Wednesday, May 17, 2017


#TBRChallenge Reading: The Lawrence Browne Affair by Cat Sebastian


2017 TBR Reading Challenge
Book: The Lawrence Browne Affair
Author: Cat Sebastian
My Categories: m/m Historical Romance
Wendy Crutcher's Category: Something Different (outside your usual reading)

This is my first m/m story, and I'm so glad I débuted with Cat Sebastian. She gets the Regency era just right, and she does a true Beauty and the Beast story.

Lawrence Browne, the Earl of Radnor, thinks he is mad. The people in the village believe he is mad. In reality, he's merely eccentric and a brilliant inventor and researcher. He has a touch of agoraphobia and an extreme shyness with people that makes him hide away in his disgusting, crumbling manor at Penkellis at the mercy of the handful of diehard servants. In a bid to save this lord, the Reverend writes a letter to his friend in London, begging him to send Radnor a secretary.

Enter handsome thief and confidence artist posing as a secretary. When he took up the post, little did Georgie Turner realize that Penkellis and Radnor would wake up a latent conscience and sense of duty in him. Of course, being wildly attracted to the large, gorgeous earl acts as a good prod to said conscience. In London, Turner was a thief who's on the run from a colleague out for his blood. In Cornwall, Turner is a hardworking secretary with patience and good organizational skills.

I loved how sensitively, Sebastian handles the two men's characters, their growing attraction, and how they open up to each other in all their vulnerability.

With a single, menacing forefinger, Lawrence touched Turner's chest. He had meant for the gesture to be intimidating, but it felt strangely intimate. Before he knew what had happened, Turner had taken hold of Lawrence's large, calloused hands in his own fine ones. Lawrence didn't know if the man was motivated by kindness or self-defense, but he found that he was holding hands with a person for the first time since he was a child.

While Radnor is no virgin, yet his experience is limited, and in recent years, nonexistent. So he is very susceptible to Turner's advances. I felt such tenderness for Radnor as he assumes his every moment of desire for Turner is a sign of incipient madness. Turner, in turn, is the experienced one but affection and admiration had never before been part of his dealings with his partners, and he is flummoxed by what Radnor brings out in him.

These two men from such disparate backgrounds come together as such equals—I loved that about this book. Neither disdains the other for who they are, what they do, or their past. They're concerned with who they are with each other. The Lawrence Browne Affair is such a romantic tale! Not to be missed.

12 comments:

willaful said...

Lovely review! You do it justice.

Christine Maria Rose said...

Great review! Definitely a good choice for your first m/m!

Keira Soleore said...

Thanks, Willa. It was such a good book, it's easy to write about it.

Keira Soleore said...

Thanks much, Christine. I'm off to read Glitterland next, which promises to be a good m/m as well.

Dorine said...

Sounds like a good one, Keira. Glad your new-to-you choice was a success. Great review. :)

Keira Soleore said...

Thanks much, Dorine. I'm glad my experiment was a success, but then, I went with something that had been oft recommended. Nothing truly experimental. :)

Unknown said...

I also don't read a lot of m/m but I've heard such wonderful things about this book, I added to my TBR. I'm so glad you also enjoyed it. I'm going to bump it up higher on my list!

azteclady said...

Your review made me wanna go one-click this--then I squeed, because I already have it on ye olde kindle app! ::happy dancing::

Keira Soleore said...

Lynn, my reading is mostly historicals, so I thought taking up a historical m/m would make it an easier transition, and it really worked out well. The historical tenor of the book is very good.

Keira Soleore said...

AztecL: You knew this was a good one. Cat Sebastian's writing has been recommended before for me, but there was always something else that came up. Finally, this book showed up on my book club's reading list, and it was a great fit for me.

Bona Caballero said...

I enjoyed this novel a lot (it was a 4-star book for me, although I haven't published my review yet). But I even loved The Soldier's Scoundrel more (5-star, nearly perfect). If you liked this one, give the first one a chance.

Keira Soleore said...

Bona, thank you for the recommendation. I will definitely check out "The Soldier's Scoundrel." She's so good. And I look forward to your Browne review.