Top Hat (Shatterproof Bond #0) by Isobel Starling #LGBT #Audiobook #Review

Erryn reviews the audiobook Top Hat (Shatterproof Bond #0) by Isobel Starling (Published by Decent Fellows Press, May 11, 2018, 100 pages. Released on audio October 16, 2017. 1hrs 18min length. Narrated by Gary Furlong)

To read the audiobook review of As You Wish (Shatterproof Bond #1) click here.

To read the audiobook review of Illuminate the Shadows (Shatterproof Bond #2) click here.

To read the audiobook review of Return to Zero (Shatterproof Bond #3) click here.

To read the audiobook review of Counterblow (Shatterproof Bond #4) click here.

Blurb: 

A Shatterproof Bond / Sam Aiken Prequel short

Child protégé Sam Aiken is the youngest student studying linguistics at Oxford University. Frustratingly, being so young means Sam doesn’t get to enjoy student life in the same way the older students do.

He is obsessed with his studies and is close to graduation, but when Sam’s elderly Master, Professor Alfred Moxley, dies suddenly, Sam finds the replacement professor brought in to get him and his classmates through their last few months of study to be more than a little distracting. Dr. Alexander Deveraux becomes Sam’s new obsession, and he wants to learn more from the young, brilliant, queer professor than just linguistics!

Buy links: Audible | Amazon || Add to Goodreads

Prequels often confound me.  The assumption, of course, is that they’re necessary to set up the upcoming book or series.  After listening to this audiobook, I searched out the synopses for the rest of the series.  This exercise didn’t provide any clarification but another reviewer left a kind of explanation so I’ll leave it that apparently the encounter of these two men will play a role in a future book.

So back to this story.  I liked it.  Short and sweet, a palate cleanser from some of the longer angst-ridden books I’ve read recently.  Samuel Aiken is a protégé and brilliant student at Oxford.  He’s been blocked at every turn from sexual exploits because of his age.  He just can’t get lucky.  Then he meets his new tutor, Alexander Deveraux. The gorgeous man has an air of mystery and is a former protégé as well.  Samuel is determined to get Alex in bed and Alex is determined to keep his hands off his favorite student.  Throw in some late-night conversations, pole dancing lessons, and brutal honesty and this relationship has real potential – especially since Samuel is graduating in mere months.

I like Samuel’s precociousness and Alex’s determination.  They are working at cross purposes but only for a moment.  It’s pretty clear there will be a relationship in the future.  Or so I’m hoping.

Gary Furlong is a brilliant narrator.  I’ve enjoyed every performance and I was pleased to see he’s the narrator for the series.  Guess I’ll have to cue up those books and find out just what kind of antics Sam gets up to.

9/10 pots of gold equivalent to 90% recommended or 4.5 of 5 stars

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AWARD WINNING AUTHOR OF GAY ROMANCE.

Born in Germany, Isobel Starling spent most of her twenty-year professional career making art in Ireland. Now she writes full-time and runs her publishing company, Decent Fellows Press.

The ‘Shatterproof Bond’ series is an Amazon Gay Romance bestseller. Isobel has just completed her 17th book.

The Shatterproof Bond series is narrated by Gary Furlong. “As You Wish”(Shatterproof Bond #1) won the Audiobook Reviewer Award 2018 for Romance, it was the ONLY M/M Romance in a finalist list of M/F Romance.

“Illuminate the Shadows” and “Return to Zero”, “Counterblow” and “Top Hat” are all available as audiobooks.

The first THREE books of “Shatterproof Bond” will be translated into French by Juno Publishing, German by Deadsoft Verlag, and Italian by Quixote Edizioni.

The TWO books in the ‘Pretty Boy’ series will be translated into French by Reines- Beaux. “Sweet Thing” will be translated into Italian by Quixote Edizioni.

“Silken” will be translated into French by Juno Publishing, Italian by Quixote Edizioni, and it will also be available in German from Decent Fellows Press.

“Silken” is an audiobook, narrated by Gomez Pugh.

“Detective Fox and the Christmas Caper” is available as an audiobook, narrated by Gary Furlong.

Isobel’s greatest love is writing M/M relationships, and she hopes one day to actually finish the fantasy novel that she put ‘to rest’ over three years ago.