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Sweet Thing

Pretty Boy

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Sweet Thing

By: Isobel Starling
Narrated by: Gary Furlong
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About this listen

French male model Simeon Duchamp has a lot of explaining to do.

Two years after a breakdown Simeon is off drugs and booze and wants to stay that way.

On his road to reclaiming his life and modeling career, Sim first needs to apologize to the man he hurt the most—his ex-best friend and object of his unrequited affection Pieter Bayer. Pieter now has a long-term partner, artist Emily Raven, with whom he shares a baby son. Sim is amazed when Pieter accepts his apology, and invites him into his family.

Closeness to Pieter sees Simeon's longing for his friend is rekindled. But then, when Simeon meets an attractive older man, Bastian Roth at an Art Exhibition, he realizes that there is a soul more broken than his, and Simeon feels compelled to help. Simeon's connection with the troubled Bastian Roth turns his world upside down. He has to decide whether to allow himself to fall for the man who wants him or pine for the man he can never have.

©2017, 2025 Isobel Starling (P)2025 Isobel Starling/ Decent Fellows Press Literature & Fiction Romance
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After years of unrequited love and fuelled by drugs and alcohol, Simeon Duchamp did the unforgivable and spread malicious rumours about his best friend and fellow model, Pieter Bayer. Pieter is now happily partnered with a woman and son, but it’s taken two years for Simeon to get past the guilt and shame, his inevitable breakdown, and the bad press he received for his actions. Now sober and more stable, Sim meets Sebastian Roth, an older man who still hasn’t processed the loss of his partner in a car accident years ago. The two men are attracted to each other, but will their coupling help or hinder each other’s mental health progress?

I absolutely loved this angsty, steamy romance! It’s early days but I’ve loved everything I’ve read by Isobel Starling so far, she packs an emotional punch and keeps you gripped by the characters and stories. It’s a big task to rehabilitate fallen characters and Sim and Bastian don’t acquit themselves well early on, but I was proudly cheering for both of them by the end. This is a nice deep dive into the impacts of addictive personality disorder and grief, I thought both were handled well. 🎧 Of course, UK voice actor Gary Furlong just made this even better, he handled the French and German accents and phrases like the pro he is!

Gripping angsty romance!

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I quite enjoyed the story of Simeon's journey and his relationships with Pieter, Bast and Emily and their stories too. It does need a bit of editing with respect to the POV jumping around and I even thought Gary struggled with this when it happened continuously, although his narration was still a stellar performance as always. I felt the portayal of the fashion industry was conveyed well and the book had a real European feel to it. To have a friend as forgiving and truly loving as Pieter is a blessing. Emily was a strong character and needed presence. Simeon and Bast got their HEA and trusted circle.

Pretty

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