Charles

Learning to Love, Book 1

De: Con Riley

Narrado por: Cornell Collins

Opposites attract in this low-angst gay romance filled with British snark and humor.

Life should be a breeze for a playboy like Charles Heppel. As the third son of an earl, he lives for the moment, partying and playing. Settling down isn't for him. Not when London is full of beautiful men who he hasn't one-and-done yet.

To escape his family's nagging, Charles applies for a temp job that matches his playful skill set. A role in a Cornish classroom could be his until the summer, if Charles meets two conditions: he must move in with the headmaster's best friend, and teach him to be happy.

Living with Hugo should be awkward. Charles is a free spirit, but Hugo's a man of faith, with morals. A man who almost took holy orders before disaster changed his direction. Only far from being a chore, Charles finds that making Hugo happy soon becomes his passion.

Together, they share physical and emotional first times. Ones that change Charles, touching his soul. He wants Hugo for longer than they have left, but learning to love with his heart, not just his body, will take a leap of faith from Charles—in himself as well as Hugo.

Contains mature themes.

©2021 Con Riley (P)2023 Tantor

Another Smash Hit

This was my review when I originally read the book and the audio just made it so much better! I loved how Cornel Collins voiced these characters and gave them life!

Every new book Con Riley writes ends up being my favorite. Charles intrigued me from the beginning in Kier’s book and I was so glad when she told me he was getting his own book.

Charles’ life feels like it’s out of control a bit and he can’t seem to get a permanent position at any of the schools he works for because of his different abilities with dyslexia and ADHD. I swear to you Charles is so hard on himself at times it made me cry. Hugo and Charles have chemistry from the beginning and their journey is one you won’t soon forget. I read this book a month ago and I can still clearly remember the feelings and emotions it evoked in me.

I’ve said it before but I’ll shout it again, Con’s world building ability is second to none. She’s created a world you’d want to visit or live in and built characters that are so real and so raw and take on such ginormous personalities with subtle or not so subtle nuisances that you want them to succeed. You want them to be together, you wish they were real because Charles is someone so larger than life that he’d be a blast to hang out with and Hugo is so soft spoken and supportive and just a marshmallow you wanna hug and you want to be friends with them.

Their individual journeys aren’t easy and the journey they take together is a roller coaster, but it is very very worth it. You will feel all the things because of Con’s writing style and you will love it.

This book does contain religious undertones because Hugo was on the path to ordination before he took a side path but the book isn’t in your face religious. It’s just so darn good.

I recommend this book so highly! Best book I’ve read in 2021 so far by far!

Loved

This was such a feel good story. Charles was so misunderstood and struggling to find his place in the world, while also struggling with his dyslexia. And Hugo was just the person that he needed to show him that he was worthy of everything, but at the same time he was also broken and looking for his own place in the world. This is a story of love, trusting the unknown, and friendships that make you stronger. I absolutely adored it, cannot wait to start booked too.

Heart-warming- Hilarious- Emotional

Cornell Collins did an excellent job narrating Charles .

I enjoyed listening this sweet , heart warming, emotional , sad , hilarious story . Charles is one of my favorite books by Con Riley.

Unexpected Jewel

I happened upon this book and this series by accident and immediately wanted to stay in this world. The flaws and challenges faced by the characters are real and uncontrived and their progress towards resolving them is earned and satisfying. Building their relationship took time and real communication and there were some laughs and some heartache along the way. Both Charles and Hugo had depth and were relatable in their struggles.

I was initially unsure how this narrator would handle the variety of characters in the story but he did so without sounding forced or false in any way.

There were some heavy subjects handled with grace and a skill not always seen in romantic fiction and I found that very satisfying. Love, love, love this story!

A pleasant little romance, plus a bit more!

Con Riley is to sweet romance what Garrett Leigh is to hard fought love. Both authors should be in your collection. Beautifully voiced by Cornell Collins, the accent is more posh, speaking to the characters in this book. He brings them to life, especially as the story heads to its conclusions and there are some moments that in a less reserved voice actor could have been unnecessarily dramatic. Think a Joel Leslie, who would have them audibly swinging from chandeliers.

The story tries a bit too hard initially to interject humor that isn't all that funny. That does balance out as the story progresses. The reader needs to know that this is an issues based story, Charles is a dyslexic, and ADHD figures in as well. He struggles as to find his place as a the son of an Earl, and the family isn't that excited that he wants a rather basic career working with children as an teaching assistant. Riley does a pretty good job of weaving that into Charles' experience, and not letting it overtake too many aspects of the story as some writers do.

His inadvertent meeting with Hugo, the school's religious figure. The have an immediate spark, and these two very different men navigate sharing quarters and growing feelings. The story is filled with sweet moments and personal struggles that resonated with me, and I would think most readers of this genre. The beauty of this book is that Riley doesn't need to hit you over the head with it, she allows the story to move forward and unfold is a very natural way. Highly recommended.