Title: Child of the Theatre
Author: Caleb
Genre: M/M historical fiction
Format/Length: 91 pages (226 KB eBook)
Publisher: Total-E-Bound Publishing (November 7, 2011)
ISBN: #978-0-85715-804-8
Heat Level: Moderate
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥3Hearts
Reviewer: Artemis
Blurb: Orphaned in infancy and raised by the great comedy actress Dorothy Jordan, Sim Treagar has lived all his nineteen years among the high drama, greasepaint and shabby theatrical glamour of the Drury Lane Theatre.
When Lieutenant Gervase Levison comes to the theatre to deliver the Royal Duke’s congé to Sim’s adoptive mother, the two men fall immediately into a passionate love affair.
But Gervase’s powerful family oppose their love and seek to use it against the Lieutenant, in a high-stakes game of rumors, scandal and thwarted inheritances. When Gervase is sent to sea, his prospects are safe but Sim’s heart is broken. Can they ever hope to be reunited in a love his handsome sailor’s family can’t countenance?
Product Link: http://www.total-e-bound.com/product.asp?P_ID=1429
Review: Child of the Theatre is set in London in the 1800s and the author does a wonderful job of giving us a true feel for the time period. There are descriptions of costumes and architecture that are appropriate to this period of history. Although, I was a bit surprised at how easily the characters accepted their homosexuality…seems like this would be something that was frowned on by Victorian society, especially in the upper class.
I really enjoyed Sim’s character. At times he blushes sweetly or makes a witty joke. He is passionate with Gervase, but also a tad shy. Gervase’s character, on the other hand, is a little bit domineering, but in an authoritative way. Not cruel, just a man who knows what he wants and expects others to do his bidding. The interactions between him and Sim are tender one minute and wild the next. You can really feel that they are drawn to one another very deeply.
As in any good romance, there are challenges that the couple must face…specifically Gervase’s family and their intense dislike of his relationship with Sim. They are torn apart, they both suffer the agony of separation, and then they are reunited, but the challenges aren’t necessarily gone just because they are back together. The ending leaves me to wonder whether the author has a sequel in mind for these characters!