In a fun and funny new read by debut author Brent Lymer, The Velvet Rope: Based on Real Events is a book that will have readers engaged from the first page and will keep them reading through to the very last. Following the exploits of Brent's own life as he finds himself working as a nightclub doorman at the somewhat unlikely age of thirty, each chapter gives a new story of another thing that happened during the course of the job. Mixing alcohol, sexual situations and a whole lot of testosterone is definitely not a good idea, and much of what Brent and his fellow workers encountered dealt with one, two or all three of these things at once. Each story is told with a wry wit and an extremely realistic portrayal of this often overlooked profession, and will keep readers laughing throughout!

I very much enjoyed The Velvet Rope: Based on Real Events. Author Brent Lymer has done an awesome job in giving his readers a synopsis of his more humorous experiences during his time as doorman/bouncer at a nightclub in the 1990s. Anyone who has spent any time at all on the nightclub circuit will absolutely recognize the personalities involved in most of his altercations, and might even see a little bit of themselves in some of the characters. Any reader looking for a fun and funny read about an extremely relatable topic should absolutely give The Velvet Rope a read. I am pleased to recommend this book, and hope I get a chance to read more from the hilarious author Brent Lymer as soon as it might become available!

Set in the early 1990s, The Velvet Rope is a candid description of life as a bar bouncer in Vancouver, British Columbia. When Brent Lymer realizes that his career as a relatively successful suit wearing, behind-the desk professional is lacking in stimulation, he joins forces with several companions to work the club scene. Serving as a work of “non-fiction fiction,” this memoir takes us behind the scenes of the nutty, intense, and often graphic world of late night/early morning socialites. Lymer admittedly describes his chosen career path as being “sprinkled with artistic license, unadulterated bullshit, innuendo, hearsay, and blatant fabrication.” While the public sees the job of a doorman as just another minimum paid vocation, Brent Lymer brings forth the vivid events that occur on a typical “day at the office,” not recognized as the high intensity responsibility of protecting club patrons as well as the integrity of the business owner that it rightfully deserves. The Velvet Rope introduces us to the many vulgar and often outrageous antics of club goers in a city of enthusiastic bar hoppers.

Although the language and events described in this memoir are not appropriate for the sensitive reader, this is a highly entertaining portrayal of club scene life. I salute Lymer for bringing an unlikely job choice to the written page. The Velvet Rope, while based on true events, is an engaging fictional account of what really happens outside (and sometimes inside) the walls of popular watering holes this side of the Canadian border. A fun read. Well done, Brent Lymer!