The Soldier's Scoundrel

By: Cat Sebastian

Narrated by: Gary Furlong

Length: 7 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

A scoundrel who lives in the shadows.

Jack Turner grew up in the darkness of London's slums, born into a life of crime and willing to do anything to keep his belly full and his siblings safe. Now he uses the tricks and schemes of the underworld to help those who need the kind of assistance only a scoundrel can provide. His distrust of the nobility runs deep, and his services do not extend to the gorgeous high-born soldier who personifies everything Jack will never be.

A soldier untarnished by vice.

After the chaos of war, Oliver Rivington craves the safe predictability of a gentleman's life - one that doesn't include sparring with a ne'er-do-well who flouts the law at every turn. But Jack tempts Oliver like no other man has before. Soon his yearning for the unapologetic criminal is matched only by Jack's pleasure in watching his genteel polish crumble every time they're together.

Two men meant only for each other.

©2016 Cat Sebastian (P)2016 HarperCollins Publishers

Excellent historical

Gary Furlong made this an excellent experience. His performance of the different accents between the classes and the different characters was so good, I could practically see each character in my mind. Loved it!

A terrific book.

This story starts with the "soldier" and goes through to their eating at a whorehouse at night, to their travels and to the fairly embarrassing finish. The scoundrel comes to the rescue and insures the happily ever after.

another great one from Cat S.

Really loved this story, and the characters! I love the agonized way she writes Jack, and seeing him slowly fall madly in love and opening up to Oliver was very sweet.

Cat Sebastian is a balm for my gay heart.

This is one of my favorite comfort books. It's a little bit Sherlock and Watson, without outright actually being Sherlock and Watson. Give it a go.

Perfection

I loved every second of it. The voice was amazing and I couldn't stop listening.

Enjoyable

I adore Gary Furlong, so took a chance on this, well worth it. Good story and characters

Excellent story, and the best audio narration!

This is a re-read for me. This is a series I keep returning to over and over. The story is fun and the narration even better. I tend not to read that many historical romances (I don't know why, maybe just what happens when all you read in school IS historical and I never wanted to read one again). But this story is captivating and the characters are just so great? Cat Sebastian knows how to write a story and I love coming back to this time and time again.

This book is about Jack Turner and Oliver Rivington. Jack grew up poor and now makes a living navigating among the world of the wealthy. He takes jobs from women of status who need assistance in ways that may not be…completely acceptable in polite society. When Oliver Rivington discovers his own sister has made an acquaintance of Jack and paid for his services, Oliver immediately goes to confront Jack. Unbeknownst to Oliver, Jack already knows Oliver and knows that Oliver prefers the company of men, much like Jack.

This story is a combination of mystery and romance. Jack receives a lady into his office who wishes Jack to find some missing letters from her possession. The lady claims to find herself being blackmailed in regards to the missing letters and implores for Jack’s services. Against his better judgement (or is it with a subconsciously amazing judgement?), Oliver finds himself tangled up with Jack in his pursuit to find the mystery of what happened to the letters. This journey takes them around the English countryside and puts them in close proximity to one another.

This is a slow burn romance. But it all pays off well in the end. Jack is a little rough around the edges, and while Oliver himself has come back from the war wanting peace and order that makes him a bit boring compared to Jack, I find that Oliver is actually a sweet (rich) smol cinnamon roll who just wants others to be happy. Oliver is a very charming character. He’s so sweet and darling, that his character isn’t off putting at all.

Social class plays a big role in this book and is the main force of strife between the love interests. Oliver was born into wealth and can only ever carry himself as a gentleman. Whereas Jack can dress in the fanciest clothes he owns and learn all the mannerisms necessary to pass himself off as a gentleman, but knows that he is only playing at pretend. There’s a considerable difference in social standing between the two men, and relationship between men being illegal during those days notwithstanding, Jack wishes to harden his heart against what he is sure to be the day Oliver will realize that what they have between them was only a fun dalliance. Oliver, bless his sweet and kind soul, can’t imagine a world where he and Jack can’t be together.

I do love that we get both Jack and Oliver’s perspectives in this book, because you can just tell how much the care for one another as time goes on (Jack already quite attracted to Oliver before their first “official” meeting in Jack’s office). There’s a lot of layered elements in this story where you think you know what’s going to happen, and then something else gets introduced into the story.

One of my favorite things about this audiobook is that it's narrated by Gary Furlong. He's one of my favorite narrators and does accents so well! It would've been a dream if he narrated all of Cat Sebastian's books (but unfortunately they've all taken a turn and are narrated by a different narrator who I don't care for at all). So, while he doesn't narrate the author's other works, I do love that he does the three books here for the Turner series and it's one I've returned to many times now and still find great enjoyment with each of the books.

This book has the most lyrical prose and is extremely well-written. I love how adorable and swoony Jack and Oliver are together. This is an incredibly strong debut novel by Cat Sebastian. This book definitely made me a fan of historical romance and made me want to pick up more books in this genre.

Great writing, amazing narration

Intrigue, crime, detective, love between classes, wonderful characters and amazing narration. Will be starting my next Cat Sebastian novel now!

So well written!

And perfectly narrated. The love story and mysteries meshed well and never had me rolling my eyes at anachronisms and implausible behavior. The H/H attraction and conflict were both tender and realistic. If you avoid m2m sex scenes, move along. Otherwise, if you are looking for a well written, intelligent, sexy, absorbing romance, this book is for you.

Wonderful story and storytelling!

I'm in love with Cat Sebastian "turner" series and Gary Furlong is just the voice for this series audio book. He's a voice genius when it comes to distinguishing voices of various characters in this story. The lead pair banter is hilarious, especially Jack's "bugger off" ;). A must listen if you are liked the series. Looking forward to more of Gary's performances.