Book Review: CONVINCING LEOPOLD by Ava March

Arthur and Leopold have returned to London, where weirdly no one remarks on the fact that they're spending an awful lot of time together. In their houses. Overnight. Aside from the fact that they can't really tell people they're in a relationship, everything is fine--except that while Arthur is at work, being all lawyerly, Thorn is... shopping? Getting a manicure? No one knows. Then Arthur comes home and is all, "I'm tired from being a contributing member of society, bitch! Now go make me a sandwich."

Okay, it's not like that. It's more like Thorn gets his personal chef to make a sandwich, then wants Arthur to make sweet sweet love to him. That's when Arthur goes, "Nah, I'd rather sleep. But you're sooo pretty. Zzzzz." Wah-wah.

So then Thorn starts spazzing out and being really clingy, and nobody likes clingy!

This novella wasn't as good as the first one, Convincing Arthur. Because the book is called Convincing Leopold, I expected, you know, something of a role reversal wherein Leopold needed to be convinced of something. But mainly he just acted really pathetic and desperate. And Arthur really was an ass to the poor kitten.

Also, one of the things I liked about Convincing Arthur was that the [numerous] sex scenes did not feel gratuitous. But that's not the case with this novella. Not only did it feel like there were way too many sex scenes, but they were really repetitive. Honestly, when you're reading a book and wondering how many more fellatio scenes you're going to have to go through, that's not a good thing.

I was also hoping we'd find out some more back story about the main characters. But though Leopold's family is mentioned briefly, we don't learn too much more about him, including what the heck he does with his day. I suspect he has some serious mommy issues, but the opportunity to explain his emotional tail-spinning was passed by. Also, I found it very difficult to believe Leopold didn't relapse once into his old habits.

So while I would still recommend Convincing Arthur, this one is completely skippable unless you're a die hard fan of either m/m romance or Ava March.


Musical Notes: "Heartbreaker" by Skatterman & Snug Brim

Book Review: CONVINCING ARTHUR by Ava March

Leopold Thornton, "Handsome as sin and wicked as all hell," is a total slut. But! There's a good reason (well, a reason). Ten years ago he was going to profess his love for Arthur Barrington, attorney at law, but someone else beat him to it by, like, minutes. Now Arthur has finally broken up with the cheating bastard, and Leopold has one weekend at his country estate to convince him they belong together.

This novella is really delightful and well-crafted. The two protagonists--brooding Leopold and conservative Arthur--are character tropes, but they feel unique and authentic. Arthur is a workaholic who has never felt like he's been fully accepted by anyone--indeed, he's never expected to be. His only ambition in a relationship is to "find an amiable man with similar interests and goals in life." Aim high, dude. Leopold, meanwhile, is an extremely high-strung individual. One could say that he has the same acceptance issues as Arthur, but being the youngest son of a wealthy and titled family precludes him from working, so he anesthetizes himself with alcohol and sex instead of work.

Like the other m/m novellas by March that I've read, Convincing Arthur has a lot of sex in it. And the sex scenes are super-hot. But they don't feel gratuitous because the sex really does advance the plot and the development of the characters. Honestly, I think March is one of the best writers of sex scenes in fiction right now.

I also loved the way this story was told. The narrative flowed perfectly and had me really nervous at the end, when I honestly didn't know whether Arthur would agree to stay with Leopold or not. I really wanted these two to be together!

After reading a few books by Ava March, I don't think you can go wrong with her. She writes novellas that are absolutely perfect for a fun, quick, escapist read. I'd recommend her whether you're a fan of m/m romance or not.

Bound by Deception by Ava March

Bound by Deception by Ava March*

M/M Month closes on a high note with Bound by Deception, a Regency-era romance that was really a delight to read.

Lord Oliver and Lord Vincent are both overlooked second sons who have a long-standing friendship; but Lord Oliver never realizes that the man he carries a tendre for is also attracted to men until he overhears gossip from a popular male whore.  Although he is penniless, Oliver resolves to pay whatever it will take to have one night with Vincent.

Since this is a fairly short book, I don't want to give away more of the plot than that.  However, I will say two things:  first, about half of this book is sex.  And the sex is really hot.  Normally I don't go for dominance/submission type scenes, but the way these are written fit into the storyline and made perfect sense for the characters.

Secondly, the characterization of both Oliver and Vincent is wonderful.  Especially for Oliver--I love how Vincent's view of him rounded out his personality for me.  Vincent, the dominant in the relationship, is a bit cartoonishly alpha; but there is motivation behind how he behaves, as we find out during the course of the story.

I truly enjoyed Bound by Deception, and I'm looking forward to reading the second book in the series, Bound to Him.  Ava March is a very good writer who's able to draw you into the story very quickly and make you care about her characters.

Other opinions:
Smexy Books

*This is a link to Amazon, but is not an Amazon Associates Link.  Also, I bought this eBook with my own monies.

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