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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
The characters and romance is great in this book, as they are in all of Sebastian’s, but I think the time period and conflict in this appealed to me far less. Additionally, I think this book really suffers from half its plot being relegated to a companion book. It made the ending feel unsatisfying.
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Well, this was a lot of fun!!
Before we start my review in a plus/minus format, I would like to share a funny anecdote. So, when I picked this book up, I feel certain that I knew what it's about - mostly because I vividly remember buying this book with a friend in London at the beginning of 2023 when we were searching to see if the big brick and morter bookstore chains had adult queer romance books (which, by the way, the answer was either not a lot of them or we were bad at finding them). So when I bought it, I definitely knew this was an MM historical romance. But two and a half years have passed since then, and the cover is this pretty pastel color, and the characters on the cover, from afar, looked to me like two pretty women. So when I picked it up this week (finally), I thought this was about lesbians. Then I started reading, got confused, looked back at the cover, and realized—OOP, jumpscare!—That Kit has stubble. So. Not a pretty lady after all. LMAO.
Anyway, I wanted to share my silly mistake with you all because I thought I was ridiculous, haha. Onto the review!
(+) a solid historical romance. Look, I'm not going to beat around the bush. This book is solid. Are you looking for a fun MM historical romance with good main characters, an interesting inciting incident, and a swoony romance? Look no further!
(+) Kit and Percy. I found both Percy and Kit easy to root for. The first is an aristocratic fashionista with surprising depth - Sebastian didn't let Percy stay at the level of his "type-casting." The man is adept at sword fighting, physically strong despite his lithe physique, but faints at the sight of blood. Interesting. Then we have Kit. The robber with the heart of gold trope is an oldie but a goodie, and Kit fits it to a T. Now disabled, this highway robber spends his time making bad coffee for patrons, stopping anyone from disrupting the spider making a home on his stairs, and lending books and rooms for whoever wants it for free. Percy often describes him as "lovely," and he's right.
(+) Kit and Percy. I liked both characters separately, but I definitely liked them the most together. Their teasing dynamic was honestly so attractive. These two dance around each other and with each other for a long portion of the book, gauging each other as they sneak looks, and I honestly found their small touches and furtive glances even more swoony than their actual sex scenes. They also appear to make each other better. Am I slightly baffled by the fact that this whole book takes place in a month? Yes. And would I have wanted to see a bit more of them as a couple, because I 100% believe they are extremely fond of each other and highly attracted to each other, but maybe in love is a bit strong of a word here? also yes. But honestly, I believe they make it, and that's enough.
(+) No third act breakup. Listen, I was clenching there at the 70% mark, fearing the worst. Would Sebastian make Kit misunderstand that Percy tricked him, and they'll separate, or something equally appalling? But no. Kit is secure and trusting of his man throughout. Percy doesn't waver, either. It was refreshing and lovely, and I wish more historical romances took this route tbh.
(-) Dad's character. Look, I love to hate, and I don't feel like we were given enough material to properly hate this man, especially beforehis demise . I needed more — more on his and Percy's relationship growing up. More on him and this legal wife of his. More about him and Mirian. Like, make me properly hate this guy. Make me think he deserved everything that's coming to him. We get a little bit more about his atrocities at the end, but it honestly feels very superficial. Not to mention, the worst you remember your dad doing to you is losing to you in chess to make the game end faster? . Like, surely there are stronger examples, considering you were completely okay with robbing the guy at gunpoint...
(-) Predictable.Books like this, with a contained set of characters, always have one fatal flaw - there is only so much you can hide. In this case, we know Percy is looking for his father's legal wife. We also know that, as books are wont to do, the reveal will most likely be someone from our cast. So that leaves... Scarlett. I asked myself if she was the legal wife the first time we met her. I asked myself that again when she tried to dissuade Kit from getting close to Percy, and then again when she shared that tidbit about her past and a man. And yes, she was indeed that person, though it's barely touched upon in this installment. Then there was Rob. The minute he returned from the dead, it was a done deal. He was our blackmailer; he had to be the Duke's legal eldest son, and... yep, he's Scarlett's son. Now, from the very beginning, I had a theory that Marian was involved with Rob - that would account for her knowing of Glandhand Jack, that would also explain why she married the duke suddenly (if she had an affair with a highway robber and he "died" and she found out she was pregnant... I, too, would marry the nearest wealthiest man). This has not been touched upon in this installment, but I will be revisiting that theory once I read the second book in the series. I wonder how right/wrong I am about all this.
(-) Sensitive topics. If you're looking for groundbreaking exploration into queerness and landowning in the 1750s, this book isn't it. Let me explain. There are two major topics that are glossed over in this novel - queerness and landowning. And I think the first was underexplored, and the latter oversimplified. So, we can't really avoid the fact that this is a homosexual relationship in the 1750s, which could've led both of these men to the gallows. And this is mentioned in the text, but everyone's reaction to this doesn't really give room for any exploration of this very real concern. None of Kit's friends are overly concerned about the fact that he's into men — instead, they lament his choice in men. Percy is not really overly concerned, despite a father who would apparently rat him out to the authorities to undermine his credibility. I don't necessarily think this book needed that in-depth exploration, but I do find it interesting that it mentions the issue yet skirts around it completely. Instead, there is a strong message against landowning and the evils of landowning. And while I understand the sentiment, there is a part of me that rejects some of these conclusions, especially in the time period we're discussing. Percy could've been a good landowner, whether by supporting and rebuilding his tenants and lands, or by slowly and systematically dismantling the dukedom's control in his region. He could've expanded what he was doing over his month as Duke, rebuilt, and done a lot of good that might've even affected more than just his lands. Instead, in the name of "landowning is evil" and "no landowner is good," we have a haphazard attempt to undermine some stuff, with the hopeful caveat that the next duke could not reverse all of his decisions. Although, I do wonder what "dismentaling" actually means for the tenants in this time period, because having no landowner also means that tenants (or former tenants) will have no support from a dukedom in times of strife, nor an advocate, which is historically something that the landowners were supposed to do (whether they actually did or cared is a different matter). Bottom line, this felt incredibly short-sighted to me. It made me think "good message, meh execution."
Before we start my review in a plus/minus format, I would like to share a funny anecdote. So, when I picked this book up, I feel certain that I knew what it's about - mostly because I vividly remember buying this book with a friend in London at the beginning of 2023 when we were searching to see if the big brick and morter bookstore chains had adult queer romance books (which, by the way, the answer was either not a lot of them or we were bad at finding them). So when I bought it, I definitely knew this was an MM historical romance. But two and a half years have passed since then, and the cover is this pretty pastel color, and the characters on the cover, from afar, looked to me like two pretty women. So when I picked it up this week (finally), I thought this was about lesbians. Then I started reading, got confused, looked back at the cover, and realized—OOP, jumpscare!—That Kit has stubble. So. Not a pretty lady after all. LMAO.
Anyway, I wanted to share my silly mistake with you all because I thought I was ridiculous, haha. Onto the review!
(+) a solid historical romance. Look, I'm not going to beat around the bush. This book is solid. Are you looking for a fun MM historical romance with good main characters, an interesting inciting incident, and a swoony romance? Look no further!
(+) Kit and Percy. I found both Percy and Kit easy to root for. The first is an aristocratic fashionista with surprising depth - Sebastian didn't let Percy stay at the level of his "type-casting." The man is adept at sword fighting, physically strong despite his lithe physique, but faints at the sight of blood. Interesting. Then we have Kit. The robber with the heart of gold trope is an oldie but a goodie, and Kit fits it to a T. Now disabled, this highway robber spends his time making bad coffee for patrons, stopping anyone from disrupting the spider making a home on his stairs, and lending books and rooms for whoever wants it for free. Percy often describes him as "lovely," and he's right.
(+) Kit and Percy. I liked both characters separately, but I definitely liked them the most together. Their teasing dynamic was honestly so attractive. These two dance around each other and with each other for a long portion of the book, gauging each other as they sneak looks, and I honestly found their small touches and furtive glances even more swoony than their actual sex scenes. They also appear to make each other better. Am I slightly baffled by the fact that this whole book takes place in a month? Yes. And would I have wanted to see a bit more of them as a couple, because I 100% believe they are extremely fond of each other and highly attracted to each other, but maybe in love is a bit strong of a word here? also yes. But honestly, I believe they make it, and that's enough.
(+)
(-) Dad's character. Look, I love to hate, and I don't feel like we were given enough material to properly hate this man, especially before
(-) Predictable.
(-) Sensitive topics. If you're looking for groundbreaking exploration into queerness and landowning in the 1750s, this book isn't it. Let me explain. There are two major topics that are glossed over in this novel - queerness and landowning. And I think the first was underexplored, and the latter oversimplified.
emotional
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I loved this book! my partner read it to me and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I thought the characters were lovable and well developed and the conflicts were believable and the chemistry was off the charts. I took it down .25 because I feel like we didn’t get closure at the end about how it worked resigning his dukedom, and also not reuniting with Marian or even getting a letter felt abrupt and not complete
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Really enjoyed listening to this one. The characters were fun, the writing was good. The ending was sooo sweet and cute
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Bummed that the class traitor queer romance wasn’t any fun at all
adventurous
emotional
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes