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emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Drug use, Homophobia, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Grief, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
If you are interested in reading about white queer men in Victorian England, this book is for you. Otherwise it’s a pretty mediocre read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Homophobia, Infidelity, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Classism
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
READ: Dec 2023
FORMAT: Audio
ENTERTAINMENT VALUE: 4.5 / 5⭐
TECHNICAL / PRODUCTION: 4.75 / 5⭐
FINAL – OVERALL: 4.5 / 5 ⭐
FINAL – OVERALL: 4.5 / 5 ⭐
In this 1883 historical romance, Charlie wants the autograph of his favourite author as the last hurrah before he must get married and store his precious collection away for the foreseeable future, but the man has proven difficult to find, well-hidden behind his pen name. When he finally gets Miles’ identity, he meets the man at his bookstore, and a misunderstanding sparks the beginning of a heated affair with a quickly-approaching expiry date. Miles will simply not carry on with a married man out of principle, but Alma is just as in need of her union with Charlie as he is, and she’s too kind to willfully hurt.
I’m shocked at how intrigued I am by literally every character within this book. Every single one of them is introduced to us with enough charm and tantalizing details that I want to know more; even the less likeable characters who exist solely to force our main leads into uncomfortable decisions. I rarely give side-characters a passing glance, preferring to put all my focus on whom the story is actually about, but this world is so richly populated I can’t help but want to see more of them. Even Alma, who in most romances would likely be portrayed as terrible person we couldn’t possibly want our protagonist to end up with, has her own set of charms and quirks that make her pleasant and delightful. I needed this book to resolve in the best possible way for all parties involved, and while it didn’t fit my personal solution for making that happen, it definitely did happen.
My only gripe about this book is that, for how sexually charged it is from cover to cover, there is shockingly little spice on-page. This story takes more of a tell-don’t-show perspective that I couldn’t wrap my head around, because there are a couple of spicy scenes, but one of the more significant ones cuts off right immediately before things get going. Artistically, I think this story probably does enough to consider itself complete, but personally... I’m not ashamed to admit I’m in it for the smut. This book is also among the closest I’ve come to seeing an honest BDSM relationship played out in a historical setting, and I just feel a bit dejected that it didn’t lean more into being that. I won’t hold it against my rating, because I honestly had such a good time reading this one and it was too well-written to dismiss.
This book has representation for gays, lesbians, and non-binary gender expression. It has a generally-positive portrayal of sex workers. At least one character is described as non-white, but there is otherwise little else in the way of diversity.
The following elaborates on my content warnings. These may be interpreted as spoilers, but I do not go into deep detail.
This book contains: alcohol use; joke bout animal sacrifice; mentions of infidelity; homophobic laws leading to past deaths and incarceration; past struggles with substance abuse and addiction; drug use (opium); past blackmail; past illness resulting in death; past grief, loss; implication of dysphoria; and, women being treated as subhuman for childbirth out of wedlock.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug use, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Alcohol, Dysphoria, Classism
Minor: Addiction, Animal death, Death, Drug abuse, Terminal illness, Grief, Pregnancy
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Sexual content, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Outing, Alcohol
Minor: Abortion, Pregnancy
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Less filthy than anticipated, considering the setting. A very charmed story, filled with nuanced, detailed characters, with a delightful, decadent setting.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Alcohol
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug use, Infidelity, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts
challenging
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Alcohol
Moderate: Alcoholism, Homophobia, Grief
Minor: Addiction, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Forced institutionalization, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Outing, Classism
funny
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for the ARC.
The Gentleman's Book of Vices is a cute historical queer romance between grumpy Miles, author of (illegal) gay erotica and reluctant owner of a bookstore, and Charlie, a drunk and a fop who is up to his eyeballs in debt, but determinedly optimistic nonetheless. The two start a torrid affair after Charlie manages to track down Miles in the hopes of getting him to sign his copy of one of Miles's titles.
While the story was cute and moderately entertaining (I actually really enjoyed the cake tasting scene), I didn't really find anything in the story to set it apart from other grumpy/sunshine romances, and it felt like it took awhile to really get going.
The Gentleman's Book of Vices is a cute historical queer romance between grumpy Miles, author of (illegal) gay erotica and reluctant owner of a bookstore, and Charlie, a drunk and a fop who is up to his eyeballs in debt, but determinedly optimistic nonetheless. The two start a torrid affair after Charlie manages to track down Miles in the hopes of getting him to sign his copy of one of Miles's titles.
While the story was cute and moderately entertaining (I actually really enjoyed the cake tasting scene), I didn't really find anything in the story to set it apart from other grumpy/sunshine romances, and it felt like it took awhile to really get going.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Homophobia, Alcohol
Minor: Death