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Lessons in Love (Cambridge Fellows #1)

by Charlie Cochrane (Goodreads Author)

3.78 of 5 stars 3.78 · rating details · 534 ratings · 80 reviews

St. Bride's College, Cambridge, England, 1905. When Jonty Stewart takes up a teaching post at the college where he studied, the handsome and outgoing young man acts as a catalyst for change within the archaic institution. He also has a catalytic effect on Orlando Coppersmith. Orlando is a brilliant, introverted mathematician with very little experience of life outside the...more

ebook, 186 pages

Published November 2008 by Linden Bay Romance, LLC

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Sep 09, 2010 Lisa rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to Lisa by: http://michelenjeff-reviews.blogspot.com/

Shelves: historical-romance-fiction, mystery, m-m-romance

Jonty Stewart is a fellow at St. Bride’s College in Cambridge, England. Jonty teaches literature, more specifically, he teaches Shakespearean literature during an era when tradition and good form were the height of propriety. Lessons in Love is set during the Edwardian era, a time when the social class system was rigid and gentility itself was a barometer of a man’s character.

Orlando Coppersmith teaches mathematics at St. Bride’s. Orlando is a solitary man who is more interested in academics tha...more Jonty Stewart is a fellow at St. Bride’s College in Cambridge, England. Jonty teaches literature, more specifically, he teaches Shakespearean literature during an era when tradition and good form were the height of propriety. Lessons in Love is set during the Edwardian era, a time when the social class system was rigid and gentility itself was a barometer of a man’s character.

Orlando Coppersmith teaches mathematics at St. Bride’s. Orlando is a solitary man who is more interested in academics than in anything that may resemble social interaction. Orlando doesn’t understand much about friendship or love and has a tendency to look at everything that comes his way in an exceptionally analytical way.

When the two men meet in what can only be described as an accidental encounter, the particularly affable Jonty and the unusually staid Orlando begin the journey of an unlikely friendship that develops into a sweet and charming romance, but certainly is not without its difficulties. Orlando is a man with a troubled past. He has buried himself in the world of academia for so long that he has entirely missed out on what it means to make an emotional connection with another person. Orlando isn’t attracted to anyone, either male or female, and is baffled by both Jonty’s gregarious personality, and his sudden desire to befriend the man who seems to be his polar opposite. Orlando is a man of numbers, while Jonty is man of the sonnets and plays of the Bard of Avon. Jonty tells Orlando, “It’s never too late to learn to appreciate life’s pleasures,” and sets out to show Orlando that, where love is concerned, there is no right or wrong, there is only deep affection and abiding friendship.

As the relationship between these two wonderful characters grows, a series of murders at the college begins to stir fears among its residents. The murders are being committed in the name of righteousness, backed by the fervor of the religious precept that it is an abomination for two men to love one another. Orlando and Jonty are both fearful of being discovered but have developed a bond so deep that they can’t bear to part, even for their own safety. Instead, the two men join forces to do a bit of amateur sleuthing in hopes of bringing the killer to justice.

Charlie Cochrane has written a lovely romance between two charming, intelligent, and guileless characters; one that is appropriately restrained for the time period in which it takes place. Coupling that with an intriguing mystery that kept me guessing right through to the end, and a peppering of references to various Shakespearean plays, giving the story a “play within a play” feeling that the Bard used to such great effect in so many of his works, Lessons in Love was a fresh and entertaining tale.
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Oct 05, 2010 Emanuela ~plastic duck~ rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: rainbow-gay, glbt, action-crime-suspense, historical, romance

01/18/13: Revised rating after a couple of years of reading m/m: from 4 to 3.

This is a cute and sweet story of a seduction with a crime to solve.

Orlando lives in a world by himself, he's only concerned about his teaching and he knows almost nothing of the world, as he was brought up in a family where passion was repressed. Then he meets Jonty, who is his opposite, and they become friends. Jonty longs for Orlando and slowly he overcomes Orlando's defenses and awakens the same longing in Orlando.

I...more

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Apr 20, 2011 Andreea Daia rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: romance-gay, read-2011

A very pleasant surprise - well developed plot (even if at times a bit predictable), and strong characters. I was expecting the "mystery" to be in the background, but it is an important part of this short novel. My only complaint was that at times it felt a bit slow.

What impressed me most was the flawless execution - Charlie Cochrane shows much attention to style.

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Dec 06, 2011 SueM rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 20th-century, m-m, feel-good-comfort-read, ipad-kindle, historical-murder-mystery, historical-romance, teacher

This novel is a sweet, gentle M/M Romance, set in Cambridge in the early years of the 20th century, amidst a murder-mystery that brings to mind both Sherlock Holmes and Miss Marple.

When Jonty Stewart explodes into fellow lecturer Orlando Coppersmith's life, little did Orlando know that his life was about to drastically change. Orlando is a brilliant mathematics lecture who remains aloof from all those around him. Yet from the first moment of meeting Jonty, something began to change inside him,...more

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Jun 02, 2010 Elisa Ramblings added it

Jonathan Stewart, Jonty for the intimate friends, and Orlando Coppersmith are both young professors in one of the Cambridge's college at the beginning of the twenty century. They are at opposite in work and behavior, Stewart a literature professor and Coppersmith a mathematics, Stewart open and friendly, both with students than colleagues, Coppersmith aloof and always lost in his mind. They also had very different family, Coppersmith now orphan and with two very cold and distant parents, Stewart...more Jonathan Stewart, Jonty for the intimate friends, and Orlando Coppersmith are both young professors in one of the Cambridge's college at the beginning of the twenty century. They are at opposite in work and behavior, Stewart a literature professor and Coppersmith a mathematics, Stewart open and friendly, both with students than colleagues, Coppersmith aloof and always lost in his mind. They also had very different family, Coppersmith now orphan and with two very cold and distant parents, Stewart still surrounded by a loving family.

But they are both rather young and so they click together. Jonty has no problem to admit that he has also a personal interest in Orlando, being him not new to feel a maybe not appropriate moving for another man. Instead Orlando is more hesitant, but not since he judges inappropriate that feelings, but since he never before has felt something similar for a man or a woman. Orlando was taught to avoid any personal emotion, to suppress any physical urges, so soon and so strong in his youth that he never allowed himself to disobey that teachings.

When Jonty tentatively tries to introduce Orlando to such physical contacts, Orlando believes that kissing and cuddling is the greatest extent of what two men can do together, not having any knowledge of what happens in bed between man and woman let alone between two men. But Jonty, even if in love with Orlando, can't be satisfied with simple being a little more than a dear friend for Orlando, and gently pushes for something more.

Just when Orlando is letting go a bit, a string of murders targets the students, and all the victims are men who were known to prefer the company of men. To Orlando's inhibitions is now added also the fear of what it could happen to Jonty if someone should know of their "particular" friendship.

The story is a good mix of romance and plot; the relationship between Orlando and Jonty has the lion share on the plot, leaving the investigation on the killing in second line, never interfering with the development of Orlando and Jonty's exploration of love. Even if the relationship reaches and deepens to a sex level, it's never in graphic details, always maintaining a sweet romance grade.

The setting is the same of the previous tale by Charlie Cochrane, the Old University buildings of Cambridge, with its all male atmosphere where women are only seen as intruders.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1605047422/?...(less)

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Mar 24, 2009 Mark Probst rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Charlie Cochrane’s Lessons in Love is a lovely Edwardian mixture of romance and murder mystery. Set in 1906 at Cambridge University, two fellows (a term we Americans are unfamiliar with, but refers to a former student of the University who is now on staff, generally in a teaching position) meet and slowly fall in love. Jonathan (Jonty) is a high-spirited, jocular English teacher who sets his sights on warming up the reticent, brooding mathematician, Orlando. No sooner does Jonty break the ice, t...more

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Feb 16, 2013 Asynia rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: m-m-romance, bingo-challenge

I want to start by saying that I read this book for a challenge, and that's the only reason why I read - and actually finished - it. This was not my kind of book! Not just for the slow burning romance, but also for the setting, the mystery-part and – most of all – the language.

This book thakes place in Cambridge in the Edwardian era and it's about two teachers at a college, Orlando and Jonty.

I wanted to like this book, it has many things that I like:

- Real, true feelings between the MCs that wer...more

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Nov 17, 2012 Sophia rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-romance, mystery-suspense

I enjoy a wide variety of stories and I particularly love stories that cross genre lines. This is an Edwardian Historical Mystery Sweet Romance (whew that's a mouthful). It has the pace of an English armchair cozy mystery that plods along introducing the protagonists and then all the characters they meet along the way slowly gathering clues like puzzle pieces that don't seem to fit until the very end when just a slight shift reveals the whole picture perfectly assembled together.

The story is abo...more I enjoy a wide variety of stories and I particularly love stories that cross genre lines. This is an Edwardian Historical Mystery Sweet Romance (whew that's a mouthful). It has the pace of an English armchair cozy mystery that plods along introducing the protagonists and then all the characters they meet along the way slowly gathering clues like puzzle pieces that don't seem to fit until the very end when just a slight shift reveals the whole picture perfectly assembled together.

The story is about two Cambridge fellows who teach mathematics and Shakespearean English respectively. Just as their subject matter touches the opposite ends of the spectrum so too do their personalities. Orlando Coppersmith is a cold calm and analytical man that makes even his fellow dons clear a path for him. Well that is until the new man, Jonty Stewart, has the audacity to sit in his chair at High Table and then coax him out of his shell. The two men form an unlikely friendship that slowly blossoms into something deeper and richer.

Jonty is knowledgeable in the ways of the world and finds himself impatient and nervous that he finds himself falling in love with a man so innocent and pure that he has never felt passion for another. Jonty has the formidable task of leading Orlando along in the delights of physical love.

But all that they are building together gets interrupted time and again by presence of murder at their tiny college. Young men are strangled and left to be found. Speculations is rife and everyone is afraid to open their doors at night because they know the murderer is among them.

Jonty and Orlando set their impressive minds to the task of helping the police track down the killer.

I love the slow building plot that focused on the characters and their tender friendship that grew into something more profound. The murder mystery was a nice juicy challenge that I am happy to say that I had figured out just a little before the great reveal *pats own back*.

I have to give a shout out for the authentic historical feel of the piece even to the restrained formal address when they converse along with the details of the university life.

The romance falls in the sweet romance category as it never crosses the line into specific details though, these are active young men even if they're intellectuals, so there are several mentions that they did enjoy each other.

This was a good start to a series and I look forward to the next installment.

Do read this if you like the slower pace of an English cozy mystery set in the past that also includes a lovely romance.(less)

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Oct 31, 2012 Charly rated it 4 of 5 stars

Neither graphic nor particularly suspenseful, but sweet

Warning: This review might contain what some people consider SPOILERS.

Rating: 7/10

Pros:
- Sweet romance. Nothing spectacular--it didn't make me particularly warm and fuzzy inside--but solid.
- One delightfully naive character who managed never to annoy me. As a result of his extreme naivete, the sex scenes (especially the first one or two) have a tentative feel about them that struck me as accurate, even according to modern times.
- Quite...more

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Dec 18, 2011 Basicallyrun rated it 4 of 5 stars

I rather liked it. Probably because I *know* the author writes for Hornblower fandom and knowing that, her two leads suddenly start to look awfully familiar. Which is a good thing as far as I'm concerned, because I like Hornblower, I like Edwardian era fiction, and I like murder mysteries, so all in all, a jolly good thing. I will admit, it got a bit... soppy at points, but bear in mind that while I am a hopeless romantic, I can't stand declarations of undying love and all that, so yeah. Still o...more

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May 08, 2011 Cryselle rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: m-m, historical, samhain

Repressed mathematics lecturer Orlando Coppersmith doesn't know what force of nature took his seat by accident in the Senior Common Room, but Jonty Stewart is the sunlight and rain that will nourish his world and crack his façade. Orlando is the brilliant and polite example of Edwardian ideals, never straying into physical impropriety, and entirely unaware of such scandalous things as men lying together. Jonty knows more, including the secret underbelly of single-sex societies; Orlando's innocen...more Repressed mathematics lecturer Orlando Coppersmith doesn't know what force of nature took his seat by accident in the Senior Common Room, but Jonty Stewart is the sunlight and rain that will nourish his world and crack his façade. Orlando is the brilliant and polite example of Edwardian ideals, never straying into physical impropriety, and entirely unaware of such scandalous things as men lying together. Jonty knows more, including the secret underbelly of single-sex societies; Orlando's innocence is something he both treasures and hopes to channel into a pure love that can also be physical.

The unfolding of their love is very much complicated with a string of murders within the college, the work of someone with a need for vengeance that Jonty and Orlando can understand once it's exposed. In best Gaudy Night style, (and thank goodness for having read that or this American would have been a bit lost in the environment of St. Bride's) Jonty and Orlando assist the police and find the murderer, but not before three bodies need to be returned to grieving families.

Orlando blooms under Jonty's attentions, feeling his way into love and sex, though he's shocked by the raunchy books found in the first murder victim's possessions, and needs time to reconcile these two aspects of sexuality. Jonty gives him time and distance as needed, and once in a while, a little shove in the right direction. Their relationship is sweet, tender, and I want to pour them a nice glass of port and lock the bedroom door behind them.

The murder mystery part of this novel worked for a time when gentlemen sleuths could work hand in hand with the police and forensics was a hopeful idea and not a science. I'm not quite convinced the clues were there and the mystery fair -- we don't really get to see much of the suspects. The reasons for the murders and the resolution were certainly tragic.

I very much enjoyed this excursion into a more formal time, when there were things that gentlemen just did not do, or didn't get caught doing, where the exchange of names was considered nearly as intimate as exchanging bodily fluids. The slow pace of the relationship was lovely, being so emotionally involved, with the sharing of secrets and sorrows.

I picked this up as a free read on Amazon, and what a great thing -- there are more Orlando and Jonty stories! Now I have to read them all, Ms Author, so the free read did exactly what you hoped to draw me into this world.
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May 14, 2011 LdDurham rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: gay-fiction, m-m-romance

What an absolutely charming book! I am completely enamored of Jonty and Orlando. Anyone who knows me and my tastes in this genre may find this hard to believe, but I love this sweet couple.

First of all, being a historical, I have to pay homage to the main characters of Time and Setting. Cochrane did a perfect job of pulling me right into St. Bride's college in Edwardian England. I loved hearing Jonty and Orlando speak, I loved their activities, and I just genuinely enjoyed seeing all of it.

Seco...more

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Mar 21, 2011 Jon Wilson rated it 5 of 5 stars

Do you like Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups—the great taste of peanut butter coated in delicious milk chocolate? I do. It’s two of my favorite tastes—to paraphrase the old ad—tasting great together. Lessons in Love was something like not just enjoying a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, but getting paid to do it.

A great murder mystery “coated” in delicious gay romance—executed by a talented writer. There’s absolutely nothing here not to like (except, perhaps, the unfortunate cover of my edition, which featu...more

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Feb 26, 2011 orannia rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: m-m

Four and a quarter stars.

I liked this book, particularly the suspense plot, and the glimpses into Edwardian life and life at Cambridge. I also like the two main characters - Orlando and Jonty. They're human, and flawed.

I did get a little lost at the beginning of the book with each character's internal thoughts - it took me a while to work out that they were an internal monologue rather than speech without quote marks and who was saying them. If I had to pinpoint a negative it would be that I fe...more

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Jul 16, 2012 Tami rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Apr 19, 2011 Elfscribe rated it 3 of 5 stars

I enjoyed the relationship between the two main characters and especially loved the appropriate period British language. The dialogue was fun largely because of that. I just wish the camera frame had moved back a bit from the single-minded focus on the two men and their evolving relationship to include more of their environment, school grounds, etc. and particularly the school boys. Yes, there's a murder here and who did it is a surprise, largely because we don't know enough about any of the boy...more

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Mar 01, 2013 Holly rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: m-m, mystery, historical

This is my kind of book. Historical, mystery and . . . well I have to admit it. I tend to LOVE the kind of books that are on the non-explicit list. I am a Total. Plot. Whore. LOVE long, plotty books. And when there's little to no sex in the book, then there there is really a need to focus on plot (or character development, which is a plot on its own).

Jonty and Orlando are two professors at a college in Edwardian England. Jonty is young, brash and more experienced. Orlando is more serious and ver...more

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May 13, 2011 Sharon rated it 4 of 5 stars

First off, this m/m was pure romance, and so sweet I think I got a cavity . I am going to call it a historical mystery. It is set at an all male collage in Cambridge in 1905. The author does an amazing job of giving the feel of the time period. The dialogue and descriptions were very convincing. She captured the formal behavior of how educated men of that time behaved.

I *loved* the character Jonty, even his name tickles me. He is a new English Fellow at St. Bride’s Collage. He is playful and che...more

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Sep 23, 2011 Teresa rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011-read, m-m-romance, historical

This was an enjoyable read, a romance mixed around a murder mystery. For a m/m (gay) romance, the heat level was more a sweet romance than erotica. Nothing graphic bar some kissing and touching. But it suited this book, and the era it's set in.

The conflict was strong; being 1905 and gay sex being illegal, plus there is a murderer on the loose killing gay men, and Orlando's own internal conflicts.

Although I enjoyed the writing style and language used, keeping it nicely set in its era, I did thin...more

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Jun 03, 2011 Alexander Inglis rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: gay-positive, romantic-mystery

Lessons in Love is the first of a series of romantic mystery novels starring two 20s-something university dons at the fictional Cambridge College St. Bride's in pre-WWI England, Jonty Stewart and Orlando Coppersmith. It is, of course, a male-male romance. This book introduces the series and allows us to watch as the pair first meet and share a first kiss. The backdrop is a set of murders where undergraduates turn up, with alarming frequency, strangled, notes left behind gloating and declaring th...more

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Jan 24, 2012 Melanie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Lessons In Love is the first in the Cambridge Fellows series and my first introduction to Orlando Coppersmith and Jonty Stewart, fellows at St. Bridge's College, Cambridge. Set in Edwardian England, civility and restraint are the rules of the day and even the hint of homosexuality can bring incarceration or the gallows.

Dr. Orlando Coppersmith is repressed and aloof, consumed by mathematics. Dr. Stewart teaches English and Literature in a manner that welcomes interaction with both peer and studen...more Lessons In Love is the first in the Cambridge Fellows series and my first introduction to Orlando Coppersmith and Jonty Stewart, fellows at St. Bridge's College, Cambridge. Set in Edwardian England, civility and restraint are the rules of the day and even the hint of homosexuality can bring incarceration or the gallows.

Dr. Orlando Coppersmith is repressed and aloof, consumed by mathematics. Dr. Stewart teaches English and Literature in a manner that welcomes interaction with both peer and student alike. Opposites clash when Jonty mistakenly claims Dr. Coppersmith's chair at High Table and is set to right by that gentleman. But repression can conceal innocence and a friendly manner can hide a traumatic past as both gentlemen get to know each other better and begin the course of their relationship.

Meanwhile, a murderer stalks the halls and lawns of St. Bride's, killing young men with a predilection for homosexuality. With that threat hanging over their new found feelings for each other, Jonty and Orlando set off to help the local Constabulary to solve the mystery and catch the murderer.

I often felt as I was reading this story that I was gazing at a story as a tintype. The language used, the sights evoked, all seemed to be filtered through a sepia colored light. Like gazing through the window at a antiques shop, I felt that there was always a barrier between me and the characters. I liked them, enjoyed them even but never quite felt their pain or insecurities.

Some of the real delights of this book are discovering Edwardian sweets with such wonderful names as Bulleyes, Liquorice Allsorts and Mint Lumps. Or going on in search of the meaning of Rugby terms so I would a better understanding of the positions each man played on the team. Charlie Cochrane's descriptions of Cambridge 1902 were so very real that I felt like freshening up the fire to keep away the cold in the rooms myself as I read.

I did find the innocence of the young versus the arrogance of position and power strong images throughout the book (in the Edwardian age) and as it plays out in our society today. I am also hoping to find that as I continue through the series that my detachment from the characters begins to diminish the more I become acquainted with them. At any rate, onward I go to the 2nd in the series and the furthering of Jonty and Orlando's relationship.

3.5 stars
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Sep 29, 2011 GymGuy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: m-m-mystery, m-m-romance

Well, I'm still trying to find a really good m-m romance, even a good m-m mystery. This one isn't.

This is more of "'The Big Bang Theory' Meets 'The Shirlock Holmes Amateur Hour'".

Jonty seems to be an 'all right', normal character, but Orlando (Sheldon Cooper) is just irritatingly naive and strange. I understand that's how the author meant him to be, but I just didn't like the character.

Sheldon is funny in an absurd sort of way. Orlando is just irritating.

The murder plot was amateurish, both in...more

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Jan 29, 2013 Steelwhisper rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: british-authors, crime-thriller, erotic-lit-erotica, quiltbag, ptsd-combat-reactions

3.5*

I liked the characters, I adore the era as a backdrop, I like the college theme and the gentle mystery/murder plot. And yet this feels only like 3.5*. I will be able to compare, because I bought the first three books of the series.

So why not a wholehearted 5*? So many people absolutely loved this historical and I was prepared to do so as well.

Well, truth be told, I did not really believe in the sexual peculiarities of these characters. Be it that 14 is too old for a boy to not even have star...more

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Apr 11, 2011 Jenny J rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: kindle, read-in-2011, romance, mystery

Gregarious, passionate Jonty and shy, mathematically-minded Orlando are fellows at a Cambridge college in the early 1900s. Irresistibly (though often reluctantly) drawn to each other, their romantic relationship is stymied by a rash of homophobic murders at the college and their own personal demons.

The relationship between the two men develops slowly, realistically, and charmingly. The dialogue is wonderful, and the love scenes focus more on the emotions of Jonty and Orlando rather than on the...more

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Nov 04, 2010 Elizabeth H. rated it 5 of 5 stars

I think the author left a few opportunities on the floor, elements of the story that could have been enhanced to make it even better. For instance, I was really looking forward to seeing how Orlando and Jonty become friends, the true basis of their relationship, but this section of the novel was rushed, and much of it was even "told" instead of "shown." Despite this type of problem, the main characters are so entrancing, and their environment is so interesting, that I found the entire story fasc...more

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Jul 11, 2011 Nikki rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: lgbt, mystery, crime

Lessons in Love had very enthusiastic ratings from one or two of my friends, and then a rather ambivalent one from another. I decided to try it, anyway, and found myself decidedly toward the ambivalent end of the spectrum. Though other people say it's amazingly historically accurate and it conjures up a real sense of place and time, I wouldn't say it does. The characters didn't quite ring true, either: the first chapter races past their slow opening up to each other, and the part where Orlando r...more

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Jan 02, 2012 Pamela Craft Jenewein rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: m-m-stories

First in the Cambridge Fellows Mysteries series, Lessons in Love was quite humorous, sweetly romantic, and serenely engaging read. The mystery, sleuthing was genuine and believable. Ms Cochrane’s won herself another loyal reader, as her style’s smooth, heartfelt, and enthralling. I’ve not read a story in quite a while they had me chuckling throughout it, except for Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum serials.

The characters, Orlando and Jonty were just loveable. Leaving me wishing they were real, b...more

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Jul 06, 2010 Mackenzie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

I must admit I have never heard of the book until recently (until Samhain took over the publication of the print version of the series) and I picked it out only after having read Charlie Cochrane's short stories in various anthologies. What made me want to read this book is because I know this author's stories always sound very British (English) and that is always very appealing as there aren't many like hers out there. So imagine my delight when I found out that she has not just one full-length...more I must admit I have never heard of the book until recently (until Samhain took over the publication of the print version of the series) and I picked it out only after having read Charlie Cochrane's short stories in various anthologies. What made me want to read this book is because I know this author's stories always sound very British (English) and that is always very appealing as there aren't many like hers out there. So imagine my delight when I found out that she has not just one full-length novel of that kind, but also A SERIES of historical romance, all deliciously Brit (and uses Cambridge academia as a background setting to boot), for me to read.

Anyway, I read the first page of the book, was introduced to Jonty and Orlando and I fell in love. I have no words to explain just how in love I am with these two characters, both equally charming and adorable and yet flawed at the same time. I absolutely adore their interactions from the very beginning - how they started talking because of the chair, and how this chair isn't just some plot device that is used once and discarded.

The slow development of their relationship makes for one highly exciting read. The pacing is one that I like (and can identify with, because it seems, when I try to write stories myself, I always try to take the time to properly map out the progress of their relationship). It creates a memorable reading experience because the pacing makes me savor each page and appreciate every single word written in it.

I'm filled with... well, I can only call it 'warm fuzzies' throughout the story. There are so many squee-inducing moments here that appear not just from their intimate moments, but also from their banters, Orlando's jealousy and Jonty's longing. Without giving too much away, Orlando's words as they were faced with the culprit responsible for the murders were just amazing. I knew he was capable of saying things like that, but I didn't expect it to be so wonderful when he did say it. I think at that moment Orlando won me over and, by a slight margin, made him my favorite of the two so far.

And can I just say how much I love Jonty and Orlando's intimacy? Cochrane's language is subtle and it's what I would call 'era-appropriate'. Her writing makes their intimacy sensual and not sexy; this is more than just a raunchy period romp... and if it were to be written as a raunchy one, it wouldn't have been as believable.

The mystery is one of the main attractions for me as well. Although I find the investigation somewhat convoluted and the conclusion a bit too telling, but it was a delight to follow. It kept me guessing right until the end and my guesses turned out to be, thankfully, wrong. I have to hand it to Cochrane, it was a beautiful ending to the mystery, if depressing. My heart went out to Jonty there at the end.

To say I love the book is an understatement. I think I quite worship it. The last time I felt excited about a book of this kind is Gyles Brandreth's Oscar Wilde Murder Mysteries. This one by Cochrane, despite being categorized as m/m romance, is comparable to Brandreth's in my opinion for structure and language. Of course, neither of them is high literature, but both books are certainly well-written, carefully thought out and highly entertaining. And just like I can't wait for Brandreth's next Oscar Wild murder mystery, I can't wait for the second book in this series. I'm sure I'm in for a wonderful ride with Cochrane. For that, I'm going to be ever thankful.(less)

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Aug 18, 2009 Kassa rated it 4 of 5 stars

It’s a rare delight to have a fully developed mystery blend with a mostly satisfying romantic entanglement within a historical setting – and all accomplished within a short 160 pages. The mystery of the murdered students was well done with just enough hints to keep the final resolution from being either overly simplistic or too clever. The book’s progression depended equally upon the characters and their slow growing romance as with the resolution to the ongoing murders. The cast were all well w...more It’s a rare delight to have a fully developed mystery blend with a mostly satisfying romantic entanglement within a historical setting – and all accomplished within a short 160 pages. The mystery of the murdered students was well done with just enough hints to keep the final resolution from being either overly simplistic or too clever. The book’s progression depended equally upon the characters and their slow growing romance as with the resolution to the ongoing murders. The cast were all well written, although almost too many as they moved quickly in and out of scenes and often easily confused with one another.

Jonty is a complex character that changes several times throughout the course of the book. From his initial disdain for the socially inept Orlando to their invaluable friendship and deepening passion for one another, Jonty seems to develop even more so than the slow awakening Coopersmith. He is clearly from a well loved family with exuberance and outward affection with a touch of charm and gregarious nature. He befriends the introverted Orlando and sees there is more depth to him beyond appearances and slowly falls in love with the other man, albeit mostly chastely and carefully. They spend quite a bit of time together as Jonty slowly draws the other man out of his shell with irreverent teasing and gentle passion creating a comfortable and likeable relationship benefiting both men.

Orlando is a repressed virgin and has no experience with either passion or love of another person, either male or female. He responds to the first person to take a genuine interest in him, who happens to be male, but his feelings are borne of a stronger, deeper connection to perhaps the sole other person he allows himself to connect with. He slowly emerges from his protective, introverted shell with Jonty’s teasing and support to develop his own interests beyond the college and math. His slow acceptance of physical passion to instigator is delightful to read and adds his own brand of charm to his personae. Orlando reacts almost too well to Jonty’s back and forth behavior in the later half and accepts the other man’s company whenever and however he can get it, lending a slight unequal air to the otherwise alluring partnership.

Both characters are complicated and three dimensional with genuine emotion in regards to their relationship and possible social ramifications. Although the story is not too long, the slow pace of the romance dragged in several areas as did the mystery in the second half of the book. Jonty’s character went from an irrepressible imp to dour and often contradictory. He would turn hot and cold towards his new lover, ignoring him for days and then deigning to make time for Orlando if he felt like it. This seemed to be a marked contradiction from his earlier almost relentless, but patient pursuit and although considering the confusion and mystery surrounding them, perhaps understandable. Yet the author never elucidates the reasoning for this see-sawing of emotion and action. This left me wondering at the unequal footing of the relationship in that Orlando feels much more deeply for Jonty than the reverse.

Within the historical setting, the prose was lovely and although it shies from being explicit by a lot it has a slightly humorous quality that keeps the writing from spiraling into purple madness. For example:
---
He’d always kept his investigations strictly north of the Equator but tonight he was going to risk the ceremony of crossing the line, in search of the rare undiscovered delights of Orlando’s southern hemisphere.

--

Taken by itself, this might be outrageous and prudish, but set in the charm of the historical setting, the writing creates another lovely element to the two characters which is fitting and appropriate. The author manages quite well to create an alluring background and two characters in which explicit erotica would have been jarring and out of place, instead her ease with prose and delightful bashfulness blends incredibly well.

This story will not be for everyone with it’s languid pace and mostly chaste romance of the heart, but the well-written characters, intriguing mystery, and fully developed setting will entice those wanting a sweet and lovely story. (less)

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Apr 21, 2011 Angelina rated it 4 of 5 stars

A Kindle freebie, this gay romance was an unusual find. It takes place in the Edwardian era so for Steampunk and historical romance fans this will be a fun read. How could one resist two dons drinking tea, falling in love, and solving a string of murders. it got a little slow in the middle for a chapter or two, so gave it four stars. would i get the rest of the series? I would see if I could borrow the second book before investing in the rest.

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About Charlie Cochrane

As Charlie Cochrane couldn't be trusted to do any of her jobs of choice - like managing a rugby team - she writes. Her favourite genre is gay fiction, predominantly historical romances/mysteries, but she's making an increasing number of forays into the modern day. She's even been known to write about gay werewolves - albeit highly respectable ones.

Her Cambridge Fellows series of Edwardian romantic...more

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Books by Charlie Cochrane

Lessons in Desire (Cambridge Fellows, #2)

Lessons in Discovery (Cambridge Fellows, #3)

Lessons in Power (Cambridge Fellows, #4)

Lessons in Temptation (Cambridge Fellows, #5)

Lessons in Seduction (Cambridge Fellows, #6)

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Lessons in Love (Cambridge Fellows #1)

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