Tag Archives: K.J. Charles

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.

Jackdaw

Book Review of Jackdaw, by K.J. Charles

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JackdawI bought a copy of Jackdaw, by K. J. Charles.

Description from Goodreads:
Jonah Pastern is a magician, a liar, a windwalker, a professional thief…and for six months, he was the love of police constable Ben Spenser’s life. Until his betrayal left Ben jailed, ruined, alone, and looking for revenge.

Ben is determined to make Jonah pay. But he can’t seem to forget what they once shared, and Jonah refuses to let him. Soon Ben is entangled in Jonah’s chaotic existence all over again, and they’re running together—from the police, the justiciary, and some dangerous people with a lethal grudge against them.

Threatened on all sides by betrayals, secrets, and the laws of the land, can they find a way to live and love before the past catches up with them?

Review:
Charles is one of those authors I pull out when I need a guaranteed win, and I wasn’t let down with Jackdaw. In the beginning there was a moment when I wasn’t sure. I didn’t think I could overcome the horrors that Jonah’s actions had caused Ben, but Charles got me there in the end. Not because Jonah had a good enough excuse, but because his love and contrition was so obvious.

It was also interesting to see Lucien and Stephen, the heroes of the previous Magpie books, presented as villains, at least initially. When you read several hundred books a year it’s always nice to find something unusual in a book/series.

As always, the writing was superb, plotting and pacing exact, editing clean and characters fully fleshed. It doesn’t even matter that I found the final climax predictable. I still loved it I’m looking forward to more books in this series. (Please, let there be more.)

Think of England

Book Review of Think of England, by K. J. Charles

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Think of EnglandI bought a copy of Think of England, by K. J. Charles.

Description from Goodreads:
Lie back and think of England…

England, 1904. Two years ago, Captain Archie Curtis lost his friends, fingers, and future to a terrible military accident. Alone, purposeless and angry, Curtis is determined to discover if he and his comrades were the victims of fate, or of sabotage.

Curtis’s search takes him to an isolated, ultra-modern country house, where he meets and instantly clashes with fellow guest Daniel da Silva. Effete, decadent, foreign, and all-too-obviously queer, the sophisticated poet is everything the straightforward British officer fears and distrusts.

As events unfold, Curtis realizes that Daniel has his own secret intentions. And there’s something else they share—a mounting sexual tension that leaves Curtis reeling.

As the house party’s elegant facade cracks to reveal treachery, blackmail and murder, Curtis finds himself needing clever, dark-eyed Daniel as he has never needed a man before…

Review:
Yep, you can add one more to the K.J. Charles fan list. I adored this. I liked that you really felt the time it was set in. Yes, it was unpleasant to read the slurs and class snobbery, but it also really brought home that THIS IS NOT THE 21ST CENTURY. And it was all very, very English; with the language and the food and the folly and the accepted Summer House rules. All very enjoyable.

I also very much enjoyed Archie and Daniel; Archie’s straight forward, what he would call unimaginative honesty with himself and those around him, Daniel’s masks and attitude and sharp tongue. I liked that Archie was just figuring a lot of stuff out about himself for the first time and refused to run from it. I loved the internal debates about if there is a difference between tossing a mate off and actually preferring men and what that means for an individual. (Sorry the whole ‘everyone does it in school/college/army’ trope is a little bit of a kink for me, I think. I ALWAYS wonder if it’s true and if so, what the etiquette around that would be.) I loved the subversion of the idea of prim, sexually repressed Brits of the time.

The writing is sharp and well edited (no surprise there) and it wraps up nicely in a stand-alone story.

Note: There happens to also be a free short story that follows the last chapter of the book. It can be found here.