Lord Mouse

By: Mason Thomas

Narrated by: Joel Leslie

Length: 9 hrs and 28 mins

Publisher's Summary

Scoundrel by nature and master thief by trade, Mouse is the best there is. Sure, his methods may not make him many friends, but he works best alone anyway. And he has never failed a job.

But that could change.

When a stranger with a hefty bag of gold seduces him to take on a task, Mouse knows he'll regret it. The job? Free Lord Garron, the son of a powerful duke arrested on trumped up charges in a rival duchy. Mouse doesn't do rescue missions. He's no altruistic hero, and something about the job reeks. But he cannot turn his back on that much coin - enough to buy a king's pardon for the murder charge hanging over his head.

Getting Garron out of his tower prison is the easy part. Now, they must escape an army of guardsmen, a walled keep and a city on lockdown, and a ruthless mage using her power to track them. Making matters worse, Mouse is distracted by Garron's charm and unyielding integrity. Falling for a client can lead to mistakes. Falling for a nobleman can lead to disaster. But Mouse is unprepared for the dangers behind the plot to make Lord Garron disappear.

©2016 Mason Thomas (P)2017 Dreamspinner Press

Enjoyable fantasy

Any additional comments?

Overall an enjoyable fantasy story that's basically a medieval prison break. I liked Mouse quite a bit (as I'm always a fan of a cheeky bugger).

Mouse's snarky attitude and burning intelligence, brought to life by Joel Leslie, was a pleasure to listen to. I really enjoyed Joel Leslie's narration. He's got a healthy contingent of English, Scottish, and even Irish accents for the characters, and, as usual, his tone, pitch, and pacing are on point.

However, the entertaining narration wasn't enough to divert my attention from some issues that made this hard for me to push the story from like to love. Two issues I found particularly aggravating were the time jumps and the way the vocabulary kept slipping up to be a bit too modern at times, which kept distracting me from the story.

The quest to break Lord Garron out took up the majority of the story, and then shifts to an insta-love romance between Mouse and Garron. I would have preferred a bit more balance between the adventure and the romance.

Even with my issues, the story is very entertaining to listen to, and Mouse is great character. If you enjoy fantasy stories with a modernish twist, interesting premise, captivating characters, action and adventure, and delightful narration you should check it out.

Prison Break with gays and magic

This was a really fun book and felt very fresh and original.
Mouse, our hero, is a scoundrel with a heart of gold. He's a thief who only robs from the rich to help keep his father out of trouble. He takes on a high risk high paying job to rescue a foreign noble who's been unjustly imprisoned.
Mouse has a couple of no strings attached flings with other men as he's preparing for the job, which added to the gritty atmosphere and gave us a look at our hero as a mature, sexually liberated man, a refreshing change from the nearly virginal wholesome leads we too often see.
Mouse delightfully subverts tropes by being sexually dominant (aks top) despite being a smaller man. Far far too often we see all bottoms are small guys while all tops are big strapping manly men, so this change is refreshing and interesting. It's also refreshing to see a small wiry man as a bit of a sex symbol.
The noble that Mouse is set to rescue, Garron, proves to be a complex man in his own right, muscular and handsome, he's still gentle and sensitive, which complicates Mouse's job of getting them both out safely. Sparks fly quickly between them and their relationship develops briskly but it felt natural and didn't intrude on the action.
There's a really tense and gripping journey through the castle where Garron was imprisoned. At heart the book is a prison break, just set in a quasi-middle ages castle. Mouse is quick witted and ruthless, with many costume changes, subterfuge and no shortage of violence in his pursuit of their freedom.
After a tightly plotted beginning and middle the ending felt a bit rushed but it's a small complaint out of a delightful adventure. I look forward to more from the author and hope we haven't seen the last of Lord Mouse.
Joel Leslie, one of the best narrators out there, elevates the reading to a performance and breathes life into the characters.

.

Wonderful book, and aptly performed by the narrator.Listening was truly an enjoyable experience, absolutely reccomended.

Because, Joel Leslie.

From the blurb, I wasn't totally enthusiastic about this book, but people are raving about it in Facebook groups. And I can never pass up a Joel Leslie book. It languished in my library for a few weeks before I listened though.
OMG! Why did I wait? The story is so engaging, I was tempted to call in sick to work!
Garron and Mouse are so lovable. This story has adventure and magic. Tragedy and humor and redeeming love. And a stellar narration, of course. Listen to it now. You won't regret it.

Fantastical story with amazing narration!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I definitely would. The writing was unique and clever and the characters were brought to life so well by Joel Leslie, I couldn't ask for more.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Mouse! The man is sneaky, sly, conniving and intelligent. He has this arsenal of disguises and voices and who better to bring all this alter egos to life than Joel Leslie who too holds an arsenal of different voices and tones.

Which scene was your favorite?

The underlying mystery revealed.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The whole damn thing really. I was entertained and intrigued from start to finish.

Any additional comments?

This story was so much fun. It reminded me a bit of Prison Break but with gay characters instead up to no good. Definitely worth a listen if you like the Author and/or narrator. Me, I buy books just because Joel Leslie narrates them, and I highly recommend you do that with this one.

So clever! Amazing narration!

So clever!

My first impression of this is that I get the same feeling listening to this that I did as when I listened to Family of Lies by Sam Argent. So, I think, fans of that title will love this! It also sort of felt like Jordan L Hawk’s “Hex” series.

Where this story fails in those comparisons is the polish. Mouse is fully fleshed out but does change a bit near the end in such a way that he lacks the same “oomph” with which he started. The romance, while secondary, isn’t as well done as it is in Hawk’s books, and the ending neither promised a sequel nor felt completely satisfying.

It’s a sort of historical/fantasy piece where the thief has all the smarts and runs his mouth constantly and befuddles the bad guys and in the meantime falls for the good, and “proper” royal.

Joel Leslie is amazing at giving us all the various characters – including multiple voices for some characters. (I don’t even KNOW how he can manage all those voices!) I was really glad I’d listened to this rather than read it, because he definitely kept me engaged when I might have lost some of my impetus.

In any case, this is fun, funny and a little bit romantic. This is a fairly low steam (fade to black when it comes to “intimacy”) romance, but our characters have plenty of feels between them. Most of this is fantasy with lots and lots of action and twists and turns as Mouse outsmarts all the “bad guys”.

If I had to make any complaints it would be the ending. We have a tremendous amount of build up and climactic moment of separation and then an all too easy and rushed reunion and finale.

I’m not sure if our MCs have more coming but I’d love to see more of them and what all kinds of trouble they can get into.

I was grateful to have listened to this and highly recommend this in audio format.

4.5 of 5 stars

THE BEST!!!

If you're looking for adventure, suspense, drama, realistic romance, and love, this book is for you. I ended up reading this book in one day, I canceled all of my plans because I wanted to know the ending. The story is worth every cent! If you don't tear up at one point in this book, I would be surprised!!

Fantastic!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I heartily recommend this book to anyone who is a high fantasy fan. Has all the elements I love about fantasy: intrigue, nobles, treachery, passion, sword play and action.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Lord Mouse?

Overall, I think the character of Mouse is the best thing about this book. His character has layers that are steadily revealed as the book progresses--Mason Thomas has a deft touch and manages to avoid making Mouse a cliched hero/anti-hero. Very well-done in terms of characterization.

What about Joel Leslie’s performance did you like?

Joel has the immeasurable ability to immerse himself in the characters. He gave them life, passion, personality. He is an actor well schooled in his craft and it shows.

If you could take any character from Lord Mouse out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Mouse. Without question. I love this character. He is rough, sharp, lonely, afraid, yet so incredibly brave.

Any additional comments?

I am deeply biased in favor of fantasy books, but that also means I have higher standards when it comes to the books I review. If the book fails to meet the bars laid by my personal favorites I won't even bother reviewing them. This book is firmly ensconced on my Favorites List.

Awesome adventure!

The narration: Joel LesliIe is a master of accents. I say the same things every time I review a book narrated by him. I don’t want to be repetitive, but if you haven’t listened to a book that he gives voice to, you really ought to.

The story: Lord Mouse is an action/adventure story that takes place at a time that seems a long while ago, There are Lords and Dukes, and castles, and order guards. There are also mages who can spell people and track them if need be. In that way, it’s part paranormal/fantasy alongside the historical aspects. The world building in this story really is excellent. I could easily picture the Duke’s manor and the docks as Mouse and Garron attempt to make their mistake.

Mouse is a really interesting character. He’s small in stature, but he is crafty and wise. He is stealthy, quick, and strong enough to take care of himself; and to become the leader of the thieves guild in his village. He also is under someone’s thumb forced to make payments to avoid being charged with murder. The money to find Lord Garron and bring him home is too tempting to resist the very dangerous mission.

Lord Garron is noble and kind. He’s not weak, but he tempers Mouse’s eagerness to dispatch any obstacles the easiest way possible, i.e. killing. I like the two of them together and I definitely was cheering them on throughout the book. There is not much intimacy on page, and the romance is more of a back drop to a story of prison breaks, familial betrayal and attempted murder. The story is intriguing and very enjoyable.

I feel like there might be a wider story arc that might occur throughout the novels, though I’m not sure. I’m a little bit disappointed that the next story doesn’t feature Mouse, but I am very eager to see what will happen next in this series. If you like spy stories, and historical fantasy I think you will love this story. I highly recommend it.

Terrific Book

Wonderful adventure, excellently written, presented with the same terrific skill that Joel Leslie brings to every novel he voices.

What a wonderful surprise.

This was such a fun fantasy M/M book, and a wonderful debut for Mason Thomas.
The narration was a bit cringy at times when the narrator tried British regional accents that were not actually mentioned in the text or character descriptions. Most of the time it worked, but a few times it took me out of the story because the accent was not the best. My rule of thumb is that if a narrator is going to attempt an accent they have to be great at it or just use a standard reading voice.
The story is well-written fantasy with a nice M/M instalove romance thrown in. I enjoyed it and would recommend.

Great characters in a thrilling romance. Loved it!

How can such a gritty and often dark story be so amazingly romantic? Mouse and his peers are well-developed and spring to life almost immediately in this cloak-and-dagger tale.
I hope to see more of them and soon.

Outstanding!

What did you like best about this story?

Everything is perfect the character dynamics work well, Story composition and structure really keep you entertained throughout. Just enough Male/Male intimacy and interaction for it not to become repetitive or OTT.
The writer never scrimped on detail or rushed through any part of this book.

What about Joel Leslie’s performance did you like?

Joel Leslie brought the characters to life, did a great performance with accents and stayed consistent.

Any additional comments?

This has to be my Favourite Audio-book of 2017!
Just keep making amazing books like these!

<3

Sublime listening

I saw this book recommended of Joel Leslie's FB page he and the author were having a discussion. I was intrigued enough to buy book book and audible. I can only say, if you haven't read / listened to it. You are greatly missing out on a wonderful, blood thirsty adventure filled with brilliant characters, adventure and humour. My only complaint.... it ended!
Joel Leslie's narration is again inspired and on point. Making this a complete joy to listen to.

Good listen, but audio is inconsistent.

I enjoyed the story. The characters were generally interesting and overarching mystery was interesting and not obvious. As said in the heading, the quality of the audio is inconsistent even if the performance was generally good.

Adventure and love

Great story well read. My imagination was running away i imagined additional storyline. Loved this very discriptive well thought out

Rather pedestrian

Despite what another reviewer said about the reader not being able to do accents, there's nothing wrong with the performance. But the book itself is kind of ho-hom fantasy with nothing going on. Very A to B with little to recommend it.

Wonderful story

A really enjoyable book with great characters and a satisfying ending. Give it a go

Very enjoyable

Very enjoyable story with likeable characters. It was well written and the narration was good.

fantastic

Please please please can we have more ?! thus was brill and I love the choice of narator!