A Midwinter Prince

By: Harper Fox

Narrated by: Rusty Coles

Length: 8 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's summary

Laurence Fitzroy is trapped in a golden cage. The only son of a wealthy London baronet, he's struggling to escape his father's suffocating world. But Laurie is losing his fight. At 19 years of age, bright and imaginative, he's no match for the brutal Sir William. Laurie wants to be an actor - bad enough as far as Sir William is concerned, but, worse than that, he's gay.

One bitter winter night, he meets a young homeless man huddled in blankets outside the opera house. The two form a bond straight away, and Laurie takes him home, wanting only to offer him food and a warm bed. But Sasha is a passionate Romani immigrant, and his beauty and sweet nature soon overwhelm Laurie's chaste intentions, leaving him hopelessly in love.

Laurie and Sasha reach out desperately to one another from their different worlds, and against all odds begin an affair, hidden in the attics of Laurie's sumptuous home and on the bleak moorland of a Romani encampment. For Laurie, it's a delicious sexual awakening, and Sasha returns his affections, opening up to him a whole new world of freedom.

But Sasha has secrets, and a murky, violent past. When he vanishes, he leaves Laurie bereft and alone in a city he hardly recognizes any more. Now Laurie has to stand on his own two feet and find the strength to rescue his lover - and himself.

©2012 Harper Fox (P)2016 Audible, Inc.

twist and turn

i simply loved this book.
it's story moves quik but jet let's you get to know evry cherecter in the story.
the reader is great at what he dose and you never in doubt of who he is speaking for and he dose it effortlessly.. like twist and turns? well im sure you will love this story.

If you survive through the beginning,.

The beginning of this book just dragged on horribly. I would have returned it, however I had a long drive and decided to let it drone on as background noise. About halfway through it actually began to become very engaging. I think part of the problem might have been the narration of Sasha, one of the main characters. He was supposed to have a Romani accent, but it came off more as a sullen lovesick vampire. The annoying accent never went away, but the story line became strong enough to cover it up. The only other issue was the wording used when Sasha spoke to Laurie. With a slight adjustment in accent, he would have come off more as a Parisienne whore, then as a rough Gypsy. All in all, still enjoyable.

Paupered Prince

Seeing the young aristocrat on his way home from conspicuous consumption of the arts slumming it to determine if he was alive and not just another nameless pile of rags on this bitter cold city street was one thing. Having him track him down different night to discover if his momentary fall from grace to kindness helped was going too far. His unpapered status meant always on the move from immigration officials and his shady family ties kept him ever watchful and reluctant to allow anyone close. But this shining light in his darkness had his own shadows lurking that drew him in as if he could be protected from whatever haunted those beautiful eyes. Poignant, perilous and pure pleasure.

Amazing story and performance

What an amazing journey with Laurie and Sasha! I am writing this review after listening to both Books 1 & 2 in the series. Both 5 stars for the story and the masterful performance by Rusty Coles. Mr Coles is a new narrator to me and he really hit it out of the park. Harper Fox is an amazing writer; it's almost like poetry. Her characters are so multi dimensional, yet completely relatable. In this story our couple is an abused aristocrat and a homeless Romanian "gypsy" also from an abusive background. So lots of hurt/comfort going round. The story is set in London and with their first meeting we are swept away into their epic struggles and romance. There is danger, misunderstandings and, in Book 2 some, "WTF are you doing?" moments. But through it all Harper Fox's words and Rusty Coles' performance is a amazing match which brings this story to the next level.

Exquisite All Around

So far I haven't listened to an audiobook from Harper Fox that I haven't thoroughly enjoyed and this one is no exception. The slow build and tenderness of the MC relationship leaves you aching.

Normally the number one thing that throws me off from an MM romance novel is the trope of the whole plot revolving around the character denying their gay. Thankfully, this played a reasonable small part in the novel so as not to grind my nerves and did NOT pull the "gay for you" justification cliche that makes me fume. There was so much more to both the MCs. Their inner turmoil in the struggle of transitioning into adult hood for Laurie and Sasha's struggle with his all around world being so different from Laurie's. All composed so beautifully without cringy cliches.

Also, Rusty Coles does an exquisite job if narrating. His voice is so perfect for capturing the uncertain insecurities of two kids flailing into the world of young adulthood. I hope the world of audiobooks hears more from Rusty Coles.

Beautiful jem

Beautiful story
Great narration
Can’t wait to start hearing the second book in this series
Thank you!

Beautiful!

I love it! What a beautiful and sweet story! fantastic narration. It had a slow start, though still captivating. But once things got interesting, it really did! I was completely captured by the story.

MM story set in the UK

Great story set in the UK, with Laurie a son of UK Baron and Sasha an illegal immigrant. The story is filled with drama, and off to listen to book 2.

A sense of time

The story was well read and each character easily distinguishable. I felt as though I was observing the each situation 1st hand. Sometimes startled when my true environment/reality re-emerged when someone asked a question. I would recommend this title to anyone that enjoys romance. It would however be better served with a more clear time/date association.

true love story

Every twist and turn; every up and down. Heart breaking and heart healing. Laurie and Sash forever.