Take a photo of a barcode or cover
garbage_mcsmutly 's review for:
A Nobleman's Guide to Seducing a Scoundrel
by KJ Charles
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
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
I was in a bit of a reading slump and this pulled me out. KJC is always good for that. This book is in some ways a sequel to The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen, as one of the MCs in this book is the nephew of an MC in the last book. I think the experience is improved by reading in order, but a chaos read wouldn't feel like it was missing much. The story has a bit of a gothic flair to it, which gets called out explicitly in multiple references to "reading too many gothic novels," reminding oneself not to be afraid because you're "not a character in a gothic novel," etc., so that was a fun, slight departure for KJC. There's a bit of mystery and a bit of (previous/off page) death, and a crumbling old estate, as befits the theme. But we also get all the KJC hallmarks of found family, unapologetically queer love, and good morals underpinning the characters' motivations.
🎧 This book was dual POV (MM) with a single male narrator. The voices were all distinct and I loved the Kentish accents. And the narrator did a fair job of differentiating what was an inside thought versus what was being spoken aloud, which is not always easy.
🌶️ KJC delivers MM spice! But not a wild amount of it. There are a few explicit scenes, but they are not the focus of the book, this is still a romance. But the scenes are well written.
🏳️🌈✊ This is an achillean love story, and it seems that one of the MCs might be bi/pan (the other is gay) but it's only hinted at briefly. One of the MCs is neurodivergent -- of course there's no formal diagnosis, being regency England, but he has difficulty reading, and it's heavily dependent on the type/script he has to read, so something like dyslexia maybe? There aren't really any characters of color in this story (the uncle, Joss, from book 1, is mentioned often but doesn't appear on page).
🎧 This book was dual POV (MM) with a single male narrator. The voices were all distinct and I loved the Kentish accents. And the narrator did a fair job of differentiating what was an inside thought versus what was being spoken aloud, which is not always easy.
🌶️ KJC delivers MM spice! But not a wild amount of it. There are a few explicit scenes, but they are not the focus of the book, this is still a romance. But the scenes are well written.
🏳️🌈✊ This is an achillean love story, and it seems that one of the MCs might be bi/pan (the other is gay) but it's only hinted at briefly. One of the MCs is neurodivergent -- of course there's no formal diagnosis, being regency England, but he has difficulty reading, and it's heavily dependent on the type/script he has to read, so something like dyslexia maybe? There aren't really any characters of color in this story (the uncle, Joss, from book 1, is mentioned often but doesn't appear on page).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Sexual content, Classism
Moderate: Ableism, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Abandonment
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Dementia, Murder, Pregnancy, War