Tag Archives: historical

Wanted, A Gentleman

Book Review of Wanted, A Gentleman, by K.J. Charles

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I received a copy of K. J. Charles‘ novel, Wanted, A Gentleman from Netgalley.

Description from Goodreads:

By the good offices of Riptide Publishing
KJ Charles’s new Entertainment

WANTED, A GENTLEMAN
Or, Virtue Over-Rated

the grand romance of

Mr. Martin St. Vincent . . . a Merchant with a Mission, also a Problem
Mr. Theodore Swann . . . a humble Scribbler and Advertiser for Love

Act the First:

the offices of the Matrimonial Advertiser, London
where Lonely Hearts may seek one another for the cost of a shilling

Act the Second:

a Pursuit to Gretna Green (or thereabouts)

featuring

a speedy Carriage
sundry rustic Inns
a private Bed-chamber

***

In the course of which are presented

Romance, Revenge, and Redemption
Deceptions, Discoveries, and Desires

the particulars of which are too numerous to impart

Review:

K. J. Charles is one of those authors I know I can depend on for a stellar read and Wanted, A Gentleman did not disappoint. However, I also have to admit that I didn’t love it as much as past Charles book. The whole thing just felt a little more one-dimensional than past books. Some of this is no doubt because the plot is rushed, by which I mean the characters are in a rush in the plot. But some of it is just that it is a mush straighter, less elaborate plot-line than other Charles’ books I’ve read. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it didn’t light me up quite so much.

Having said that, I did think Martin and Theo were marvelous characters. They felt very real to me. I liked the complicated emotional quandary Martin was stuck in and, of course, the sex was hot. The book wasn’t a home run for me, but not a foul ball either.

Book Review of A Perilous Undertaking (Veronica Speedwell #2), by Deanna Raybourn

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I received a copy A Perilous Undertaking, by Deanna Raybourn, from First To Read. I read and reviewed the first in the series, A Curious Beginning, last month.

Description from Goodreads:
London, 1887 . . Victorian adventuress and butterfly hunter Veronica Speedwell receives an invitation to visit the Curiosity Club, a ladies-only establishment for daring and intrepid women. There she meets the mysterious Lady Sundridge, who begs her to take on an impossible task saving society art patron Miles Ramsforth from execution. Accused of the brutal murder of his artist mistress Artemisia, Ramsforth will face the hangman’s noose in a week s time if Veronica cannot find the real killer. 

But Lady Sundridge is not all that she seems and unmasking her true identity is only the first of the many secrets Veronica must uncover. Together with her natural historian colleague Stoker, Veronica races against time to find the true murderer a ruthless villain who not only took Artemisia s life in cold blood but is happy to see Ramsforth hang for the crime. 

From a Bohemian artists colony to a royal palace to a subterranean grotto with a decadent history, the investigation proves to be a very perilous undertaking indeed….

Review:
I liked this second book in the series more than the first. Most of the aspects of book one that annoyed me were not present here and I really loved the friendship and relationship that has developed between Veronica and TV.

This book however found a whole new way to irritate me. Mainly by trying to present Veronica as worldly and sexually explorative, experienced even, while also trying to make her some appear as an ingénue. It was mostly used to play off TV’s discomfort for comedic effect. Except it really didn’t work. Plus, so very many of the women in the book make constant off color remarks and the whole plot revolved around Bohemian relations that I felt sex as a whole was made into a joke. It grated on my nerves like the cheap, easy jab it was. Low hanging fruit rarely feels worth the effort.

For all that, I did enjoy the story, the mystery and the characters pithy back and forwards wit. I’d be glad to read the next in the series.

black monastery

Book Review of Black Monastery, by William Stacey

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The Black MonasteryAuthor, William Stacey, sent me a copy of his novel, Black Monastery.

Description from Goodreads:
In 799 A.D. Viking warband leader Asgrim Wood-Nose sails his prized longship Sea Eel south along the coast of Frankia to raid the island of Noirmoutier—the Black Monastery. 

Banned from his homeland following a night of rage-filled murder, Asgrim has been declared outlaw. Unless he can raise a princely blood debt, he will never see Denmark again. When a Saracen merchant brags of a great treasure hidden deep within the monastery, Asgrim realizes fate is offering him a chance to go home again. But Asgrim has led his men into a trap: somehow, the monks of the Black Monastery have released a dark supernatural force, an eastern demon that wears the skins of its victims. Hunted by this monstrous evil and tormented by the ghosts of those he has slain, Asgrim’s only ally becomes another lonely soul, a Frankish woman abandoned by her people under suspicion of witchcraft. 

The Viking north clashes with the supernatural east in an epic historical fantasy tale of heroism and redemption in the face of unimaginable horror.

Review:
This was an enjoyable enough read once you got past the How To Build a Long Boat lesson in the beginning. I enjoyed the complexity of the main character, in that he is not a nice man. Neither are any of his men. They’re a Sword-Danes, Vikings. Murder, rape and pillage is the name of the game. But we’re given enough of a glimpse of Asgrim’s beginnings to know that he could have, in other circumstances, been a kind person. The fact that he isn’t makes him hard to relate to and empathize with, however.

The villain is truly horrific and you feel the tension it creates. However, he’s defeated in a bit of a Deus ex Machina move. There’s a bit of a sex-equals-love romance element that I didn’t feel was well developed. I found the writing repetitive, though clear and easy to read. All in all, I consider it worth the read.