Romancing the Rough Diamond

By: Clare London

Narrated by: Joel Leslie

Where trust is the most precious jewel of all.

When Mayfair jewellers Starsmith Stones wins the commission for a British gay royal wedding, CEO Joel Sterling is recommended to the brilliant young designer Matt Barth - only to discover Matt’s the man with whom he shared an anonymous and passionate kiss on the celebration night.

Disenchanted with the commercial jewellery industry, Matt nowadays prefers muddy archaeological digs to designing. Openly resentful of Starsmith’s hostile takeover of his family’s firm, he is horrified at the realization he’ll be working with the man who engineered that deal - but the opportunity to create something fabulous and unique for the royal couple is too tempting to refuse.

Working as a team reignites the spark between Joel and Matt. But when betrayal from within Starsmith threatens both the project and Joel’s confidence, will they have built enough trust to keep their newfound love as precious as the royal jewels?

This story offers you a gruff designer who prefers digging for treasure, a smooth CEO who’s too used to his own company, the glamorous Mayfair world of expensive jewellery, enemies to lovers, a gay royal couple who are fond of mischief, and an embarrassing accident on the Buckingham Palace railings!

Note: This is the same book as previously published by Dreamspinner Press, but with a new cover, and now published by the author.

©2019 Jocular Press (P)2022 Jocular Press

3-3.5 stars

Matt and Joel are very different in their ways of viewing the world, but they see their way to each other with a mutual attraction. Matt is extremely honest and I love it. I am the same way.

I listened to this book through audible. I think this book was a solid 3-3.5 stars. It was funny and light, but I often found myself spacing out and having to re-listen to a chapter. I liked the concept of the book, but I was bored with the story from time to time.

The narrator Joel Leslie, is a treat to listen to. He did a fantastic job with this book. I’m always amazing on the ability of narrators with their voice acting skills. I could always tell the characters and views apart.

*Listener Note: I received a free copy of this audiobook through Gay Romance Reviews (GRR) and this is my honest review.

Meh

The narrator was great per usual, I just couldn't get into this story. I'm not sure if it was due to me jumping into the series at book 7 or if it was just to dry/stuffy for me. The writing was good it's just not my type of book. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you Gay Romance Reviews for introducing me to this new author.

Overall 4 stars with great narration

Matt and Joel were very so different but had great chemistry. There was some light and funny moments. I enjoyed the story overall but I think the narration made it so much better. Kudos to Joel Leslie!

Great story

This is a great story about working together and building trust. Matt hates Stonesmith because he feels his Dad was railroaded into selling his jewelry business. Joel doesn't 100% trust Matt because of what he has heard about the man's reputation for temper and stubbornness. But these 2 have to set differences aside to work on the jewelry commission of a lifetime. I never dreamed the jewelry business was quite so cutthroat! An awesome story made even better by Joel's narration. He is one of the best in the business!

Light and Sweet Romance

I liked both Joel and Matt’s light bantering and especially their sexy times. The two were hot together. I thought this flowed nicely and was well written. The entire story was enjoyable, but the scene where Matt got stuck with his pants towards the end of the story was my favorite part.

Joel Leslie did a great job. Leslie knows how to bring the emotions out and held my attention throughout the entire story. I enjoyed the different voices for each character.