Shades of Henry

The Flophouse

By: Amy Lane

Narrated by: Steven James

A Flophouse Story

One bootstrap act of integrity cost Henry Worrall everything—military career, family, and the secret boyfriend who kept Henry trapped for eleven years. Desperate, Henry shows up on his brother’s doorstep and is offered a place to live and a job as a handyman in a flophouse for young porn stars.

Lance Luna’s past gave him reasons for being in porn, but as he continues his residency at a local hospital, they now feel more like excuses. He’s got the money to move out of the flophouse and live his own life—but who needs privacy when you’re taking care of a bunch of young men who think working penises make them adults?

Lance worries Henry won’t fit in, but Henry’s got a soft spot for lost young men and a way of helping them. Just as Lance and Henry find a rhythm as den mothers, a murder and the ghosts of Henry’s abusive past intrude. Lance knows Henry’s not capable of murder, but is he capable of caring for Lance’s heart?

©2020 Amy Lane (P)2025 Dreamspinner Press

Great story, terrible narrating

I love the story! But the narrating is awful. It’s like they’re just reading the book. No emotion whatsoever.

Finding Your Place

I had read the Johnnies series years ago. So ti was a nice visit to be back in that world. I also love the connection with the Fish world series that I started reading this year. When I started reading Amy Lane I didn’t realize the way all the books are knit together. This is another wonderful book set in these worlds. This one is more low angst since most of the action is off page. I love the way Lance and Henry fit together. I also like how they carve space for themselves while still keeping an eye out on the Flophouse boys. #CMCon26

On brand, between two series

Amy Lane is a master at fitting all the elements of a spectacular story into a tiny package. I tend to prefer longer reads, but I know even her shorter books are going to have hilarious dialog, great character development, lovable side characters, believable tension and endings that make you wish you could spend more time in the worlds she has created. This book checks all these boxes.

One warning: This story will be a much more enjoyable read if you realize that it takes place at the nexus of two other series. Read those first!!! Start with Lane’s Johnnie’s series, then her Fish Out of Water series. This book moves way, way too fast to be able to explain all the backstories, but the story is so much better if you know them. You can probably enjoy it on its own, but it’ll shine so much brighter in context.

A note on the narrator: at first, I HATED his voice. It just seemed all wrong. Too clipped and abrupt, almost disinterested. I mean, over-acting is bad too, but at the outset I felt like this guy could have been reading a menu, for all the inflection and storytelling quality he was demonstrating. But 1, stick with it, he does actually loosen up and get better, and 2, increase the playback speed a bit. It helps.

Loved the story narration just ok

I love this story and all it's connected series. This is my favorite author. However, the narration was just ok. He had a nice voice and spoke well, but he did not change his voice for different characters, rarely spoke with emotional inflection, or paused when speaking character dialogue. Since he did not change voices when speaking different character voices, the lack of space or hesitation made it really hard to know when a different character was speaking. I think he could be a good narrator with some small changes. I love audio and am still glad I purchased the book. As I said, the narrator does have a very good voice and it made up for a lot.

Loved it!

The first book/audio of The Flophouse series, it’s also related to the Fish series, book 6. I loved seeing how Henry and Lances relationship grew.

Great listen!!