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Vanessa Mulberry
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The First Act Kindle Edition

by Vanessa Mulberry (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
3.8 3.8 out of 5 stars 4 ratings
See all formats and editions
April 1594. William Moodie thinks he’s in love with celebrated actor Richard Brasyer. When Brasyer’s playing company, Goldfox’s Men, comes to town, William is only too willing to leave his country life for the opportunities of the theater and a life in London. Determined to become Richard’s apprentice, William seeks to impress his mentor with his acting—and please him in bed.

Meanwhile, Richard struggles to escape his past as a spy and disentangle himself from the manipulations of his former master and ex-lover, Bennett Goldfox. Swearing off a relationship with his new apprentice proves difficult for Richard, as William uses all his youthful charms to seduce him. When Bennett’s life is threatened, Richard is lured back into the game for one final mission, and he and William travel to Cambridge to hunt down a list of traitors to the Crown.

In the midst of danger and deception, Richard and William come to truly see each other, faults and all, and realize their feelings run deeper than either expected.
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  1. Print length
    215 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publication date
    October 17, 2016
  5. File size
    2558 KB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
    Enabled
  8. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Vanessa Mulberry has been reading and writing since she learned to read and write. She has been an MM romance reader for a decade now and took up writing the genre because she loves happy endings and, ahem, happy endings. Her hobbies include Gin and Tonic. She lives in Buckinghamshire (which is significantly less posh than it sounds) with her long-suffering husband and their adorable daughter.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B01LZMABR0
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Dreamspinner Press; 1st edition (October 17, 2016)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 17, 2016
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2558 KB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 215 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.8 3.8 out of 5 stars 4 ratings

About the author

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Vanessa Mulberry

Vanessa Mulberry

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Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Vanessa Mulberry has been reading and writing since she learnt to read and write. She has been an MM romance reader for a decade now and took up writing the genre because she loves happy endings and, ahem, happy endings. Her hobbies include Gin and Tonic.

She lives in Buckinghamshire (which is significantly less posh than it sounds) with her long-suffering husband and their adorable daughter.

Customer reviews

3.8 out of 5 stars
3.8 out of 5
4 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

SusyQ
3.0 out of 5 stars Don't stop writing, Vanessa Mulberry:
Reviewed in the United States on September 10, 2019
The author appears to have stopped writing as of April 2019. Hopefully, she is just taking a sabbatical- because SHE CAN WRITE and I just want to send a shout-out to her with the all-caps.

I've also read "Becoming Lord Drake's Lover" by this author, and while I like both, I would give THE FIRST ACT the edge. I *adore* fiction set in Queen Elizabeth I 'st era. Actually, I really thought the author had a comfort level with this time period that may, just a little, have been lacking with the Regency era of "Lord Drake". (Although it too is worth reading.)

More importantly in my opinion, aside from accuracy with the time period, we get BOTH mc's POV's in The First Act. To me that's just gold. If there's a misunderstanding happening, it just adds so much to the story when the reader knows how each character is interpreting the misunderstanding.

The pace of the plot and character development were absolutely fine. I was enjoying the story very much and I didn't want to put it down to attend to mundane things, like going to work. :)

Really, the only things I would criticize after reading The First Act, is that "the list" and its importance aren't sufficiently clarified. And that the book ends abruptly, just when I was expecting a further chapter or two, to cement the mc's relationship and explain what "the list" meant.

But even so - even with a serious flaw like the abrupt ending & unexplained meaning, I enjoyed The First Act, and I sincerely ask Ms. Mulberry to return to writing. I'll be your beta reader, if I may!
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Lena Grey
4.0 out of 5 stars First Act by Vanessa Mulberry
Reviewed in the United States on November 5, 2016
“For me, life is like an act within itself. Everything I do is an act. Where I'm going is an act.” ~ Keith Stanfield

William Moodie of 'First Act' by Vanessa Mulberry loves to perform on stage. He also fancies himself in love with Richard Brayser, a famous actor, and will do almost anything to get to know him. William begs his cousin, Geoffrey, who works with Richard, to help him secure a place in their theater group. Geoffrey reluctantly agrees. When Richard throws out his apprentice for stealing, he replaces him with William. Out of respect for his cousin, Richard doesn't treat William like he did his former apprentice who was also his lover. Richard is determined to keep him out of his bed but William wants a chance to prove how much he loves Richard and how indispensable he can be and, hopefully, get Richard to love him back.

Richard tries to cool William's ardor by telling him that he's not the person William thinks he is alluding to a tarnished past; but it doesn't work. William tells Richard that he loves him and is going to keep at it until his feelings are returned. At every turn, William keeps throwing himself at Richard to get, if not love, at least mutual sexual pleasure. After being treated so badly by his former master, Bennet Goldfox, Richard has sworn never to let anyone have that kind of power over him again but, in his heart, he still loves and despises Bennet at the same time. When Richard is called back to spy for Bennet once again, he goes. Although he intends to leave William at home, Bennet's underhanded scheming makes it impossible to do so.

Even though from the country, William is not a bumpkin. He is smart, observant, and quite inventive when need be. He's young and naive, but knows how to improvise when he has has no experience to draw from, often impressing Richard with his ingenuity. William is also cheeky and stubborn and often will not take no for an answer without an explanation. He's impulsive, as twenty-year-olds often are, but, at times, he can be pragmatic. William has never done any spying, but he's up for it, actually intrigued and vaguely excited to be put in a situation involving subterfuge. William sees this as another opportunity to prove his worth and impress Richard. Honestly, he does not realize the intrinsic peril of the situation, but is very good at thinking on his feet and reacting immediately when he needs to do so.

This is the introduction to a new series and, as such, has a lot of background information to impart, leaving less time for the actual romance. I love William and all his spunk and determination but am somewhat conflicted about Richard and can't feel their chemistry the way I expected. I'm hoping, as Richard opens up more to William, I will gain more insight into their relationship in the future and also hope for more romance. I enjoyed the portrayal of 16th century life particularly as it related to the stage productions. The descriptions were vivid and easy to picture in my mind. Thanks, Vanessa. I am looking forward to seeing what these two get up to next.

Originally reviewed at Rainbow book Reviews.
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CB Archer
5.0 out of 5 stars Action, Romance, Dudes Kissing!
Reviewed in the United States on February 16, 2017
This was a touching read that wasn't like other books in the genre. There was a lot of tenderness to the main characters in this book, and it reminded me of the starting book of some really fantastic series I have read with m/m elements. I don't like to brag, but I am a bit of a master of foreshadowing, it is like my mutant power, and it really felt like this was the start of a new series. It didn't say so in the book, but personally I think there will be more of Richard and William to come! It really felt like this to me, so I will be watching for... The Second Act, which is my guess at the name of book two which features more of the new relationship, and some more spy times!

I thought the dynamics were good, even with a bit of a triangle going, it wasn't ham fisted and what would probably happen to real people. Also, Sam was my favourite. Yes, he wasn't in it that much, but I want more Sam please.

And speaking of to come, thank you for not fading to black! Let's see more of that please!
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