Apple Boy

The Quiet Work, Book 1

By: Isobel Starling

Narrated by: Gary Furlong

Length: 9 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

A new LGBT fantasy series from award-winning author Isobel Starling

A lost lordling, a farm boy, and a tale of mystery, magic, and murder!

After a traumatic event, Winter Aeling finds himself destitute and penniless in the backwater town of Mallowick. He needs to travel to the city of Serein and impart grave news that will bring war to the Empire, but without a horse, money, and with not a soul willing to help him, he has no choice but to line up with the common folk seeking paid work on the harvest.

As wagons roll into the market square and farmers choose day laborers, Winter is singled out for abuse by a brute of a farmer. The only man who stands up for him is the farmer's beguiling son, Adam, and on locking eyes with the swarthy young man Winter feels the immediate spark of attraction.

Winter soon realizes there is a reason he has been drawn to Blackdown Farm. The farmer possesses a precious item that was stolen long ago from Winter’s family, and he determines to retrieve it. He also cannot take his eyes off Adam, and as the young man opens up Winter can’t help wondering if Adam is just kind or his kind!

FYI - Apple Boy has an M/M couple, graphic gay sexual activity, and a cliffhanger ending.

*The next book in the series, Dark Harvest (The Quiet Work, Book 2), is coming soon!*

©2019 Isobel Starling (P)2019 Decent Fellows Press and Isobel Starling

Perfect duo Starling and Furlong

What an awesome book. It’s starts out like a coming of age young man to young man love. Then the blossoming of winters 20th year changes his and Adams life. Gary Furlong is an awesome narrator/actor/linguistic. I really enjoyed the whole story and waiting for the next chapter to find what happens to our two lovely boys/men. The only part was during the counsel meeting it became long winded and in my opinion boring however we must know of the past to move forward. I highly recommend this book. Buy it and enjoy.

Quite interesting and entertaining

First off, let me just say how colorful and enjoyable the characters in this book are. The narrator is awesome and I was very entertained by his performance.

The plot is interesting but the story moved a bit slowly in the beginning and I was a little ready to say I'm done. However, the author took the time to build a very interesting world and the characters are well developed. I can appreciate that. Not normally a fan of drawn out beginnings but I was pleasantly surprised and so glad I hung in there.

This is a slow to medium burn M/M romance but I kind of enjoyed the two main characters attraction to each other. It seems like a good start to a new series.

There is so much more I could say but I really am trying to stop giving spoilers in my reviews. I just say read it and see for yourself. You will be entertained. I guarantee it.

I look forward to the next book in the series.

This book was given to me by request for my unbiased review.

Lovely fairytale with dark cliffhanger ending

This started as a tale of a young nobleman lost and impoverished then turned into a fairytale that took a dark turn before stopping in a cliffhanger.

Perfect in every way.

Absolutely amazing!! First thing, I swear every book I listen to narrated by Gary Furlong sounds like it’s narrated by a different person just perfect for that story. I don’t know how he does it, but he’s so talented that he can always make his voice just fit a character absolutely perfectly. Now, as for the actual story, I am completely blown away. This was a wild ride from beginning to end, and I for one was so glad to be on it. Our two hapless MCs know absolutely nothing about magic so we get to learn right there with them; which often times leads to way too wordy explanations or sloppy word building, but here it is done so perfectly you feel like you’re on this adventure too. And the romance is so right, kinda slow burn, definitely steamy, and definitely heartfelt. There’s a very firm HFN (these two aren’t going anywhere without each other), and I will just be over here dying until we get the next story.

Wow! Just wow.

I started listening to this book not really knowing what to expect. I finished absolutely excited about the new and creative world that I was introduced to. The story does end with you wanting (or in my case needing) to move on to the next story. [which at the time of this review in not out yet]

I thought this book would be about a poor rich boy and a lucky poor boy who get together and bam! HEA. Nope, Winter was never a bad person but his experiences before he meets Adam humbled him and made him deserving of the next phase of his life. Adam is sweet and determined and I am so happy that he will play an important role in helping Winter with his magic, not just the love interest that supports him from the sidelines.

Gary Furlong was amazing. The way he performs the different voices and accents just draws you into the world that Starling created and I wasn't ready to leave so please hurry with book 2.

Incredible, enchanting, entertaining!

I can not say how much I loved this audiobook! I have not listened to such a creative, warm, mysterious, magical story in a long time. I loved the adventure and the way Win and Adam seemed made for each other, even before any connection was made. The author's descriptions are detailed and made me feel like I was in the story with the characters. Alternately serious, sad, and downright funny, this book is unique and enchanting. It's also sexy as he**! I absolutely loved it, and I hope the next book comes soon, because I want to know more of what happens to Win and Adam.

The narration by Gary Furlong is wonderful! It absolutely drew me into the story and kept me spellbound until the end. Now I want more, more, more. His tone and delivery were so relaxed and casual and natural. It felt like he was relating a story he had experienced himself and knew well. Perfect!

I received a free copy of this audiobook at my request, and this is my honest, voluntary review. If you like magical fantasy, adventure, and romance, you don't want to miss this audiobook! .

Charming, magical, romantic tale

I enjoyed the audiobook: Apple Boy, Isobel Staling’s fantasy tale of magic and gay romance. I found her writing and characters engaging, the story well paced, as was the excellent narration of Gary Furlong.
I am generally not a fan of fantasy, however, this book did draw me into the its fantastic Empire.
The hero, Winter Aelings character was fun, carrying on his upperclass entitlement even in his fall from grace at the story start. However, he is well balanced by the handsome country lad Adam - whose down to earth attitude and virginal charm are a good match for Winter’s boyish naughtiness.
Among the myriad of colorful charters you meet in this adventure, I particularly enjoyed the elderly love-bird lawyers who appear later in the tale. The magic that happens resulting from the chemistry of the two young men is exciting in more ways than one.

Interesting story with phenomenal narration

I’m a huge fan of Isobel Starling’s Shatterproof Bond series, so when I learned she had this fantasy romance coming out my interest was definitely piqued. While the synopsis for the story caught my eye, there’s actually a lot more to Apple Boy than it implies. The story is about the equivalent of around five hundred pages, and I’ll admit at times I was feeling the length.

Winter’s predicament is more than what it seems from the synopsis, and the full nature of what’s going on is slowly revealed over quite a long stretch of time. I saw the story as three segments—the first being Winter’s introduction and experience at Adam’s family’s farm, next their journey from there to Serein, and finally the events that occur once they arrive. Each segment had its own challenges, and in the end things are not fully resolved so yes, it’s basically a cliffhanger. Though I knew this book was part of a new series, I didn’t realized the end would be left as open as it was…so just be prepared for that when you start.

Winter and Adam’s lives are quite the opposite of each other, with Winter coming from a privileged upbringing where he is the heir to a title while Adam lives with his family on their apple orchard farm. Winter is used to living in an open, non-judgmental society; not so for Adam where same sex liaisons can result in death. Winter opens up Adam’s life to so many new possibilities, and at the same time Winter’s experience in Mallowick opens his own eyes to the plights of those whose station falls well below his own. This results in character growth for both men, spread out over the course of the entire tale.

The fantasy aspect starts to come into play towards the end of Winter and Adam’s time at the farm, and continues to build—albeit slowly—through the rest of the story. There’s a lot of explanation to be found in terms of world building as well as the setup of Winter’s own situation, and for me that contributed to the slower pace of the story overall.

As far as the story itself goes, it gets 3.5 stars from me. As for the narration though, Gary Furlong’s incredible voices with their range of accents was absolutely worth 5 stars. He gave each character—no matter how minor—their own individuality, and was consistent throughout the story. Listening to his narration made the more drawn out portions of the story easier for me to get through, and was overall a very enjoyable experience.

Apple Boy is meant for readers/listeners 18+ some adult language and sexual content.

So good

I love this book. The fantasy is laid out fairly well and the characters are developed very nicely. I love the two main characters relationship and the nice little surprise at the end. Enthralled immediately and the narrator is fantastic.

Loved this book

I loved how the fantasy world immersed the reader from the first page. Spot on world building that revealed what the reader needed to know as it went without overwhelming. Likable characters, believable relationship development, and the stakes made sense. Great start to the series, it ended just as the magical aspect was getting really interesting, but the characters were able to do what they set out to accomplish by the end. Can't wait for book two to pick up where this one leaves off.