Thank you Dreamscape Audio for the free audio advanced listener, all opinions are my own. I did go out and purchased the audio.

I loved listening along while reading along with my physical copy - It helps me to train my brain and helped immensely with translating Darian's Essex accent. I love all the varied accents that Nicholas Boulton managed to produce, from Ash's very proper posh accent, to Darian and Chloe's Essex accent.

This is not the happy rom-com that Boyfriend Material is closer to, but this one is so much more accurate in exploring and showing the effects of mental illness and depression. Ash is a certified grump who deals with panic attacks, the fall out of mania (bi-polar), the effects of being scared of your own mind, the lengths one will go to protect themselves. Darian is the sunshine (not naive, or dumb, but truly caring) model in sparkles that captures Ash in a moment of weakness that leads to possible happiness, if only Ash will allow himself to embrace happiness.

I cried listening to what Ash puts himself through, the mental gymnastics, the negative self talk, made me want to wrap him up in a hug (and maybe one of Chloe's glardigan).

Highly recommend.

Thanks to Netgalley for the updated audiobook!

I love this book.I have read it multiple times and I have listened to it at least as many. I love that Nicholas Boulton did the updated narration (including Aftermath which makes the HFN sink in a bit more).

This book feels so much its time and place for me. I lived in the UK for 6 years and I worked in Essex for most of that time. (I liked in Bishop's Stortford which is n Hertfordshire but surrounded by Essex.) The moment that places Glitterland in time and space for me is when Ash talks about Branston pickle being vegetables. One of my friends once told me she was going to eat better by having loads of vegetables and these vegetables would all come from Branston pickle. This kind of moment just makes it feel so real.

Ash is bi-polar and messy and really not very nice - but he feels very real. He does like himself and I think he is a great example of an unreliable narrator. Darian is a sweetheart and I hope he doesn't let Ash get away with too much. There is a lot going on under the surface between the two of them.

The writing is beautifully lyrical and I like the way Ash occasionally gets very literary and this is reflected in the prose.

Highly recommended.

Alexis Hall gets what it means to be human. It is this raw honesty that makes his characters real and brings them to life. In Glitterland, we meet Ash - a bipolar depressive who is definitely not looking for human interaction. When Ash sees Darian, he simply can't help himself. But when Darian speaks, Ash is taken aback by his Essex accent, his lack of what he sees as class, and his self-assurance. After what Ash believes will be a one-night stand, he continues to run into Darian and then finds excuses to continue to do so. He intends for it to be all physical since Darian is all wrong for him but Darian just has a way of working his way into Ash's life and heart.

I really appreciated that Hall didn't hold back with Ash. Being bipolar and depressive is very real and Hall shows this in Ash. We are in his head so we see his spiraling thoughts front and center. There is care taken with Ash. While Hall keeps him true to his character, he is kind to him, and shows him as well as the reader, that everyone deserves love and is capable of it. I loved the character growth in this and everything that wasn't magically "fixed". Instead, there is beautiful acceptance and meeting people where they were at.

I have no idea where Hall finds his audiobook narrators but he nails it every single time. Nicholas Boulton is fantastic as Ash as well as Darian. I loved hearing these two fools fall in love. I had not read this series from Hall but definitely plan to check out his others. His books just work so well for me because of the humanity found within their pages.

When I saw the updated audiobook for Glitterland on NetGalley, I couldn’t resist looking further, and when I saw that it was narrated by Nichlas Boulton, I had to have a listen. Y’all. This book is SO GOOD. And Nicholas Boulton is SO GOOD. Just spectacular. 

So there you have it. 

But this is also a Review Revisited, so I guess I’ll talk a little bit more about this book from the lens of now. Holly, Ingrid and I reviewed this book for the first time about three years ago, so I also enjoyed listening to it again. Laughing again. Swooning again. I’ve been reading a lot of non-fiction about neurodivergence, so my understanding of Ash’s diagnoses is greater than before. The combination of already knowing what happens plus simply more life experience makes for an entirely new reading experience (plus Nicholas Boulton, of course), and I connected with the book in new, wonderful ways. 

In the first place, Boulton reads, like, the whole book, including the foreword and on to the supplemental content added for the republication of the novel. The foreword includes a note from Hall about his writing, including that this story ends rather abruptly, which is true. Even for Hall, who is a dedicated HFN author, the original ending was very there and done. In this reprint, in addition to the original supplemental content and some small editorial polishing (I didn't notice a difference, but it has been a few years) of parts of the story, he’s added Aftermath, a bonus epilogue he’d written previously but was not included with the novel, which gives the reader a little more of a let down to get back into Darian and Ash’s relationship. Given how dreadfully Ash messed up in the first place, this is a good addendum to push us forward into believing in their relationship again. 

One thing I really like about Hall is that he is willing to let his characters be really messy. I’ve said this before, but it struck me once again, because of Ash and Niall’s relationship. Niall, Ash’s friend and ex, is portrayed as sort of Ash’s resentful keeper, and there are times when he’s absolutely horrible to Ash. But later in the story, after Ash has said he never wants to see Niall again, after Ash has spectacularly imploded his life, Niall comes back (their friend group is all around for a wedding throughout the story) and apologizes sincerely, and they can move forward from there. I’ve been feeling lately like there’s a lot of cutting toxic relationships out and never looking back in romance (and life, TBH), but it struck me here that there’s beauty in letting someone acknowledge wrongdoing and apologize and find a way forward—especially since Ash is no peach himself. It’s uplifting. 

Now, about Ash being no peach. Part of our prior discussion of this book was regarding Ash as a romance hero. Does he even like Darian? What I noticed in this read was that Ash is not being particularly honest with himself, so it’s not possible for him to be honest in his narration. Darian reads what’s underneath, so he is interpreting how Ash really feels (based more on Ash’s actions than on his words) and acts based on that. He does it all the time. Is it a great way to engage with a relationship? No. But people are messy and also part of Ash’s journey here is coming to terms with himself, because if he can’t do that then he and Darian can’t move forward. And I think part of the reason Ash likes Darian is because Ash says something rude and Darian tells him he’s out of order, which no one else is entirely willing to do with good grace because Ash is so wrapped up in his diagnoses that’s all anybody can see anymore. I had initially said that Ash is self-aware, and he is up to a point, but more importantly I noticed on this reading that he thinks he’s self-aware, but he’s just as wrapped up in telling himself stories based on his diagnoses as anybody else in his life. Ash’s relationship with Darian and the separation from Darian help Ash come to be more honest with himself about his capabilities and how he’s been treating people around him, contributing to a dynamic character growth arc and making a real future more possible between Ash and Darian at the end of the story. 

As for the rest of our past discussion, I think it holds up. And maybe if you have trouble with phonetic accents, you would appreciate Boulton’s narration, because he is exceptional and brings Darian to life in such a delightful way.

I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. We disclose this in accordance with 16 CFR §255.

This review is also available at The Smut Report.

This was a DNF for me. I wanted to like it because I love pretty much anything Alexis Hall writes, but I just couldn't get into this one. The characters seemed forced and it wasn't enjoyable.

Glitterland is one of Alexis Hall's first novels and the second I have read from the author. The first was Boyfriend Material and I particularly enjoyed listening to it.

Foremost, I think it is important to consider that Glitterland was written a long time ago and that the author’s writing have really improved since.

The book follows the adventure of two totally opposite characters who try, with difficulty, to build a relationship after a chance encounter in a bar. The story is slow paced and addresses dark themes, that are clearly announced in the trigger warnings at the beginning. I personally found those themes hard to navigate through. In addition, I had a lot of difficulty believing in the relationship between Ash and Darian.

BUT the narrator, Nicholas Boulton, who has narrated more than 50 audiobooks, perfectly embodies the two protagonists of Glitterland. I really liked the tone and, above all, the accent of the characters. All in all, I would only recommend the book for the narrator.

Oh my goodness I loved this book and this audiobook is EVERYTHING! Very good production and the performance was beautifully done! The narrator did an excellent job with the different voices and English dialects to make it easy to distinguish the different characters. I know this was an older book by Alexis Hall, but as usual, it’s a wonderfully heartfelt love story. I was so on edge wondering how it was gonna turn out. I almost wasn’t sure if Ash was going to make it. But I felt absolutely everything!
Well done!

5 stars for the narrator, Nicholas Boulton! Excellent voice work brings this story to life. I think if I had to translate Darian's Essex dialect it would be distracting from the story. But, since I listened to the audiobook that work was done for me and made it much more enjoyable.

Pretty steamy M/M open door romance.

Looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

And I guess the book gets 5 stars too.

I'm so glad this book got traditionally published because it portrays a very necessary facet of mental health that I had never seen represented. I loved the romance and how Alexis Hall did us the favour of adding the recipe at the end of the book. I loved the protagonists, the way they interacted, the people they were and how they were both flawed individuals. I always finish an Alexis Hall romance thinking he put something very real interspaced with some zany characters so we could laugh a bit. I recommend this entire series btw
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this DRC

When I first finished this one I wasn't sure I really liked it. I put it as a 3 star read. It has been a few days and I keep finding myself thinking about the characters. I always love books that make you think about them long after you finished.
What I loved while I was reading. I am a huge grumpy sunshine fan and Ash was the perfect grump and Darian was the perfect sunshine. The trope could have been perfected with this book. The scenes where they are together and their witty banter back and forth and how they just fall into each other's life so perfectly. It all was over the top nice, almost a little to convenient But the more I thought about it the more I kind of loved it. Ash needed someone like Darien that was going to be able to handle his moods and be ok when he was low and full of anxiety and ok when he was being a little manic.
I loved the portrayal of mental health, depression and bi polar. Ash as a narrator almost had that unreliable theme which I am a sucker for. You weren't sure where you were going, you felt anxious when he did, and elated when he did, and I was so mad at him when he was thinking more about appearances then love but it truly made him a flawed character.
I am never a huge fan of insta love and then they broke up and took 6 months off and then were just boom back in love again. It was where I kind of lost the story. But the more I thought back on the story the more it fit these two. The ups and downs of Ash and how he had to learn to stand up to his friends and kind of stand on his own before going to get Darian worked. And of course Darien the sunshine that he is was ready and willing to take him back.
I listed to the audio version of this book and the narrator was perfection. His accents and voices for each characters, the way he said "babes" was just so perfect and really made this story come to life.
I would recommend to those that like complicated love stories, grumpy sunshine and overall just a great love story. Also Highly recommend the audio version.

I loved Glitterland by Alexis Hall. Ash’s journey of self-awareness thru his mental illness, and fighting past the way he and his oldest friends see him, is heart rending. And Darian loves him thru it all. I loved Nicholas Boulton’s narration, especially the differences between Ash and friends’ posh Oxford accents and Darian’s Essex accent. I couldn’t have done that in my head. Human narrators are magical.

This new audio edition includes Aftermath, which previously was only available in the old ebook edition, and is of an important discovery Darian makes. Also includes a couple other bonus thingies.

Content advisory for detailed talk and experiences of self harm, depression, spiraling, and mania.

I had heard about Glitterland, and I was excited when it popped up an audiobook. What a great book. Darian was a true romantic, and showed Ash how to be loved and accept himself.

Alexis Hall has such a magical, almost stream of conscience way of telling Ash (A.A.) Winters story.

Ash is a successful Crime fiction novelist, who is living with clinical depression. He has extreme highs and lows and anxiety. Living with the incessant guilt of his own actions, and the harm he causes others, struggle to find happiness or joy in his life… until the sparkling Darien, Taylor runs into his path and forces to look beyond what he feels is expected of him and reach out and embrace joy can be found near every day.

Just like his life love story is full of up and down not all caused by Ash’s illness. Can he relax into this new image of himself? And will Darien be able to continue loving once the glitter and newness has worn out?

This was such an immersive story that really, what’s the reader in tune with the characters. Alexis Hall’s portal of Ash and his cycle of illness, was realistic and powerful. An excellent romance, with real characters living their lives and trying to make it work.

I love Alexis Hall’s writing, but personally I have found that the narration in their audiobooks just bring their stories to the next level. Narrator Nicholas Boulton is no exception to that rule and provides a listening experience and manages to transport the reader truly into this story. His excellent voice work in this first person story brings life, not only to Ash, but to his partner, Darian and his friends too.

Thank you to Dreamscape Audio for the advanced listening copy. Opinions are own.

There are some authors whose writing style just resonates every time, and one of those authors for me is Alexis Hall. I found this story to be so engrossing that I listened to it in one sitting. The mental health representation, while sometimes tough to go through as the entire book is from Ash’s POV, is very well done. This book is a rerelease, and although it is noticeable that the original came out over ten years ago I don’t think it detracts from the story as it stands now. Darian is the ultimate a ray of sunshine to Ash’s grumpy, and I loved how they balanced each other out. Ash has to figure out how to navigate his feelings for Darian, his glitter pirate, all while not thinking he’s worthy of their relationship, and worrying he’ll let Darian down because of what he can’t control in the future. However, they do continue to find their way back to each other, and the tone at the end is hopeful.

Overall, I couldn’t recommend this audiobook more. I think the narrator’s accents for the characters really added another layer to the story that I wouldn’t have gotten if I had read this physically, especially given how much Darian being from Essex is a focal point. I will absolutely be continuing this series on audio!

Thank you to Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for giving this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

*Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this audiobook ARC in exchange for an honest review. Pub date: January 16, 2024

What starts as a seemingly singularly focused, spicy open door M/M romance transitions into a charmingly sweet, opposites attract British romcom. This has great mental health rep, though the dialogue around it seemed a little bit dated. This was originally released a decade ago and is just now being released as an audiobook. If you haven’t previously read it and want to, I highly recommend the audio. The narrator is fantastic in bringing these characters to life!

❗️First of all, please please please look at the CW list provided in the beginning of the book. I cannot judge the mental health representation myself, since I have no idea how a person with BP and depression would think/feel/behave, but I can see how some parts could be hard to digest, especially the hateful language the MC uses towards himself.

That said, I loved this story. Yes, it was emotional and intense and sometimes very very sad, but it was just as funny and heartwarming — all thanks to Darian, our love interest. And by “our” I mean I now claim this Glitter Pirate for myself even though I’m not his type 😝

When Ash, our MC, is grumpy, dismissive and often a huge snob, Darian is all that is good in this world. He loves with his whole heart, with no reservations and no regrets. He is the funniest character I’ve read in a long time, and that’s only partly due to his Essex accent. I wish I had the ebook too for this review so I could put at least half of it in the quotes for this post.

Darian helped me in my writing too! Now, whenever I come up with a perfect verb or turn of phrase in my writing, I hear “oh, you’re so clever, babes!” in my head, and it makes me smile like I hope Ash smiles wherever he is now.

Honestly, listening to this story was such a delight. Nicholas Boulton portrayed every character so brilliantly! It would have definitely been a lesser experience to simply read it with my eyeballs.

Compared to the only other Alexis Hall book I’ve read, which was a closed-door Christmas romcom, Glitterland is way spicier. The spice is masterfully written into the story and plays an integral part in character development, which is one of my favourite things in romance.

I don’t know what else to say except for YOU HAVE TO READ IT. I have the ARC of the second book in the series for February and I couldn’t be more excited!

Oh and the bonus material is truly amazing, don’t skip it!

Rating:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
🌶️🌶️🌶️
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

The mental health representation in this one is everything. I thought the love story was so well written (and it is VERY steamy), and I loved how Hall delved into the ways in which mental health is handled in relationships (both good and bad while highlighting the healthy and positive ways). I loved the friend relationships almost as much as the main love story and how both main characters had such great friends in their circles rallying around them. I really had no idea what this book was about going in, but I am so glad I picked it up!

Ten years after the publication of the book, an audiobook is being released. As a reader in 2023, I would definitely say that the treatment of mental illness in this book feels dated, but that actually is the case...

Ash and those around him blame a lot of his behaviors on being depressed. It's used as a crutch and even his best friends believe stereotypically negative things about him. But 2013 was a time when just talking about mental health was a pretty big deal and the book does have a happy ending and the most problematic friends are confronted and see the error of their ways.

Dated mental health treatment aside, Glitterland was an enjoyable M/M romance about a pair of unlikely lovers. Their relationship slowly progressed from one night stand, to dating, to a breakup after a colossal communication failure, and finally happily ever after. They were an easy pair to route for. Overall, it was a fun listen.

“I thought of Darian. Even here, where everything was bright and brash and fake, he glittered like something real.”

This book, while it has funny moments, is really heavy. Ash has bipolar disorder and has a history of depression. When we meet him, he’s not in a great place, escaping from a one-night stand. He finds the same man later, and they embark on a relationship, despite the fact that they seem like polar opposites.

Darian brings out something different in Ash, managing to have pull him out of his comfort zone. He isn’t fazed by Ash’s issues with mental health, assuring him that they can cross that bridge when they get there. But it’s clear that Ash has trauma he’s never properly dealt with, making him unreliable and anxious. But Darian is this bright light that makes Ash want to better.

The side characters, as always, make the story come alive. They felt like they all served a purpose in the plot, adding to it rather than taking away. Ash has a contentious relations with his friend and ex, Niall, that really hammers home where Ash’s mental health is. Darian’s friends are wonderful and so protective that you can feel the found family.

“He’s a kind, ridiculous, beautiful glitter pirate. I don’t know what else I can tell you. He makes me laugh. He makes me hopeful.”

The audiobook is done so well. Nicholas Boulton’s narration just manages to nail the emotion and different accents. Readers should check trigger warnings as there are some difficult topics discussed in detail.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A lot of 🌶
Bipolar/depression rep

A lot of TW, please check them out.

Thank you so much, netgalky and dreamscape media for the ALC! ♡

This book was first published in 2013, and now a new audiobook is coming out on January 16.

Nicholas Boulton did such a good job narrating the book. He added so much character and feelings to the scenes, especially the ending!. I definitely think that listening to the audiobook is a very different experience than reading it on paper.

About the book:
I had a great time reading it. It was a good mix of chaos, sadness, and fun. The characters in this story are not perfect. Some you love, most you hate. It's very refreshing to read, something totally out of the ordinary.

Because the book is narrated in Ash's point of view, you get to experience how much he hates himself, how mean he is to others, and his reasoning for it. It was good to see him realize how badly he was acting and how much of it was actually in his power to control and fix.

I liked the mental health representative. Especially the part where Ash explains his medication issues because it's so real! It is very difficult to have to take medication for your medications and always worry about them not working anymore.

Also, the story is not a "love can conquer all" type of story. That was good. Adding a new person to your life when you are so afraid of relapse is not easy. I liked the way Ash was honest about how much he could promise and that Darian had his boundaries set so well. They just have to try and see how it goes.

This version also includes the Aftermath, the extra: Shadowland, an extra of the protagonists' story "the glass menagerie" and a recipe (oh how I love recipes in books.