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Cambridge Fellows #1
Lessons in Love
He didn’t think he had a heart. Until he lost it.
St. Bride’s College, Cambridge, England, 1905.
Jonty Stewart is handsome and outgoing, with blood as blue as his eyes. When he takes up a teaching post at the college where he studied, his dynamic style acts as an agent 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 university walls. He strikes up an alliance with Jonty and soon finds himself heart-deep in feelings he’s never experienced. Before long their friendship blossoms into more than either man had hoped.
Then a student is murdered within St. Bride’s. Then another…and another. All the victims have one thing in common: a penchant for men. Asked by the police to serve as their eyes and ears within the college, Jonty and Orlando risk exposing a love affair that could make them the killer’s next target.
This book has been previously published and has been revised and expanded from its original release.
St. Bride’s College, Cambridge, England, 1905.
Jonty Stewart is handsome and outgoing, with blood as blue as his eyes. When he takes up a teaching post at the college where he studied, his dynamic style acts as an agent 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 university walls. He strikes up an alliance with Jonty and soon finds himself heart-deep in feelings he’s never experienced. Before long their friendship blossoms into more than either man had hoped.
Then a student is murdered within St. Bride’s. Then another…and another. All the victims have one thing in common: a penchant for men. Asked by the police to serve as their eyes and ears within the college, Jonty and Orlando risk exposing a love affair that could make them the killer’s next target.
This book has been previously published and has been revised and expanded from its original release.
186 pages, ebook
First published November 1, 2008
95 people are currently reading
1375 people want to read
About the author
Charlie Cochrane
86 books373 followersBecause Charlie Cochrane couldn't be trusted to do any of her jobs of choice—like managing a rugby team—she writes. Her mystery novels include the Edwardian era Cambridge Fellows series, series, and the contemporary Best Corpse for the Job. Multi-published, she has titles with Carina, Samhain, Riptide and Bold Strokes, among others.
A member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association, Mystery People and International Thriller Writers Inc, Charlie regularly appears at literary festivals and at reader and author conferences with The Deadly Dames.
A member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association, Mystery People and International Thriller Writers Inc, Charlie regularly appears at literary festivals and at reader and author conferences with The Deadly Dames.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 253 reviews
March 15, 2015
Utterly charming pre-Great War romance set at Cambridge University. Not hard to believe in Orlando's innocence having grown up in a cloistered environment and Jonty's optimistic realism having experience the world radically different. They are sweet and what was once chaste grows into something more. The mystery is engaging and quite relevant to their burgeoning illicit romance. Gave me a craving for mugs of tea and Hot Cross buns, which I can't find anywhere--aargh!
Definitely continuing this series.
Favorite quote:
Definitely continuing this series.
Favorite quote:
"It costs too much to love, Orlando, and there comes a limit to how much I’m prepared to spend.”
July 17, 2014
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 started masturbating, be it that some of the prickishness came over as distinctly girly rather than femme gay, be it that some affectations made me think of a Miss Marple instead of a set of young Cambridge fellows, the end result is that I couldn't believe in the facts as laid out.
And this made me feel distanced. I was repeatedly scratching my head, or giggling and stating "just like a girl!". And no, I'm not talking about anything like the much touted "chicks with dicks" either. At times both male characters felt like women, as if taken entirely out of context. Not as if a hetero romance trope was used, no, as if quite simply the other gender was being described. It wasn't even obnoxious, it was simply--strange.
That said, I devoured the book, it was a quick read, the mystery was somewhat foreseeable, but there were a few quite chilling scenes too. It's not as if it hadn't had it's quite good sides as well. And it left me with the wish to read more. So I will get to see how these two will evolve.
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 started masturbating, be it that some of the prickishness came over as distinctly girly rather than femme gay, be it that some affectations made me think of a Miss Marple instead of a set of young Cambridge fellows, the end result is that I couldn't believe in the facts as laid out.
And this made me feel distanced. I was repeatedly scratching my head, or giggling and stating "just like a girl!". And no, I'm not talking about anything like the much touted "chicks with dicks" either. At times both male characters felt like women, as if taken entirely out of context. Not as if a hetero romance trope was used, no, as if quite simply the other gender was being described. It wasn't even obnoxious, it was simply--strange.
That said, I devoured the book, it was a quick read, the mystery was somewhat foreseeable, but there were a few quite chilling scenes too. It's not as if it hadn't had it's quite good sides as well. And it left me with the wish to read more. So I will get to see how these two will evolve.
Read
February 3, 2019I'm not even going to try and figure out a star rating for this one. It started out around a 4, ended up close to a 1 and flailed around the whole way between like the whacky waving inflatable tube man.
I didn't set out to read this book. I was paging through titles on the kindle, opening stuff at near random and reading a line or two, and next thing I knew I was a ways into this.
Analyzed on the ingredients this is very much up my alley. The characters, the crime focus, the setting, the era. But it's so inconsistent. I've read much worse in terms of pacing, but there were countless times I wish they'd just get on with it. Having sufficient involvement in a police investigation when your MCs are not police is difficult, so I can cut a bit of slack there.
What's frustrating is the inconsistency. Good writing and horrible stilted melodrama in close proximity. Some of it comes close to parody. I can get behind melodrama, but if you're going to go that route, you have to go whole hog. Melodrama is not something that works in moderation. I'd say the writing was mixed throughout, but the proportion of bad to good tilted further and further to the bad side as the book went on. I had to force myself to skim all the excessive caricature that goes on incomprehensibly for pages after the murders are resolved. It read like the worst sort of fanfic by that point.
Characterization is also inconsistent, Jonty and Orlando come off as the worst sort of cliched trope characters occasionally, but they're not even the same tropes from page to page. Orlando is like some yaoi uke sometimes, and I like the sexually naive scientist/mathematician trope, but it was straining credulity and getting on my nerves here. And Jonty being all, oh if only Orlando comes to save me, when the show down comes was just all kinds of WTF.
And OMG, "he giggled", adult humans don't giggle. Babies and toddlers giggle. So who finds giggling sexy? You do the math. There are copious references to Jonty (who's supposed to be the more worldly and muscular one) giggling. That would have been a DNF in a longer book.
I'd say this book was a hot mess, but without the hot. More like what's left after a hot mess cools to room temperature.
Now "hot" is a loaded term when discussing any variety of romance, and the spicy/sexy/erotica hot isn't what I mean, though that's not here either. I don't actually like sex scenes in novels, they don't interest me. Fade to black is just fine. So I'm not put out at the lack of erotic content. But the author does something here I've never seen before. There are an amazing number of gay sex scenes here in a book that works harder to avoid mentioning penis than a priest in a police station. Instead of erotic descriptions, or fade-to-black, the author manages to cloak the actual mechanics of who did what to who behind a veil of people thinking about their feelings about sex, which is surprisingly annoying.
So why can't I just give it a one or a two and move on? There is good mixed in with the bad here, and my particular favored mix of m/m elements seems rare enough that I may give Cochrane another shot. This series has over a dozen installments, surely it improved? Maybe she at least stops using "giggle"? I don't know, one can only hope.
I didn't set out to read this book. I was paging through titles on the kindle, opening stuff at near random and reading a line or two, and next thing I knew I was a ways into this.
Analyzed on the ingredients this is very much up my alley. The characters, the crime focus, the setting, the era. But it's so inconsistent. I've read much worse in terms of pacing, but there were countless times I wish they'd just get on with it. Having sufficient involvement in a police investigation when your MCs are not police is difficult, so I can cut a bit of slack there.
What's frustrating is the inconsistency. Good writing and horrible stilted melodrama in close proximity. Some of it comes close to parody. I can get behind melodrama, but if you're going to go that route, you have to go whole hog. Melodrama is not something that works in moderation. I'd say the writing was mixed throughout, but the proportion of bad to good tilted further and further to the bad side as the book went on. I had to force myself to skim all the excessive caricature that goes on incomprehensibly for pages after the murders are resolved. It read like the worst sort of fanfic by that point.
Characterization is also inconsistent, Jonty and Orlando come off as the worst sort of cliched trope characters occasionally, but they're not even the same tropes from page to page. Orlando is like some yaoi uke sometimes, and I like the sexually naive scientist/mathematician trope, but it was straining credulity and getting on my nerves here. And Jonty being all, oh if only Orlando comes to save me, when the show down comes was just all kinds of WTF.
And OMG, "he giggled", adult humans don't giggle. Babies and toddlers giggle. So who finds giggling sexy? You do the math. There are copious references to Jonty (who's supposed to be the more worldly and muscular one) giggling. That would have been a DNF in a longer book.
I'd say this book was a hot mess, but without the hot. More like what's left after a hot mess cools to room temperature.
Now "hot" is a loaded term when discussing any variety of romance, and the spicy/sexy/erotica hot isn't what I mean, though that's not here either. I don't actually like sex scenes in novels, they don't interest me. Fade to black is just fine. So I'm not put out at the lack of erotic content. But the author does something here I've never seen before. There are an amazing number of gay sex scenes here in a book that works harder to avoid mentioning penis than a priest in a police station. Instead of erotic descriptions, or fade-to-black, the author manages to cloak the actual mechanics of who did what to who behind a veil of people thinking about their feelings about sex, which is surprisingly annoying.
So why can't I just give it a one or a two and move on? There is good mixed in with the bad here, and my particular favored mix of m/m elements seems rare enough that I may give Cochrane another shot. This series has over a dozen installments, surely it improved? Maybe she at least stops using "giggle"? I don't know, one can only hope.
November 18, 2021
There was something in this story that warms your heart.
I definitely liked Jonty and Orlando. These are characters that you really can't help but like. It's great to watch Jonty make Orlando slowly change, teaches him how to find joy in his life. But it was just as good to see Jonty find someone who loves him unconditionally.
I haven't read such a slow burn story for a long time. I am not sure if this is a theme I like. I think I would prefer it if there was something more between Jonty and Orlando, if there was a little more passion in their relationship. On the other hand, I really appreciate how much space has been devoted to their feelings. There is so much tenderness in their relationship that it warms your heart. My guess is that the other elements of physical love in their relationship will appear in the next books in this series. But since I don't like series in which successive books are centered around the same pair, I'm not sure when I will read the next book in the series, or even if I will do it at all.
Suspense part was also pretty good. It took up a lot of space in this book and that’s good. But as much as I like the suspense threads in my books, this time I was more interested in how Jonty and Orlando relationship would develop. Suspense might be not very surprising, but it is definitely a solid point in the story.
A warning to people who are particularly sensitive to rape in their books. This topic appears in this book. Although it is not described in detail, it definitely arouses emotions because of who it concerns.
I definitely liked Jonty and Orlando. These are characters that you really can't help but like. It's great to watch Jonty make Orlando slowly change, teaches him how to find joy in his life. But it was just as good to see Jonty find someone who loves him unconditionally.
I haven't read such a slow burn story for a long time. I am not sure if this is a theme I like. I think I would prefer it if there was something more between Jonty and Orlando, if there was a little more passion in their relationship. On the other hand, I really appreciate how much space has been devoted to their feelings. There is so much tenderness in their relationship that it warms your heart. My guess is that the other elements of physical love in their relationship will appear in the next books in this series. But since I don't like series in which successive books are centered around the same pair, I'm not sure when I will read the next book in the series, or even if I will do it at all.
Suspense part was also pretty good. It took up a lot of space in this book and that’s good. But as much as I like the suspense threads in my books, this time I was more interested in how Jonty and Orlando relationship would develop. Suspense might be not very surprising, but it is definitely a solid point in the story.
A warning to people who are particularly sensitive to rape in their books. This topic appears in this book. Although it is not described in detail, it definitely arouses emotions because of who it concerns.
December 31, 2020
Delightful British historical mystery. I loved and adored the writing. Third person, dual pov, some parts of it from the author's pov, I think.
I enjoyed the relationship development. Orlando and Jonty are sweet together. Orlando is adorable in his innocence and cluelessness. Even tho some of the things he said about his past and family were painful to read. Same for Jonty, the only difference that he at least knew that what happened to him was a bad thing, Orlando was clueless about his parents "teachings" being a bad thing.
The mystery in itself was good too, I actually hadn't a clue whodunit. The conclusion tho was kind of weird, but this happens in almost every historical mystery I read: the culprit is so very polite when they are busted, it's like they are getting ready to dance, not a throwdown. Odd.
The aftermath was very satisfying tho.
Overall I enjoyed it. 3.5 stars rounded down for now.
I enjoyed the relationship development. Orlando and Jonty are sweet together. Orlando is adorable in his innocence and cluelessness. Even tho some of the things he said about his past and family were painful to read. Same for Jonty, the only difference that he at least knew that what happened to him was a bad thing, Orlando was clueless about his parents "teachings" being a bad thing.
The mystery in itself was good too, I actually hadn't a clue whodunit. The conclusion tho was kind of weird, but this happens in almost every historical mystery I read: the culprit is so very polite when they are busted, it's like they are getting ready to dance, not a throwdown. Odd.
The aftermath was very satisfying tho.
Overall I enjoyed it. 3.5 stars rounded down for now.
March 25, 2009
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, than a murder occurs at the college. As the murdered boy is one of Orlando’s students, he and Jonty get involved and aid the police in the investigation.
Most of the story’s charm lies in the romance, which is allowed to take its sweet time to come to fruition. Both men are acutely aware of the dangers and in Orlando’s case he needs the “lessons in love” that Jonty tenderly provides to assuage his guilt over what he doesn’t understand.
Cochrane does a good job weaving the romance and mystery together in a way that felt comfortable and the nail-biting conclusion to the mystery had me hooked clear through to the climax. The writing style is so beautifully simple and straightforward that it is effortless to read. I should also mention that I was pleasantly surprised to find that the sex in the book is romanticized and not explicit – Linden Bay, shame on you for lying about the heat rating!
I heartily recommend this breezy historical romance and look forward to spending more time with the adorable Cambridge Fellows in the next installment: Lessons in Desire.
Most of the story’s charm lies in the romance, which is allowed to take its sweet time to come to fruition. Both men are acutely aware of the dangers and in Orlando’s case he needs the “lessons in love” that Jonty tenderly provides to assuage his guilt over what he doesn’t understand.
Cochrane does a good job weaving the romance and mystery together in a way that felt comfortable and the nail-biting conclusion to the mystery had me hooked clear through to the climax. The writing style is so beautifully simple and straightforward that it is effortless to read. I should also mention that I was pleasantly surprised to find that the sex in the book is romanticized and not explicit – Linden Bay, shame on you for lying about the heat rating!
I heartily recommend this breezy historical romance and look forward to spending more time with the adorable Cambridge Fellows in the next installment: Lessons in Desire.
April 9, 2021
The Cambridge Fellows series is a beautiful romance with historical and mystery elements. Highly recommend 5 + Stars.
Characters
Dr. Orlando Coppersmith is lovable. An innocent and naïve mathematician. He has no knowledge or experience with friendship, intimacy, or romance. His discovery of such things is very appealing—a reserved, serious man who appears pompous opening and falling in love is incredibly adorable.
Dr. Jonathan (Jonty) Stewart is a student of Shakespeare and a romantic. He is charismatic, joyful, and very self-aware. He is cautious in his pursuit of his dear friend and a constant state of frustration and adoration for his timid lover.
Neither Orlando nor Jonty are as simple as described; there is a lot of depth and sensitivity to both their nature. New sides reveal themselves, and traumatic pasts are shared. Charlie Cochrane created two characters that sneak into your heart.
Romance
This is a gentle slow-burn romance between characters of opposite nature.
There isn’t much resistance or conflict but a slow awakening and a beautiful slip in enduring love.
The steam level is moderate, with plenty of intimacy and sensual exploration rather than explicit.
Mystery
The series of murders that occur within the college is the mystery aspect. Jonty and Orlando find themselves curious and involved in the investigation, sleuthing about in the college trying to assist the police. It’s all very Sherlock and Watson without prior experience in detecting. But their bond and comradeship are very similar.
Historical
The historical element is subtle, hinting but not an overwhelming presence with endless historical details. I’m personally bored of such things; this author managed to slip me into another time without me realizing it.
Future books in series
Reading the blurbs ahead shows a continuous storyline, following Orlando and Jonty from their late ‘20’s to old age.
Audiobook
The Narrator has a lovely British accent, 5 Stars.
Narrator: Phil Mayes.
Characters
Dr. Orlando Coppersmith is lovable. An innocent and naïve mathematician. He has no knowledge or experience with friendship, intimacy, or romance. His discovery of such things is very appealing—a reserved, serious man who appears pompous opening and falling in love is incredibly adorable.
Dr. Jonathan (Jonty) Stewart is a student of Shakespeare and a romantic. He is charismatic, joyful, and very self-aware. He is cautious in his pursuit of his dear friend and a constant state of frustration and adoration for his timid lover.
Neither Orlando nor Jonty are as simple as described; there is a lot of depth and sensitivity to both their nature. New sides reveal themselves, and traumatic pasts are shared. Charlie Cochrane created two characters that sneak into your heart.
Romance
This is a gentle slow-burn romance between characters of opposite nature.
There isn’t much resistance or conflict but a slow awakening and a beautiful slip in enduring love.
The steam level is moderate, with plenty of intimacy and sensual exploration rather than explicit.
Mystery
The series of murders that occur within the college is the mystery aspect. Jonty and Orlando find themselves curious and involved in the investigation, sleuthing about in the college trying to assist the police. It’s all very Sherlock and Watson without prior experience in detecting. But their bond and comradeship are very similar.
Historical
The historical element is subtle, hinting but not an overwhelming presence with endless historical details. I’m personally bored of such things; this author managed to slip me into another time without me realizing it.
Future books in series
Reading the blurbs ahead shows a continuous storyline, following Orlando and Jonty from their late ‘20’s to old age.
Audiobook
The Narrator has a lovely British accent, 5 Stars.
Narrator: Phil Mayes.
May 20, 2015
3.5 stars
What struck me most in the story, besides the wonderful writing, is the exploration of the great divide between innocence and experience. I think this works so very well in a setting, too (end of Victorian era), where (though, hard for us to believe in this day and age) it might have been easy, for some, to live to almost the age of thirty without knowing (or missing) carnal pleasure. Especially if you'd lived a sheltered, rather repressed life. Add to that, an innocence about your sexual orientation and the ways of society in general— no internet, no television or radio to keep you informed.
Orlando Coppersmith (love!) and Jonty Stewart, two private school instructors, are the innocent and the experienced, here. Unfortunately, some of Jonty’s experience comes from abuse at an early age. But this doesn’t dampen his sunny, sweet, positive disposition and outlook on life. And when Jonty meets the introverted and shy Orlando… well, let’s just say lots of good things rub off of one to the other.
I really like this couple, how they slowly break through innocence to joy. And how the culture of the rather insulated British boarding school they teach at allows this blossoming.
But, of course, with the good comes the bad, and Murder rears its nasty head in the bucolic setting. The mystery, itself, is rather tepid; its strength lies in, once again, exploring that divide between innocence lost and the effects of it.
I’ll certainly be returning to see how the very sedate but meltingly-in-love Orlando and Jonty are getting on in their next adventure of discovery.
July 11, 2011
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 repeatedly thinks about 'my friend Jonty' and ends up writing his name over and over again accidentally, or whatever it was -- I went a while between reading that first chapter and reading the rest -- struck me as ridiculously teenage for a buttoned-up, strait-laced Cambridge Fellow, particularly as I don't find it particularly convincing behaviour even for the most stereotypical of teenagers.
It just failed to have enough weight with me, in general. The tenderness between the two, and the intimate scenes, were perhaps the strong point of it, but at other times that didn't stick either -- for example, the big revelations about Jonty and Orlando's pasts. I didn't feel that they'd been well hinted at -- though perhaps the fragmentary way I read the book contributed to that -- so that they were a surprise, but also not in an emotionally impactful way. Just, 'Huh, didn't see that coming.'
After the first two chapters, I did get into it enough that I didn't want to fling the book from me, but neither was it a substantial and satisfying read, I'm afraid.
It just failed to have enough weight with me, in general. The tenderness between the two, and the intimate scenes, were perhaps the strong point of it, but at other times that didn't stick either -- for example, the big revelations about Jonty and Orlando's pasts. I didn't feel that they'd been well hinted at -- though perhaps the fragmentary way I read the book contributed to that -- so that they were a surprise, but also not in an emotionally impactful way. Just, 'Huh, didn't see that coming.'
After the first two chapters, I did get into it enough that I didn't want to fling the book from me, but neither was it a substantial and satisfying read, I'm afraid.
October 5, 2010
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.
It's hard to put this book down because the way Jonty and Orlando come together, not only physically but also emotionally, is far more compelling than the crime solving itself. Their encounters are sweet and delicate and I really liked the way Jonty, who is more experienced than Orlando, respected his friend's boundaries and deepened their intimacy only when Orlando was ready and willing to.
Another thing I loved is the way Orlando is changed by his friendship with Jonty, even his teaching improves and he starts to develop some social skills. I liked his jealousy of Jonty. It's a bit difficult to understand how a person as repressed as Orlando can accept his romantic feelings toward a man so easily, but I bet Jonty is irresistible (he's a rugby player, yes!).
The mistery is not as strong, in my opinion, as the romance, but it was enjoyable. The setting is fantastic.
I'll definitely read the other books in the series, I can't let Orlando and Jonty go.
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.
It's hard to put this book down because the way Jonty and Orlando come together, not only physically but also emotionally, is far more compelling than the crime solving itself. Their encounters are sweet and delicate and I really liked the way Jonty, who is more experienced than Orlando, respected his friend's boundaries and deepened their intimacy only when Orlando was ready and willing to.
Another thing I loved is the way Orlando is changed by his friendship with Jonty, even his teaching improves and he starts to develop some social skills. I liked his jealousy of Jonty. It's a bit difficult to understand how a person as repressed as Orlando can accept his romantic feelings toward a man so easily, but I bet Jonty is irresistible (he's a rugby player, yes!).
The mistery is not as strong, in my opinion, as the romance, but it was enjoyable. The setting is fantastic.
I'll definitely read the other books in the series, I can't let Orlando and Jonty go.
November 14, 2019
I tried to read this a couple of years ago but dnf at idk maybe 20%. Back then I thought the author was trying to convey the feeling that in yon olden times people were more refined and less prone to fall victim to their baser instincts (which is not the case - do a Google picture search for Victorian pornography. It's rather eye-opening. Which means - don't do it at work.) These days (simply being better informed) I can see that she is actually portraying two characters which probably fall into different categories under the ace umbrella. I really don't feel qualified to exactly say what these exact labels are but I'm pretty sure that is what is happening and it's fine.
Still, having understood that I dialed down my expectations on the Romance front but it is a cozy mystery, and a rather simplistic one at that. I just don't buy the good detectives asking two Camebridge dons to play amateur sleuth. I don't. And conveniently finding things that fall out of people's pockets and are crucial to the solving of the mystery - nyaeh, well, no. But anyway - even while I was not really wowed, I finished it and kind of enjoyed it.
Still, having understood that I dialed down my expectations on the Romance front but it is a cozy mystery, and a rather simplistic one at that. I just don't buy the good detectives asking two Camebridge dons to play amateur sleuth. I don't. And conveniently finding things that fall out of people's pockets and are crucial to the solving of the mystery - nyaeh, well, no. But anyway - even while I was not really wowed, I finished it and kind of enjoyed it.
October 22, 2020
Absolutely adorable, utterly charming, and what a quaint and clever mystery! I know all my GR mystery loving friends have been urging me to dive into this series for ages, what's taken me so long? Who knows. But now I know I'm on a roll and have no plans to stop any time soon!
Audio by Phil Mayes who does a lovely job. He really captures the youth and inexperience in the tentative back and forth between these 'friends'. Very, very sweet.
Audio by Phil Mayes who does a lovely job. He really captures the youth and inexperience in the tentative back and forth between these 'friends'. Very, very sweet.
February 14, 2013
Sweet period story without being too sweet, or cloying. The mystery was well developed, and the chracters were relatable. I look forward to reading more of these.
April 22, 2020
Sadly another book that just isn't the right one for me. Honestly, for a great part I found it quite boring. Even though the story isn't very long there are pages where nothing notable happens, whether on the romance nor the mystery part.
Jonty Stewart is very charming and outgoing while Orlando Coppersmith is his opposite, an introvert, also smart but naive. Orlando can't resist Jonty's charme and so these two become friends and finally even lovers. Unfortunately I didn't feel any of the attraction, which of course could be caused by the time period the story is set in.
Jonty Stewart is very charming and outgoing while Orlando Coppersmith is his opposite, an introvert, also smart but naive. Orlando can't resist Jonty's charme and so these two become friends and finally even lovers. Unfortunately I didn't feel any of the attraction, which of course could be caused by the time period the story is set in.
April 13, 2018
3.5 stars
Pleasant, gentle story. The mystery itself is not the point (fortunately, as it's a bit weak), but the characters, the evocation of the time, the slightly mannered diction all carry the book through in charming style. I'm enjoying the rest of the series too.
November 14, 2016
Jonty and Orlando would get the most frightful shock if they tried to walk around the Cambridge of today. Yes, all the streets are still there, but everywhere is choked with traffic and students on bikes. Nice little historical whodunit [and no, I didn't have a clue] from Charlie Cochrane, and my book rec came from Deacon Reid of Fish Stick Fridays fame, and if it's good enough for him, it's certainly good enough for me. :-)
dnf
May 22, 2019DNF @ 32% - Too much telling and not enough showing for both the romance and the mystery. Reads more like a detailed outline.
July 31, 2025
A slow burning MM romantic murder mystery set in the hallowed halls of an old Cambridge College.
I liked the story, I liked the characters. What stopped this from being a 4* review was the pacing of the plot! it was just too slow.
I do wonder if it's because it's the first in the series, and I'll give the second book a try and see if now we know the characters, the plot pacing is better.
(Also, don't be put off by the horrible AI created cover 😅)
I liked the story, I liked the characters. What stopped this from being a 4* review was the pacing of the plot! it was just too slow.
I do wonder if it's because it's the first in the series, and I'll give the second book a try and see if now we know the characters, the plot pacing is better.
(Also, don't be put off by the horrible AI created cover 😅)
August 27, 2023
This was just an ok read for me. I’m not a big fan of mm historical fiction and it takes a lot for the genre to wow me.
May 13, 2025
should have dnf’d at “shapely peninsula”
(but for real — head hopping, epithets, and too much telling makes for just bad writing, and somehow the plot feels homophobic despite this being a m/m romance.)
(but for real — head hopping, epithets, and too much telling makes for just bad writing, and somehow the plot feels homophobic despite this being a m/m romance.)
April 6, 2021
Sherlock Holmes and Maurice meet and have an affair
The book was wonderful can’t wait to read the rest of the series. Great characters, great mystery, great MM love affair and the way the author evokes Edwardian Cambridge and the language and manners used. Wonderful. Totally spiffing!!
The book was wonderful can’t wait to read the rest of the series. Great characters, great mystery, great MM love affair and the way the author evokes Edwardian Cambridge and the language and manners used. Wonderful. Totally spiffing!!
Read
June 3, 2010Jonathan 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/?...
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/?...
March 9, 2015
I don't know why I read this book. Don't get me wrong, I quite enjoyed it. But I'm just wondering what possessed me to read a book called Lessons in Love, not to mention one with so ghastly a cover. Thankfully the rest of the series has better covers. Anyway, like I said, I did enjoy this book, though it got a bit sappy here and there. It took me a while to get into, but around 40% I just sort of got absorbed by it. It captures the Victorian-collegiate atmosphere fairly well and I got to like the characters. Quite keen for the next one.
October 18, 2015
I enjoyed this first book in what looks like will be a great series.
In this first story Jonty and Orlando both Fellows at Cambridge University, meet each other, find love and also find the person who is murdering students at St Bride's College.
This is a gentle mystery and romance story with great potential which I am looking forward to experiencing in the other books.
A lovely beginning.
In this first story Jonty and Orlando both Fellows at Cambridge University, meet each other, find love and also find the person who is murdering students at St Bride's College.
This is a gentle mystery and romance story with great potential which I am looking forward to experiencing in the other books.
A lovely beginning.
February 13, 2011
Very good historical m/m romance and mystery set at a small Cambridge college in the early 20th century. The newest English fellow at the college starts to get under the skin of a repressed mathematics fellow... and then they find themselves working together to help the police try to figure out who is murdering students.
December 17, 2014
A really charming and well-told tale of murder and new love in a quintessentially English academic setting. A nice quiet read that had me turning the pages to not only find out 'who done it' but also whether Jonty and Orlando would find the right balance between them to make a romance work. Well done, Charlie!
Want to read
January 18, 2018I'm gonna leave this one for now. I think I need to be in the mood for historicals, because of the language and the subtle 'differences' compared to contemporary romances.
It's just not grabbing my attention right now.
It's just not grabbing my attention right now.
July 23, 2019
I love how gently Jonty draws Orlando in to his warmth, letting him see their connection with friendship and caring, before giving the oblivious man the comfort of physical contact. Orlando needs so deeply, and Jonty fulfills that deep emptiness so effortlessly. Absolutely beautiful! I know dark things are coming in the third book, but I just want them to be a lovely old couple together, sitting in front of the fireplace and chatting...
December 20, 2020
The two had different names like 3 each.....for each other i kind of got lost on who was who.....
The romance felt awkward between the characters and there were hardly any characters so figuring out the villain wasn't overly hard...
Not for me......
The romance felt awkward between the characters and there were hardly any characters so figuring out the villain wasn't overly hard...
Not for me......
December 6, 2011
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, and he slowly becomes aware of the life outside his narrow world of mathematics. New emotions flicker into being too, first friendship, then the awareness of attraction, and finally into love.
However, Orlando's slow blossoming is not the only story in this novel, as a student's death is soon realized to be murder, and Jonty and Orlando are inexorably drawn into the investigation. As the investigation starts to unravel the background of the victim, they soon understand that they too may be at risk, as the murderer has targeted a gay man, and from here the romance and mystery develop in tandem.
The main characters within the novel are sweet, gentle and caring, though both camouflage their vulnerable hearts - Orlando with aloofness, and Jonty with humour. Both characters are consistent throughout, while the plot remains at a steady pace. This is not an erotic romance and the sex scenes are left mostly to the readers imagination. The mystery is not complex, and I admit, I knew who the murderer was very early in the story. Despite the somewhat predictable path the murder-mystery takes, it is the relationship between the two men that kept my attention, particularly as each element discovered in the investigation finds echoes in either Jonty or Orlando.
I'd recommend this to anyone who enjoys historical romances with a dash of who-dunnit. It is both sweet and charming, with a plot that is easily followed.
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, and he slowly becomes aware of the life outside his narrow world of mathematics. New emotions flicker into being too, first friendship, then the awareness of attraction, and finally into love.
However, Orlando's slow blossoming is not the only story in this novel, as a student's death is soon realized to be murder, and Jonty and Orlando are inexorably drawn into the investigation. As the investigation starts to unravel the background of the victim, they soon understand that they too may be at risk, as the murderer has targeted a gay man, and from here the romance and mystery develop in tandem.
The main characters within the novel are sweet, gentle and caring, though both camouflage their vulnerable hearts - Orlando with aloofness, and Jonty with humour. Both characters are consistent throughout, while the plot remains at a steady pace. This is not an erotic romance and the sex scenes are left mostly to the readers imagination. The mystery is not complex, and I admit, I knew who the murderer was very early in the story. Despite the somewhat predictable path the murder-mystery takes, it is the relationship between the two men that kept my attention, particularly as each element discovered in the investigation finds echoes in either Jonty or Orlando.
I'd recommend this to anyone who enjoys historical romances with a dash of who-dunnit. It is both sweet and charming, with a plot that is easily followed.
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