Thorn in His Side

By: Helen Juliet

Narrated by: Kieran Flitton

Length: 10 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

The last thing beautiful, inexperienced Joshua Bellamy wants is an arranged marriage with the terrifying Darius Legrand. But if Joshua wants to save himself and his family from being thrown onto the streets by Darius’s father, he has no choice.

However, when Darius goes to extreme lengths to rescue Joshua from near-death, Joshua has to wonder if there’s more to his beastly husband than he previously thought. 

Darius Legrand, a former captain, is used to being manipulated by his cruel father, but when Joshua is dragged into the feud between their families, he decides something has to change. 

Protecting Joshua is one thing, but Darius knows that falling in love can’t be an option. Someone so young and beautiful could never give his heart to an older, ill-tempered brute like Darius. 

Joshua is determined to bring joy to Darius’s life again, and Darius refuses to let Joshua hide his sweetness from the world any longer. Over time, it becomes clear that despite their differences, their hearts are drawing closer together. 

But can happiness ever be possible for a rose and a thorn, when Darius’s father will go to any lengths to see his deadly game through? 

Thorn in His Side is a steamy, stand-alone MM romance novel featuring tender bubble baths, a stubborn but loyal horse, thunderstorms, enough healing touches to mend any broken heart, and a guaranteed HEA with absolutely no cliff-hanger.

©2020 Helen Juliet (P)2020 Helen Juliet

Reviews are not to be trusted

Hi Audible fans
First off I’m standing high on a soap box. I’m so tired of reading reviews. The truth is you are the only one that can listen to the sample of a book and the publishers summary to decide whether a book sounds good to you or not. Let’s take this book and narrator. It got 4.4 in the rating and no one praised the incredible narrator. Yet I’ve purchased 4.8 and 4.9 books that are pure trash that I’ve had to return that not one of those high rated books could hold a candle to this book. Hence I’m tired of reviews. I refuse to go by the book reviews or how high a mark it gets. This book is awesome. The narration is pure perfection yet no one really praised it above a 4.4. It’s really frustrating. I’ve returned so many books that have Rave reviews to not be able to get past the 3rd chapter ,Whether it be the author or the narrator it still got high praise. I don’t get it. Ok off soap box. I loved this book and the narrator was awesome. Please give it a try. And for Gods sake stop trusting the ratings or reviews. Thank you .

Retelling of one of my favorite fairytales!

Thorne in His Side by Helen Juliet is the retelling of the classic Beauty and the Beast, with an MM twist and minus the talking objects. Nonetheless, it has your villain, beauty and beast (not complaining there, who doesn’t love a misunderstood scared brut?).

Our beauty, virgin Joshua Bellamy, is forced by the villain to marry his son, Darius, our ‘beast’, in order to save his father and his company. Without giving the story away any further, I will say that Thorne in His Side delivered a wonderful story with all the feels!

And the narrator? Wow! I love me a narrator with an accent and Kieran Flitton went above and beyond, I love it! His voice drew me in and had me til the very end! I will definitely look out for this narrator in the future.

Overall, if you love fairytales with a little dirty (wink wink), then Thorne in His Side will suit you just fine. Five lovely roses for Helen Juliet’s fairytale. Happy listening all!

Thorn in my head

If like books that where the characters are in constant self-analysis, then this book is for you. I can't continue after listening to half the book. I can't relate to either of the characters and overall the book is just down right boring. There have been a lot of reviews stating this is a beauty and the beast with two males. Maybe it is. All i can say is they barely talk to each other, live in their heads and both characters are in need some serious counseling.

Oh Petal.

This was an angsty but sweet romance. The plot was similar to Beauty and the Beast but with two men. It was a bit saccharine, not really my taste. But if you like things a bit sappy you’ll like this. The writing is good the narration is good.
The main thing I dislike is that Joshua seamed like a typical female heroine from a harlequin romance, virginal, dainty , blushing. But the writer just changed the name to a male instead of female to make it LGBTQ relevant.

enjoyed it

📖 Story comment: Good pace, likeable characters, entertaining story
I enjoy a fairy tale re-write, and i'm calling this one "loosely based". Our "beast" (Darius) is an injured Vet who's lost hope, and our "beauty" (Joshua) is a young man essentially "blackmailed" into living with Darius to save the employees in his father's business. I really enjoyed the progression from strangers to friends to lovers, and the bright spark Joshua became to Darius's dull world.

🎧 Narrator comment: I enjoyed Kieran Flitton's narration, his accent suits the characters, he has good cadence, inflections and intonations and it's easy to distinguish the characters from each other. A thoroughly enjoyable performance and he bought the story to life.

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📌 Where does it fall on my personal scale? 7
• 1 not my thing • 2 didn't like the narration • 3 didn't keep my attention • 4 was good, but once was enough • 5 enjoyed it • 6 will listen again if i'm in the mood for the narrator [4⭐] • 7 goes on the "re-listen" list [4⭐] • 8 kept me up past bed-time [4.5⭐] • 9 recommended to family/friends [4.75⭐] • 10 own it in all formats [5⭐] • 11 keep a copy with me at all times [5⭐]

incredible

An amazing retelling of Beauty & the Beast. I loved every word! I especially appreciated how the story avoided tropes like "men hating women," and fully embraced the challenging of heterosexist norms. Jeez. So good.

Phenomenal

This is an absolutely amazing story! I don't mind that it is retelling of Beauty and the Beast. That is one of my favorite fairy tales. This author did such a great job of setting the scene and creating these wonderful characters. And Kieran Flitton is a fabulous narrator!

Retelling of Beauty and the Beast...

I wish I would have been warned this was a retelling. I don't think I would have bothered. The writing was decent, though I don't think the two main characters had an actual conversation until halfway through the book. The villain was WAY too over the top to be believable, and the foreshadowing is as subtle as a bat to the face. Also, there is seriously an HOUR of content AFTER the resolution of the story. I would have liked to have had a flash forward to them having kids or something, but I just couldn't bring myself to wait that long for it. I quit with over 20 minutes to go and that was still BEFORE the "epilogue". I also skipped through the final sex scene. It felt gratuitous and exploitative being after any story or character development... I hate when authors do that. Cheapens the whole experience in my opinion.

I was given a free copy.Giving honest review.

I was given a free copy of this audiobook.
I am leaving an honest and unbiased review.

I honestly did not like this book.I would most likely not listen to this book anytime soon.

I had a very difficult time relating to the characters and I think that this story was way too long and just not for me.

Enjoyed It

Modern-day Beauty and the Beast with a Wicked Queen vibe
This is a beautiful story about two people forced together, but find happiness anyway. Joshua is so sweet and innocent and Darius is a broken soul.

Kieran Flitton did an amazing job with the voices, his pacing and different pitching was a pleasure.

Lazy reworking of Beauty and the Beast

I rarely get as frustrated as I did listening to this ridiculous rendition of Beauty and the Beast story. Yes, fairy tales are all about suspension of belief and black and white characterizations between the evil and the good. But seriously....this was just too ridiculous for words. If the writer had gone for time long gone by - or slightly dystopian present-future setting where, with little bit of world building it would have made sense why a 37-year old, independently wealthy trained combat veteran soldier couldn't tell daddy mean-pants he's being too mean, it would have helped. But no, the story is based firmly in present day Kent in UK where the worst obstacle is the lack of internet connection and playing sitting duck to a overblown villain. The beauty of the story is supposedly utterly gorgeous 21 year old who has climbed out of his bedroom window throughout his teenage years to hit the streets of his hometown for some fun but has been so put off by people adoring his looks he's never had a boyfriend or even kissed. None of the motivations of any of the characters make any sense, apart from the meat cleaver wielding gallic cook, the glydesdale horse and the bichon-friche puppy named Zeus. It's fine to take up an old theme, but there's a reason why some tales keep on being retold. This version is such a mishmash of present day with implausible reasons it ruins the story. The narrator Kieran Fitton did admirable job dredging through this, all stars to him.

Loved It 🥰

Great storyline, totally individual.

MC’s are adorable, and their dynamic really brings depth to the story.

Excellent narration - wasn’t sure as only usually listen to Greg Boudreaux, Joel Leslie, Michael Ferraiuolo and Michael Dean - but Kieran Flitton did a great job 👏

5🌟’s all the way 😊

Beastly start to a beautiful marriage.

I started to read thinking I have half an hour, I’ll read for a bit and then do the washing up, well it’s a few hours later and the washing up still needs doing and the kids are trying to kill each other! I could not put this book down.

I was captivated by the Beauty and the Beast type of storyline, with enough changes that I spent a time wondering when the other shoe will drop. The characters were so well written, good and evil personalities alike, I became every invested in Joshua and Darius’ story. The ending made me smile, I would recommend this book to anyone

Entertaining!

Narration ~ 5 Stars!
Story ~ 3.75 Stars!
Overall ~ 4.25 Stars

Beauty and the Beast is one of my favorite fairytales ever and while Helen Juliet's version was good, entertaining even, there were a few things that didn't quite work for me.

Let's start with what I loved: The narration. Every single book I've listened to with Kieran Flitton has been consistently excellent. He always delivers a great performance and gives each character a distinctive voice that generally fits my idea of them.

What I Liked: The whole idea of an MM retelling of the Beauty and the Beast, which actually followed the storyline fairly close, with a few twists.

Joshua and Darius were pretty well suited despite their age difference and were nice enough, at least once Darius decided to try to be. And it didn't hurt that they had great chemistry.

What I Didn't Like: Okay, so this is mostly me nitpicking, but I hate it when characters (male or female) cry at the drop of a hat. Joshua did it a lot and it was annoying. I got he was innocent and young, but there was no need to make him a crybaby on top of it all.

The idea of Darius, a 37-year-old Captain, allowing his father to manipulate him in the way he did was just too OOC.

And of course, Darius's father, who was horrible and deranged and I simply don't get how he could get away with everything he did.

Overall, though. I found the audiobook entertaining, the last portion was a bit OTT, but still enjoyable. Darius and Joshua were likable and I was rooting for them to get their HEA. Still, I have no trouble recommending it, it was nice to lose myself in the audiobook while doing some chores here at home today.

When you fall in love with your husband

“It had been a while since Darius Legrand had begun his day contemplating murder.”

Okay, with an opening line like that, how could I not be hooked? Helen Juliet is the queen of opening lines, and I think that’s one of her best.

The premise for the book is pretty simple. Forced marriage leads to forced proximity and, eventually, forced companionship. That structure might be simple, but the execution was well done indeed.

Darius has been coasting. He suffered a devastating injury and a devastating loss in Afghanistan and he’s never recovered. He lives in his castle and only interacts with the staff. He has a nominal job at his father’s company, but he doesn’t have a purpose in life. Aside from hating his cruel father, that is.

Joshua adores his father. But a series of unfortunate events at his dad’s company means that they need an infusion of cash. Like, yesterday. Darius’ father offers a solution: your son marries mine and I give you the money.

A marriage of convenience that is neither a true marriage nor particularly convenient.

Aside from a brief ceremony, the men have spent no time in each other’s company and that’s the way Darius wants it. So Joshua lives on the other side of the monstrosity and never ventures near Darius’ quarters. He occupies himself with old VHS tapes and chatting up the staff who have some very fixed opinions about Darius’ father.

This arrangement works until the fateful night Joshua crosses the line, witnesses Darius’ temper, and literally flees the house. Darius has to rescue him, and the men begin a détente of sorts. Slowly, inch by inch, they get to know each other.

But Darius’ father is hell-bent on ensuring his son is as unhappy as possible. I mean this guy is horrible. Darius fears for Joshua, and so tries to pull back which only confuses Joshua more. There’s a lot of drama in this book culminating in a horrifying evening of violence.

All that being said, there was a lot I liked in this book. I liked Joshua’s gentleness and Darius’ eventual acceptance of happiness. I certainly liked the ending. I’m glad I listened to the book.

Kieran Flitton narrates all of Ms. Juliet’s novels and I love that. They work well together, and I thought the performance of the book was spot-on. Needless to say, I recommend it highly.

Great retelling

Great work by Helen Juliet retelling a classic. Loved the main characters and hated the villain, got quickly invested it their journey to a HEA. Kieran Flitton was did an amazing job with the narration.
This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.

Beauty and the Beast meets Jane Eyre

This story reminded me of both Beauty and the Beast and Jane Eyre. In both, we have a young, rather innocent character forced to be together with an older, gruff, seemingly emotionally closed off character. As they stay together and interact, each has an effect on the other and the form an emotional bond strong enough to withstand anything. These two definitely need it, as there is a father who really, really needs to get his just desserts. Kieran Flitton has been doing a bang up job lately for Helen Juliet here and for all the Rosavia books. He is perfect for the voice of Joshua. He makes him sound innocent without making him sound stupidly naive. Lots of narrators can't quite pull that off. Then, he also manages to hit Darius' and his father's characters spot on as well. A great performance here.

Really nice listen

Thorn by his Side by Helen Juliet is a MM Beauty and the Beast retelling. I really loved it. The writing, the story, the characters. If you love MM and fairytale retellings I really recommend this one.

Really liked the narrator.

Loved everything about this!

I absolutely adored this story. Every character, every in-depth detail, every raw emotional moment and every humorous one to break the tension. I loved the characters and their realistic stories. I enjoyed the side characters especially those that worked at the castle. And I loved all the twists and turns that brought the characters to their HEA.

I really loved the way Flitton narrated this piece. I loved the way he voiced each character, each moment and especially the spicy scenes. I loved it and I look forward to more by this narrator!

Contemporary retelling of Beauty and the Beast

I’m a sucker for retellings of fairy tales, and Thorn in his Side is good retelling of Beauty and the Beast. Joshua and Darius are thrust together in an arranged marriage, and the beautiful and inexperienced Joshua is more than a bit scared by the intensely terrifying Darius. But he soon wonders if there is more than meets the eye to his now husband than there first appears to be.

I really liked getting know know Darius, and how we came to learn - as Joshua did - just how Darius really was.

This was the first audiobook narrated by Kieran Flitton that I’ve listened to (mostly because I prefer books set out with the UK - don’t ask why it’s a weird thing I know) but his narration was spot on. He has a nice relaxing voice that doesn’t grate, and is easily distinguishable between the characters.