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rebeccawald5 's review for:
To Sketch a Scandal
by Jess Everlee
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Thanks to Jess Everlee, Harlequin/Carina Adores, and NetGalley for the ARC! I received a free copy to review, but as always, my opinions are my own.
This is a sweet MM romance set in Victorian-era London. Warren Bakshi is the son of Punjabi immigrants and the sole support of his mother while his brother is off making his fortune. He helps with the housework during the week (where he is charming, savvy, and a devoted son) and tends bar at a gay bar, The Curious Fox, on weekends (where he is flirty, unsentimental, and determinedly single). Matty Shaw is a detective inspector at Scotland Yard, but his position is tenuous - he's mostly worked undercover, trading off his youth and effeminate beauty, and the rest of the staff doesn't hold him in the same high regard that his retiring mentor does.
When Matty needs to go undercover as an art student to investigate an art fraud, he seeks drawing lessons from Warren. But Warren's boss has forbidden him to have anything to do with Matty, because the last thing a gay bar needs in that era is an officer of the law on the premises. Warren and Matty's attraction is magnetic. They have to figure out what to do with it, at the same time that Warren is figuring out his changing role in his family and Matty is navigating his changing feelings about his profession.
Note: I kind of expected from the setup that Warren and Matty would wind up investigating Matty's case together, but this is not a mystery. It's much more about their personal journeys and their growing relationship.
I should be clear that this is the only book in the series that I've read! There was no difficulty following the plot - relevant backstories were filled in when needed, in a way that felt natural - but characters from previous books make enough of a substantial appearance that I think having read them first would have added depth and weight to the story. It did make me want to go back and read the earlier ones.
This is a sweet MM romance set in Victorian-era London. Warren Bakshi is the son of Punjabi immigrants and the sole support of his mother while his brother is off making his fortune. He helps with the housework during the week (where he is charming, savvy, and a devoted son) and tends bar at a gay bar, The Curious Fox, on weekends (where he is flirty, unsentimental, and determinedly single). Matty Shaw is a detective inspector at Scotland Yard, but his position is tenuous - he's mostly worked undercover, trading off his youth and effeminate beauty, and the rest of the staff doesn't hold him in the same high regard that his retiring mentor does.
When Matty needs to go undercover as an art student to investigate an art fraud, he seeks drawing lessons from Warren. But Warren's boss has forbidden him to have anything to do with Matty, because the last thing a gay bar needs in that era is an officer of the law on the premises. Warren and Matty's attraction is magnetic. They have to figure out what to do with it, at the same time that Warren is figuring out his changing role in his family and Matty is navigating his changing feelings about his profession.
Note: I kind of expected from the setup that Warren and Matty would wind up investigating Matty's case together, but this is not a mystery. It's much more about their personal journeys and their growing relationship.
I should be clear that this is the only book in the series that I've read! There was no difficulty following the plot - relevant backstories were filled in when needed, in a way that felt natural - but characters from previous books make enough of a substantial appearance that I think having read them first would have added depth and weight to the story. It did make me want to go back and read the earlier ones.