A brand new historical M/M novella from award-winning author Isobel Starling.Monday 20th December 1897. Mr. Benedict Hannan, the owner of Hannan’s Auction House in Fitzrovia, receives a letter inviting him to attend the sale of a private collection of Fine Art and antiquities belonging to the Late Lord Percival Ardmillan. Ardmillan is known to Benedict, or rather his son Euan is, and so, Benedict … so, Benedict hurriedly travels to the West Highlands to fulfill his dream of owning a particular item from the Lord’s collection—something that he has coveted for thirty years.
In Scotland, Benedict meets the collectors who were invited to bid in the auction. He discovers that the auction of the private collection is not as straightforward as he had imagined. Forced to come to terms with his past and present desires, Benedict finds himself in the thrall of a mysterious traveler and in turn, gets more than he bargained for this Christmas!
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Historical MM
A very slow start, I put this audio down three times before I persevered. But stay with it. Once you get 2/3rds through, it does get better.
Benedict is an uptight gentleman heading to Scotland for a sale of paintings and antiques.
Benedict has a past with the owner of the Scottish castle, and it seems that all is not well.
The story was slow, but I did complete the book.
As I listened at 1.25 on Audible, Gary Furlong was clear, precise, and easy to listen to.
The Shooting Season
By: Isobel Starling
Narrated by: Gary Furlong
Series: Resurrectionist Series, Book 1
Length: 2 hrs and 54 mins
Overall
Narration
Story
Read at 1.25 speed on Audible
I received this audiobook for free, and my review is my opinion and an honest review.
I love the depth a charmingly flawed character brings to a story, and Isobel Starling has crafted a gem in Benedict Hannan. Naïve and a bit dim, Benedict has a way to go before he figures it all out, and the goings on in The Shooting Season are just the beginning of his education.
Set up to initiate him into the ways of the world is humble American traveller John Edwards, or is it art collector Artur Engels, or master thief Sebastian Cavell? Well, whatever alias he’s using at the moment, I love the chemistry between him and Benedict and I can’t wait to see what Isobel Starling is going to do with these two gents!
Regardless of his pompous piety, do not let Benedict’s buffoonery put you off. Ms. Starling has plans for him and The Resurrectionist series continues in episode two, The Gentleman’s Thief. I’m diving straight into the audio version of this one, and here’s hoping there will be many more episodes to come.
Audio Review
Overall – 5
Performance – 5
Story – 5
I’m ready for book two!
This was an interesting and fairly quick listen at only 3 hours. Gary Furlong did his usual great job and the story really held my interest.
We met several interesting characters in this book and I suspect that at least a couple of them will feature prominently in the rest of the series if this is anything like Isobel’s other series. This seems to be the introduction to the Resurrectionist series and it does end on a bit of a cliffhanger. Lucky for me I have book 2 coming up soon!
A complimentary copy of this audiobook was provided to me but my review was voluntary and not influenced by the author and/or narrator.
If you have never read (or Listened to) Isobel Starling…You should. The writing is exquisite, the characters compelling and the stories, interesting and twisted.
The Shooting Season was quite a bit different than the Shatterproof Bond series in a way. This was a historical set back when if you were caught in a gay relationship you were imprisoned or killed. It is set in Oscar Wilde’s time and he was cited as an example. Benedict is on his way to a huge private invitation-only auction where he hopes to acquire a special artifact not for his Auction House but for himself. It is a staff rumored to cure any ailment and he hopes to cast away his evil, Impure thoughts. The problem is it is taking him straight into the lion’s den to the home of his first lover Euan Ardmillan, The new owner of the estate.
This is a very short book and it drags you in with its telling and keeps you there with each page turn. Once the twists begin, they get tighter and tighter and more and more. There is a lot in this short of a book.
The narration by Gary Furlong is perfect. His voice for Benedict gives the story the perfect accent for this setting, and also the perfect eerie feeling.
If you love historical MM stories, mystery/suspense, lots of twists, and a short story to fill some time this is for you. I highly recommend the audio since the narration gives it a perfect boost just reading will miss.
I absolutely loved both the story and the narration. Told solely from the point of view of a rather proper Benedict, I love how Gary Furlong brings him to life, yet never misses an opportunity to be creative with the secondary characters. I particularly enjoyed the many voices of Sebastian. I can’t wait to hear more of his work.
The author captured the late 19th century excellently and this is indicative of thorough research. I certainly learnt several new things and will never look at plums the same way again! I like how Benedict is a more mature man of 50 (at a time when this might have been considered old). I definitely want to see him to continue to blossom after being so set in his way for 30 years. I hope that Sebastian is a large part of his rebirth.
Looking forward to the next in the series.