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Con Riley
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Charles: Learning to Love Kindle Edition

by Con Riley (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.5 out of 5 stars 1,057 ratings

Opposites attract in this low-angst romance filled with British snark and humour.

Life should be a breeze for a playboy like Charles Heppel. As the third son of an earl, he lives for the moment, partying and playing. Settling down isn’t for him. Not when London is full of beautiful men who he hasn’t one-and-done yet.

To escape his family’s nagging, Charles applies for a temp job that matches his playful skill set. A role in a Cornish classroom could be his until the summer, if Charles meets two conditions: he must move in with the headmaster’s best friend, and teach him to be happy.

Living with Hugo should be awkward. Charles is a free spirit, but Hugo’s a man of faith, with morals. A man who almost took holy orders before disaster changed his direction. Only far from being a chore, Charles finds that making Hugo happy soon becomes his passion.

Together, they share physical and emotional first times. Ones that change Charles, touching his soul. He wants Hugo for longer than they have left, but learning to love with his heart, not just his body, will take a leap of faith from Charles — in himself as well as Hugo.


New from Con Riley, Charles: Learning to Love is the first novel in a series based at Glynn Harber, a very special boarding school set in England’s glorious Cornwall.

♥ This shared-world series starts with Charles and Hugo, but each book follows a different couple in their own standalone novel, with a fulfilling happily ever after. Want to hear more from Charles? He stole the show in His Haven. ♥

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  1. Book 1 of 5
    Learning to Love
  2. Print length
    346 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Accessibility
    Learn more
  5. Publication date
    July 22, 2021
  6. File size
    3.5 MB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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There are 5 books in this series.

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  1. “Your compass is in here.” He touched Charles on the chest, tapping over his heart. “And you read it with no trouble. Not only that, you help children navigate life with it.”
    Highlighted by 40 Kindle readers
  2. “You went, and it was like my heart stopped beating. You left and took it with you.”
    Highlighted by 40 Kindle readers
  3. You know what they say about men with big feet, that little voice inside him whispered. Yes, he told it. They wear big socks. Now shut up.
    Highlighted by 35 Kindle readers
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Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0918MBSK9
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Figment Ink
  • Accessibility ‏ : ‎ Learn more
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 22, 2021
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 3.5 MB
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 346 pages
  • Page Flip ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Book 1 of 5 ‏ : ‎ Learning to Love
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 out of 5 stars 1,057 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Con Riley

Con Riley

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Con Riley lives on the wild and rugged Devonshire coast, with her head in the clouds, and her feet in the Atlantic Ocean.

Injury curtailed her enjoyment of outdoor pursuits, so writing fiction now fills her free time. Love, loss, and redemption shape her romance stories, and her characters are flawed in ways that makes them live and breathe.

When not people watching, or wrangling her own boy band of teen sons, she spends time staring at the sea from her kitchen window. If you see her, don't disturb her—she’s probably thinking up new plots.

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
1,057 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find this book to be a lovely heart-warming story with beautiful prose and genuine humor. Moreover, they appreciate its depth and insight, with one customer noting how the author weaves faith into the narrative. The book features delightful characters, and customers describe it as sweet and tender, with one review highlighting its Cornwall setting.

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Emotional contentWriting qualityHumorDepthBeautyCharacter developmentSweetnessTouch
28 customers mention "Emotional content"28 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the emotional content of the book, describing it as a lovely heart-warming story full of passion and true love, with one customer noting how it strums heart strings with laughter and tears.

"...It was everything I wanted it to be. If you love an emotional love story about finding your way when you are a bit lost, then this is the book for..." Read more

"...with some really compelling and likeable characters that tackles the theme of healing and finding one's true love nicely...." Read more

"...this book through Gay Romance Reviews and if you like sweet, passionate M/M romance with a wonderful HEA, read this book. You will not be sorry...." Read more

"...notable, the children in the story were beautifully written, helping propel the plot and providing both heartbreak and comic relief, but never..." Read more

21 customers mention "Writing quality"21 positive0 negative

Customers praise the writing quality of the book, describing it as a remarkable read with beautiful prose and vivid descriptions, with one customer noting how the author weaves faith into the narrative.

"...Overall, Charles is a wonderfully written story with some really compelling and likeable characters that tackles the theme of healing and finding one..." Read more

"...Beautiful prose makes for a beautiful story. Playboy Charles mends Hugo the recluse and in so doing Charles mends his own ways...." Read more

"...Particularly notable, the children in the story were beautifully written, helping propel the plot and providing both heartbreak and comic relief,..." Read more

"This was an enjoyable tale about irrepressible, the Honorable Charles Heppel and traumatized temporary Pastoral Support “His Holy Hotness” Hugo Eavis..." Read more

17 customers mention "Humor"15 positive2 negative

Customers appreciate the humor in the book, with one mentioning they both laughed and cried while reading.

"...It was so sweet and funny. This story definitely has some good hurt comfort vibes and enough angst to really get you into your feelings...." Read more

"...The dialogue and banter shared in that section is witty, funny, real and quite on point...." Read more

"...written, helping propel the plot and providing both heartbreak and comic relief, but never becoming insipid or bratty caricatures...." Read more

"...The romantic story is charming, sweet, heartfelt, funny, and full of compassion...." Read more

15 customers mention "Depth"15 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the depth of the book, finding it insightful and meaningful, with one customer describing it as sublime in its wisdom.

"This is a story about finding your way in life when it isn’t clear and falling in love when you weren’t looking for it...." Read more

"...Overall, Charles is a wonderfully written story with some really compelling and likeable characters that tackles the theme of healing and finding one..." Read more

"Whoa! I can’t say how wonderful this book was for me. I also can’t tell you how many tears of sadness and happiness I shed while reading it...." Read more

"...I liked the MCs: Charles is childlike, unfiltered, yet insightful; Hugo suffers from trauma and injuries but is patient, thoughtful, and accepting,..." Read more

14 customers mention "Beauty"14 positive0 negative

Customers find the book beautiful, with one describing it as an adorable bundle of sunshine, while another appreciates the Cornwall setting.

"...I loved that Charles and Hugo had a right place, right time meet-cute. It was so sweet and funny...." Read more

"...Charles is Keir’s seemingly happy-go-lucky, handsome, aristocratic best friend, but we see hints that there is more to him than his behavior shows...." Read more

"...Charles, the book, is too. Both are heartfelt and charming...." Read more

"...Charles was seriously an adorable bundle of sunshine and I was instantly smitten with him. But Hugo...." Read more

14 customers mention "Character development"14 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the character development in the book, particularly noting the well-written secondary characters. One customer specifically mentions loving Charles and Hugo.

"...is a wonderfully written story with some really compelling and likeable characters that tackles the theme of healing and finding one's true love..." Read more

"...So many wonderful people in this story, some of whom I hope to meet again in future books. Some significant secrets/mysteries are answered too...." Read more

"...I liked the MCs: Charles is childlike, unfiltered, yet insightful; Hugo suffers from trauma and injuries but is patient, thoughtful, and accepting,..." Read more

"...It reunites us with one of the most delightful characters in that previous series, Charles Heppel, the scion of an aristocratic tribe who was the non..." Read more

11 customers mention "Sweetness"11 positive0 negative

Customers find the book sweet, with one mentioning its love and spice elements, while another describes it as sexy.

"...It was so sweet and funny. This story definitely has some good hurt comfort vibes and enough angst to really get you into your feelings...." Read more

"...and care in the way it has been executed in this story making it sweeter, grounded and true for the characters involved...." Read more

"...The romantic story is charming, sweet, heartfelt, funny, and full of compassion...." Read more

"...begins a journey which is so sweet, so beautifully told, and so full of love and sometimes common sense..." Read more

6 customers mention "Touch"6 positive0 negative

Customers find the book tender, with one describing it as a warm hug and another noting its softness.

"...It was so sweet and funny. This story definitely has some good hurt comfort vibes and enough angst to really get you into your feelings...." Read more

"...It was soft and sweet with some big laughs but also so deeply emotional that I felt like I was falling in love right along side them...." Read more

"...The story, the love & spice, along with the context, the feeling, the depth, and even the hurt….all of it!" Read more

"...It's sweet and tender, but with a bit of that underlying British snark...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Sweet Reads and Treats - Mere
    5.0 out of 5 stars Loved this emotional journey
    Reviewed in the United States on December 19, 2022
    Verified Purchase
    This is a story about finding your way in life when it isn’t clear and falling in love when you weren’t looking for it. I loved that Charles and Hugo had a right place, right time meet-cute. It was so sweet and funny. This story definitely has some good hurt comfort vibes and enough angst to really get you into your feelings. I loved it so much. Told from Charles’s POV, we get immersed in his insecurities. As the third son of an Earl with profound dyslexia, he struggles to do things in life others take for granted. However, Charles is a sunshine character whose love of children and nurturing them is his calling. Hugo is trying to find his way in life and needs a bit of Charles sunshine.

    Charles finds himself applying for a temp position at a school to escape the nagging of his elder brother. He is offered the position with the caveat that he will move in with Hugo, the man he met after his interview. Life has not been kind to Hugo and he smiled for the first time in ages after spending time with Charles. Together, they form a friendship, give into their mutual attraction, and Charles begins to see what the future could look like if he gives up his playboy ways. But with the end of term approaching, they both have to put themselves out on the edge and decide if they will jump.

    I loved the give and take of this sweet love story. They each need the other so much it made me get misty. Charles has a deep capacity to feel things and after being judged and found wanting for much of his life, he struggles to see himself as worthy. Hugo is the first person who he felt really understood him and I absolutely loved their journey together to their HEA. It was everything I wanted it to be. If you love an emotional love story about finding your way when you are a bit lost, then this is the book for you.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Maijie G
    4.0 out of 5 stars Healing and True Love
    Reviewed in the United States on July 22, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    Like most of the books I've read recently, it was the blurb that had me interested in this title. Having no prior knowledge of His Haven, I came into this book blind and have no regrets giving this a go.

    The story revolves around Charles and Hugo. Two wounded men who throughout the book slowly heals and in the end find their happiness in each other.

    Charles Keppel is a free-spirited man, quite open and easy with his affections and is not shy from enjoying sex. Beneath this care-free part of himself is a man who is deeply hurting from the lack of support and understanding from his family in his chosen profession despite having conquered insurmountable odds regarding his condition of dyslexia and low working memory. He loves teaching children that have difficulties in learning and he excels in it yet his family seem to be oblivious to it.

    Hugo is a padre or chaplain if you will who has been injured having had the group he is in be caught in a horrible incident that has lost lives and caused huge injuries to a lot of people. Having the psychological trauma of his experience, couple that with him questioning his place and purpose in life, Hugo had very little to smile about.

    Charles and Hugo meeting in the confessional is both a hilarious and heart-breaking first time meeting. The dialogue and banter shared in that section is witty, funny, real and quite on point. The chemistry these two characters have is undeniable and yet there is careful thought and care in the way it has been executed in this story making it sweeter, grounded and true for the characters involved.

    Some religious elements are touched upon in this book so people who are adverse to such kind of things should bear that in mind if you do decide to pick up this. Faith and religion are fundamental to the main characters more so in Hugo's case as he was close to being ordained. This has been handled quite nicely in a way that is not quite preachy as I would've thought it would be.

    Overall, Charles is a wonderfully written story with some really compelling and likeable characters that tackles the theme of healing and finding one's true love nicely. I recommend this book and give this a 4 stars out of five.

    I received an ARC of this book via GRR and I have chosen to publish my fair and honest review.
    12 people found this helpful
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  • Linda Reads
    5.0 out of 5 stars Two beautiful men finding themselves and each other – passionate and funny M/M romance
    Reviewed in the United States on July 24, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    Whoa! I can’t say how wonderful this book was for me. I also can’t tell you how many tears of sadness and happiness I shed while reading it. Beautiful prose makes for a beautiful story. Playboy Charles mends Hugo the recluse and in so doing Charles mends his own ways. So many wonderful people in this story, some of whom I hope to meet again in future books. Some significant secrets/mysteries are answered too.
    Charles Heppel is the third son of an Earl which means the likelihood that he’ll become the next Earl is unlikely. What profession would he choose? Early childhood worker which suits him because of his severe dyslexia. (Having worked in childcare myself for over 20 years, I see what an impact he has on what are real-life preschool conversations.) In his “second chance” Charles is given an interview at Glynn Harber, but will he get the job?
    At this same school Hugo Eavis is recuperating from his war wounds but they are not attractive so he remains as far away from people as he can. Until he meets Charles. With humor and friendship Charles gets Hugo out of his hideaway and into the open with students and teachers. Their “meet-cute” is one to remember. The irony is that Charles is a devout religious doubter while Hugo was on the path to ordination as a minister. Before the book is over, Charles finds faith. Wait and see…
    This was one of the most poignant, passionate (in all ways) and endearing M/M romances that I have read for some time. There were so many little touches like the meaning of Glynn Harber or Charles’ personality being just what Hugo needed. People needing people. I volunteered to review an ARC of this book through Gay Romance Reviews and if you like sweet, passionate M/M romance with a wonderful HEA, read this book. You will not be sorry. I couldn’t recommend it any more highly.
    Helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Paul Ryan
    5.0 out of 5 stars A real pleasure to read
    Reviewed in Canada on May 22, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    Well written and with a real story to tell. Great characters and interesting that the extra characters didn't really come in until close to the end. Up until then they were just in background. I enjoyed this book immensely. No typos either!!
    Report
  • nat
    5.0 out of 5 stars If you want dry eyes ..don't read this book .
    Reviewed in Germany on August 1, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    Just read it ! it let's you think , dream , hope for a love like theirs and cry.. love it and will read again.
    Report
  • Cundykj
    5.0 out of 5 stars Be like Charles
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 22, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    I loved this book.

    Everyone needs a Charles Heppel in their lives. I want a Charles Heppel in my life.

    It’s not just the relationship with Hugo that I loved. It’s Charles being Charles. It’s how he listens, watches and learns. It’s how he nurtures and loves. He just gets kids. I love how he tends to his little maggots. I love that he calls them maggots. What a lovely, lovely man. I want to have a pocket full of surprises that make him smile.

    Charles is the person you should compare yourself to if you look after children. Be that attentive. Be that fun.

    I love him.

    Read this book. Love Charles. Be more Charles.
    Report
  • Humberto Cadena 13
    5.0 out of 5 stars Love it!
    Reviewed in Mexico on July 25, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    It's an amazing story of resilience, forgiveness, and hope.
    Sweet, adorable and romantic, it's full of wonderful characters waiting for their chance at forever love.
    Report
  • Sue Woodfield
    5.0 out of 5 stars Charles & Hugo
    Reviewed in Australia on April 27, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    I loved this story so much. It had me laughing and crying but made me want to give these men such a hug. Such insightful writing about how differently dyslexia, war wounds and missing people affect us .
    I absolutely can recommend this as a read that will make you think and not jump to conclusions about what you think is governing people’s actions as with Charles’ brother.
    Treat yourself and pick this book! I look forward to the others in the series.
    Report

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