Not at all what I expected!

Pirates and imps and sprites and dragons. Hidden treasure and a jewel with the worth of a thousand suns.
For a short story, this one packs a lot of fun.
And as usual, Joel Leslie's narration is fabulous!

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Wonderful fairy tale

This book was originally released as free read in 2014. I loved it. This year it was re released as an audio book narrated by Joel Leslie. I didn't think I could love it more; I was wrong. This story is basically a fairy tale. Julian is an upper class man whose family doesn't think much of him and he doesn't think much of himself. While he is sent away to a small coastal town (think Hobbitown) to improve his health, he finds Kit washed up on his beach after a storm. Kit is a swashbuckler thief that is very comfortable with his attraction to men. They each bring something the other is lacking and together they make a wonderful whole. Unfortunately Kit also brings baggage into Julian's and the townsfolk's lives in the form of evil pirates. It is sweet, heartwarming and includes lots of romance as well as pirate action. Joel Leslie performance is fabulous. He really brought these characters to life and does a wonderful variety of British accents in his performance. Highly recommend.

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6 people found this helpful

A Gay Little Fantasy by the Sea

A delightful YA gay fairytale ruined by the author emphasising sex instead of creativity and adventure.

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1 person found this helpful

A 'Treasure' to listen to

An enjoyable story, almost fairy tale like, brought to life by the narration. Joel Leslie gave the story so much more dimension, feeling. I tried reading the book, but found myself going back to the audiobook to listen to the parts I had already read.... I'd recommend this to anyone who loves to listen a good old fashioned story.

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Joel Leslie is a wonderful narrator!

I've come to the conclusion that Kim Fielding and I are not a good match based on a number of books. Her writing is good, but I just don't connect to it, but that is definitely a *me not the author* thing.
However, Mr. Leslie's narration is absolutely wonderful. He gave each character a clearly defined voice and personality, and made me finish listening to a book I might have put down if I had been reading. I look forward to more of his narration in future books!

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"Treasure" is definitely a treasure.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Definitely. I liked this book, a LOT. I was worried at first because I'd committed to reviewing it and I was all "Oh, what if I don't like it? What's a polite way of saying good job but it sucks?!" Turns out I didn't have to figure out a way to be diplomatic. "Treasure" totally doesn't suck. It's a great story. Love the main characters, adore the villagers and the villain is a total douche. Actually, he's kind of scary/creepy. It works.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Julian. He's a sweetie pie. I really enjoyed watching him learn and grow, experience life and love.

What about Joel Leslie’s performance did you like?

A good book can be completely ruined by an, um, less than stellar narrator. No worries here. Joel Leslie does an awesome job. Great reader. Really brought the different characters to life. I'm definitely going to be checking on his other narrations.

If you could rename Treasure, what would you call it?

Hmm, I think, "The Fledgling". A reference to him being kicked out of his safe, stifling nest and going out on his own to learn life and make it on his own. Although I'm sure his parents didn't expect things to turn out as they did.

Any additional comments?

I will definitely be checking out more books by this author and reader. It was a very good experience.

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1 person found this helpful

A Treasure

The perfect story, the perfect length, the perfect voice to tell it. A total joy.

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'Imp'ishly Delightful

As the name predicts, what a delightful little Treasure. This wonderfully written fantastical adventure is full of intrigue, whimsy, awakenings, acceptance, and not to mention dragons and the like. Julian is an example of how 'others' can direct one's life but as he began his journey of rehabilitation, he met Kit and the magic begins. I thoroughly enjoyed this story, which was made better with the narrative skills of Joel Leslie.

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Gay pirate beach read

This is a book that might best be enjoyed on a beach with a steady supply of fruity cocktails. It's a bit light and fluffy, but perfect vacation on a beach relaxing listen. The fantasy world is cute with domesticated dragons and imps providing atmosphere. Our lead character is convalescing at a beach front vacation spot from some vague ailment that honestly just sounds like depression from being surrounded by small minded bullying homophobes. He rescues an injured pirate and they quickly fall in love. Most of the book is a leisurely romance with a few mild sex scenes. There is some action near the end with the pirate's former shipmates, and if there'd been more action I'd have given the story five stars instead of four. The pace was just a little too leisurely and relaxed for my taste, but I still enjoyed it. Joel Leslie gives an excellent performance, as I have come to expect from previous novels.
I would read more books by Kim Fielding as well.

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4 people found this helpful

beautiful writing, sweet story, great narration

In a world that feels like Victorian England but instead of horse drawn carriages, we have dragons, and each village has at least one mage to keep things a bit magical, Julian Massey is the youngest son of a wealthy businessman. For whatever reason, he’s always been sickly and a disappointment to his father. If he knew what fantasies Julian had, he’d probably be even more disappointed in him.
At the suggestion of his family physician, Julian spends the summer holiday in a cabin on the beach. It’s rustic and for the first time in his life Julian is at his own loose ends. But instead of turning around and going home, he finds he enjoys doing for himself and the outdoors becomes a refuge instead of a scary place. He even begins to make friends with the eccentric townfolk. One night a storm blows in and in the morning Julian finds a sick man washed to shore, Kit. He nurses him to health and finds way more than he was looking for.

Kit is not just some lost sailor, but an escapee from the evil pirates off shore… and a mercenary and thief. But Kit has no harm for Julian only love until the evil pirate returns.

**

OOOOO! Such a delightful story! We get Julian’s return to himself through time spent on his own and then his discovery of love with Kit and his finding friends and loyalty with the townspeople. In addition we get pirates, too! And sword fights! And adventure!
This story literally has it all, romance, adventure and a really touching story about a man finding himself at last.
I loved this so much. Kim Fielding is a GIFTED writer and her stories are not only deliciously romantic, but also a bit moving and thought provoking. This reminded me – a bit – of her fabulous story “Brute”. Someone misunderstood but with a beautiful heart.
There’s just enough smexy times to make this a bit of a steamy read as well, but it’s the ending and the epic battle scene that seal the deal.

Highly Recommended

5 of 5 stars

Audio
Joel Leslie does an amazing job with the fairy-tale like story. The voices he chose for the townspeople were spot on and hysterical. He also managed to give a perfectly evil voice to the dreaded pirate boss and yet it didn’t feel like a cartoon. The timing, editing and emotions were well done and highly contributed to my enjoyment of this story.

5 of 5 stars

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1 person found this helpful