All in with the Duke

Gambling on Love, Book 1

By: Ava March

Narrated by: Timothy Holcomb

Length: 8 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's summary

London, 1822

Max Arrington, the Duke of Pelham, vows to never again let a handsome face blind him to a man's true intentions. But ten months of celibacy and lonely nights drive him to a decadent brothel, where a beautiful young man arouses his illicit passions as never before.

Tristan Walsh has grown tired of being used for men's pleasure. But his latest client is different: Commanding yet generous, Max makes him feel cared for as well as wanted. Yet Tristan knows he'll never have the choice to leave the brothel and submit only to Max.

So when Max invites him to be his guest at his country estate, Tristan eagerly agrees to his terms-days to do as he pleases while Max tends to the dukedom, and nights spent together in wicked play. But when the "business arrangement" begins to deepen into something more, Tristan must face the fact that he has no true place in Max's life - or in Max's guarded heart...

©2013 Ava March (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Main character became increasingly unsympathetic

Tristan was rather demanding, haughty, and ungrateful for a whore. The way he expected a Duke to woo him as if he was a virginal debutante was quite unreasonable and unbelievable, it became extremely tiring. Max should not have had to grovel for Tristan's love. He was not deserving of Max's love because he did not recognize it when it was right in his face. What in the hell did he have to lose? To be honest, he was not worth it. By the end, I actually hated Tristan and saw him as a whiny ass whore.

Darn Good Romance

This book was my type of book....after all, who buys one of these without wanting to read them! But I mean not only is it the genre that I like, it was a book within the genre that I actually cared for. I did not find it cheesy or too light or too ....... anything. It was just a good romance that happened to be between two guys. It was about am I right for this relationship? Am I doing the right thing for myself? For the other? Am I enough or not of what they need? You know, all that self-questioning and worry we get as we delve into a relationship.

The sex scenes were explicit and well-written as part of the story not as THE story. In other words, not just gratuitous sex scenes, but rather they were moments that showed you something about a character's mind or feelings or moved the story along (for the most part).

The story was well written and thoughtful but predictable,,,,,,but who cares, it's pleasure reading not deep meaning time or literature class.

The only complaint I have is that the narrator chose unappealing voices for all characters except the Duke. He gave the love interest an accent that I thought made him sound dumb and uneducated and unattractive. He also gave a similar voice as either the Duke or his love interested to all other characters (they were all minor characters) and so sometimes it was hard to tell who was speaking. Also, the characters were 20-somethings and the narrator sounds considerably older. The narrator did a fabulous job with getting emotions, intonations and the sighs and curses spewing from all those hot and heavy moments spot-on.

Poor performance

I don’t ever want to listen to Timothy Holcomb narrate any other book. He is monotone and uninteresting. My mind wonders because he is so flat. There’s no depth to his voice All characters have the same “voice”. I will use this book at bedtime because he puts me to sleep!

Enjoyable Story, Good Romance

3.5 stars for the book/story, 3 stars for the narrator
I enjoyed this audiobook. The story wasn't super original or unpredictable, but it was still quite good. The whole negotiation scene at the end went on way longer than I'd have expected, which is what gave it the extra .5 from me - nicely done. And the BDSM is creative and works beautifully with the characters.

As far as the narrator is concerned, his voice is lovely and very rich - I just would have liked more of a difference between Max and Tristan's voices.

The best!

Achingly drawn from my life story. Agonizing Loneliness, relentless need for my soulmate to complete me. Doubts and challenges, but thankfully holding the course so that the end is worth it. Complicated by a world of prejudice and condemnation, and small odds that things could be right, wonderful, or that the precious dream could breath and live. Yet in spit of it all, against the odds, the ending is happy. The narration is rich and romantic. At first I struggled with the English accent, but in the end I agree it greatly contributed to the experience. Ave's narrative is most skillful woven into a glorious experience of passion and love. I highly recommend this book!

First Historical Romance :)

I actually enjoyed this book. At times I had to look up some of the old English sayings, but it was a fun read. She gave enough detail I actually could see the scenes from the book play out. I actually purchased the eBook/Audio version and have to say the narrator added to the feel of it but I wish he possessed more scale. I will definitely move on to the next in the series.

Not best effort

I am a great fan of Ava March (I have read / listened to most of her books). Brook Street: Thief is in my top 10 favourite M/M romances.
Having recently re-listened to Thief, I am sorry to say All In With the Duke is definitely not one of AM's better efforts.
All In With the Duke has the same plot line and even some of the same phrases used in Thief. I couldn't help making a comparison, with All In With the Duke coming in a poor second.
Timothy Holcomb is an OK narrator.
Since the two books are so similar, spend your money on Brook Street: Thief instead.

Nice Little HEA for your Sunday Afternoon.

Any additional comments?

3.5 stars. (rounded up because of the narrator: Mr. Holcomb)

This was a hot and sexy historical that was definitely worth the audio purchase.

I couldn't understand a word Timothy Holcomb said for the first chapter. And then his accent just clicked and he was the perfect Max. Perfect. And oh, he got Tristan's sweet voice down as well.

Tristan got entirely too naggy at the end. And strong, determined Max got a bit too needy. But, eh. Even with the imperfections in the story, it was a nice little HEA.

pleasant story

My first read (listen) of an Ava March story. I enjoyed it. The best thing that sets up a good/believable romance for me is when the main characters bring out the best in each other; Max & Tristan do that. One review complained that they didn’t spend enough daylight together - well, a main plot point was improving that situation so it worked for me. It also worked because they did spend plenty of time together.

Heat wise, I’d call this moderately steamy. It kicks off in a brothel, and the sex is on page. It might be the least believable thing about the story that a Duke raised isolated is so into consent & giving pleasure, but that seems to be more his kink than the leather that is mentioned but rarely seen. And it makes him likable and necessary to Tristan, because consent and pleasure are things he doesn’t get much of and wants. I would have liked to have had the discussed pool (billiards?) game play out … ah well.

I liked that both men had to adjust their lives both for each other and for themselves to get their happy ending. Some parts of the timetable felt rushed especially compared to the backdrop of weeks. It was jarring enough to drop the review by 1 star but not enough to disbelieve it. As for plot arc, I’m not sure I wanted more *drama* but this was more of a pleasant afternoon cruise than a roller coaster ride and in 2018 after all the grotesque political nonsense, I welcome this comforting story where I don’t have to worry about tragedy and woe. But it might not have enough energy for everyone’s tastes.

The audiobook version was pretty good. The narrator had a soothing voice that fit the calm level of the story. He made an effort to use distinct voices for the 2 separate POVs which helps audio comprehension. The 2 voices both felt like a regular speaking rather than *acting* which means his acting was quality work. My minor irritation was dialectical- I found the hard k after an -ing word ended a phrase/sentence to be somewhat jarring. (It was not jarring mid phrase.) I think that’s because I use Cued Speech so I listen for phonemes and every time I heard “lets go drivingk” or the like I thought “that dialectical tic is still common on Long Island” which kicked me out of the story. I doubt it would bother most others though and I suspect I’ll get over it.

Overall a nicely done comfort romance with a side of steam. Recommended.

Overwhelmingly Beautiful !!:-)

The passion between these two heightens every emotion one has ever felt! Suspemsfully Intriguing !