Reviews with content warning for Racism - The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen

Opposites attract when self-righteous, upper-class London and plain-spoken, working-class Kent enjoy a splendid week-long affair together... that ends terribly when the two argue. But weeks later, Gareth (London) must travel to Kent after his father dies and he inherits his title. It's not until he testifies against Joss (Kent)'s sister in court that the two reunite, and despite the tense circumstances, the two eventually regain the connection they had against the backdrop of the Kentish marsh. But it's not just beetles the two uncover - it's dangerous secrets.

This romance will leave the reader swinging their feet in joy while also turning the pages out of a desperate need to uncover the mystery of what exactly Sir Gareth's father was up to alongside Gareth and Joss. It's both exciting and romantic, with beautifully described scenery and an interesting cast of characters sure to show up in the author's upcoming works.

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kal517's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny 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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potatogrr's review against another edition

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emotional 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

4.75

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the_vegan_bookworm's review against another edition

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adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

A fun read by one of my favourite authors! The story telling of a KJ Charles story is always sublime and the characters are deeply likeable (even Gareth, who starts off being hard to enjoy and then becomes kind of precious as the book goes on).

The relationship between Joss and Gareth felt a little rushed to me, and the chemistry a little lacking at parts. This being said, I still really enjoyed the read!

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k__cy's review

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adventurous funny informative

4.25

I really enjoyed this!! (and stayed up till 6 am reading it!) especially liked that the book pays some attention to a non-standard dialect of english (kentish - at least, as made clear on a couple occasions, it's not "the king's english"). I adored joss (and his love for the marsh and his people), and loved sophy enough - from the glimpses we got of her - that I would have read a whole nother book following her story. also really liked that gareth and joss end up

working as part of a team and checking in with each other

; it's a kind of dynamic I enjoy and find myself wanting in some other books.

I would be interested in talking with a friend about the depictions of race and class in this book. there's also a lot to be said (+ read !) about the immense space and influence given to cishet women, as both writers and readers - even as a/the marketed-to audience - in the "'m/m' romance industry." and that can't be disentangled from this book: one of many m/m romance books written by a cishet woman author. (kj charles has talked about being cishet, but I'm happy to make corrections if things have changed.) here's a short thread by roan parrish about the writing (and publishing!) part that may serve as a really basic introduction to this topic: https://twitter.com/RoanParrish/status/1487634323339677698

there are reasons for this that are /not/ as simple as "cishet women trying to find an escape from toxic heteropatriarchal romance," and especially because women /are/ often sidelined or subjected to misogynistic tropes in the "m/m" romances I'm speaking about; as readers, I think it's worthwhile for us to think about + interrogate this dynamic!

*also with regency romances you are typically not escaping the heteropatriarchy

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sarahmiller98's review

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adventurous emotional hopeful

4.0

Classic KJ Charles: compelling protagonists who make bad choices for realistic reasons; an eventful, exciting plot; a beautifully realised setting; nasty villains getting their comeuppance; and, of course, a fantastic romance.

In my opinion, this is one of the gentler love stories the author has done - she is often very good at high friction, high angst romances between strong-willed and difficult people, but I actually really enjoy her softer romances too. In this case, both Joss and Gareth are basically kind and caring people who really like each other and, were it not for external events getting in the way, probably would never have had major issues to begin with. It makes for some refreshingly low-key and tender interactions between the two of them, which contrasts nicely with the high-octane smuggling plot. An all-around pleasure to read.

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20sidedbi's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense 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? No

5.0

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