Audio Review ~ The Lawrence Browne Affair ~ Cat Sebastian #AudioChallenge, #ShelfLove

The Lawrence Browne Affair by Cat Sebastian
The Turner Series #2
Narrated by: Gary Furlong
Release Date: June 20, 2017
Genre: Adult, Historical Romance, M/M Romance
Source: I received a complimentary copy from Tantor Audio. This did not affect my rating and my review is voluntarily provided. 
Rating: 4 Bookworms
Challenges: #AudioChallenge, #ShelfLove
Goodreads

Synopsis
An earl hiding from his future...Lawrence Browne, the Earl of Radnor, is mad. At least, that's what he and most of the village believes. A brilliant scientist, he hides himself away in his family's crumbling estate, unwilling to venture into the outside world. When an annoyingly handsome man arrives at Penkellis, claiming to be Lawrence's new secretary, his carefully planned world is turned upside down. 
A swindler haunted by his past...Georgie Turner has made his life pretending to be anyone but himself. A swindler and con man, he can slip into an identity faster than he can change clothes. But when his long-dead conscience resurrects and a dangerous associate is out for blood, Georgie escapes to the wilds of Cornwall. Pretending to be a secretary should be easy, but he doesn't expect that the only madness he finds is the one he has for the gorgeous earl. 
Can they find forever in the wreckage of their lives? Challenging each other at every turn, the two men soon give into the desire that threatens to overwhelm them. But with one man convinced he is at the very brink of madness and the other hiding his real identity, only true love can make this an affair to remember.

I admit to having chosen The Lawrence Browne Affair because I was intrigued with an M/M historical romance. What a pleasant surprise this story was! 

Highlights:

• Characters/Character Development
  Man! CSebastian did an impressive job of developing both Lawrence and Georgie. Lawrence inherited an Earldom. His father and older brother were known to be mad and indluged in some wickedness (and not the good kind) as part of their madness.
  Laurence has always believed he is or would go mad himself because of his sexual preferences and due to things about his behavior that his father deemed odd. Honestly, I believe Lawrence was a genius or a savant as well as autistic or maybe agoraphobic. I adored how over the course of the story Georgie was able to figure out how to handle Lawrence's "quirks" and convince him he wasn't mad and was also worthy of people's company and care.
  Georgie is a crook. A crook with a heart though and that heart has him on the run from an associate. He comes to Penkellis to determine Lawrence's mental state for some who are questioning it. Georgie at first is thinking only of himself - saving his hide - so it was a delight to watch as he proved he was redeemable.
• Romance
  CSebastian created a compelling slow-burn romance between Lawrence and Georgie. Witnessing as they became close and came to care for one another was something I was loathe to stop listening to. As this was my first M/M historical romance, I must say I was impressed with how CSebastian crafted the story.
• Story
  Like I said, CSebastian wove a captivating story around Lawrence and Georgie - Lawrence being an inventor of sorts and Georgie generally stealing from whomever he can - until now. There was also how they learned to deal with each others' personalities, their insecurities, and the reasons behind how they were and how they lived. It was all fascinating!

Honestly, there was so much to like about this story. And the narrator, Gary Furlong, also did an excellent job. He kept the pace just right and managed the voices for each character very well - even the female ones. I will absolutely read more CSebastian and listen to more GFurlong!