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friends2lovers's review
emotional
hopeful
tense
slow-paced
3.5
Like most of Chambers’ romances, Restored involves two people reunited after a prolonged estrangement. 18 years ago, Kit was Henry’s ‘kept boy’. Despite the transactional nature of their relationship, they fell in love with each other, though neither of them confessed those feelings at the time. The first two chapters give us a small glimpse into their past relationship. The remainder of the book takes place nearly 20 years later.
My main criticisms of the book are similar to what Ariana mentions in her review. That ‘small glimpse’ into their past relationship wasn’t enough for me. The reader is told, repeatedly, that Kit and Henry were in love before they were abruptly separated. I needed to be shown more of them together in the past, to be able to root for them together in the present and future. Without establishing that initial connection, the angst fell flat for me. Even in the present, the heroes’ romance isn’t well-developed. After the flashback in Chapters 1 and 2, they are only together on-page once in the whole first half. That confrontation is supposed to be emotionally charged, but it falls flat. There just wasn’t enough for me to believe that these two men had a connection worth salvaging. I wanted to see more of the contrast between who these men were before vs. who they are now.
I really liked all of the side characters, and wish they were given more room in the story. Especially Henry’s relationship with his grown children. I also appreciated the exploration of the effects money, position, and class can have on the power dynamics of a sexual relationship. I thought it was interesting that Henry’s proclivity for submissiveness was, in the past, obscured by his position of power. When Kit and Henry come together in the present, now on a more equal footing, they're able to be less inhibited and their intimacy grows.
Overall, an enjoyable read. I just think it would have worked better if it were longer. The book is good as it is, but needed more to become great. More flashbacks, more romance development, more story for the side characters, just more.
Series: Enlightenment #5
Genre: Historical Romance
Setting: April 1826 (Georgian, post-Regency) in London, England
Hero: Christopher “Kit” Redford, blond, green eyes, slim, fine featured, shorter than Henry, age 41
Hero: Henry Asquith, Duke of Avesbury, dark brown hair, “powerfully muscled”, age 47
Point-of-View: 3rd person, past tense, alternating between Henry and Kit
Tags: M/M, second chances, estrangement, single parent, later in life, widowed hero, sex worker hero, groveling
Format: Kindle ebook borrowed from Libby
Length: 285 pages, 77k words
Read Date: March 31, 2022
Heat Index: 3.8 ❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥
4 full, moderately explicit sex scenes; light bondage in one scene and some dom/sub elements
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Abandonment, and Sexual content
Moderate: Cancer, Physical abuse, Child death, and Death
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Rape, Stalking, Homophobia, and Injury/Injury detail
otterpebbles's review
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I really enjoyed all of the Enlightenment series, and this was no exception. A second chance relationship with older characters is especially pleasing to me too!
I liked that the while the error that led to Kit's 'disinheritance' was mostly not Henry's fault, he did still see how he did hold done responsibility and that his failure to check this marked out his privilege. I also liked a lot the fact that the love he had for his wife and children wasn't diminished, and that the different types of love were respected.
Kit was a thoroughly adorable character, with great depths to him.
It was a romance that I felt worked much better now in their current situations, and if was very pleasing how Kit was now able to answer himself more, and Henry prepared to show his true feelings.
The side characters were also great fun to read and I'm hoping that they will appear in the future too.
A very enjoyable read that I will definitely be rereading a lot!
I liked that the while the error that led to Kit's 'disinheritance' was mostly not Henry's fault, he did still see how he did hold done responsibility and that his failure to check this marked out his privilege. I also liked a lot the fact that the love he had for his wife and children wasn't diminished, and that the different types of love were respected.
Kit was a thoroughly adorable character, with great depths to him.
It was a romance that I felt worked much better now in their current situations, and if was very pleasing how Kit was now able to answer himself more, and Henry prepared to show his true feelings.
The side characters were also great fun to read and I'm hoping that they will appear in the future too.
A very enjoyable read that I will definitely be rereading a lot!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, and Grief
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