I received a copy of this title to read and review for Wicked Reads 
 4 Stars 
 The Lawrence Browne Affair is the followup to The Soldier's Scoundrel. I'd forgotten finer details in the previous book, so this book could easily be read as a standalone novel. However, The Soldier's Scoundrel was just as good, so I suggest starting there. 
 Lawrence is suffering, holing himself away in a crumbling castle, while he conducts his experiments. The genius is the son of a madman (drunk & abusive) and the brother of a madman (drunk & flighty). The estate's tenants and surrounding neighbors believe Lawrence and his home to be cursed. Lawrence believes parts of his nature make him a madman too: he has severe anxiety after how his father treated him. He has difficulty concentrating and focusing on a task if there are distractions and noise. He's an introvert suffering from agoraphobia. He's also gay, believing it a part of the madness. Lawrence thinks this makes him a madman, because they didn't have knowledge and understanding of these issues back in his time. Underneath it all, he's a giving and caring fellow. 
 Georgie is hired to be the secretary to Lawrence by people who are trying to get information on Lawrence. Georgie is immediately taken with the mountain of a man, and the dilapidated home. As a con artist, Georgie doesn't like putting in an honest day's work, but he finds himself taking pride in his work. Georgie is the perfect example of nature vs nurture. He was nurtured to become a con artist, to steal and survive, but it's in his nature to care for the man and his home, and his son. 
 The novel is a quick read, when this genre with its length can often times become tedious. I've enjoyed both books in this series due to Cat Sebastian's fluid writing style. The banter between the fellas was sweet yet steamy, words that appeared innocent with double-meanings to their heated ears. The innocence when it came to Lawrence's experience, but also Georgie's when it came to being protected and cared for, had an addictive quality. 
 At one point, when I feared Georgie would give into his nurture, I put the book down, but needed to know what happened next. I was pleased Georgie's nature won out, and I continued to read. The theme of the novel is 'doing the right thing', which made this a light, romantic book with a bit of angst but not enough to make me stressed out (as I feared it would). 
 Highly recommend to MM Romance and Historical Romance fans, and I look forward to reading more by this author in the future.