A review by wardenred
The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen by KJ Charles

emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective slow-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

5.0

“Tell me something,” he managed. “You ever had someone on your side? Really on your side?”

Oh wow. This book is so much better than I expected, and I fully expected it to be excellent. I fell completely in love with the setting, so lush and descriptive and full of cozy gothic vibes. The marsh with its dykes and ponds, the cold sea beyond the Wall, the tiny towns and watcher huts and church ruins scattered around the wilderness, the bugs and the birds—I think this is exactly what people mean when they say the setting feels like a character in its own right.

Speaking of actual characters, both Joss and Gareth captured my heart so fast and clearly won't ever let go. I loved all the incredible growth they'd gone through over the course of the story, and how they made each other better people by being in each other's lives. And yes, as each of them figured out their respective struggles, they inevitably clashed, but even those clashes were... productive, somehow? Like, it was evident they were both learning, coming into their own, drawing from past experiences. That made for such a beautiful and fulfilling romance.

I also loved how the individual arcs were constructed. Joss initially came across as so put together and confident, with only maybe a few kinks in his life to work out, but then the further his story unfolded, the clearer it became how much pressure he put on himself and how much he needed to alter some of his approaches to his life. Gareth's arc of learning to stand up for himself and stand on his own was perhaps a bit more predictable, but it was still so well done, and there was a certain narrative decision that really struck me hard: how he stood up to his uncle *before* the whole situation with Luke that clearly reminded him of his own upbringing. In so many stories, Gareth's standing up for Luke could have turned into some learning experience empowering him to stand up for himself, too. Here, both parts hit differently and worked much better and said much better things about Gareth, I feel.

I'd be remiss not to mention all the side characters that populated the setting, especially the female ones. Catherine, Cecy, Sophie, Ma Doomsday are all so distinct and alive on the page. And the smuggling plot that surrounds the romance? So tense and exciting and full of intrigue. And then there are all the historical details, and the kind of discussion of class difference that I'm always here for, and the beautiful descriptive prose, and the witty dialogue. K.J. Charles is just getting better and better.

Literally the only flaw I can find here comes in the form of a few editing hiccups, like weird capitalization and missing words and a couple of typos. Most of those are weirdly gathered in the first couple of chapters, although it's possible that later on I got so engrossed into the story I stopped noticing them. Anyway, this definitely isn't on the story, it's on the editor.
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