Review by eldervampire83 - A Gentleman's Gentleman

You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.

eldervampire83 's review for:

A Gentleman's Gentleman by TJ Alexander

4.75

emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

Immediately, I found myself relating to the main character, Christopher Winterthrope. He has eccentricities that most may find strange, the desire to keep himself isolated as a form of self-preservation, and anxiety that can be debilitating.
I sympathized whenever he got incensed when others offered to do things for him. That distress and brief panic, even if sometimes it's because he's trying to maintain his secret, is something that strikes a cord with me. I love that there's an author that can capture that vulnerable feeling in a way that it feels like no one outside of the afflicted person understands.

In the beginning, James Harding and Christopher seem to have clashing personalities and perspectives, but in a way they are also complementary.
The mystery surrounding Harding's life, and even Christopher's, kept me from putting the book down at points. I was anxious to know what both of these men were keeping from the world, and the payoff was better than I could imagine.
There is a warm brand of humor in the prose. It blends elements that you would find in a contemporary romantic comedy (the banter, a taste of hijinks, different types of humor) with what you would normally expect in an era-based historical romance nicely!

And, as an added bonus, I didn't expect such intimacy or sensual content, and I was here for all of it. I felt seen reading about a trans man (as a transmasc person) with my body type having a candid internal monologue about pleasure and soon later experiencing pleasure of his own. Good for him!

Also, about James Harding:

He got to experience knowing that there was finally someone he could confide in about his life and his gender expression! I had my theories (even though it was difficult to hear people like Montrose talking about the life he left behind with his old name and his old title), but anticipating the reveal with clues until Harding reveals himself in the latter half of the narrative was well done! It did break my heart that James even would suggest going back to his old life if it meant Christopher would keep the Abbey. I'm glad that Christopher refused to even entertain that idea, although it crushed me that James misunderstood his meaning at first. James was a complex character that I would've loved to learn more about and see more of his personality, and that's the only reason why I rated the book even slightly lower than a 5. It couldn't be helped, since we're in Christopher's limited perspective.

This was a lovely historical romance to read!

Content Warnings