The Ruin of a Rake

De: Cat Sebastian

Narrado por: Gary Furlong

Rogue. Libertine. Rake. Lord Courtenay has been called many things and has never much cared. But after the publication of a salacious novel supposedly based on his exploits, he finds himself shunned from society. Unable to see his nephew, he is willing to do anything to improve his reputation, even if that means spending time with the most proper man in London.

Julian Medlock has spent years becoming the epitome of correct behavior. As far as he cares, if Courtenay finds himself in hot water, it's his own fault for behaving so badly - and being so blasted irresistible. But when Julian's sister asks him to rehabilitate Courtenay's image, Julian is forced to spend time with the man he loathes - and lusts after - most.

As Courtenay begins to yearn for a love he fears he doesn't deserve, Julian starts to understand how desire can drive a man to abandon all sense of propriety. But he has secrets he's determined to keep, because if the truth came out, it would ruin everyone he loves. Together, they must decide what they're willing to risk for love.

©2017 Cat Sebastian (P)2017 Tantor

Oh man did I cry

I relate far too much to both characters. Especially Julian because I've had a reoccurring illness since childhood. If you've got an invisible illness, this story will make you feel worthy of love and care. 💖

The narrator has a charming voice but started out with a few problems modulating their voice for different characters. Don't let that discourage you from listening. They quickly improved and finished strong!

I adore Cat Sebastian

I absolutely love reading all of her historical romances and I love knowing that they'll have a happy ending. This on was no exception.

If you're looking for a good story that's not overly serious this is a great pick.

This is the first of her books that I've listened to and the reader did a good job. I would definitely listen to more done by him

I loved this!

Courtney is the annoying, sexy, difficult rake who falls in love with Julian. Courtney constantly tries Julian's patience, but they fall in love regardless.

Courtney constantly tries to unhinge Julian's perfect manners. I love Julian's go to "oh shut up!" when he's dealing with Sassy Courtney.

Julian is very competent when it comes to business and seems to have a quick counterintuitive personality for manipulative leeches like Courtney's mother for example; the one person who makes Courtney lose all confidence and sass, this causes Courtney to see Julian as a very sure and decisive man, which brings to the forefront Courtney's vulnerabilities where his family is concerned.
They fall in love... the end xo

Addicting

I simply adore this book - after reading it, I listened to the audiobook, and the performance was elevating and so charming. Highly recommend.

Awesome. More please......

What a great book. I love Cat Sebastian M/M romances. I just wish there were more of them. Gary Furlong was really good. Just love him too. Please Cat MORE!!!!!!!!!

One of my favorites

I love the writing, there are great descriptions, funny parts, character growth. The only part I get stuck on is it never describes why no one else got malaria and he was repeatedly infected in India, It also never describes why his sister was mad at him. I just assume because he wasn’t understanding her, but it never says.

pleasure

I really enjoy Cat stories. They are sweet kind love stories with enough spice to make worth it but enough story to keep you paying attention. Every book I have listened to by this author I finish in a matter of days.

Great book, awful narration

The narrator couldn’t read with proper emphasis and it truly ruined the book. He would read 3-4 words and pause, read a few more and pause again, over and over regardless of how long of a sentence he read. He also ended every phrase with a rising emphasis, again completely ignoring the length of the sentence he read. It was like flashing back to middle school emerging readers. Awful. Don’t bother with the audio, just pick up the book and read it for yourself. I guarantee 90% of adult readers will do a better job reading it for themselves.

Awful cover, but brilliant narration and story!

I feel like I should get this out of the way, but the audiobook cover here is a monstrosity. When the books went to Tantor, they decided to recover it and not use the original cover that's on the e-book and paperback? This? Is not it. So, ignore the cover because the audiobook narration and story is glorious and makes up for the awful, awful cover.

This is a fun and thoroughly entertaining book. The book literally had me laughing out loud in public. There are unexpected twists and turns, and I loved the banter between the two love interests! The accent and narration for one of the love interests, Courtenay, makes me SWOON. So good job on that, Gary Furlong.

The story is about Courtenay, who is as good as disgraced in the public eye and upper London society. In his twenties, Courtenay would spend what he had of his inheritance galavanting about Europe and parties and women. He is in his thirties now and is weary of that life, and he doesn’t really have that sort of money left to spend in any case. When a novel is published that seems to liken the villain to his characteristics, Courtenay is further shunned and left without the only part of his family he still cares for - a nephew we met in The Lawrence Brown Affair.

Julian Medlock is only 24 and has worked almost his whole adult life to polish and engrain himself and his sister into upper London society. He tries to keep on the straight and narrow but finds himself bored. He loves nothing more than calculating sums and setting people’s affairs in order. And also a little danger to make him feel alive.

When the prospect arrives where Julian has to introduce and seemingly reform Courtenay to society, it breathes life into his day-to-day duties. Julian is at first scandalized that his sister and Courtenay appear to be fast friends (and secret lovers?), so he quite loudly protests working with Courtenay at all. We see that Julian has made unfair judgements as to Courtenay’s character before having really met him at all.

There is a lot of hilarious banter between Julian and Courtenay as they seem to want to push each other’s buttons at every turn. Courtenay first appears self-absorbed and stills seems at first glance every bit the rake he once might have been, but I loved seeing more and more of his character revealed throughout the book.

Courtenay is just a man who wants to be loved and cherished, never thinking once that he would find someone who can do that for him. He is so sweet and kind-hearted, and never thinks twice about doing the right thing – like paying finances towards people who used to be in his employ when he can ill afford to even a good living arrangement for himself. I find Courtenay the most precious of all the characters in this series and I just want to protect him at all costs? Whenever he feels downcast and hurt, I hurt. My heart just breaks for Courtenay and I want to give him a hug. Okay, so there might be maybe more than one cinnamon roll character in this series.

Julian appeared at first like someone who appreciated order and decorum, and to some extent he does, but then he finds himself falling for Courtenay. And these two are SO adorable. I loved how we’re met again with characters from the previous books and we see that even during the Regency, these characters can all be happy and in love.

This series is absolutely amazing and I thought these books were a wonderful and delightful introduction into historical romance! I’m a little sad to leave these characters behind, but it’s a good thing I can take audiobooks with me and listen to them over-and-over again wherever I am.

Gary Furlong's Lord Courtenay is amazing

I listened to the Lawrence Brown affair before this book, and I enjoyed it well enough, but I wasn't exactly hyped for a sequel...until the minute Courtenay was introduced. I immediately went looking, in hopes that the next book featured Courtenay and that Gary Furlong narrated, and lo and behold I found this book. I don't love the other ML's voice, because he's supposed to be 24 and he sounds like kind of an old man, but Furlong's reading of Courtenay's bored, affected, quasi-French, English dandy drawl, is absolute perfection and exactly what I would imagine, based on the way his voice is described. It's the reason I listen to this book again ever so often, too. Just fantastic work.