Highly enjoyable story with excellent narration.

Wonderful little story with charming characters who seem authentic with all of their quirks and foibles. Happily surprised to listen to a story where at least one of the characters was not a brought-down-from-the-heavens Adonis, but a quirky, awkward and yet adorable protagonist that I found myself cheering for with real enthusiasm.

Most m/m romances have men who are too far away from reality in terms of perfect bodies, flawless features, copious wealth and er...other giant assets, and it creates a disconnect because in real life, we're not like that - our flaws make us more real, and therefore, more attractive. I also like stories where tough men have a softer side, because that seems to be my personal experience in life as well - a man that is driven is a man of great emotion, and too often we see overly stoic caricatures of these men, rather than real characterization of them.

The story is also well crafted in terms of illustrating the harsh reality of wealth poor but history rich seaside town during the time period the story is set in; the carefully painted descriptions of the scene did an excellent job of immersing me into the character's world and helped me connect to them and their plight. The accuracy of how dangerous m/m relationships during these times was a little free, but, I am glad for that - we sometimes need to just enjoy a story without constantly being brow beaten that our character's lives are in constant jeopardy - and I found this story did a good job on that front - don't hide that there was serious risk, but don't let it overwhelm and strangle the point of the story.

I found this also to be a safe, relaxing story too, which is a great way to unwind - there is some good drama, and some tense moments, but no gore, no graphic BDSM stuff (so bored of that!) nor heavy, in your face outright violence, so you can have a nice ride along without being too worried about getting bumped.

The physical romance scenes are quite good, deftly skating the line between being descriptive and interesting, versus outright porn. Don't get me wrong, there are some good steamy scenes (made all the better when you're able to connect with the characters more) but they stay tasteful enough while still delivering the goods. Could do with a tad more, perhaps with a bit of literal role reversal - what is it with 100% top-or-bottom rules only in these stories anyways? We all switch hit from time to time - keeps things interesting and avoids passive/dominant tropes.

Narrator is top-notch! His Cornish accents were spot on and brought the main characters to life with charm and realness - I could almost hear the 'Alright, my lover?' when the Cornish town folks had their lines. I did get a little disconnected with the few female voices, but all in all, the narrators switch between upper-class London and down-to-earth Cornish was a delight for my ears. Can't wait to listen to his next narration.

Looking foward to listening to more stories from these two talented authors! More stories with more real men, please!

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