Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

When Benjamin Bowen and his brother Edgar set off on their Grand Tour of Europe to really see and live the culture and sights their erudite mother has spent their life teaching them, they have no idea that what they counter will implode their family. Horace Lavelle, loud, brash and sarcastic bewitches Benjamin and slowly takes him away from his brother, and his family until what is left behind is utter devastation.

This book is basically about a young gay man ignorant of the real world, and hiding his true feelings about himself and who he is from everyone, meeting someone who sees him and makes him feel alive. This book is a hard one to review as the story and the writing aren't necessarily bad but I can't rate this book higher as I just thought the characters were all so horrible and selfish - and I just felt so sad for what happen to Benjamin's family - and how he didn't really seem to care or understand it was all his fault for allowing Lavelle into his life.

Lavelle was someone who had childhood trauma of sexual abuse and his story is so incredibly sad but that doesn't mean he can be excused for so many of his actions. He practically brainwashes Benjamin, and the way he treated Edgar was so awful - I couldn't understand how Benjamin could be happy being around someone who would treat their loved one in such a way. And he also just forgot that it was Lavelle's fault that Edgar did what he did. This is a story about a toxic relationship but the character never really sees it as toxic, and it's probably only the reader that does and at that, probably not every reader depending how one feels about Lavelle.

I also felt so sorry for Benjamin's parents who by the end of the book are made out to be some wicked villains, when all they had done was perhaps shield their children a little bit too much from the real world. There were some real uncomfortable moments in this when Ben talks to his mother about her hiding her Jewish heritage from them, and makes her feel so bad and at fault, it was really awful.

This book just made me feel sad because the characters were all horrible and nothing redeeming happened to them. The only one who deserved better was Edgar whose only real fault was being a bit of a brown nose to those higher up the social class.

Although I enjoyed the historical aspects of this story, I didn’t feel like the “secrets” about the characters were particularly surprising when revealed, or “twists” about the story were fun or new. I guess I went into it hoping for a fun historical romp with gay lead characters, and actually I spent most of the book cringing and waiting for the main character to realise how badly he was misreading some situations.

So. I don’t quite know what to say about this. Because it was too bleak for me and I didn’t enjoy it, but I don’t think that it is bad. It’s just that at this point in time I don’t do well with books that are hurtling towards disaster, even if they are dealing with expectations and society and judgment and constructs. I wanted it to be ok for Benjamin; but I knew it wouldn’t be. But historical diction isn’t always neat and happy, and may be that is the point.

It's great to be in a position to recommend much more diverse books to our young people at school. Building the senior school library as a place where students actually come and find books that they want to read as opposed to books that teachers think they ought to read is an important responsibility and one we take really seriously.
Books like this are such a positive move as they will appeal to a broader set of readers than we are usually attracting. Dealing with modern issues in a clear and captivating way with a strong narrative voice and characters that the students can relate to is critical as we move forwards. This book is both an intelligent and compelling read that will hold even the most reluctant reader's attention and keep them turning the pages long into the night. It keeps the reader on their toes and ensures that you give it your full attention too. I found myself thinking about its characters and events even when I wasn't reading it and looking forward to snatching kore time with it and I hope that my students feel the same. An accessible, gripping and engrossing read that I can't recommend highly enough. Will absolutely be buying a copy for the library and heartily recommending it to both staff and students.

This book is brilliant. Once I started reading I couldn’t put it down.
The setting was beautiful and it was written so well.
This book is filled with many sad and serious moments.
A great book

The Intoxicating Mr Lavelle rather intoxicated me, if I’m honest. It’s one of those witty yet heart-rending books that I didn’t want to stop listening to.
Ben Aldridge, the narrator, did his part so well. I believed that he was each of the separate characters - he made each of them sound so different, and he especially made Lavelle sound just how I would have imagined him to.
Two brothers, Benjamin and Edgar are on what is probably the most exciting and daunting trip of their young lives - a Grand Tour of Europe. It was what all the well-heeled young men and women would do at the time, in the hope that they’d make good business and, you never know, romantic connections. However, it quickly becomes apparent that the Bowen brothers are looked down on as being of the mercantile class. This horrified me as a modern day reader. Firstly, that two sheltered, innocent boys should be sent out to travel across Europe alone (must be the ‘Mother of Sons’ in me), secondly, that the upper classes were so bloody rude! They had the power to destroy someone with just a word. I could have scooped these boys up and taken them home, just to remove them from these horrendous people.
This is also the story of Benjamin’s self discovery. He meets and falls in love with Horace Lavelle at a time when men could be hanged as a ‘sodomite’. The author is upfront at the start that he had taken some liberties with this book. Homosexuality was illegal. No-one would take a chance of showing that they were gay. And there is that element of danger, of being found out, in this book despite those liberties.
But it’s such a lovely book - I wanted Benjamin to be happy, and I could see the potential for a train wreck ahead. And that’s all I’ll say! What I will say, is that this is a novel well worth your time!

I'm afraid I just couldn't get into this book. I found it hard to connect with the characters. I could definitely picture this as a TV series and maybe I would find that more enjoyable.

Engaging Storytelling....
Mr Lavelle, as intoxicating as he is enigmatic, colourful, witty and possibly dark and damaged. Engaging storytelling- historical fiction set in the eighteenth century. Well drawn and complex characters and a fascinating, often emotional and tense, tale.

Brothers Edgar and Benjamin Bowen set of on a Grand Tour of Europe, just like all other genteel men in XVIII century. Their mission - to visit the places their bellowed mother mentioned in her guidebook, and to make Good Friends in order to improve their social status. Having led a sheltered life, fed with Voltaire and Aristotle, they are however poorly equipped for the actual challenges of fitting in and aspiring to the class that does not want them. Enter Mr Horace Lavelle – a charismatic, charming and cruelly witty young man whose derisive manners appals Edgar and fascinates Benjamin. The story is not an exploration of delights of Europe though, but the exploration of one’s place in the society, one’s own desires and wants. It is an erudite historical fiction with naïve characters which learn about societal bigotry, prejudice and hypocrisy prevalent amongst the people they meet. There is a lot of tongue in cheek mockery of polite society, but there a many dark motives too, including secrets discovered, heartbreaks and violence. Even love is tarnished and full of impossible desires, making “The Intoxicating Mr Lavelle” a sad and melancholic read.

The Intoxicating Mr Lavelle was a story I enjoyed more than I initially anticipated. The start of this one was slow, and I feared it would drag, but things changed as the story progressed. Once things started to move, I could not put this one down. I devoured it, desperate to see how the story came together.

I’ll be honest and say this book will not be for everyone, due to the topics that are handled throughout. In fact, this book will not be for everyone because of the behaviour of one of the main characters. For those that are willing to take a chance, however, the book comes with a wonderful message. It’s a vivid story that immerses you into the pages, ensuring you’re hooked on the way things will play out. Each new element sucks you in deeper, and the power of the story will ensure it lingers with you.

Without a doubt, The Intoxicating Mr Lavelle delivered much more than I anticipated and I could not get enough of it.

This was an interesting book. It was well-written, I liked the characters, the story, the philosophy behind it.
I thought it had an original voice to it. I'd recommend it.

Thanks a lot to NG and the publisher for this copy.

London 1763 and brothers Edgar and Benjamin Bowen are to embark upon The Grand Tour to mainland Europe. They are close in age, around twenty, and come from a stifling cultured, mercantile family, with their mother Rachel, putting her faith in the refined benefits to be obtained from education and the social connections her sons will gain while abroad with fellow British travellers. Both men are excited by the prospect of seven months’ unprecedented freedom, and while Edgar is keen to meet as many attractive females as possible in France, Italy and Germany, Benjamin the younger brother and the first-person narrator of the story is in a rather different position in that he is gay, which is a highly dangerous proclivity as “sodomites” as they were then generally known, could well be hanged for active homosexuality in eighteenth century England. Entirely understandably, no-one else knows of Benjamin’s hidden sexuality. While in Paris their commercial background makes them a figure of fun when they endeavour to enter the higher echelons of Parisian society, and they learn some hitherto unknown facts about their mother. It is in Italy, that Benjamin meets the eponymous Horace Lavelle. He is about the boys’ age and Benjamin is captivated by Horace’s lese-majestic and iconoclastic views. Lavelle is a force of nature, willing to upturn all of polite society’s mores, and he drives a deep wedge between the two brothers – Edgar is shocked by Lavelle, while Benjamin is excited by his permissive and promiscuous attitudes. Horace Lavelle is a fascinating and quite repulsive character; he claims to see the unpleasant reality underneath the shabby veneer of European culture, and delights in shocking Benjamin and challenging his received shibboleths. His influence changes the trajectory of Benjamin’s life completely, and he can be seen as a harbinger of the revolutionary views that we to initially sweep France later in the eighteenth century
A times, the language seems a little modern, but in his afterword Neil Blackmore freely admits to an anachronism or two, no real complaint! This is a wonderfully engaging story – ribald, forthright and hugely entertaining.

I thoroughly enjoy reading fiction set in this era. The characters are outrageous and at times quite dreadful. This does not detract from the lyrical prose and deep debates on Descartes and fellow philosophers. Acerbic wit and often sharp judgements on the tight restrictions of the time are prevalent throughout the novel. It was good to read something apart from psychological thrillers!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I was drawn to this book first by the intriguing title. Who is Mr Lavelle and why is he ‘intoxicating’? Now that I’ve met him, I don’t think that’s the way I would choose to describe him; ‘annoying’, ‘rude’ and ‘unpleasant’ are better words, I think. However, I don’t suppose it matters how I feel about him; this is not a book about my own experiences with Mr Lavelle, after all – it’s a book about a young man called Benjamin Bowen and how Mr Lavelle is seen through his eyes. And to Benjamin, Lavelle really does seem to be as dangerously intoxicating as a drug.

Benjamin and his brother Edgar, both in their early twenties as the novel opens, have led sheltered, secluded lives, educated at home by a tutor and discouraged from mixing with other boys. Their Welsh father and Dutch mother want their sons to be accepted by the English upper classes in a way that they never could themselves, and have decided that now, in 1763, it is time to launch Benjamin and Edgar into the world and send them on a Grand Tour across Europe. This is their opportunity to meet ‘People of Quality’, to make impressive new friends and connections and to develop their knowledge of art and culture.

Edgar, desperate to please his parents, does his best to fit in with the people they meet and to give no hint of coming from a family who are ‘in trade’ (Mr Bowen owns a shipping business). Benjamin, on the other hand, is less enthusiastic and when he meets the beautiful, subversive, unconventional Mr Horace Lavelle, he is captivated and quickly finds himself falling in love. Knowing that his relationship with Lavelle could destroy Edgar’s chances and leave their parents’ dreams in ruins, Benjamin must decide whether his own happiness is more important to him.

I found The Intoxicating Mr Lavelle entertaining in parts and, being told from Benjamin’s point of view, written in a style that is usually quite readable and engaging. I say usually, because there are also several passages that feel more like pages from a philosophy textbook than a novel as characters have long discussions on Voltaire or Descartes in the sort of dialogue that doesn’t feel at all natural. In fact, there wasn’t much about this book that did feel convincing to me; I never felt as though I’d been truly submerged in the 18th century setting and the author’s decision to overlook anachronisms didn’t help (he admits in a note at the beginning that the terms Enlightenment and Renaissance weren’t in common use at that time, but he uses them anyway).

I did like the idea of having the Grand Tour as the backdrop for the story, although it would have been nice to have been given more vivid descriptions of the places the brothers visited and the things they saw there. Of course, Benjamin sees very little anyway once Lavelle comes into his life and he begins to disregard the itinerary of museum, art gallery and theatre visits carefully planned for him by his mother. Lavelle, as I’ve said, is someone I didn’t like at all; I can understand why Benjamin, coming from such a sheltered background, may have found his fearless, rebellious attitude exciting, but all I could see was a man who was needlessly cruel and insensitive and who thought it was clever to use crude language and offend and ridicule everyone around him. The author does a good job, though, of showing how easily Benjamin becomes ‘intoxicated’ by Lavelle and how he is made to think differently, as well as depicting some of the challenges faced by men like them in a time when homosexual relationships were not seen as acceptable.

Most of my sympathy was actually reserved for Edgar who wants so desperately to establish himself in society and make his parents proud. I really felt for him as he begins to discover the upsetting truth that no matter how hard he tries, his family’s position means that he will never be fully accepted – and that, as it must seem to him, his own brother is doing his best to embarrass them both and ruin their chances.

I was interested enough in the lives of Benjamin and Edgar to continue reading to the end, but the problems I’ve mentioned – particularly my dislike of Horace Lavelle – left me disappointed with this book overall.

I’m undecided about this novel.
The writing was excellent. The setting of it, the philiosophy, the whole ethos of the Grand Tour were very well portrayed. It addressed very important questions about the way society conforms, their prejudice and downright blinkeredness and the inevitable fallout.
However much I sympathised with Edgar and Benjamin and the way their die was cast to a certain extent with their upbringing and education being entirely engineered by their parents to produce successful “Quality” men, I actively disliked them and found them unpleasant. But I guess that’s partly the point…
People who are easily offended may want to give it a miss.

In 1763, Benjamin and Edgar are the two English sons of a Welshman and a Dutchwoman, raised with the sole aim that they should fit perfectly into English society. Following an initially sheltered upbringing, the boys are sent together on a Grand Tour of Europe. The story is told from Benjamin’s point of view as he begins to rebel against the wishes of his parents and explores his sexuality as a gay man, further encouraged following his meeting with the titular Horace Lavelle.

Set during the enlightenment, this book explores the many ways in which English society was not enlightened. From the class divisions, the importance of reputation, slavery, antisemitism and of course, homophobia.

There’s a lot to unpack here from a book that at first glance appears to be just a coming of age tale during a European romp. In fact, the parts I enjoyed best were set back in England as Benjamin struggles to come to terms with everything he has experienced and learnt. The scenes set on The Grand Tour itself fell a little flat for me, often lacking in description it felt like a missed opportunity.

I found Lavelle himself to be a somewhat off putting character. I’m all for a good anti-hero but he just became more and more unlikable. He is given a tragic backstory but I didn’t feel this was sufficient enough to explain all of his behaviour. Benjamin’s initial infatuation with Lavelle is easy to believe but I found it hard to understand why it continued past some points. Of course, love can be like that but Benjamin only ever spent the briefest of time really exploring his feelings for Lavelle, despite increasing complications.

Edgar, Benjamin and their parents are much better characters, complex, and in their parents case toxic, in their own ways but also much more human and understandable. They’re family connection and tensions were a highlight of the story.

There are many layers to this book beyond its initial description and at times takes quite a dark turn. Overall, it was interesting and enjoyable but my dislike for Lavelle and the missed opportunity to present a really wonderful setting meant I struggled to truly engage and love it.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

My thanks to Penguin Random House U.K. Hutchinson for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘The Intoxicating Mr Lavelle’ by Neil Blackmore.

The novel opens in 1763 as brothers Benjamin and Edgar Bowen embark on their Grand Tour of Europe. This rite of passage has been organised by their mother, who wants them to meet People of Quality and establish themselves in high society.

Their trunks are full of powdered wigs and matching suits and they have a hunger to experience the architectural wonders of Europe. However, the Bowen family may be wealthy but no amount of preparation can overcome the fact that the family is ‘in trade’.

As this prejudice begins to impact on the brothers, Benjamin meets Horace Lavelle. He is beautiful, charismatic, seductive, and delights in exposing the pretensions and prejudices of their milieu. It isn’t long until Benjamin’s every thought is consumed by the intoxicating Mr Lavelle.

During this period of history to act on these feelings could, if discovered, result in a death sentence either by the State or by the mob.

I didn’t find Benjamin at all a likeable narrator. He is extremely selfish and clearly determined to have his way, no matter the consequences. In addition, while Benjamin found Mr Lavelle fascinating, his flamboyant game-playing and petulance irritated me. Perhaps this was intentional. Levelle felt very much the archetypal figure of the trickster, fearless of consequences yet dangerous.

My dislike for these characters didn’t diminish my appreciation for the novel itself. Levelle’s mercurial, mocking nature effectively revealed the shallowness of the society that Benjamin aspired to be accepted into.

This is a novel very rich in imagery and I admired Blackmore’s ability to bring the period so vividly to life. In the section based in Paris he highlights the decadence of the Ancien Régime, notably during a salon hosted by the illegitimate daughter of Louis XIV, described as older than Methusela, but said to be a beauty in her day.

While uncomfortable to read in places this is a
powerful work of historical fiction highlighting aspects of the eighteenth century - some that continue to echo down the centuries.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the Publisher for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I had heard excellent things about this one, and I had fairly high expectations for it. Perhaps that coloured my view of it, at least a little. I thought I'd find greatness here, and on that level, I think it misses the mark, but I DID enjoy the read.

I found the beginning and set up a little dry, and there was an unbalance in terms of time setting. It is meant to be written as though in the 18th century but at times it feels a little too modern. I didn't feel like this one painted enough of a picture about the historical setting; I like to be transported there and for that to happen it needs detail which this was sadly lacking.

However, the themes of class, sexuality and social expectations are played out well, and I enjoyed the shifting dynamics between our main characters. This is a highly sexually charged novel, so if that offends you give it a miss.

I enjoyed this one as a light and easy entertaining read.

3.5 stars from me.

(Review published on NetGalley and Goodreads on 01/08/20, to be posted on other third party sites on the date of publication)

This is a visual book (perhaps a TV drama?) because the characters especially Horace Lavelle are so outrageous. I liked the contrast with the brothers and the awakening of sexual desire by Benjamin as the two brothers set out on their Grand Tour of Europe
I also slightly struggled with the dialogue which seemed not of the time but the difference in class was perfectly described ads the brothers meet up with those who see people in 'trade' as so much more lowly.. Fun with a chilling turn of events it's a good read but has the author pitched something a little out of its period in history?
But I did enjoy it and the writing and found the characters lots of fun.