Review of Audiobook: The Innocent Auction by Victoria Sue and Narrated by Joel Leslie

 by Victoria Sue and Narrated by Joel Leslie

Book: 4 stars Narration: 5 stars

London 1810.

Their love was a death sentence.

Deacon, Viscount Carlisle, was aware of the slums and gin-lanes of London. Just as he was aware of the underground traffic that furnished the brothels and bath houses with human innocents. He was also aware that the so-called justice system would hang the accused without much of an attempt at a defense, unless the unfortunate had deep pockets to pay for it.

He just hadn't expected to be directly involved in any of it.

It started with a plea for help and ended with forbidden love, the love between a Viscount and a stable-boy. An impossible love and a guarantee of the hangman's noose.

Will Deacon fight for Tom? Will he risk the death sentence and take that fight from the stately halls of his English mansion to the horrors of Newgate Prison and the slums of London?

Or will he realize that if he doesn't, death will be a welcome end to the loneliness of the sentence he is already living?

This is actually the first audiobook we have enjoyed without reading the book first, and it was a great listen!  Victoria Sue weaved a heart-aching love story and Joel Leslie adds so much to the story through his poignant narration.

Deacon, viscount Carlisle, lives his life in the upper echelon of society, but knows of the hardships of those less fortune than hm.  What he is surprised to find is the underground auction houses, places where humans are bought and sold, and one night when going to pull his cousin our of one such place his find himself drawn to a young man on the auction block.  Against his better judgement he purchases the young man, and sets him on a life on his country estate.  5 years later when the death of his father bring Deacon back to the country estate, he find himself meeting a very different person than the young youth he saved; Tom has grown up to be a man. 

This book is great – we always like a historical romance, but the idea of the story is what makes it special.  How Deacon and Tom have a relationship spanning over a years, but are re-introduced as adults is wonderful.  The attraction they feel jumps off the page, and even with the trauma in Tom’s past life he sees Deacon only wants the best for him, even if it isn’t a life together.  Life during this period is hard as well, sodomy is against the law, and life is treated as a commodity and The Innocent Auction heart-breaking shows what happens to those accused of the crime. 

Victoria Sue creates characters that we fell in love with, that we rooted for and we cried with, but the real gem is the narration by Joel Leslie.  Joel brings Deacon and Tom alive, gives voice to their heart-break and lets you fall in love along with them.  Sometimes in m/m romance the characters all start to sound the same, but somehow Joel finds a way to keep everyone spate, and consistent through the whole narration.