A Gentleman Revealed

Lords of Avenleigh, Book 1

By: Cooper Davis

Narrated by: Rod Maskew

From New York Times best-selling author Deidre Knight, writing as Cooper Davis, comes a thrilling new romance series set in an alternative Victorian world, where gentlemen may openly court and marry fellow noblemen....

Alistair Finley has spent years concealing the truth of his illegitimacy. The bastard son of the late king and half brother to the man who now occupies the throne, Alistair fears ruination. He has never allowed himself love or companionship. Until he meets the handsome young Lord Marcus Avenleigh. Marcus has spent two years attempting to gain the notice of the king's shy secretary. Tempting Alistair out of the shadows and into his bed, however, proves a daunting task. The self-proclaimed spinster has made a profession of decorating the wings of every social gala, denying Marcus and every other eligible bachelor a formal introduction.

When Lady Elsevier's annual ball presents a daring moment, Marcus invites Alistair to waltz. What Marcus can't know is that his would-be paramour has chosen drink and the life of a lonely bachelor above ever risking his heart or his king's own reputation. He's bound in lies and secrecy, and the past must never, ever be revealed....

©2018 Cooper Davis (P)2018 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Cooper Davis's A Gentleman Revealed is a lyrically beautiful fairy tale of unconditional love." (Z. A. Maxfield, best-selling author of My Cowboy Heart)

"Romance, thy name is Cooper Davis!" (Tibby Armstrong, author of Surrender the Dark)

"Get carried away into the elegantly sexy world of Cooper Davis." (Kate Pearce, New York Times best-selling author)

a fairytale for me

it was brilliantly read with just enough heartache, drama and romance! I absolutely love this storyline!

don't judge a gentleman by his waiscoat

I'm not sure the previous reviewer and I were listening to the same book. while there were a few very steamy sex scenes there was way more story. it took almost half the book to get to a proper sex scene. the book focuses on Lord Marcus and Alistair the King's secretary and foster brother. Alister has many secrets and vices but young lord Marcus has set his sights and will have none other and is determined to woo the older man. I loved the story and I felt for the characters, I could feel Alisters pain and Marcus heart break. fear not tho there is a HEA for our unlikely pair. I recommend this book

Thoroughly enjoyed

I flew through this audible. I didn’t want it to end. I enjoyed the story, the great narration and the overall flow of this book. Will read more from this author, especially if they use the same narrator.

Disregard reviewer who said there is oodles of sex

There are loads of scenes in the beginning of hardening and arousal but all they do is hold hands without gloves *gasp*, and kiss passionately in a garden before the do eventually get to a sex scene.

A small trigger warning, there is talk of dv in the past and a brief incident of it again, but it's relatively small.

On that note; I found that, the brief incident of dv, and the whole "trip to the Continent", to keep my review a no spoilers, a bit unrealistic. It's just a little too fanciful for my tastes, but of course that will depend on the reader. I also found it a bit odd the world they inhabit, the gossiping mamas and pistol waving papas for some lads like Marcus and others who seem to be treated more like "regular" men, like Allistair, even if it is waved away as because of previous circumstances. It just made it far too easy to then have them fall in very traditional male and female roles. I haven't listened to previous books from this author so perhaps this is typical of this world, but thought I note that I found it odd. They jus don't feel like two men, but rather a "feminine" male with a "masculine" male and that was disappointing as I'd rather have two gay men. I know gay is a modern term and notion but it's different than this. Also I really heavily disliked the little feature of the Vicountess, I think that's her title, it just felt really patronizing, like "oh whew, NOW they are ok because some older woman giggled and approved of them", rather than a family member or something more pertinent to the plot line. And yes I am a woman. Some will like this, it just didn't quite click with me. The narrator is lovely though so that helps heaps.

Did Not Finish

Did not finish the story. I don’t know if it was just the narrator or the story itself, but I was so bored and frustrated with it. The plot moves at a glacial pace, if there even is an actual plot. The budding romance takes to long to bloom and the characters are uninspiring. I think it could have been great, but it just wasn’t.

One Sex Scene After Another

This audiobook was almost 14 hours long. The first 13 hours were almost nothing but one sex scene after another, with about 5 minutes worth of plot interspersed between scenes. The sex scenes were very well written, and the narrator did an excellent job. The problem was that hours and hours and hours of sex make for a very boring book. The little plot that was there was actually pretty good, and overall, I'm glad I stuck it out, but it wasn't easy to do and I had to put my player speed on fast to get through it. I haven't yet had a DNF, but this one was the closest I've ever been.

I honestly considered returning it to Audible but I was 25 days past the year deadline, so I guess I'm stuck with it.