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

This was a fantastic M/M Historical Romance. I loved these two main characters, I loved their chemistry, I loved how they were both gentle, loving souls who tried their best with all the circumstances and hardships that came their way. They regretted and apologized for their mistakes, they communicated, and they listened to each other. My favorite thing in a romance is healthy communication, and it's a good sign when an author can come up with other ways to create drama and tension despite the characters working well together. While the romance is fantastic, there is also a great cast of supporting characters and a really interesting setting. I listened to this on audiobook at 1.4 speed and I liked the narration.
Edit: Bumping this up to 5 stars after reading the sequel (which is also fantastic) because I realized I loved this book even more than I thought.

Content Warnings

emburs's review

Go to review page

3.75

Content Warnings

galleytrot's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

4.5

READ: Apr 2024

FORMAT: Audio

ENTERTAINMENT VALUE: 4.25 / 5⭐

TECHNICAL / PRODUCTION: 4.5 / 5⭐

FINAL – OVERALL: 4.5 / 5⭐

In this book, a sudden and unexpected death pulls Gareth from his life as a clerk in London into his birthright position of Baronet out in the smuggler-infested back country of Romney Marsh. He’s left with managing a half-sister he never met, a home he never got to live in, accounts that don't make sense, and social expectations that no honest man ought to be asked to uphold. The marsh and his home are in Doomsday territory, and the clan's gaffer – Josiah Doomsday himself – turns out to be a man with a very intimate (and rather recent) knowledge of Gareth's own law-breaking interests. Blackmail, secret dealings, and unpaid debts haunt Gareth, who wants nothing more than to simply observe the bugs and the newts that captured all of his father's attention when his very own firstborn son could not.

I'm honestly not sure where to begin with this review. This book’s intricate story, its intriguing characters, and its strange and wonderful setting all converge together to create an incredible experience from cover to cover. I've read it twice now, and the second pass was not made any less interesting by already knowing what was going on or who was hiding what secrets. Poor Gareth has been pulled into a world he’d never expected to be a part of, with debts and responsibilities he could never have predicted, inheriting a wide and varied set of enemies he had no hand in making.

KJ Charles writes some of my favourite historical fiction romances out there, and I’m happy to add this one to the stack. I’m also very excited to move into the second book of the series at some point, although I am waiting for a day where I can truly focus all of my attention into it. One of the things that really interested me about this book was the growth and understanding of Gareth’s father’s character, a man who never has a single moment on-page (and in fact, spends the entire length of the book very much not alive). I love that he is never redeemed for his failures as a father, and while we learn enough to have some theories about his potential neurodivergence, we also end the book with the certainty of his involvement in nefarious plotting and profiteering.

This book has representation for gays. One of the main characters is mix-raced, with several other mixed-race and non-white family members.

The following elaborates on my content warnings. These may be interpreted as spoilers, but I do not go into deep detail.

This book contains:

parent deaths (past, recent, off-page); child abandonment; mentions of war; mentions of deaths, fighting, and injuries; intimidation, blackmail; sexual assault (off-page); alcohol use; weapon violence (knives, cane, fists, gun); assault; mention of past slavery; homophobia; child abuse (physical); serious injury, blood; body shaming; kidnapping, confinement; and, murder (off-page).

Content Warnings

teresateza's review

Go to review page

adventurous 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? N/A

4.0

Content Warnings

onthesamepage's review

Go to review page

emotional mysterious 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

Tropes:

secret identities, protectiveness

Steam level: 🌶🌶🌶

“Is this—” Joss wasn’t even sure what to call it. “Are you worrying about me?”
“I’m not worrying,” Gareth said a bit defensively. “I’m just concerned.”
“Hearts alive, London,” Joss said, pulled his face round, and kissed him.

Why is miscommunication a popular romance trope, but good communication isn't?

This is one of those stories where the characters slowly but steadily wormed their way into my heart. I have a weakness for men with damage, and Gareth really fits the bill. He has always felt unwanted by his family, and this impacts the way he deals with all his relationships, including the one with Kent, a.k.a. Joss, someone he spent a week's worth of nights with in London. When Joss has to go back home, he suggests that they meet again when he comes back to London, and Gareth shuts him down because he thinks of it as an empty promise. Of course, they do meet again, this time in Kent, and while there were plenty of opportunities for Joss to be annoyed with Gareth, they talked through the incident instead. And not just that time, but every time one of them did something that upset or angered the other, they would feel those feelings, and then talk about it instead of breaking up or running away or any of the other tropes I see used so often to facilitate a third act breakup. I loved the way they would fight, and then think about where they'd gone wrong and acknowledge their mistakes and try to do better (and then fail because that's what people do, we don't just change overnight). It brought so much depth to the relationship and to the characters.

“I feel right here. I feel right with you.”

Putting that aside, the romance itself was just really sweet. Joss feels protective of Gareth pretty early on, and wants Gareth to rely on him. Joss presents himself as strong, but with Gareth, he can finally let his guard down just a little. They both bring something to the relationship, even though it initially feels like Joss is carrying most of the weight. But they both grow in different ways. Gareth learns to step up and stand his ground, and Joss learns to share his burden and his decision making. By the end, it was easy to believe that they would do anything for each other, and I loved that.

Don't let the sweetness of the romance fool you, though—there's plenty of steam to be had here. It's not quite on the level I've come to expect from the author (no BDSM here, even though I was absolutely expecting a bit more kink based on her other books), but still plenty hot.

Content Warnings

eeemily666's review

Go to review page

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

Content Warnings

carl_the's review

Go to review page

adventurous tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

it's simply not my cup of tea, really. it's an alright book with good writing. the plot is fun with charm and mystery. it just wasn't what i was looking for.

Content Warnings

potatogrr's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

Content Warnings

More...