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cronads's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Child abuse and Domestic abuse
cleot's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Violence, Murder, Child abuse, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Sexual violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Domestic abuse
droggelbecher42's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
It wasn't a particularly special book, but even as someone that usually doesn't read romance I enjoyed it.
I liked the dynamic between the mcs and that they were actually willing to listen to each other and change their behaviour if it negatively effected their partner.
Graphic: Outing, Kidnapping, Sexual content, and Torture
Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Death of parent, Child abuse, Classism, Domestic abuse, Murder, Sexism, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Minor: Sexual harassment
crystalisreading's review
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Abandonment, Violence, Medical trauma, Medical content, Death of parent, Death, Blood, Alcohol, Murder, Gun violence, Classism, Child abuse, and Bullying
Moderate: Outing, Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Homophobia, Racism, Grief, Domestic abuse, and Sexual assault
Minor: Pregnancy, Slavery, Colonisation, and Misogyny
someryarns's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Classism, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Death of parent, Murder, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Abandonment, Outing, Sexual content, and Violence
Moderate: Gun violence
Minor: Sexual assault, Rape, and Sexual violence
kers_tin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Moderate: Homophobia, Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Sexual content, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Classism, Confinement, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, and Violence
jjjreads's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Alcohol, Bullying, Medical trauma, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual harassment, Misogyny, Grief, Gun violence, Murder, Death of parent, Death, Hate crime, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Outing, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Abandonment, Body shaming, Child abuse, Classism, Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, Violence, and Stalking
wardenred's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
“Tell me something,” he managed. “You ever had someone on your side? Really on your side?”
Oh wow. This book is so much better than I expected, and I fully expected it to be excellent. I fell completely in love with the setting, so lush and descriptive and full of cozy gothic vibes. The marsh with its dykes and ponds, the cold sea beyond the Wall, the tiny towns and watcher huts and church ruins scattered around the wilderness, the bugs and the birds—I think this is exactly what people mean when they say the setting feels like a character in its own right.
Speaking of actual characters, both Joss and Gareth captured my heart so fast and clearly won't ever let go. I loved all the incredible growth they'd gone through over the course of the story, and how they made each other better people by being in each other's lives. And yes, as each of them figured out their respective struggles, they inevitably clashed, but even those clashes were... productive, somehow? Like, it was evident they were both learning, coming into their own, drawing from past experiences. That made for such a beautiful and fulfilling romance.
I also loved how the individual arcs were constructed. Joss initially came across as so put together and confident, with only maybe a few kinks in his life to work out, but then the further his story unfolded, the clearer it became how much pressure he put on himself and how much he needed to alter some of his approaches to his life. Gareth's arc of learning to stand up for himself and stand on his own was perhaps a bit more predictable, but it was still so well done, and there was a certain narrative decision that really struck me hard: how he stood up to his uncle *before* the whole situation with Luke that clearly reminded him of his own upbringing. In so many stories, Gareth's standing up for Luke could have turned into some learning experience empowering him to stand up for himself, too. Here, both parts hit differently and worked much better and said much better things about Gareth, I feel.
I'd be remiss not to mention all the side characters that populated the setting, especially the female ones. Catherine, Cecy, Sophie, Ma Doomsday are all so distinct and alive on the page. And the smuggling plot that surrounds the romance? So tense and exciting and full of intrigue. And then there are all the historical details, and the kind of discussion of class difference that I'm always here for, and the beautiful descriptive prose, and the witty dialogue. K.J. Charles is just getting better and better.
Literally the only flaw I can find here comes in the form of a few editing hiccups, like weird capitalization and missing words and a couple of typos. Most of those are weirdly gathered in the first couple of chapters, although it's possible that later on I got so engrossed into the story I stopped noticing them. Anyway, this definitely isn't on the story, it's on the editor.
Graphic: Domestic abuse and Violence
purplepenning's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Abandonment and Child abuse
Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Classism, Cursing, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Confinement, Homophobia, Outing, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Body shaming, and Violence
Minor: Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Deportation, Gun violence, Death of parent, Grief, Pregnancy, Slavery, and Colonisation
erynlasbelin's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Joss Doomsday is confident, charming, and eminently reasonable - and on the Marsh, his word is as good as law. But he is eager to avoid Gareth, who once spurned him in a fit of melancholy. At least until Gareth unwittingly puts his sister's freedom at stake. As the dust of this treacherous first encounter settles and the two form an unlikely partnership, peril encroaches on them from all sides.
The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen is an adventurous Regency romance populated by swashbuckling smugglers as well as prickly high society. It is also somewhat of a naturalist's book; Gareth's explorations out on the Marsh taught me a surprising amount about the great diving beetle. There are stolen fortunes, dangerous missions under cover of night, a lady scandalously wearing trousers, and murders to boot. But the real heart of the book lies in healing trauma and finding love (in partners as well as family). Gareth and Joss are shaped by their experiences, by their loved ones, and by their relationship to one another, and the end of the book finds them better situated for happiness than they've ever been before.
Graphic: Death, Outing, Abandonment, Cursing, Death of parent, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Infidelity, Murder, Grief, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Classism, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Kidnapping, and Violence
Minor: Gun violence, Rape, Confinement, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, and Stalking