Narrated by Joel Leslie

Sometimes, you listen to the first few minutes of an audiobook and know you’re going to love it – which is exactly what happened to me with Lily Morton’s Rule Breaker, the first book in her Mixed Messages series. It’s yet another of those books friends have been telling me for ages that I really must read, and once again, audio has proved the perfect way for me to catch up – and Joel Leslie’s fantastic performance only makes me even more thankful to have experienced the story in this format.

Rule
Breaker charts the development of the
opposites-attract romance between high-powered lawyer Gabe Foster and his
assistant Dylan Mitchell; and as soon as I heard Dylan’s opening lines, I knew
I was in for just the sort of fun-filled snark-fest that is right up my alley.

“I want to kill my boss.

It has become an absolute truth that a small portion of my time every day, is now taken over with creating increasingly inventive ways to murder him slowly. Take today for instance. Today I’m debating whether to hang him out of the tenth-floor window tied to the conference table, or disembowel him with the cake knife from the tea trolley. This is all done while taking diligent notes at the meeting he’s forced me to sit on in. Never let it be said that men can’t multitask.”

Dylan has worked for Gabe for two years and
he loves his job. Gabe is an exacting boss and most of the other employees in
the firm are a bit afraid of him, but Dylan refuses to be intimidated and more
than holds his own, knowing, deep down, that Gabe likes his ability to sass back and keep him on his toes. Dylan also
knows that he has to keep a lid on the simmering attraction he feels for his
boss; for one thing, he wants to keep his job and for another, he wouldn’t
stand a chance anyway. Gabe is a player; his current boyfriend, Fletcher, is a
model – albeit a complete arsehole who is obviously only with Gabe for what he
can get – and Dylan is sure that his own desire to – one day – have a proper
long-term relationship with someone isn’t something that’s on Gabe’s agenda.

The trouble is that it’s getting more and
more difficult for Dylan to squash the attraction – which isn’t helped when he
and his best friend Jude (also a model, but not an arsehole!) go to an
exclusive club one night and spot Gabe, Fletcher… and another guy clearly
setting themselves up for a threesome later that night. It’s not that Dylan is
shocked by that – although he’s surprised as he hadn’t thought Gabe was the
type to share – no, it’s more due to the fact that seeing Gabe dressed down and
out on the pull, so to speak, means he can no longer ignore the idea of Gabe as
a sexual being. Plus, it’s hot. Yes, Dylan knows he’s going to hell…

Gabe is cold and distant for days after
that, but the ice breaks when he becomes unwell and asks Dylan to bring him
some work to do while he’s home sick. When Dylan arrives, he discovers Gabe in
a much worse state than he’d expected and ends up staying for a while –
insisting he rest and even cooking a simple meal, something the pristine state
of Gabe’s kitchen and the lack of provisions indicate Gabe never does for
himself. This engenders a new intimacy between them, with Gabe opening up a
little about his past (orphaned at a young age, he grew up in foster care), and
seeing this more human, vulnerable side of him makes some serious dents in
Dylan’s defences.

And the shift in their relationship
continues when, a short while later, Gabe insists Dylan accompany him on a
skiing trip that Fletcher has organised for them and a group of friends – using
Gabe’s money of course – without bothering to even see if Gabe wanted, or had
time, to go. Furious at having his private time appropriated in such a way,
Dylan nonetheless agrees to go, and isn’t surprised when Fletcher and his friends
treat him like crap. He is, however, surprised at the way Gabe responds to that,
showing a protective side Dylan has never seen before; and suddenly Dylan is
confronted with the fact that the real Gabe, the caring, thoughtful man he
keeps so carefully locked down inside, is one he very much wants to spend time
with and could easily fall for. Hard.

At the end of a day spent on the slopes – Dylan
worked out that Gabe brought along a ton of work so he could hide the fact that
he can’t actually ski and then offered to teach him – the pair head off for a
quiet drink or three, and end up sharing a deeply passionate kiss. When Gabe
quickly pulls away – physically and emotionally – Dylan is hurt but not
surprised and knows he only has himself to blame. Gabe isn’t interested in relationships
and is never going to be the loving partner Dylan wants and needs – but that
doesn’t mean Dylan can just turn off his own feelings. But when – finally – the
tension between them explodes into the best, hottest sex Dylan has ever had, he
decides he can be okay with NSA sex if that’s all Gabe is prepared (or able) to
offer.

Oh, my heart broke for both of them. Loving,
giving Dylan tries so hard to hide the truth of his feelings for fear of
scaring away the man he loves, and Gabe, who has spent so long eschewing love
and affection that he goes into full-on panic/avoidance mode when it finally
hits him, can only push away the best thing that’s ever happened to him – and
boy, does he push. He’s an absolute bastard to Dylan – but all credit goes to
Dylan for knowing he deserves better and making that clear to Gabe in no
uncertain terms.

Rule
Breaker is a wonderful combination of many things,
but angst and snark are like catnip for yours truly, and this story has both in
just the right amount. Dylan is the sole narrator, so we see everything through
his eyes, but the author does an absolutely fantastic job of bringing Gabe into
sharp focus, expertly showing the listener through his words, actions and
expressions just how far from indifferent to Dylan he really is. There’s never
any doubt – even when he’s at his most assholic – that Gabe loves Dylan
desperately; the problem is that he has no idea how to deal with it, and while
it’s true that Gabe is your classic “childhood trauma took away my ability to
love” type hero, his reasons are more compelling than many I’ve come across.

Joel Leslie is a really experienced
performer and I’ve enjoyed listening to him on a number of occasions, but he
really pulls out all the stops here and delivers a practically flawless
performance. His portrayals of Dylan and Gabe are spot on; a slightly lower
tone and more considered delivery for Gabe and a wonderfully upbeat, lively
manner for Dylan, and best of all, his rendition of their numerous bantering
exchanges is absolutely perfect. He gets right into the swing of things in the
sex scenes (you may need a bucket of ice!) and he’s great in the more emotional
moments, too; he really gets into the heads of these characters and lets us
hear and feel their heartbreak and despair right alongside them. Mr. Leslie uses
a variety of accents and timbres to portray the various secondary characters,
his pacing is just right, and actually, I only have one real criticism, which
is that there were a couple of occasions where it seemed to me he’d used the
“wrong” character voice for Dylan. Otherwise, it’s an exceptionally good
performance and I’m crossing my fingers that he’ll be back for the rest of the
series.

In case it’s not obvious, I’m recommending Rule Breaker unreservedly. The story
delivers everything I love in a romance; it’s funny, warm, sexy, smart and
surprisingly sweet at times, and I honestly can’t think of anyone who could
have done a better job with the narration than Joel Leslie. More, please, Ms.
Morton!