Romancing the Rough Diamond

By: Clare London

Narrated by: Joel Leslie

Length: 6 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

Where trust is the most precious jewel of all.

When Mayfair jewellers Starsmith Stones wins the commission for a British gay royal wedding, CEO Joel Sterling is recommended to the brilliant young designer Matt Barth - only to discover Matt’s the man with whom he shared an anonymous and passionate kiss on the celebration night.

Disenchanted with the commercial jewellery industry, Matt nowadays prefers muddy archaeological digs to designing. Openly resentful of Starsmith’s hostile takeover of his family’s firm, he is horrified at the realization he’ll be working with the man who engineered that deal - but the opportunity to create something fabulous and unique for the royal couple is too tempting to refuse.

Working as a team reignites the spark between Joel and Matt. But when betrayal from within Starsmith threatens both the project and Joel’s confidence, will they have built enough trust to keep their newfound love as precious as the royal jewels?

This story offers you a gruff designer who prefers digging for treasure, a smooth CEO who’s too used to his own company, the glamorous Mayfair world of expensive jewellery, enemies to lovers, a gay royal couple who are fond of mischief, and an embarrassing accident on the Buckingham Palace railings!

Note: This is the same book as previously published by Dreamspinner Press, but with a new cover, and now published by the author.

©2019 Jocular Press (P)2022 Jocular Press

Great story

This is a great story about working together and building trust. Matt hates Stonesmith because he feels his Dad was railroaded into selling his jewelry business. Joel doesn't 100% trust Matt because of what he has heard about the man's reputation for temper and stubbornness. But these 2 have to set differences aside to work on the jewelry commission of a lifetime. I never dreamed the jewelry business was quite so cutthroat! An awesome story made even better by Joel's narration. He is one of the best in the business!

Meh

The narrator was great per usual, I just couldn't get into this story. I'm not sure if it was due to me jumping into the series at book 7 or if it was just to dry/stuffy for me. The writing was good it's just not my type of book. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you Gay Romance Reviews for introducing me to this new author.

Overall 4 stars with great narration

Matt and Joel were very so different but had great chemistry. There was some light and funny moments. I enjoyed the story overall but I think the narration made it so much better. Kudos to Joel Leslie!

3-3.5 stars

Matt and Joel are very different in their ways of viewing the world, but they see their way to each other with a mutual attraction. Matt is extremely honest and I love it. I am the same way.

I listened to this book through audible. I think this book was a solid 3-3.5 stars. It was funny and light, but I often found myself spacing out and having to re-listen to a chapter. I liked the concept of the book, but I was bored with the story from time to time.

The narrator Joel Leslie, is a treat to listen to. He did a fantastic job with this book. I’m always amazing on the ability of narrators with their voice acting skills. I could always tell the characters and views apart.

*Listener Note: I received a free copy of this audiobook through Gay Romance Reviews (GRR) and this is my honest review.

Light and Sweet Romance

I liked both Joel and Matt’s light bantering and especially their sexy times. The two were hot together. I thought this flowed nicely and was well written. The entire story was enjoyable, but the scene where Matt got stuck with his pants towards the end of the story was my favorite part.

Joel Leslie did a great job. Leslie knows how to bring the emotions out and held my attention throughout the entire story. I enjoyed the different voices for each character.

Great Story and Narration

I feel in love with the MC at the very beginning and quickly became invested in their love story. I enjoyed that the way the author incorporated in real people and places in the story making it even more believable. The narration by Joel Leslie really took the book from good to great.

4.5 stars

Joel was flawless as always. I really enjoyed this book, Joel meets Matt at a Trade show, where they only get first names, then Joel asks Matt to come to his office unaware that it is the man he meet earlier that piqued his interest. Matt joins the company to design rings for a Prince and his soon to be husband. Along the way Matt and Joel fall for each othet

Matt & Joel

Matt and Joel have a spark right from the moment they meet without knowing who they are. Then Matt is offered a design contract with the very jewelers that bought out his father’s company and is also Joel’s project! The sparks fly between them again from the moment they see one another again but Matt has a lot of animosity towards Joel. Their relationship progresses beautifully with quite a few bumps in the road. It’s a great story with a few twists and royal interferences with a great HEA. The narrator is great with the story and all of the characters. I voluntarily reviewed a gifted copy of this audio book.

Joel is a fantastic narrator!

Joel is a pleasure to listen to no matter what the book is and this was no exception. His accent is lovely and he brings the story alive. Expressing all the emotions. Although there isn't much difference between the 2 MCs voices he did a great job with the side characters voices.

As for the story, this was a fairly quick read that was light, sweet and humorous at times. Unfortunately I thought that it was just ok. I didn't hate it but I didn't overly like it. I got bored alot of the time and kept zoning out and had to re-listen to chapters. The characters were likeable and they did have good chemisty and there were some steamy scenes. I just had no interest in the general plot. I was actually more curious about the gay Prince. This is my first time reading this author and I thought that the actual writing was good so I would probably give them another chance but I wouldn't really recommend this one.

Passion for beauty

Everyone's perspective is warped by their experiences, and Matt comes into this history with a lot of assumptions. Joel on the other hand carries a burden of betrayal that makes him look for it everywhere. Clare London gives us the story of how two men can overcome their assumptions over a common love for beautiful jewellery. I was fascinated by the peek into a world I know nothing about, I loved the third British Prince and his consort, and my heart was warmed by how Matt and Joel figured out their differences. Lovely listen!