Review: Very enjoyable.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 9, 2012
I was happy to receive this ARC from Carina Press through Netgalley.This is my second foray into m/m historical romance and my first Ava March book.Lord Benjamin Parker has always had an attraction to men.  He decides to go to a gambling establishment that is rumored to cater to men seeking men to determine once and for all if his feelings are true.While there he meets a man at a gambling table, Cavin Fox, and they have an immediate attraction to one another.  Ben is unaware that Cavin is a thief looking for a mark to seduce and take his money.  During their encounter Ben tells Cavin he has never been with a man. This causes Cavin to pause and he makes Bens first experience special.  The love scene was erotic and sweet and touching all at once.It is a lovely romance.  The characters are endearing and well developed.  Ben is an aristocrat but he is kind, thoughtful, generous and caring.  Cavin is troubled, has had a hard life and feels he is not worthy of the kindness and affection Ben is willing to give.I really enjoyed that the story focused on the relationship of the two main characters.  There are other important characters in the story but they just help develop how we see Ben and Cavin.  I kept waiting for obstacles or bad guys to ruin or complicate things but it did not happen.It is one of the nicest feel good romances I have read recently.  The love scenes are explicit but feel right for the story.The story is a short, 40,000 word, quick read.  I was surprised at how well developed the characters were and how quickly I was able to become invested in their HEA.As I am not typically a historical romance reader I was unfamiliar with some terms used in the beginning of the book, i.e., hell for the gambling establishment, nabob for describing the person Cavin was targeting.  It did give the story the flavor of the time period.Thief is the first in the Brooke Street Trilogy.  The next two books in the series are titled Fortune Hunter, another 44,000 word novella and Rouges, a 28,000 word short story.  There is also a prequel , My True Love Gave to Me, Brooke Street 0.5, 28,000 words.I am looking forward to reading the next book in the trilogy and reading more of Ms March's books.