I just experienced a highly enjoyable trip back through time. I was whisked away to the days of my early teens when I’d sneak a dime store romance novel—usually a Regency period historical—to read in my room when everyone went to sleep. I read of forbidden things that men and women do behind closed doors. Those stories were titillating and enlightening to my innocent self and that’s exactly the way William, one of the main characters, reacts in this lovely tale narrated by the highly talented Joel Leslie.
William’s sexual discovery is mild by most standards, but it was very erotic to me, in that his innocence remained intact as he learned all the things men can do together behind closed doors. I found the scenes refreshing and realistic for the period and I quite enjoyed his lessons at the hands of the more experienced Reginal Abernathy.
Joel does the voice of William’s elderly maiden Aunt Harriet so well that I forgot I was listening to a man. I loved the quiver in her voice and I could easily picture her in her drawing room finery. In fact, there is a whole host of both male and female characters in this story and each is given a unique voice. My personal favorite among the men is William: dear, timid, innocent William is perfectly vocalized and his love interest, Reginald, has the deeper voice of experience. Honestly, my favorite form of entertainment is to listen to an audiobook with Joel Leslie performing the work of a talented author, and the teamwork here between Joel and author Tanya Chris rates an A plus.
There’s an underlying criminal subplot to the story with an unscrupulous estate manager, but most of the story is a romance, both between William and Reggie, and between their sisters, Catherine and Susan. William, of course, is totally clueless about the women until the last possible moment. The dear man had no idea women might be attracted to each other as men were. Maybe it was the era in which I grew up where teens held their innocence longer than nowadays, but I truly enjoyed this tale and my walk down memory lane, and I will most definitely listen to it again. I highly recommend this book to those looking for a sweet historical romance.