Reviewed by Vicki
TITLE: Convincing Leopold 
SERIES: London Legal #2
AUTHOR: Ava March
PUBLISHER: Samhain Publishing
LENGTH: 111 pages
RELEASE DATE: February 9th, 2016
BLURB:
Never get between a reformed rake and his lover.
London Legal, Book 2
Three months ago, Leopold Thornton gave up his old, indulgent lifestyle to follow the man he loves to London. But now that he and Arthur Barrington have settled down, doubts are creeping in.
Arthur is spending more and more time at his law office—with a handsome new secretary. And Arthur’s ex-lover wants him back. Desperate not to lose Arthur, Leopold resorts to the only trick he knows to convince him to stay—pleasure.
Arthur knew that life with Leopold would never be boring. But recently their evenings—and afternoons and mornings—have become decidedly more vigorous. Being with Leopold is amazing, but juggling demanding clients and a demanding lover leaves Arthur exhausted and worried perhaps he and Leopold aren’t suited after all.
As business keeps Arthur later and later at the office, Leopold’s demons begin to haunt him again. To heal their rift, Arthur will have to let go of his own past—and pull his lover back from the brink.
This book has been previously published.
Warning: Includes a reformed bad boy who discovers a jealous streak, a solicitor who isn’t always so conservative, explicit male/male scenes in a variety of locations, a complete lack of inhibitions, and a generous heaping of angst.
REVIEW:
Convincing Leopold picks up a few months after the Happy For Now ending of Convincing Arthur. These books focus on Arthur Barrington, working Lawyer, and Leopold Thornton, spoiled younger son of a wealthy family. When we last saw them, Leopold had convinced Arthur that he had been in love with him for years, waiting until Arthur ended his relationship with his current lover to stake his claim. It took some convincing, Leopold was kind of a slut, and Arthur is pretty conservative and very focused on his law business. At the end of the book, Arthur had agreed to a relationship with Leopold, and agreed to work less and focus on that relationship.
Apparently that didn’t last very long! Arthur is a bit of a jerk, he’s back to work and life in London, giving a little time here and there to Leopold, but basically he’s living as he did before their vacation. Leopold has completely changed his life, giving up his drinking, gambling, and slutty ways, for a man that doesn’t seem at all interested in being in a relationship with him. Leopold is bored and lonely, yet still manages to be a better person than Arthur!
Basically this story drove me crazy. I didn’t really care for Arthur in the first book, but I gave him the benefit of the doubt, assuming he would take some time and get a clue in the second book. But no, he doesn’t. I wanted to slap him silly. There just isn’t much to this story other than Arthur being a shit to Leopold, and the two of them not communicating. There is some good sex between them, but it was ruined for me almost every time by Arthur’s bad behavior afterward. I really think Leopold needs to give up on Arthur all together.
So I really love Ava’s writing, and I love this time period. I did read these books a couple of years ago, and I don’t remember them well, but I was underwhelmed on this reading. There just isn’t enough to them for me to love them. Her other stories, even short ones like these, kept my interest much more. Maybe it’s the lack of BDSM in this one, but I just didn’t get a feeling of a good connection between the two main characters. I didn’t like Arthur, and had a really hard time with him as a main character.
But I do love this time period, and Ava knows what she is doing. The details, clothing, language, parties, homes, carriages, it all evokes such an emotion in me. I can see it so clearly, and I love it. Even though I didn’t get much out of the plot, the beautiful descriptive writing brought this book up for me. I liked it just fine, but I didn’t LOVE it. Arthur was too much of a twat for me….
Here is my review of Convincing Arthur, the first book in this series.
RATING: 
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