Audiobook Review: Enlightened (Enlightenment #3) by Joanna Chambers

This is a second edition of a book previously published by Samhain Publishing.

David Lauriston has been recuperating at Lord Murdo Balfour’s Laverock estate for the last five months. At Laverock, he has regained his health and confidence and has found—with Murdo—more happiness and contentment than he has never known before.

David is all too aware that some day soon he will have to leave Laverock—and Murdo—and return to his legal practice in Edinburgh, just as Murdo will have to return to his life in London. But when David’s mentor, Patrick Chalmers, asks David to return to Edinburgh to visit him on his deathbed, it seems that day has come sooner than either David or Murdo would have wished.

Chalmers begs David to undertake one last piece of business for him: to secure the future of Chalmers’s daughter Elizabeth. But to carry out his old mentor’s wishes, David must travel to London, with Murdo.

No sooner have the two men arrived in the capital than they encounter Murdo’s ruthlessly manipulative father, who reveals a shocking secret that rocks David to his foundations. What’s more, when David discovers Elizabeth is facing far greater danger than even her father feared, he is determined to help her, no matter the cost to his own safety.

As the stakes rise, it is Murdo who must choose what he is prepared to sacrifice to keep David at his side, and ask whether there is any possibility of lasting happiness for men like them.

Narrated by Hamish McKinlay
Listening Length: 6 hours and 24 minutes

5 Unequivocal Stars

Reviewer - Annery

Before writing this I reread my previous reviews of books 1 & 2 in the series (and maybe a little or a lot of the books themselves) to make sure I didn’t come off as a sycophantic nut. That ship has sailed but I did realize that I’d failed to mention that these should definitely be read in order. There. I said it. I guess better late than never. This is a series that absolutely builds on each previous installment and what a thing of beauty it is. *starry eyed sighs*

If you need to break open your piggy bank or use a precious Audible credit to get the AB of this don’t give it a second thought. Do it. Yes, I am feeling bossy today, but you’ll thank me later. Once again Hamish McKinlay gives a flawless rendition of Joanna Chambers’s perfect book. Am I going overboard with the superlatives? I don’t think so. The point of romance, IMHO, is to go on a journey of discovery with a couple, or any denomination that floats your boat, from that first meeting, that first spark of awareness to seeing our lovers set on the road to their very own HEA, whatever that may mean to them. It just has to be honest. True. Believable within the world of the story. This checks all the boxes.

We pick up six months after the events in book 2, and David has been recuperating at Laverock House, Murdo’s Perthshire estate. Even though Murdo would like to wrap him in cotton gauze, idleness doesn’t sit well with David and little by little he’s begun sorting through the legal entanglements pertaining to Murdo’s estate and business dealings. They’re becoming a couple in all the ways that count, meshed in each other’s lives not just sexually but in every meaningful corner. And that thrills and terrifies both men. They now know what they have. Something precious. Real. How to be satisfied when it must inevitably end? How to make it last? I love how JC shows David & Murdo living as a real couple, sharing not only a bed, passion, and sexual chemistry, but also working together, exchanging ideas, and supportive of each other’s endeavours. Imagine that! How novel to have a healthy adult relationship in any genre. But don’t worry about stultifying domesticity, the sexy times between these two are still scorching, I’d be tempted to say transcendent. I know I’m hoping Murdo can give me a liniment massage for my aching joints, if David can spare him of course.

When the book starts both David and Murdo know that they want more. They want to stay together. But how can they even dream of that when their brand of love isn’t even acknowledged, much less accepted? Fear not. You’re in the hands of a talented writer, one with vision. I’d be loathe to ruin the story but I will say that JB knows that sometimes you have to explode your life to be able to start anew. A tabula rasa. The way in which they go about is both fortuitous and inspired.

There are sad endings and new beginnings, story lines from previous instalments are revisited and satisfactorily resolved; even David’s drinking. He’s a bit of a lush when he’s feeling low. I loved seeing Murdo so gaga over David, wanting to protect him but at the same time proud of his achievements and acumen. And David getting to see the true Murdo, what makes him tick, what got him to be the man he is, wants to be. But what really shines in every sentence of this story is the true love between these two. The rightness of it. How they make each other whole. And what kind of world wants to deny this joy, this beauty? I refuse to live there. Here are some quotes that made my heart soar.

"And right then, David felt a bolt of unexpected gratitude. Gratitude that he and Murdo were alive. Alive and together, now.A profound understanding settled on him of what it meant to be alive. What a privilege it was. What it meant to share the moments of his life -- even difficult moments -- with someone he loved. … He lifted his head, knowing his face would give everything away. He didn’t even try to disguise his feelings, though. He just let Murdo see it all, the despair and the grief, and the sharp, pressing desire. Because what was the point in hiding it? What was the point in having the gift of life -- and the gift of knowing how precious it was -- if he couldn’t share it all with this man?"

Or this

"They watched each other like that for a long time, till the joyful expression on Murdo’s face softened into something more reflective, almost poignant.‘I didn’t know I wasn’t happy before,’ he murmured.‘Before what?’Murdo gave a lopsided smile. ‘Before you. Not that I was actively unhappy. I had plans. Objectives. Things to acquire or achieve. But --’ He paused, then said simply, ‘You make me happy, David.’"

***leaky eyes. again***

Murdo’s detestable father finally makes an appearance in the flesh. He’s as horrible as advertised and dealt with accordingly. A fitting comeuppance for a real villain. I won’t go on. I loved all of it. Deliriously.

When I finished I kept going over and over in my head the things I liked/loved and why and then an aha! Moment happened when I realized that David & Murdo embody probably my favorite couples dynamic. One is older, larger, world-wise or weary, maybe a bit of a cynic and the other MC is perhaps more idealistic but not naive, with a strong ethical backbone, that can bend but won’t break. They live in a world that’s not always welcoming, but they manage to make a space of their own, without pretensions to Edenic perfection. Perhaps the prime example of this type of couple for me are Jake and Adrien from Josh Lanyon’s Adrien English Series. When I say that David and Murdo reminded me of those two I mean it as the HIGHEST compliment.

This scene, besides being swoon-worthy romantic, crystallized everything. Murdo is applying liniment and massaging David’s leg:

"David watched, unprotesting now, as his injured limb, pale and somewhat wasted still, was laid bare. … He made a face, not liking the sight of his weakness. … ‘What’s wrong?’ Murdo asked. He missed nothing, damn him, ‘I hate the look of it,’ David said shortly. ‘It’s ugly.’ Murdo’s brows drew together in a puzzled expression. He turned his head to the offending limb, caressing the length of it with his hands while David watched. … ‘It’s not ugly,’ Murdo murmured. ‘Nothing about you could be ugly to me.’"

When I read that I almost died because my mind immediately harked back to this passage from The Dark Tide when Jake and Adrien finally get together after Adrien’s open heart surgery:

"He undid the last button, pushed the shirt back off my shoulders. He glanced down at my chest.
‘Ugly, isn’t it?’I heard the rough intake of his breath. ‘Is that what you think?’‘Oh it is,’ I said easily. Somehow I knew the ugliness didn’t frighten him any more than it frightened me.He bent his head and kissed the curve of my neck, said against my flushed skin, ‘Nothing about you could be ugly to me.’"

*Happy Dance/Happy Sighs* It’s like hearing echoes of a favorite song in a new one. It made me joyful and love this series harder.


I’d recommend this to everyone and it will surely be one of my go to re-reads. Forever. Downside is now I’m afraid to jump into any other historical for fear of a let down. Problems of a Romance reader.

A review copy was provided by the author.

Audiobook Review: Beguiled (Enlightenment #2) by Joanna Chambers

This is a second edition of a book previously published by Samhain Publishing.

Two years after his last encounter with cynical nobleman Lord Murdo Balfour, David Lauriston accidentally meets him again in the heart of Edinburgh.

King George IV is about to make his first visit to Edinburgh and Murdo has been sent North by his politician father to represent his aristocratic family at the celebrations.

David and Murdo’s last parting was painful—and on Murdo’s part, bitter—but Murdo’s feelings seem to have mellowed in the intervening years. So much so, that he suggests to David that they enjoy each other’s company during Murdo’s stay in the capital.
Despite his initial reservations, David cannot put Murdo’s proposal from his mind, and soon find himself at Murdo’s door—and in his arms.

But other figures from David’s past are converging on the city, and as the pomp and ceremony of the King’s visit unfolds around them, David is drawn into a chain of events that will threaten everything: his career, his wellbeing, and the fragile bond that, despite David’s best intentions, is growing between him and Murdo.

Narrated by: Hamish McKinlay
Listening Length: 6 hours and 33 minutes

***5 STARS and more***

Guest Reviewer - Annery

This is the second book in the Enlightenment Series and I’m thrilled to say that Joanna Chambers is a true talent, sticking unflinchingly to a vision. On the audio front Hamish McKinlay, once again, delivers a masterful performance bringing the principals, David & Murdo, to vivid, distinct, and electrifying life. If I didn’t know better I could be persuaded that there are two narrators. As a bonus he fleshes out another handful of characters, including women, without hitting a false note.

The story picks up and takes place in August of 1822, two years after the events in Provoked, and once again the ‘action’ is firmly rooted in historical fact. George IV, commonly known as Prinny, the ne’er-do-well heir of George III, had been Regent for 10 years during his father’s bout of mental incapacity. A year after his ascension to the throne he embarked on a historical trip to Scotland, the first by a British monarch in almost two hundred years. The trip was stage managed by Sir Walter Scott and was full of pageantry on an epic scale. Here's a brief article on the visit.

This is the setting for David and Murdo’s reunion. In the two years since we last saw him David has made something of a name for himself as an advocate, under the tutelage of his patron and now friend, Patrick Chalmers. He continues to be the same David, dedicated to his profession almost to the exclusion of everything else but a good hearted and loyal friend. On the personal front, while he’s resigned to a solitary life with the occasional stolen moment for passion, he’s not as apt to see his desires as reprehensible.

“It used to be, when he heard people sneering about sods and buggers, his chief reaction was shame. Self-loathing. But more recently -- like when the scandal of the bishop came out -- he’d found himself growing angry when he heard such comments. Angry that people seemed to think they had a right to know what others did behind closed doors. Angry that they wanted to rip people apart for it, even blamed the state of the nation upon it.”

Meanwhile Murdo has ostensibly come to Edinburgh representing his father, the Marquess, as part of the King’s entourage. The two meet by accident or fate at the tailor’s shop and the kindling is set.

 
There is so much wonderful going on in this book and Joanna Chambers conveys all of this without ever ‘telling’ or crowding, but rather by conversations, thoughts, and actions. She not only steps up the story between our two protagonists but also sets them firmly in their time and place, which is a Scotland that was shedding its feudal past in favor of the business and educated classes. We also get a precis on the rights of women (none) via Elizabeth, Patrick Chalmers daughter, now prisoner of an unhappy marriage. However the author never loses sight of the story at hand, which is that of David and Murdo. This time around they’re not so much dancing around each other but falling head first into something they can’t or know to call love, because the world sucks, and that’s not something available to men. Or is it? This is the book in which these men really get to know each other. In every sense.

The real dark horse is Murdo, who’s come back to Edinburgh, among other reasons, to get back into David’s life in any way and for however long it may last. He’s the character who has changed the most. He’s searched his heart, realized, and admitted that he wants more of David. What that more is he has not named. Not yet. He’s that person we all want at the end of our HEA and there’s a scene, which replays in David’s head (and mine too), where Murdo invites David to his house by saying: “You know where my house is. Come anytime.” The memory of that invitation is like an ear worm in David’s head, insistent and persuasive.

Hamish McKinley’s rendering had me on my way to Murdo’s house. *heart palpitations*

I don’t know how much or little to tell because you should really just immerse yourself in this whole series, and yes I mean the audio too. Your heart and brain will thank you. I found myself highlighting and rereading whole passages but quoting them all here would be obnoxious. As an alternative I suggest you go to Chapter 9 of the book. This is the core of the book and of David & Murdo’s story; the themes it explores, and the predominant dynamic. I’ll wait.

David and Murdo have left a tavern and Murdo, gentleman that he is, walks David to his rooms. It starts: “Murdo followed David …” and that’s what’s happening, to one degree or other this August of 1822. The rooms are dark and Murdo is ‘lost’ but David is there to guide him: “Sorry. Here, give me your hand.” David starts to light the fire and, while still in darkness, they begin to talk. It’s one of those conversations you have in the refuge of darkness. Like a confessional. But slowly the light gets stronger, the room warmer. Once the room is lit and warm they’ve exchanged painful remembrances and shared a moment of honest intimacy that surpasses ‘just sex’. I’ll just come right out and say that Murdo is a prince. It ends like this, with David sitting on Murdo’s lap, after offering to suck him:

“Murdo’s eyes glittered. ‘Yes, but stay like this awhile longer. I like you here.’
“So David did, enjoying the warmth of the fire and the feel of Murdo beneath him, around him. Enjoying the tentative intimacy that was growing between them and that felt almost tangible, here, in this warm, secret corner of the world.”

The rest of the book carries through with this theme. David and Murdo deciding that being together is right or at the very least no one else’s business, but trying to find a way of making that possible and figuring out for how long? Murdo shines brightly, being there for David and his ‘causes’ even when he doesn’t know he’s doing it and with deeply romantic moments like this:

“Another good-natured chuckle, then lips at his temple in a brief kiss. A sigh. “David.” Just his name. Not a question but a statement. Or maybe an answer.”

David. Was ever a man more aptly named? Always willing to fight for what’s right even when he’s scared or in the face of daunting odds. But he has Murdo:

“He kissed Murdo, and it was like water. Like something necessary and life-giving.”

Even if I hadn’t read (totally did) the third book I would’ve been happy with this ending. Our men are on a believable path to a HEA that doesn’t rehash the same tired roles of other historicals, jump into anachronisms or require leaps of wishful thinking.

 
***I’d recommend this to everyone. Period. If you can definitely get the audio. Worth every penny. ***

Audiobook Review: Provoked (Enlightenment, #1) by Joanna Chambers

When a man loses his heart, he has no choice but to follow…

Enlightenment, Book 1

Lowborn David Lauriston lacks the family connections needed to rise in Edinburgh’s privileged legal world. Worse, his latest case—defending weavers accused of treason—has brought him under suspicion of harbouring radical sympathies.

Troubled by his sexuality, tormented by memories of a man he once platonically loved, David lives a largely celibate life—until a rare sexual encounter with a compelling stranger turns his world on its head.

Cynical and worldly, Lord Murdo Balfour is more at home in hedonistic London than dingy, repressed Edinburgh. Unlike David, he intends to eventually marry while continuing to enjoy the company of men whenever he pleases. Yet sex with David is different. It’s personal, intimate, and instead of extinguishing his desire, it only leaves him hungry for more.

As David’s search for the man who betrayed the weavers deepens, he begins to suspect that his mysterious lover has more sinister reasons for his presence in Edinburgh. The truth could leave his heart broken…and more necks stretching on the gallows.

Warning: Contains mystery and danger set in 1822 Scotland, and a forbidden love between two men that will leave you on the edge of your seat—until the next book.

Narrated by: Hamish McKinley
Listening Length: 5 hours and 52 minutes

Guest Reviewer - Annery

Historicals were my gateway to romance and it was no different with m/m. My first was “Tangled Web” by Lee Rowan and I loved it. Since then I’ve mostly gravitated to contemporaries but always keep a gimlet eye on what’s out there in the crinoline and gauntlet era. The problem is that most m/m historicals are either wildly inaccurate, as in the historic part is window dressing, or self-flagellating tales of woe where the best possible outcome is some Lord/valet arrangement for a HEA. I tread carefully but have lately come upon some gems and this is one of them.

First things first: the audio is by Hamish McKinlay and it’s divine. A work of art all on its own. The characters are clearly and distinctly identified not only by their accents but also by their ‘voice’ and tone. At every turn you know exactly who’s speaking. The emotions are clear and vivid and more than once I felt David’s quiet sadness and moments of joy. Bonus points for clearing up the Scottish pronunciation of many words that I’m sure I’d otherwise be mangling and just in time for the return of “Outlander” too!

So let’s talk about the story. The book opens with the execution of Andrew Hardie & John Baird. This was a real event. Here’s a historical snippet not from the book:

“... on 8th September 1820, Andrew Hardie, a weaver from Glasgow, and John Baird, a weaver from Condorrat, met similar fates in Stirling: they were also hanged and beheaded. 19 others, mostly weavers, were sentenced to transportation, and already on their way to the colonies (mainly New South Wales in Australia); and that was the end of what became known as the Radical War, or the 1820 Rising. But, as Britain charged headlong into an age of immense industrialisation, it wasn’t to be the last time that the recently coined term ‘radical’ would serve as a prefix for a popular movement of workers demanding their ‘rights’ in society, and threatening revolution if their ‘rights’ were withheld.

One astonishing fact about the 1820 Rising, accepted by many historians today, is that the government, through the agency and double-dealing of spies, actually incited the rising in the first place. Why would a government, gripped by the fear of a popular revolution amongst its populace, incite a general strike in the very epicentre of radicalism? To answer this question, we must unearth the roots of the 1820 Rising, and of radical politics in general.

In Scotland, the Presbyterian Church, although often repressive in policing the moral fortitude of its flock, had passionately defended certain ‘rights’ amongst the ‘common people’ since the time of the Reformation – the first and foremost of these being the right to read the bible in one’s own language, without the interference of Latinate priests. Consequently, throughout the 18th century and into the early-19th century, Scotland had one of the highest levels of literacy anywhere in Europe, and indeed the world – a much higher rate than in neighbouring England, or even in revolutionary France.

As the economic situation worsened for many workers in Scotland, not only were they receptive to new, ‘radical’ solutions to their problems, but they could read for themselves the works of Robert Burns singing the merits of the common man, or read the pamphlets of Tom Paine, such as the famous ‘Rights of Man’ (1791-92) which popularised the notions of universal suffrage (for men) and republicanism as never before.

Beyond this peculiarly Scottish trend of literacy, it must be stated that the major influence on the 1820 Rising is the fact that those involved had lived in an age of revolution for over a generation. The American Revolution of 1776 had already struck a blow to kingship and its attendant system of feudal privileges.” [1]

This is the world in which we meet David Lauriston, an advocate who worked on the defense for the two doomed men. He has come to witness their execution as a final act of solidarity. This is a genius way of showing us who David is and what he stands for and that is one of the things that Joanna Chambers does masterfully. Each scene helps to illuminate who the characters are and what they’re about; whether it’s something mundane like having dinner or momentous like bearing witness to a hanging or mind blowing like sucking cock in a dark, filthy alley. These are all moments in a life, the life of David Lauriston. David comes from a small village, the son of hardworking farmers, and the first member of his family to go to University. He’s a young lawyer trying to make a name for himself in Edinburgh. He’s conflicted over having ‘lost’ his country accent in order to succeed in his profession; he doesn’t know how to feel over becoming a city dweller and having abandoned manual labor and country habits for the life of books, but he is absolutely guilt ridden by his continuous failure to resist his weakness or defect, which is that David is attracted to men, however he forges ahead with quiet dignity. When he fails he gets up, dusts himself off, and goes on as best he can. I loved that about him. He knows who he is, though he’s not inflexible, and is trying to forge a life within personal moral boundaries. This means he’s unwilling to deceive any future wife with promises of love and fidelity and therefore chooses to remain a bachelor however socially advantageous a marriage could be.

On the day of the execution, while lodging at an inn, David meets one Murdo Balfour and they share a memorable encounter which haunts both men.

“The cobbles under his knees were hard and wet, but he didn’t care. … Even if David didn’t climax now, he would be able to do so later, just from remembering this. His own cock was painful in his breeches, swollen with desire but constricted by the tight fabric and his kneeling position. In an odd way, he relished the uncomfortable sensation. Strangely it almost enhanced the delight of pleasing Balfour.”

Luckily or not through fate and circumstance they meet again and their lives become intertwined which leads them to circle each other with interest and certainly desire. For David this is a problem because giving into his ‘unnatural’ proclivities is something he tries to minimize, though he knows eventually he’ll always fail, and that is David: trying to do his best but clear on his imperfections. His polar opposite is Murdoch Balfour or as it turns out, Lord Murdo to civilians.

Lord Murdo the younger son of a Marquess. He’s tall and dark where David is of average height, slender, and a coppery redhead. Murdo is an unabashed hedonist, who enjoys the pleasures of the body, without regard of what others may think, whereas David has been brought up to believe that sex between men is not only a sin, but he also knows it to be a crime in the eyes of the law.

“I don’t think the fact that I want to stick my cock in the occasional arse is any business of God, the King or anyone else.”

This devil-may-care attitude on the part of Murdo is due in large part to his social class and upbringing, but Murdo is also a pragmatist where David is an idealist or a romantic in the classical sense, as Murdo accuses … and yet when they come together they’re combustible. David and Murdo share a couple of intimate and devastating encounters during which David allows himself to go further than he ever has in any previous tryst and Murdo finds himself falling deeper into an attraction and desire that go very much against his wishes.


Being a brilliant writer Joanna Chambers knows that a HEA within the scope of this first book would be disingenuous to say the least and dishonest. It would also be false to who these characters have shown themselves to be and their historical and social reality. As a balm she gives us the last two chapters of the book. In my opinion they are the heart and soul of the book and one of the spots where Hamish McKinlay’s narration shines bright. He made my eyes leak. David and Murdo finally see each other’s true mettle and it comes as no surprise, that though battered, David is the one left standing, whereas you can see the cracks starting to form in Murdo’s carefully constructed exterior. Nothing is done out of character and I don’t think I’m spoiling anything by saying that they go on their separate ways to live out their respective lives. The heartbreaking, but ultimately honest, final chapter has David embracing the only HFN he can envision for himself. I’m not being glib when I say that I felt happy for him. David was loved and accepted by those who mattered to him and he felt it. He’d reached a level of inner peace. Those aren’t things to scoff at in any time period.

When I was done with the last period in this book I blindly One-Clicked the rest of the series. I’d recommend that everyone do it too and for this one add the audio. It’s the only one available for now but I’ll be on the lookout for the rest of the series.

A review copy was provided.

[1] Excerpt from http://www.thesonsofscotland.co.uk/the1820rising.htm