Audiobook Review: Lord Mouse (Lords of Davenia #1) by Mason Thomas

A Lords of Davenia Novel

Scoundrel by nature and master thief by trade, Mouse is the best there is. Sure, his methods may not make him many friends, but he works best alone anyway. And he has never failed a job.

But that could change.

When a stranger with a hefty bag of gold seduces him to take on a task, Mouse knows he’ll regret it. The job? Free Lord Garron, the son of a powerful duke arrested on trumped up charges in a rival duchy. Mouse doesn’t do rescue missions. He’s no altruistic hero, and something about the job reeks. But he cannot turn his back on that much coin—enough to buy a king’s pardon for the murder charge hanging over his head.

Getting Garron out of his tower prison is the easy part. Now, they must escape an army of guardsmen, a walled keep and a city on lockdown, and a ruthless mage using her power to track them. Making matters worse, Mouse is distracted by Garron’s charm and unyielding integrity. Falling for a client can lead to mistakes. Falling for a nobleman can lead to disaster. But Mouse is unprepared for the dangers behind the plot to make Lord Garron disappear.

Listening Length: 9 hours and 25 minutes
Narrator: Joel Leslie

Lord Mouse in audio.

Scrappy, snarky, dreamy and sassy Mouse in AUDIO?!

I just about loved Mason Thomas's debut novel, Lord Mouse. Mouse is snark personified, the cocky, cunning criminal who totally deserves his slice of HEA. He's the deviant underdog you want to root for. I'm #TeamMouse4LIFE and recommend this book to any fantasy lover out there.

After listening to Joel Leslie narrate Mouse and the cast of characters, it exceeded my expectations...and I was holding a high bar to begin with.

This was my first Joel Leslie, so I didn't know what to expect, as I'm still new-ish to the audio world. I take the time to find the right person to read in my ear. I was blown away from the moment I heard Mouse's brogue! I didn't imagine Mouse with a brogue in my wildest of dreams.

But apparently I needed the brogue and now after listening to nearly 10 hours of Joel Leslie having a blast and going balls to the wall with Thomas' characters, I can't imagine Mouse any other way. Leslie gave different variations of accents. There were Scot, Irish and Caribbean sounding folk for all the characters and I didn't even remember there were so many people in there.But this man did a distinct and different voice for them all. He wowed me through all the snarky parts. He nailed all of Mouse's great one-liners, gave emotion and camp at all the right parts.

In my original review, I broke down the book of what worked and why the story was so full of win--I'll keep it brief and the fangirl on a low setting. You have 10 foot tall personality in Mouse, a career criminal who might be short in stature but is one of the wiliest and craftiest men you might read. He commands and demands attention on each page he's on. Leslie got a great sense of that.

Mouse goes on the biggest job of his life, rescuing the kidnapped noble, Lord Garron. Mouse has to sneak into a heavily guarded city and keep the Lord alive all while not getting caught int he process. It's harrowing tale of crime, action, adventure and romance. Note, the romance isn't as evenly balanced, it takes a backseat to the suspense. And there isn't on page sex, but I didn't miss it int he least.

Leslie did a great honor to great text.

The story remains 4 Hearts for me. Strong start, good middle, the ending is slightly rushed. There was a big buildup about Mouse's dagger and Garron's reason for being held prisoner. And while the reasoning was good, the rushed 15-20% kind of loses steam. When I read Lord Mouse, I rated it 4.5 overall, averaging Mouse who is a 5 Heart character (and deserves his own rating) and the story combined.

For the audio? Joel Leslie made a great book better.

As this was a reread for me, my feelings on the story's weak spots remains: Garron needed more depth to his character. Leslie did a good job of conveying Garron's emotions for Mouse. Life threatening situations are calls for me to give insta-love a pass in romance situations. However, I still wish there was more from Garron, or maybe a POV change to get a grasp of when the moment of 'a-ha...Mouse is it for me.'

Since I rated the book 4.5, with Leslie's narration I could only rate the entire thing higher.

It was that good.

Highly recommended and I definitely plan to listen to more Joel Leslie audiobooks!

See our tag team eBook review HERE!

Review: Coasting (States of Love) by Yvonne Trent

What happens when you need something but don’t know what it is? Why not look in a place you never heard of?

Out and proud elementary school teacher Cal Hamilton thought he was happy in Philadelphia, but after a breakup, he steps back to reassess his life and discovers something is missing. He gets in his car and drives south with no idea what he hopes to find. The flip of a coin leads him to a small town in Mississippi—practically a different world from the city where he grew up.

Police officer Billy Labarre keeps his sexuality mostly to himself, but he knows just what he needs to fill the hole in his quiet small-town life: the right man. Unfortunately attitudes toward gay men still leave a lot to be desired in the rural South, and it’s hard to meet someone. It’s not likely his perfect match is just going to show up out of the blue….

New author Yvonne Trent's Coasting is a sweet contemporary novella that features a Philadelphian teacher Cal Hamilton and Mississippian police officer Billy Labarre. Since his summer is free, Cal goes on a road trip of sorts after recently breaking up with his boyfriend of five years. He travels down south and goes where his gut tells him... after a flip of a coin.

Ocean Springs, Mississippi is where he ultimately lands. The small town is booming with tourists and there is no room at any local hotels. Officer Billy offers a room at his empty house to crash at. Though Cal doesn't know he's met the officer of the law at the time, he accepts the stranger's kind offer.

Thus begins the start of a very tame and easy relationship. Within 48 hours, the two make permanent decisions and have off page sex. The relationship forms within the first 33% and nothing else happens but repeating that Cal will stay in Mississippi.

The story is nice. There is no angst, no major plot. The story coasts with a sugary ease and not much else. There are readers for this type of read. Not faulting them or this story. I felt it could have easily be finished within 20 pages. A lot of filler about eating, touring the Mississippi bayou and simple sugary sweetness.

The most developed character: Mississippi.

We get to learn the bayou, the food and the culture in the small town. The reader gets to go along as Billy plays tour guide to Cal around his hometown. You get to read his love for his state through and through. *shrugs*

Since the relationship fell into insta-love category, there wasn't much else to help any growth to either main character. The same feelings that they share after a few days continue when the story time jumps months later. Billy is out to those who are close to him but keeps PDA non existent due to where he lives. Cal doesn't mind.

The writing isn't bad. It's nice.

Just like the characters. Nice.

A city guy just ups and stays in a stranger's house without worrying about the possibilities? Nice, I guess for him. As a city girl, I just don't get it. Or the fact five years of a past relationship doesn't get explored for any semblance of depth for the character or snapshot of where Cal's head is at that he could just so easily jump into bed with another man. It's nice not to have to worry about those things.

Nice is there to keep everything even keeled. Nothing and no one rocks the boat or brings any interest to the story. There is a market for nice, non-explicit, no angst sugar. Readers who enjoy that...nice will wallow in Coasting.

Nice, nice, nice.

Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice.