Reviews tagging 'Blood'

The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen by KJ Charles

23 reviews

katelynnelawson's review against another edition

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? No

4.75

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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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Kidnapping, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Blood, Violence, Death of parent, and Murder

Minor: Grief, Bullying, Slavery, Injury/Injury detail, and Racism

potatogrr's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Death, Murder, Abandonment, and Kidnapping

Minor: Racism, Sexual harassment, and Sexual assault

the_vegan_bookworm's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, and Sexual content

Moderate: Stalking, Sexism, and Outing

Minor: Racism

callidoralblack's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful

• 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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment and Death

Moderate: Bullying, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Blood, Child abuse, Death of parent, Hate crime, and Homophobia

Minor: Alcohol, Classism, Colonisation, Confinement, Grief, Kidnapping, Murder, Outing, Rape, and Pregnancy

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

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

hazelgirl21's review against another edition

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? No

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

Moderate: Sexual content and Child abuse

Minor: Homophobia

purplepenning's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

An open-door, LGBTQ, Regency romance between a new baronet and the leader of a smuggling operation. High-stakes adventure, high-heat encounters, family support and family betrayal, lovely respectful communication (after requisite miscommunication), marshland entomology, Kentish dialect lessons, thoughtful discussions of the philosophies vs realities of war policies... As always, KJ Charles delivers an emotionally resonate, well-researched, entertaining historical with great diversity rep. 

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Content Warnings

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

srm's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious 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

Charles hits it out of the park again. Honestly, my rating it 4.5 instead of 5 simply so I don't get boring and repetitive with all her books. Also, the reader was meh. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Child abuse, Sexual content, Homophobia, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder

Minor: Torture, Death of parent, Gun violence, Pregnancy, Racism, Alcohol, Classism, and Death

bel017's review

adventurous dark emotional

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

Re-read: I was initially surprised when this open-door romance was chosen for my book club. But the more we went through it together, the more I realised what a good choice it is. It was even better on re-read, with close scrutiny of every chapter. KJ Charles can really write. If you like your adventures smutty (or your smut with a decent adventure) I'd highly recommend it.
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After how Luke was treated here, I'm looking forward to the next book, to make sure he's doing OK. Which, given he'll be the MC in a KJ Charles romance novel I'm sure he will be. But I'm furious at the whole Doomsday family, especially Ma, for turning a blind eye. She should have known, she should have acted.

Other than that awfulness, it was great. I googled images of Romney Marsh and Dymchurch, and it's much prettier than I expected. Probably the photos are all taken in summer and/or by the tourist board, but it looks lush and green--picturesque.
I get the impression Charles had a lot of fun researching this book, with the language and the bugs and the history.
There is all Charles's trademark excellence - the talky dialogue where people listen to each other, the thoughtful and capable MCs (though Gareth says he

wasn't a capable clerk. I'm going to assume his uncle told him that

), the respect and the nuance between not just the MCs but the side characters as well, the explicit sex that is relevant to the plot while not carrying unnecessary emotional weight (or ridiculous euphemisms), the commentary on societal issues, the clear writing and excellent grammar, and an enjoyable story outside of the romance. Basically all those things that ruined me for most other romance writers.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Sexual content, and Bullying

Moderate: Violence, Kidnapping, and Child abuse

Minor: Blood, Body horror, and Confinement