Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen by KJ Charles

13 reviews

onefineelephant's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful mysterious reflective tense fast-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

5.0

10/10. I accidentally read the second book (about Luke) first before reading this one but I'm not necessarily mad at the order since they are fairly standalone books. I do think it was an interesting perspective to have so much knowledge of Luke when he was not so much in this book until the end. Because I read the other book first, I more or less knew what was going to happen in this one but somehow I was still so surprised by the events. There is something about this author's writing style that makes me think about the characters and plot non-stop and yet also not have any idea where the story is going (in a good way). I love the genuine connection but also faults between Joss and Gareth. Their love is so wonderful, especially set in this time period. I also enjoyed the supporting characters quite a bit including the other Doomsdays and Gareth's new family. Overall, I highly recommend this book as well as the second. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Grief, Death, Death of parent, Torture, Alcohol, Blood, Child abuse, Classism, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Outing, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexism, Stalking, and Violence

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Sexual violence

Minor: Abandonment, Ableism, Alcoholism, Medical content, and Misogyny

There is potential incest because a cousin implies to want to court his cousin but nothing actually happens. Also, at one point there is a threat of sexual assault/rape of a woman but this threat is not made to the woman and does not actually happen.

droggelbecher42's review against another edition

emotional lighthearted fast-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

4.0

Quick, fun read.
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.

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Content Warnings

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

ladythana's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Death of parent, Sexual content, Confinement, Outing, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Classism, Child abuse, Kidnapping, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Gun violence and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Sexual violence

tuhkasirius's review against another edition

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Abandonment, Outing, Child abuse, Death of parent, Homophobia, Grief, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Blood, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

ramakn22's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious sad tense 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Bullying, Alcoholism, Violence, Murder, Sexual content, Death of parent, Child abuse, Abandonment, Physical abuse, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Cursing, Confinement, Ableism, Slavery, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Outing, Grief, Infertility, and Homophobia

booksthatburn's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective tense 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

5.0

THE SECRET LIVES OF COUNTRY GENTLEMEN is another excellent gay romance from K.J. Charles, this time between a noble and a smuggler... with the complication that the noble, Sir Gareth, didn’t get his inheritance until his twenties when his estranged father died unexpectedly. Gareth pushes away a man with whom he'd spent a very pleasant week, only to have it turn out that this man lives near his late father's home and their lives keep intertwining in unexpected ways. 

I don’t generally like the miscommunication trope, but this one is handled well without making anyone behave nonsensically (as much as I'd prefer they'd made different decisions earlier) Much of the tension is over people who think the Gareth has information which he does not, and this was overall delightful to read the missed the violence in murder and other dangers of smuggling as a profession. I like Joss, I generally enjoy roguish characters, and as a smuggler he fits that both in occupation and in personality. 

I love the Doomsdays as a family and as individuals. The ways they behave collectively and individually just make so much sense and written so well. There's a real sense of identity to the people in the Marsh without turning them into a single mass. There's also a focus on Luke, a boy whose father uses his position within the Doomsdays to mistreat him and wield power as a petty tyrant over a child with limited recourse.

I wanted a romance with danger and maybe a little death, and this delivered on all fronts with a fascinating narrative to boot. The ending leaves room for some kind of follow-up on Luke, and I plan to read the sequel which features him as an adult.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Confinement, Violence, Kidnapping, and Sexual content

Moderate: Medical content, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Murder, Death, Abandonment, Death of parent, and Blood

samchase112's review

adventurous fast-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

4.25

Marshes and muskets, this was delightful! I loved the adventure, the characters, the romance, it was all so much fun. I had my doubts about the abrupt beginning, but as the story wove on I truly grew to love each character and their lovely Marsh. The plot and mcs were fleshed out enough without the book dragging on too long, and that's a feat. I will definitely be recommending this romantic adventure to anyone who'll listen :)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Sexual content, Murder, Child abuse, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Emotional abuse, War, Gun violence, and Sexual assault

Minor: Homophobia

kers_tin's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

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

emotional funny informative mysterious tense 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

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Content Warnings

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

theatrealpaca's review

adventurous hopeful tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.5

A beautiful, thrilling lovestory a with criminal suspense swirl throughout.  The conflict and the stakes of Jos and Gareth's love felt real and rooted the the period. The story was twisty and suspenseful while allowing for a ton of growth from all of the main characters. Plus, it was nice and spicy throughout! The narrator of the audiobook was wonderful and did a tremendous job with all of the accents.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Child abuse, Violence, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Blood, Alcohol, Confinement, Classism, Outing, Homophobia, Cursing, and Sexual content

Moderate: Racism