Bound by Deception

By: Ava March

Narrated by: David Thorpe

Lord Oliver Marsden has a secret. He's been in love with his childhood friend for years, though Vincent's never shown an interest in him beyond friendship. Ruggedly handsome, wealthy, and successful, Vincent is everything Oliver is not. And Vincent doesn't prefer men.

Then Oliver discovers Vincent hires a man during his visits to a London brothel. Desperate to be with Vincent, Oliver orchestrates a deception, switching places with the brothel's employee. When Oliver arrives at the bedchamber, he's in for another surprise. Restraints and a leather bullwhip? Apparently Vincent isn't as conservative as he appears.

Lord Vincent Prescot has a secret of his own. One kept locked away and only indulged once a month. But this month's appointment is different. The mysterious man is so perfect, so beautiful in his submission, rousing protective instincts Vincent can't deny. Yet he refuses to believe he might truly prefer men, for it could mean the end of his hopes of earning his father's respect.

Will betrayal destroy them or will they be bound together by deception?

Publisher's note: This book contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some listeners may find objectionable: anal play/intercourse, BDSM theme and content, including bondage and spanking, male/male sexual practices.

©2016 Ava March (P)2017 Audible, Inc.

Enjoyable

A thoroughly enjoyable read and the narrator is lovely. Only one real complaint: if he's using a bull whip indoors, that's a gigantic room. Just call it a whip and let readers use their own imaginations.

Porn with plot

This was a fun listen but It’s about 90 percent sexy times and 10 percent story and character development. However, based on the length of the story and the publisher’s summary no one should be surprised that it’s mostly porn. The porny bits are BDSM in nature and very explicit. Definitely not safe for public listening. (This is a historical m/m BDSM style romance just in case somehow someone missed that. )The summary gives away a lot of the plot but it’s well written and there’s just enough angst to keep things interesting without going overboard. I’m interested in hearing the next book in the series but only because it come in my romance package as a ‘free’ listen. Usually I prefer books in the 20+ hour range because I like a lot of plot. This book is extremely short. It should be noted that the last 25 minutes are a preview of the second book. If you’re looking for a long listen with deep characters and lots of plot and subplot, this is not the book for you. If you want a fun, sexy, light read -the equivalent of book candy- this is the book for you. I just finished a very long series and needed a break before starting another long series so this was perfect for me to clear my head. As for the narrator: nice job switching between voices. Very distinctive. Mostly hot. Although sometimes a little overdone when begging and desperate. But that could just be me.

A great new series

Sexy but also a good story and character building. Can't wait to get the rest of the books

A favorite of mine

Love this series. Treats BDSM really well which is unusual, meaning that it’s enjoyed not suffered through. In fact as this series isn’t included in audible plus I will probably buy them as I repeatedly listen to them.

Having said that there are some definite flaws/one has to suspend one’s disbelief about. Character development could be stronger esp. when Vincent acts very controlling and abusive; 100% historical accuracy isn’t high on the list esp. about sex workers; also a man not recognizing a lifelong friend is strange regardless of the following: a few days beard; darkness; a faked accent; he’s deep in the closet and can’t imagine a childhood friend being gay; and the last and perhaps most difficult.

As long as readers can get over the above you’ll really enjoy this series.

What a "steamy" performance!!!

This is the first time I have heard any audiobook voice by David Thorpe and I am definitely gonna continue the series. Ava March is such a tease with the "bound" series, but she sure knows how to tempt her readers/listeners like me o.o The story does not have a surprise element to it (no K.J. Charles mystery romance here). It's about two childhood friends who have been inseparable and second sons of the privileged aristocracy. They were there for each other when nobody else in the family or outside acknowledged their presence. Average second son Oliver Marsden had an unrequited love for the more than awesome second son of a Marquess, Vincent. And he gets to know that the love of his life frequents a brothel once a month and indulges in some serious BDSM love play;) Woh! Anyway, our dear Oliver wants to have just one taste of the forbidden "Vincent" fruit and so he bribes the brothel proprietress and becomes the tempting play toy for Lord Vincent for one night. Followed by some (not too much) BDSM play from Vincent that even caught Oliver by surprise so much so that he thought that he also had a taste for these things (snicker!!!). Next thing we know is that both men are not able to forget the one play night. But, the great reveal was to happen and when it happened it was with a really steamy BDSM lovemaking, which I enjoyed a lot thanks to Mr. Thorpe's voice...sigh! Narrator - David Thorpe is definitely gonna become my fave voice actor of m-m romance, falling in line with Mathew Lloyd Davies and Gary Furlong. He really knows how to make a scene sound erotic, OMG the sounds....ahem! Anyway, a must listen if you do not mind the BDSM (which isn't much). I am looking forward to the next steamy performance of Mr. Thorpe :D

Perfection

One of the best performances AND audiobooks I've ever heard. I can't believe how much I enjoyed this title. One of the most respectful books with BDSM I've ever encountered. 100%, all of it.

Quick entertaining novella

Bound by Deception is an interesting and very steamy and erotic tale of MM love with BDSM tone during Regency times.

I liked this quick short story and it's premise. And even though there wasn't a lot of character development , this is book 1 of 3 , so the tale continues.

As for the David Thorpe, the narrator, he is good. Just wish his voice for Vincent, one of the heroes, didn't sound as a 50 something years old; considering both Vincent and Oliver are 21 years old.

Historic sexy BDSM/ MM Romance with Heart

Although short, I liked this book very much - the story is believably and fluently written. The main characters share real intimacy and display authentic emotions. The narration was great - one could clearly distinguish between the two characters and the voiceover caught all the moods perfectly.

Entertaining, trashy fun.

I will preface this review by saying: I found these books because I am the biggest fan of The Song of Achilles, and I thought my love for it could go no further... until I downloaded the audio version and met my new obsession: David Thorpe.

I couldn't get enough of David's reading voice. For the first time in my life, I looked up a *narrator* and selected my next read from those options. That is what lead me here.

The writing is a solid C. It's not bad, but it's definitely not good either. I keep comparing it to a bad fanfiction that was not beta-read.

But the plot? Predictable and trashy, yes, sure -- but it also felt like Eva March stole my dream journal and wrote the perfect story for me. It's my FAVORITE flavor of trash. Oliver is sweet and as comfortable with himself as one can be, given the time period. Vincent is a closet case with a head filled with highly problematic, homophobic ideas. They find each other and things improve from there.

All in all, if you can handle cringing through way too many tropes, poorly chosen adjectives, and wholly misused British sex slang, to see through the flaws of the writing and enjoy the plot and characters... then, I recommend these books.

Did I mention DAVID THORPE reads these? Though, to be fair, I'd be happy listening to him read the phone book.

Dark delicious MM dom

Would I find a modern day romance with prostitution appealing? Not at all. But, when I’m in the mood for non-PC men, regency fits the bill. Vincent is dark, delicious and wonderfully domineering. Maybe his particular kink isn’t my thing, but the story, especially with Thorpe’s bourbon narration, is super steamy. This novella is only a third of a book, providing the meet-cute and unmasking,. But, if all you want is a scorching nightcap before bed, there’s a logical stopping point.