this major event.
This book, as I said, was no exception. Even worse, it was a totally random event which got rid of an important side character. Why was this necessary?
So now it gets only 1 star from me.
Then there is a thing I start to hate because it happens in a lot of books, and this one is no exception:
Somewhere in the second half of the book something major happens, which often involves violence, a kidnapping, a big accident, a suicide (attempt) you name it.
Somehow this leads to the Mc('s) realising their love or whatnot and they get a big happy ending.
Is this a marketing strategy because it sells well?
Is it the authors lack of imagination for character development?
Is it trendy to do this?
Is it derived from so many movies and other written stories, where these kind of major events happen 'all the time', that it seems to be lacking in intensity, action, suspense, ...something, for the author if it isn't included?
I don't know;
What I do know is that it often doesn't add anything to the story for me, and nowadays it even comes as a big disappointment because I would've loved to read how the MC('s) would have ended up without this major event.
This book, as I said, was no exception. Even worse, it was a totally random event which got rid of an important side character. Why was this necessary?
So now it gets only 1 star from me.
August 22, 2021
This was an amazing read. It had me laughing, it had me crying, and in the end, I let out a sigh of relief. Good characters all around, great plot, and highly recommended for you to read.
February 28, 2017
Sappy story that doesnt come off as fake and contrived as many books in this genre do. Makes you feel good in the end. The first half is a little slow. I give Renfro credit for not taking this story to word-porn as that cheapens the story. Rally great second half and tge story ends without huge leaps or plot holes.
February 6, 2017
This book starts out like a standard romance novel, with a familiar predicament -- Evan has been left by his longtime boyfriend, and he has to start over. You meet and really get to know Evan's supportive friends; meanwhile, he tries to make sense of what has happened to his life.
Then the book takes a turn that was unexpected, but immensely powerful, and it really changed the book. The author captured a situation that unfortunately will be familiar to a lot of Americans, and he made it real by capturing the many ways humans respond to the unimaginable.
It's hard to read, but so worth reading.
Then the book takes a turn that was unexpected, but immensely powerful, and it really changed the book. The author captured a situation that unfortunately will be familiar to a lot of Americans, and he made it real by capturing the many ways humans respond to the unimaginable.
It's hard to read, but so worth reading.
February 6, 2017
Great Story - Leaving me with mixed emotions.
I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this book but it kept me glued. It was very well written and obviously there were some very sad bits but talk about a cliche! The best way to get over somebody is to get under somebody new. But then again, it's fiction and we were kept guessing until the very end. #TeamJase all the way.
I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this book but it kept me glued. It was very well written and obviously there were some very sad bits but talk about a cliche! The best way to get over somebody is to get under somebody new. But then again, it's fiction and we were kept guessing until the very end. #TeamJase all the way.
January 24, 2017
4.5 stars
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews