Gentleman Wolf by Joanna Chambers

Narrated by Hamish McKinlay

Gentleman Wolf is book one in Joanna Chambers’ Capital Wolves Duet. For those who don’t know, “duet” is code for “cliffhanger alert”. Gentleman Wolf is book one, Master Wolf is book two. Fortunately for all of us, both books are out on audio so we don’t need to wait between them.

Cliffhangers give me hives so, of course; I’m listening to Master Wolf right now. (I recommend AudioGals listeners do the same.)

The narration is superb – just fantastic and the story is angsty and interesting, with worldbuilding around werewolves a little different to my previous experience but which also had enough familiarity that I was never lost.

The book has a fairly harrowing prologue. Lindsay Somerville has been held captive and in chains for untold years, possibly decades, by the man who forcibly changed him into a werewolf. The man, Duncan MacCormaic, has subjected Lindsay to physical, emotional and sexual torture and assault for all this time. While much of it is only alluded to, it is still distressing and listeners should be aware.

Fortunately, at the end of the prologue, Lindsay is rescued by Marguerite and Francis, wolves who have an association (not a pleasant one) to Duncan. Because Lindsay was made by Duncan however, if they are physically close enough, Duncan can compel Lindsay and enslave him again. Therefore, over the years, beyond even the necessary movements to allay suspicions when one is long-lived, Lindsay has had to move about frequently to avoid Duncan.

The book picks up again a little more than a century later in Paris, 1788. Lindsay is advised by Marguerite that Duncan is on the way to Paris and requests Lindsay head to Edinburgh, the place of his birth, to undertake some business for her. She’d like him to purchase some letters which may give a clue to the whereabouts of Alice, Marguerite’s maker and long-lost love. This will also conveniently keep Lindsay out of Duncan’s way.

In Edinburgh, Lindsay meets Drew Nicol, an architect who is designing many of the buildings in “New Town” which is very new indeed. (I’ve been to Edinburgh and have seen both the Old and New Towns and the historical information was fascinating and never boring for me. It’s not overwhelming either so I think that listeners who don’t have my level of interest would not be zoning out when it’s mentioned though.) I enjoyed the references to Arthur’s Seat (which I failed to climb so the wolves running up to the top was a well understood feat!) and other landmarks around Edinburgh which were peppered throughout the story too.

Drew is a widower and has business with the same man from whom Lindsay is tasked to buy the letters.

There is an instant attraction between the two men but gay relationships in 1788 weren’t exactly openly discussed and in any event, Drew had not previously had any same sex experiences, having successfully (at least until then) supressed his sexuality. Over the course of a few days however, the chemistry between the pair becomes overwhelming. They have a series of encounters – each punctuated by a bit of push/pull around Drew’s discomfort with his orientation. It is clear that this is more than a mere flirtation however. Both men have powerfully strong feelings and, for the first time, Lindsay experiences the mate bond.

The foreshadowing around the suspense subplot involving the purchase of the letters was a little obvious but I nonetheless enjoyed the whole of the book.

The denouement is very dramatic and tense and tragic – it is not a spoiler to say that Lindsay and Drew are parted at the end of this book. (Seriously, if you are anything like me, do not wait to start the next book!)

The narration, by Hamish McKinlay is wonderful. It is only my second experience with him as narrator but I can see much more of his work in my future. I have a partiality to a good Scots accent anyway but Mr. McKinlay shows he can do far more than only that accent. He has a wonderfully broad range and voices people of various ages, genders and nationalities very well. If I was being nitpicky, perhaps I could say that the French accent was just a titch overdone but I am not being nitpicky today.

I am convinced I enjoyed the story more on audio than I would have in print (I have both books in digital format – and no, I did not even think of reading Gentleman Wolf until Master Wolf had been released. – Even so I had not got to it yet.) Having listened to it I will forever and always hear Mr. McKinlay’s voice in my head even if (well, probably when to be honest) I read the print versions.

I haven’t finished Master Wolf yet (I only started it this morning) but I can already tell it will be a series likely to be worth revisiting. I literally listened to Gentleman Wolf in one day. Sure, it was a day when I was doing a lot of baking so I had a lot of time to listen but still – ONE DAY.

Kaetrin

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Find Gentleman Wolf by Joanna Chambers linked on the author’s website