Seducing the Sorcerer

By: Lee Welch

Narrated by: Joel Leslie

Length: 12 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

Homeless and jobless, Fenn Todd has nearly run out of hope. All he has left are his longing for horses and the strength of his own two hands. But when he's cheated into accepting a very ugly sackcloth horse, he's catapulted into a world of magic, politics, and desire.

Fenn's invited to stay at the black tower, home of the most terrifying man in the realm: Morgrim, the court sorcerer. Morgrim has a reputation as a scheming villain, but he seems surprisingly charming—and sexy—and Fenn falls hard for him.

However, nothing is as it seems, and everyone at the tower is lying about something. Beset by evil hexes, violent political intrigue, and a horse that eats eiderdowns, Fenn must make the hardest choices of his life.

Can a plain man like Fenn ever find true love with a scheming sorcerer?

©2021 Lee Welch (P)2022 Tantor

Read it you wont regret it

I loveeeed this book, I really reccomend picking it up, the characters are really well rounded and its a wonderful read.

Fantastic

I loved everything about this story. From the down on your luck, Fenn, but with an attitude of never giving up. To a sorcerer that has lost his magic. I enjoyed that both these ppl are over 40 and have enough world experience to share. The base of the story itself is as old as time, politics, family drama, and the author does a good job keeping it relevant without overwhelming us getting to know the two MC's.
Joel Leslie has done another amazing job with all the voices and kept me entertained throughout

One of my new favorites

This book took a bit to draw me in, but I am SO GLAD I stuck with it. The narration is fantastic. The story is quirky, endearing, a little bit dirty, and a lot of fun. Lee Welch is officially on my “buy everything they publish” list.

enjoyed it - solid 4 stars

Would I listen to it again: yes
Did the story keep me engaged: yes
Was I invested in the characters: yes

📖 Story comment: Good pace, likeable characters, great world building.
As i'm getting older I find I'm enjoying stories with more mature characters. Having both MC's in their 40's with a lifetime of experiences, world weary and worn thin around the edges was refreshing, especially for a fantasy. The worldbuilding was colourful, well constructed and vivid in details - far from the usual 'bright and shiny' world of magic where everything is perfect, Seducing the Sorcerer was storm clouds and rain, where what you see isn't necessarily what you get - I was absolutely delighted.

🎧 Narrator comment: Joel Leslie doing what he does best, nailed the characters and their personalities and bought the story to life. Overall an enjoyable performance that I will be happy to revisit again.

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📌 Where does it fall on my personal scale? 7.5
• 1 not my thing • 2 didn't like the narration • 3 didn't keep my attention • 4 was good, but once was enough • 5 enjoyed it • 6 will listen again if i'm in the mood for the narrator [4⭐] • 7 goes on the "re-listen" list [4⭐] • 8 kept me up past bed-time [4.5⭐] • 9 recommended to family/friends [4.75⭐] • 10 own it in all formats [5⭐] • 11 keep a copy with me at all times [5⭐]
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DNF for now

I might get through it, seems like it might be a good story. I like Joel Leslie in general but don't understand the directorial/artistic choice of the fake accent of the main narration. It's jarring and makes it hard to actually enjoy.

If you don't like horses, this book isn't for you.

I feel like the book title should have had something with the word "horse" in it considering just how much the book has to do with horses. I feel like this is the book you give to someone before you give them a book featuring horse play.

A knockout, both book and audio performance

Two world-weary men from worlds as unlike as possible, guarded and grumpy and distrustful, caught up in the most unlikely chain of events imaginable: it's unusual for a romance to focus on two men in their 40s and even less usual for fantasy, and it's both incredibly refreshing and deeply poignant. Inventive and interesting, heartfelt, and beautifully told in Fenn's wry, honest, countryman's voice, Seducing the Sorcerer is absolutely captivating.

And then Joel Leslie reads it, and it takes off and soars. He is note perfect: beautifully capturing the humor, suspense, drama, magic, romance, and pathos and giving them depth and life. This is a favorite book - head and shoulders above so much of what I read - and this audio performance takes it to an even higher level.

WONDERFUL audio read

I was actually not going to listen to this audio book. what changed my mind was the narrator Joel Leslie. I'm exceedingly happy that I did listen to this excellent story. Great storyline, narrating was of course the absolute best.

Lovely

Wonderful story and characters. Magic a bit add. Joel Leslie is the bomb, as usual.

A Slow Start Worth Riding Out

To be quite honest, I was slightly concerned about dear Fenn when this book started. I grew up around horses since I was around 2 years old. I loved my pony, I did Pony Club, and D-Camp. I lived in the lower mainland of BC and dear lord is that horse-people country. I was a horse girl where that was the norm and not a quirky girl thing. And I was still bloody concerned at the way this man described horses. Thankfully, once you put a sexy man in front of him that seemed to mellow out a lot. Which I'm still not sure if that makes the first bit of the book more or less weird.

Overall, the slight concern over Fenn's horse obsession does fade away with the introduction of Morgrim. I really liked that both these men were mature adults, even older than myself, which feels exceedingly rare in this genre. They both knew a lot about themselves and their roles in life, and yet still learned a hell of a lot thanks to each other. I think that actually says a ton of really good things and it is so nice to see.

I liked the characters a lot, and the idea of perception and truth. I liked the private side of Morgrim and the public rumors and appearance. The Queen was also wonderful and highly amusing. There was only one sort of cliche "get mad and storm off for plot" bits and I did actually clock myself forgiving it for what needed to be set up. Which, probably still could have been done in a different way, but since I usually don't forgive those because they are usually awful and badly done, I'm considering this one to be forgivable.

I do hope that the book in the first in a series. There is definitely a lot of set up that can be expanded on. The initial problem is sort of dealt with, but most certainly not tied up in a nice little bow. And I'm exceedingly curious if there is more intention to delve into the magical side of the connection Fenn and Morgrim have. There are so many little off-handed comments that point to a complete reversal on the world's current thinking on magic.

The book is very good and leaves you with a sense of anticipation. There is a conclusion, a resolution to all the main issues that are presented. You could leave it as a stand alone and it would feel contained but still have enough in there to let you think about the work after you're done with it. However, there is still so much potential to explore and I dearly hope that Lee continues with the series. Heck, "Master of Horses" alone makes a good title for a second book in the series on multiple levels. "Mending the Magic" if we want to keep with the title theme also has potential.