This book was a really great read - not at all what I was expecting! It’s marketed as a rom-com but I think it’s so much more than that - yes there is romance and there are definitely some funny bits, but at its heart, it’s a book about a 30-something Scottish gay man and his 30-something friends struggling with life, love and healing.

Leo Falconer is a drama teacher and cardigan enthusiast. He doesn’t drink, loves musicals and is happy to be the supporting actor in his own life. Leo has a lot of hangups - he doesn’t like the way he looks and compares himself to others a lot, he has low self-esteem which his covers with humour, and he doesn’t drink due to gaslighting by a horrendous ex. In fact, his relationship with his ex and the abuse his suffered at his hands colours a lot of the relationship he has in this book.

Watching Leo realise his true worth and untangling the mess that has been his dating history is really lovely to watch. I also enjoyed the side characters’ struggles that are happening - Tam and Daisy are Leo’s best friends. Daisy is in a dying relationship with a man who is never going to commit, and Tam is fretting over his upcoming marriage and using retail therapy to cope.

Read Leading Man for:
✨ Drama teacher with low esteem but high humour
✨ Coping with recovering from an abusive relationship
✨ Chaotic group of friends with issues
✨ Emotional drama, cheating, gaslighting
✨ He just wants to put on a school show
✨ Hopeful ending 💕

This book is a fab read for anyone who likes contemporary romance about healing and becoming yourself after trauma, plus chaotic friendship groups fuelled by drama and Sauvignon Blanc. Also for anyone who has ever been a teacher, something about Leo spending his whole Christmas holiday trying to organise his schoolwork gave me PTSD flashbacks, IYKYK 🤣

Many thanks to the author and NetGalley for an ARC of this book ✨

Leading Man was a really fun read. A contemporary romance, 'finding yourself' story. We follow Leo, a teacher, a gay man, a friend, often existing in the background letting his friends take a leading role and not making a fuss. Through a tumultuous year of change, good and bad, Leo is able to face his past and figure out what he wants from the future. Leo is a really lifelike protagonist and I enjoyed seeing the world through his eyes. We see the people around him as he sees them to begin with, and as his perspective changes, so does ours.

Funny, relatable and engaging. Recommended to fans of modern, character-driven stories.

I couldn't connect to the story, characters, or writing style of this one at all. It just didn't work for me, it felt very hollow to me for some reason. It sounded like a fun story from the blurb and it didn't line up with my expectations.

I warmed to Leo from the get go, and really enjoyed getting to know him and how he navigates changes in his life that push him into the spotlight. I hard relate to a lot of Leo and his experiences, although he is way funnier than I will ever be (side-note - I've always enjoyed the wit in Justin Myers writing and this is right up there, one of his best), and I loved the way he evolved as the book went on, becoming a version of himself that's more able to own who he is, what he wants, and what he values. Leo's not a pushover per se, but definitely prefers the sidelines, which makes sense when his friends often have dramatic goings on of their own. He's the listener, the helper, the shoulder to cry on. That's no backhanded compliment - those are characteristics of an excellent person, but as we read the book we gradually find out why he tends to hide behind these qualities when he's with other people, rather than care for others and also advocate for what he needs in return. This is a funny book - I giggled a lot - but there are also dark edges, and Myers finds a way to write both without either undercutting and diminishing the impact of the other. My only reservation is that I didn't quite buy the ending - but that might just have been my frame of mind, and it certainly didn't detract from my overall enjoyment of the book.

I already loved Justin Myers writing style and this novel didn't disappoint! I loved the dynamics of Leo and the relationships with his friends and how time and perspective can change our relationships.

I would highly recommend and can't wait to read the rest of Justin's back catalouge

It's so nice to see how Leo develops throughout the book and grows beyond himself and learns how wonderful and strong he actually is

Do I read romantic comedies? No. Do I usually like contemporary adult fiction? Also no.

Let’s see how Leading Man by Justin Myers goes…. Brace yourselves…

Actually while all true, that’s total clickbait nonsense. Myers is one of my favourite writers, from The Guyliner, the Guardian dating column summations, via his deliciously well written weekly Substack, I’m a fan.

His second book, The Magnificent Sons was just perfection, a spiky, funny, emotional treat. This, his fourth, follows Leo, a drama teacher in Edinburgh navigating a toxic ex, a new relationship and two ‘main character energy’ best friends who don’t seem to much care about him at all.

Myers has created a great cast of characters here - which is impressive as I didn’t really like any of them, but enjoyed them because of how well rounded they were, and felt real. I could sense what they would say or how they would react. I really wanted to see what happened in their lives.

As a lead, Leo is infuriating in his lack of self confidence - but as a self deprecating gay man with body and looks issues I can assure you it’s very well done and rings true!

As ever, Myers writing is spectacular. His turns of phrase are meticulously crafted and his wit is razor sharp. Even the bleakest parts of the book charmed me because of the warmth of the writing and the pitch of the humour.

I wasn’t rooting for a particular ending, but even then the pesky characters didn’t do what I wanted, especially as the book finished on a little WTF moment, but I thoroughly enjoyed the ride, and would happily turn back to page one and start again to savour any funny bits I missed, especially to look for signs of that ending.

I will definitely continue to read anything Myers writes…

Somewhat of a development for Justin Myers this - less funny, but more emotionally engaging. There’s still a thread of humour throughout, but as all told from Leo’s perspective it’s a rather lowkey humour.
There’s a throughline of dealing with emotional trauma, and masking that through self- deprecation and sidelining one’s own importance. This is rather affecting, in a way I hadn’t anticipated. There’s also a lovely plot to follow with Leo and his friendship group, and their various relationships. I was genuinely surprised by the denouement- which is unusual in such a novel. Really appreciated that, whilst recognising that the seeds had been sown throughout.

Lastly - loved it being set in Edinburgh and not London. Makes a nice change! And I made an involuntary yelp at the references to late nights at Favorit…

I liked Leading Man a lot.

The book focuses on Leo, a teacher who is a little insecure about his looks and personality and has some very energetic friends, Tam and Daisy. He meets a childhood friend again and they get involved. At the same time he is charged by a new deputy head, as the drama teacher, to put together an original end-of-year school play and is forced to spend more time with his slightly grumpy superior working on this project.
Since his relationship with his last boyfriend ended badly, Leo avoids talking about his thoughts and feelings and instead focuses on his friends' issues when they spend time together.

The book is relatively slow-paced and is instead focused on the development of Leo's relationships and character, his thoughts, insecurities and how he and his new, attractive boyfriend shape their lives together.

I am someone who likes to read the last page first so I'll try to say this as in-spoilery as possible. Although I knew the ending, it was a little out of the blue and could have built up a little bit more, since there have not been many wandering thoughts apart from aesthetic appreciation. I did like to know the ending, though, because this way I think I focussed more on some earlier clues and noticed red flags a bit sooner and could appreciate their development a bit more.

I would rate the book a bit higher than 4 stars, maybe 4.25-4.5
I would die finitely recommend this.

Unfortunately, this wasn’t the book for me. I wasn’t a fan of the writing style, or Leo that much, I think this book could do with a better blurb and a better ending. It was entirely out of the blue and far too quick to be satisfying.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

"Leading Man" by Justin Myers was captivating from the start with Leo's life and backstory. As a Drama Teacher myself, I found a personal connection to Leo, which enhanced my engagement with the narrative. Myers skillfully crafts Leo's hardships, providing fresh insights into his thoughts and actions. The dynamic characterisation keeps readers on their toes, oscillating between liking and disliking characters with each chapter. The twist at the end brings a satisfying conclusion, leaving a smile on my face as I revel in Leo's happy ending. Overall, "Leading Man" is a captivating read that keeps readers thoroughly engrossed until the very end.

Per the request of the publisher, this review will not be posted on any other platforms prior to 25th April 2024. Thank you to the publisher, and NetGalley, for an advance reader ebook in return for an honest review.

This is easily one of the best books I have ever read.

Leading Man is an emotional sucker punch of a book. It might be blurbed like a romcom, and in so many ways it is one, but it is the modern, self-aware kind of romcom that gets 80% or high on Rotten Tomatoes. The kind of romcom that would star comedians, down to earth Nepo-babies, and up-and-comers. Leading Man is a heart breaking, heart mending, soul expanding wonder of a book.

Leo, Lion, Dandelion, whatever you want to call the MC of this wonder of a book, is the voice inside all of our heads. Self-aware to the point of self-destructive, Leo knows his past relationships, his family life, and his friendships have all screwed him up, and been screwed up by him, in unique and painful ways. When an old friend returns to Edinburgh he finds himself catapulted into a relationship, dating a man from his wildest dreams. At the same time changes at work not only leave him swimming upstream, when he'd always been a go-with-the-flow kinds guy, but being encouraged by an unfairly-attractive, and deeply irritating new deputy head. With his love and professional lives in upheaval, Leo finds that he can't even rely on his oldest friends. Perpetually the sounding board, and only just starting to discover the depths of his ex's depravity, Leo is in a constant state of flux. Leading Man follows a 34 year old drama teacher Leo, who never casts himself in centre stage, as he finally begins to interrogate the relationships he has, the people who claim to love him, and the things he can rely on.

Leo was a joy to read, and at the same time I have never wanted to bodily shake a character so much. Myers has crafted someone deeply human, and yet possess such an intrinsic wit, and incomparable command of language, that the story could never be mistaken for biography. I picked this up thinking it would be a romcom, and I was delighted to find that I was wrong. Every interaction, every word, every repeated motif, was brilliantly timed. This was so much more than a campy love-themed romp. This was a novel about self-love, about exploration, and in so many ways about abuse. What it looks like, why it hurts, and how we can turn it inwards. Myers depiction of friendship in particular, the selfishness at it's core, the distance you feel when you are the callee and never the caller, was breathtaking, and heartbreaking all at once. I have never read Myer before, but he just became and auto-buy writer for me.

Leading Man isn't what I was expecting, but it blew me away. This is the kind of book you recommend to everyone you know, because it is a gem, and they will find something in it. I have no criticisms for this. It was perfect, crafted with care and skill. I read this in February, and not talking about it until now has been physically painful. I cannot express how absolutely this has consumed me. Leading Man is a perfect example of what good fiction looks like.

5 stars.

Dnf it wasn’t what it was advertised to be, I expected more and it was put in the wrong category. May still buy a copy to try again

Actual rating: 4.5

As usual, Justin Myers has written engaging characters with brilliant humour, humility and heart. Leading Man is funny, heartfelt and full of meaning.

Teacher Leo has recently come out of a disastrous relationship with a man his mother still adores and keeps in touch with. He has low self-esteem, and is always belittling himself and comparing himself to his friends. He's fairly newly sober, so the dynamic with his old friends Tam and Daisy has changed. He believes he's set to live life from the outside looking in, until a childhood friend returns to Edinburgh.
So, he starts a relationship with Harvey, and learns a lot about himself and the people he surrounds himself with along the way.

Leo was loveable and relatable, and mildly infuriating as he continued to fall into his routine of not believing he's good enough.

Myers has a skill for creating real characters, and this includes the less than loveable people Leo finds along the way.

The ending was pretty unexpected, but it wasn't unwelcome. The novel didn't go the way anyone would expect, and seemed to come slightly out of nowhere, but it made sense. Overall a wonderful read.

Thank you to Little, Brown Book Group and Netgalley for the ARC!

JUSTIN MYERS – LEADING MAN *****

This is the easiest five stars I have awarded for a book in months.

Justin Myers – I’d never heard of him until this story – is nauseatingly talented. Humorous too.

‘You’re tall.’
‘Oh? I was five-seven when I left the house.’

‘Jordan’s body was harder than a sudoku; he was a granite worktop with hair.’

And clever in the images he creates. And the full-rounded characters.

Daisy and Tam, our hero Leo’s (Lion, Dandelion) long (suffering?) friends who know him so well. His lovers, present and ex.

Leo is a young drama teacher in Edinburgh. We meet him after his breakup with Peter as he embarks on a new journey with beautiful Harvey. Life is perfect. Or is it?

Leo is tall and gangly and not at all good-looking, always putting himself down. In very witty ways, of course. But what he sees in the mirror is not how other people see him.

You really care about him, his choices, the people he ends up with. And there are twists and turns galore, even in the final pages of the story. Six stars out of five.

Leo is an unassuming and steadfast friend to the pair of drama queens, Tam and Daisy. He deals with his problems quietly and on his own. His break up with Peter, or The Unpleasantness, as he likes to call it, his father’s death – he is brand new and fine, no need to make a fuss. But when he starts dating perfect Harvey, who pushes him to become a better person, when his boss at school gets him involved in a school production, Leo is in the spotlight.
Reading Justin Myers’ books is always like coming home or visiting a friend. I love his writing style, the humour, the characters, and the way that with each book he seems to grow as an author. Similarly to his first book, this first person narration takes us on a journey of the character’s relationship, but there is so much here as well. The messiness of friendships, heartbreaks, dealing with a low self esteem and the being your authentic self – there are many interesting layers in this story. I like when I do not expect what’s going to happen, and I GASPED several times while reading Leading Man. There were fragments where I have felt seen, and seeing my experiences validated made the book even more engaging for me. I also liked the narrators voice, the self-deprecating humour, his art of deflection and the journey of self discovery on which he embarks. The ending was unexpected and really caught me by surprise! I imagined the whole story quite differently to be honest, it is rare for me to be so wrong!

Having delved into Justin's previous works and being an avid follower of his weekly column (which I hope transforms into a book someday), I eagerly picked up his latest. This book revolves around Leo, a charming drama teacher in Edinburgh. Leo's character is incredibly likable and endearing, although there are moments when you may feel the urge to give him a metaphorical shake. If you're a fan of romantic comedies, this book is right up your alley.

Unfortunately this book was just not for me.

I did enjoy the writing style, and laughed out loud at some of the jokes. I like my rom coms with some actual comedy, and ‘Leading Man’ delivered on that. I also thought the characters were pretty well fleshed out, and they mostly felt like people with lives outside of the story instead of characters.

[The next part of the review contains spoilers]

Unfortunately the ending felt extremely rushed and I was left with little but a sense of confusion. While I enjoyed their friendship, I never felt any romantic chemistry between Leo and Tam. I was glad that Leo didn’t fall for Alex’s routine, but I never got the sense that Tam was the person Leo was looking for. I can’t think of any instances in the book where Tam is especially supportive of Leo for who he is.

Bereits mein zweites Buch von Justin Myers, und das war nicht mal Absicht. Und ähnlich wie THE LAST ROMEO da es sehr nah an einer Realität ist die ich fühlen kann. Leo, Mitt30er, nicht sooo attraktiv, nicht so talentiert, nicht so interessant, seit einer schlechten Beziehung Dauer-Single ... ja der perfekte Nebendarsteller in seinem eigenen Leben. Und EIGENTLICH ganz zufrieden damit, irgendwie. Schließlich sind seine besten Freunde Daisy und Tam centerstage genug mit ihren Romanzen und Dramen. Und dann wird Leo von seiner Mutter auch noch zu einem Treffen mit einem alten Kinderfreund verdonnert, Harvey. Doch was, Harvey ist unglaublich attraktiv und kultiviert.... und schwul ... und an Leo interessiert. Und auch im Job bekommt Leo plötzlich wichtigere Aufgaben und seine Chance zu glänzen.... doch geneigte Leser, all das passiert in den ersten 50 Seiten. Ihr wisst was das heißt. Ich möchte keine Twists verraten denn da das Buch nur aus Leos Sicht geschrieben ist, bekommen wir alles hautnah genau wie er mit. Und da ist einiges, auch an Leo selbst, denn wer macht uns eigentlich Zum Nebendarsteller? Unser Umfeld oder wir weil wir es mit uns machen lassen. Wenn etwas besser wirkt, ist es dann auch besser? Ignorieren wir Red Flags egal an wem und malen sie grün nur weil wir es gerne grün hätten? Sind wir entscheidungsscheu und überlassen es darum anderen und wollen wir wirklich die Aufmerksamkeit der Hauptrolle oder blendet uns das Scheinwerferlicht? Warum erwarten wir einen neuen Ausgang, wenn wir immer wieder das selbe machen, freiwillig und willentlich? Und was passiert wenn wir am Boden liegen und eigentlich nichts mehr zu verlieren haben und DANN den Mund aufmachen? LEADING MAN mag an sich klassische Gay Romance sein, außer vielleicht ... btw das Ebook wurde mir von @netgalley zur Verfügung gestellt.

Having adored all of Justin Myers' previous books, I was over the moon to receive the arc for this one. Tonally, it feels different from his previous works - the laughs have been abandoned for something so moving it totally took me by surprise. Leo's story about body image, self-acceptance, societal expectation and conventions, resonated with me to an unexpected and profound extent. Myers writes with such tenderness and love, it was impossible not to be totally invested in Leo's journey of love, both of self and others.