Title: Provoked (Enlightenment, #1)
Author: Joanna Chambers
Page count: 202 pages
Genre: M/M Romance, Historical
Blurb:
Tormented by his forbidden desires for other men and the painful memories of the childhood friend he once loved, lawyer David Lauriston tries to maintain a celibate existence while he forges his reputation in Edinburgh’s privileged legal world.
But then, into his repressed and orderly life, bursts Lord Murdo Balfour.
Cynical, hedonistic and utterly unapologetic, Murdo could not be less like David. And as appalled as David is by Murdo’s unrepentant self-interest, he cannot resist the man’s sway. Murdo tempts and provokes David in equal measure, forcing him to acknowledge his physical desires.
But Murdo is not the only man distracting David from his work. Euan MacLennan, the brother of a convicted radical David once represented, approaches David to beg him for help. Euan is searching for the government agent who sent his brother to Australia on a convict ship, and other radicals to the gallows. Despite knowing it may damage his career, David cannot turn Euan away.
As their search progresses, it begins to look as though the trail may lead to none other than Lord Murdo Balfour, and David has to wonder whether it’s possible Murdo could be more than he seems. Is he really just a bored aristocrat, amusing himself at David’s expense, or could he be the agent provocateur responsible for the fate of Peter MacLennan and the other radicals?
A great start to a series!
I’m not really into m/m historicals for some reason. I used to read a LOT of m/f historicals, but in the m/m genre, they just didn’t hold my interest.
But after seeing the, um, enthusiastic reaction of my fellow Goodreads friends, I decided to give it a go. I’m really glad I did, because I enjoyed this book very much. So Goodreads friends:
I’m going to keep this short because I’ll probably review the sequels as well.
I loved the atmosphere in this book, it felt so authentic. Sometimes I dislike historicals because they’re a little OTT or totally boring. This book was neither of those things, it was true to it’s time, but didn’t bore me at all.
There isn’t a lot of romance here, but this is only the first book, so I get that the author wanted to take it slow and let the romance bloom throughout the entire series. That’s why I have a feeling I’ll enjoy books 2 and 3 even more than this one, because we’ll get to see a lot more of Murdo and David together. They have so much potential, so I can already feel how epic it’s going to be.
Also, the sexual tension, people! Man oh man, these two have some crazy chemistry going on. We do get some sexy times in this book, but I’m more than ready to get even more in the next books.
The ending broke my heart a little, so I’m totally ready to start book 2 and see what’s going to happen next.
