Friday, December 29, 2017

The Lawrence Browne Affair by Cat Sebastian

I’ve been playing a fun game this week called “Let’s See How Many Cat Sebastian Books I Can Read”.  I’m winning.  I re-read The Ruin of a Rake.  Then started The Soldier’s Scoundrel.  Finished that in less than a day and then immediately downloaded, started, and finished The Lawrence Browne Affair.  I’m in love.

I do believe that this might be the first romance novel I’ve ever read where the main character suffers from a very evident psychological disorder—in this case a strong anxiety disorder.  It’s undiagnosed, given the time, and unfortunately everyone writes the strange Earl off as a mad recluse.  Becoming a madman is exactly what Lawrence Browne is afraid of, it runs in the family after all.  He spends all his time working on complicated inventions, is completely intolerant of other people, and relies on his loyal canine to get him through frequent bouts of anxiety.  And yet, beneath all that terrifying and mysterious exterior is a man with ragged self-esteem and no confidence in himself.  It was so terribly sad to watch Lawrence doubt himself time and time again.

Enter Georgie.  Georgie is a swindler through and through who has inserted himself in Lawrence’s life for two reasons.  First, the job opening for a secretary gives him the perfect excuse to leave London and escape the gang that’s hunting him down.  Second, the mad Earl is the perfect mark for yet another scheme of his.  When Georgie arrives at the ramshackle castle he expects to find a mad man, but is surprised to find a lonely, scatterbrained, brilliant—albeit misunderstood—man.  Georgie knows he isn’t going man, Lawrence is simply different.  But Lawrence doesn’t see it that way and he’s convinced that he must push others away in order to save them.  As Georgie learns more about Lawrence he begins to question whether he can actually go through with his plan to fleece the man.

Together Georgie and Lawrence explore one another tentatively and emotionally.  Lawrence is convinced that his feelings for men are shameful and sinful, but slowly Georgie’s love and attentiveness convinces him that he has nothing to feel ashamed about.  It was an absolute pleasure to watch Lawrence be accepted for who he was rather than looked down upon for his differences.  Their love was full of a tenderness that absolutely cannot be compared to any other relationship out there.  Brief respites of love for a man who spent his life receiving very little of it.

Every scene with Georgie and Lawrence left me feeling drugged and bothered.  However, there was plenty of excitement in the subplots to dampen some of my disappointment in the scenes not directly related to Lawrence and Georgie.  Smugglers, angry townspeople, Lawrence’s estranged son, and a rakish uncle will keep the readers more than occupied.  I was positively thrilled to uncover the mysteries the lay around the decrepit castle in Penkellis.


I’m telling you.  There was nothing about this book that I didn’t love with my whole heart.  It was some of the best writing combined with some of the best characters and those two combined equaled a book that I will read and reread time and again.  My heart explodes every time I pick up one of Cat Sebastian’s novels, whether it be the first of the fourteenth time.  Her books will never bore you.  They’re the sort of books you’ll think about late at night when you’re trying to fall asleep and early in the morning when you’ve just woken up.  Reading this books make you feel like you’re a part of something amazing and if you don’t buy them all up you’ll be missing out on something special and unique.

View Cat's Amazon page here.

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