Book Reviews

Book Blurb

April 1594. William Moodie thinks he’s in love with celebrated actor Richard Brasyer. When Brasyer’s playing company, Goldfox’s Men, comes to town, William is only too willing to leave his country life for the opportunities of the theater and a life in London. Determined to become Richard’s apprentice, William seeks to impress his mentor with his acting—and please him in bed.

Meanwhile, Richard struggles to escape his past as a spy and disentangle himself from the manipulations of his former master and ex-lover, Bennett Goldfox. Swearing off a relationship with his new apprentice proves difficult for Richard, as William uses all his youthful charms to seduce him. When Bennett’s life is threatened, Richard is lured back into the game for one final mission, and he and William travel to Cambridge to hunt down a list of traitors to the Crown.

In the midst of danger and deception, Richard and William come to truly see each other, faults and all, and realize their feelings run deeper than either expected.

 

Book Review

“For me, life is like an act within itself. Everything I do is an act. Where I'm going is an act.” ~ Keith Stanfield

William Moodie of 'First Act' by Vanessa Mulberry loves to perform on stage. He also fancies himself in love with Richard Brayser, a famous actor, and will do almost anything to get to know him. William begs his cousin, Geoffrey, who works with Richard, to help him secure a place in their theater group. Geoffrey reluctantly agrees. When Richard throws out his apprentice for stealing, he replaces him with William. Out of respect for his cousin, Richard doesn't treat William like he did his former apprentice who was also his lover. Richard is determined to keep him out of his bed but William wants a chance to prove how much he loves Richard and how indispensable he can be and, hopefully, get Richard to love him back.

Richard tries to cool William's ardor by telling him that he's not the person William thinks he is alluding to a tarnished past; but it doesn't work. William tells Richard that he loves him and is going to keep at it until his feelings are returned. At every turn, William keeps throwing himself at Richard to get, if not love, at least mutual sexual pleasure. After being treated so badly by his former master, Bennet Goldfox, Richard has sworn never to let anyone have that kind of power over him again but, in his heart, he still loves and despises Bennet at the same time. When Richard is called back to spy for Bennet once again, he goes. Although he intends to leave William at home, Bennet's underhanded scheming makes it impossible to do so.

Even though from the country, William is not a bumpkin. He is smart, observant, and quite inventive when need be. He's young and naive, but knows how to improvise when he has has no experience to draw from, often impressing Richard with his ingenuity. William is also cheeky and stubborn and often will not take no for an answer without an explanation. He's impulsive, as twenty-year-olds often are, but, at times, he can be pragmatic. William has never done any spying, but he's up for it, actually intrigued and vaguely excited to be put in a situation involving subterfuge. William sees this as another opportunity to prove his worth and impress Richard. Honestly, he does not realize the intrinsic peril of the situation, but is very good at thinking on his feet and reacting immediately when he needs to do so.

This is the introduction to a new series and, as such, has a lot of background information to impart, leaving less time for the actual romance. I love William and all his spunk and determination but am somewhat conflicted about Richard and can't feel their chemistry the way I expected. I'm hoping, as Richard opens up more to William, I will gain more insight into their relationship in the future and also hope for more romance. I enjoyed the portrayal of 16th century life particularly as it related to the stage productions. The descriptions were vivid and easy to picture in my mind. Thanks, Vanessa. I am looking forward to seeing what these two get up to next.

 

 

 

 

DISCLAIMER: Books reviewed on this site were usually provided at no cost by the publisher or author. This book has been provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review.

Additional Information

Format	ebook and print
Length	Novel, 206 pages/67874 words
Heat Level
Publication Date	17-October-2016
Price	$6.99 ebook, $14.99 paperback
Buy Link	https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/the-first-act-by-vanessa-mulberry-7640-b