The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen (The Doomsday Books #1) by K.J. Charles

the secret lives of country gentlemen

Abandoned by his father, Gareth Inglis grew up lonely, prickly, and used to disappointment. Still, he longs for a connection. When he meets a charming stranger, he falls head over heels—until everything goes wrong and he’s left alone again.

Then Gareth’s father dies, turning the shabby London clerk into Sir Gareth, with a grand house on the remote Romney Marsh and a family he doesn’t know. The Marsh is another world, a strange, empty place notorious for its ruthless gangs of smugglers. And one of them is dangerously familiar…

Joss Doomsday has run the Doomsday smuggling clan since he was a boy. When the new baronet—his old lover—agrees to testify against Joss’s sister, Joss acts fast to stop him. Their reunion is anything but happy, yet after the dust settles, neither can stay away. Soon, all Joss and Gareth want is the chance to be together. But the bleak, bare Marsh holds deadly secrets. And when Gareth finds himself threatened from every side, the gentleman and the smuggler must trust one another not just with their hearts but also with their lives.

Rating: A-

I’ve yet to meet a book by K.J. Charles that I haven’t at the very least liked – or more usually, loved – and her latest title, The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen is no exception. The story is set in and around Romney Marsh in Kent – a fairly desolate part of the country even today and one that from the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries, was something of a smuggler’s paradise due to its topography, location and isolation. TSLoCG is a fabulous mix of frenemies-to-lovers romance and mystery boasting a wonderfully evoked setting, lots of interesting historical detail and plenty of the wry humour and sharp observation that I so enjoy about the author’s work.

After the death of his wife, Sir Hugo Inglis sent his six-year-old son Gareth to live in London with his uncle. It very much a case of out of sight, out of mind for Sir Hugo, who married again and ignored his son’s pleas to be brought home. Gareth grew up without love and affection, knowing he was unwanted from the moment Henry Inglis made it very clear to his bereaved, exiled nephew that he had taken him in on sufferance and because he was being paid to. Gareth eventually studied law and has worked as his uncle’s clerk for several years, when, completely out of the blue, Inglis dismisses him for no reason. Just two days later, Gareth learns that his father is dead and that he has inherited the baronetcy, his house in Romney Marsh in Kent and a fairly respectable sum of money.

Going through his father’s books and papers, Gareth finds himself intrigued by his collection of books on natural history, maps of the local area and the collection of notebooks in which Sir Hugo made copious notes about the local birds, wildlife, flora and fauna and his particular interest in insects. Gareth has always been interested in natural history and at first thinks that by reading the notebooks, he might learn something about his father… but there’s nothing by way of personal reflection or insight to be found. Still, his own interest is piqued and he begins to explore his surroundings, starting in his own garden and then going further afield and onto the marshes. Out late one night, he stumbles across a string of ponies laden with packs and barrels; realising immediately what this means, he steps back out of sight, but can’t help overhearing voices raised in argument and then seeing a man pull off the cloth covering his companion’s face. Gareth is surprised to recognise the young woman, but before he can think much about it, she barks a command and the train moves on. The next day, Gareth thoughtlessly mentions this in front of his half-sister Cecilia’s beau, a revenue officer; the young woman is arrested and brought for trial, and Gareth, despite not really wanting to rock any boats, is called to give evidence against her.

You can read the rest of this review at All About Romance.

Masters in This Hall by K.J. Charles

masters in this hall

This title may be purchased from Amazon

John Garland was in love: now he’s in disgrace. He’s jobless, alone, and determined to avenge himself on the thief who ruined his life. All he wants for Christmas is Barnaby Littimer in gaol.

Barnaby has secured a job running the extravagant traditional Christmas at a rich man’s country house. John intends to thwart whatever he’s up to.

But amid the festivity, the halls are decked with unexpected dangers. And John will need to decide if he can trust Barnaby one more time…

Rating: B+

A surprise Christmas present, K.J. Charles’ Masters in This Hall is a lively tale of mummery and mayhem, of family strife, adultery, blackmail and attempted defenestration – in short, just your regular round of seasonal festivities 😉

Mr. John Garland worked for nine years as a detective at a presigious London hotel, until he was dismissed some months before this story begins, accused of incompetence following the theft of twelve thousand pounds-worth of jewels belonging to the Marquess of Leeford while he was a guest at the hotel. The theft is believed to have been carried out by the mysteious “Captain Algy” – although it’s said to have borne the hallmarks of the infamous – although now retired – Lilywhite Boys, and there is some speculation that perhaps they’ve returned to their lives of crime.

On Christmas Eve 1899, John travels to Codlin Hall in Chesham, the home of his Uncle Abel, a wealthy industrialist. He’s unsure of his welcome, but is there to do Abel a good turn while at the same time revenging himself on the man he blames for his downfall. When John learned that Barbaby Littimer, a theatre designer by trade, has somehow managed to get himself engaged to organise Abel Garland’s Christmas festivities, he knew he had to act. He’s convinced Barnaby had deliberately set out to… er… distract him from his duties at the time of the hotel theft, and believes he must have been in on it. John is determined to foil whatever nefarious plot is underway to rob his uncle.

The Christmas festivities at Codlin Hall will culminate in the wedding of Abel’s daughter, Ivy (yes, she really is called Ivy Garland!) to the Earl of Dombey, so a large party is gathered there, many of whom look down on Abel because he made his millions in trade, and are only too pleased to accept his lavish hospitality while sneering about him behind his back. John’s unexpected arrival on Christmas Eve doesn’t go down too well with Ivy, who is worried about appearances and who John knows doesn’t want him –

“reminding everyone that the soon-to-be Countess of Dombey was not just the daughter of industry, but the cousin of incompetence and penury.”

But even though she tries to insist there’s no room at the inn (!), help comes from an unexpected quarter in the shape of Ivy’s nice-but-dim fiancé, who is only too happy to welcome John to join in the celebrations. In turn, John is only too happy at the thought of putting a spoke in Barnaby’s wheel – and at the look on Barbaby’s face when he first sees John amid the assembled guests. Angry and resentful – not least because he’s still very attracted to the man and can’t forget the happy hours they’d spent together – John refuses to listen to Barnaby’s explanations or to his warnings when he tells John he should leave. Maybe Barnaby looks scared and maybe John’s first instinct is to offer to help him, regardless of what he’s done – but John squashes those feelings under his determation not to be made a fool of again.

As always, K.J. Charles fills her story with lots of fascinating historical detail, sharp social observations and, as it’s Christmas, doesn’t stint on the Dickensian references or the puns. Abel Garland doesn’t go in for Victorian sentiimentality, far perferring to hark back to the medieval and pagan ritual that is the real backbone of so many of our Christmas traditions today, so there’s much to learn about wassail, mummers, carols and the Lord of Misrule as well as some sharp commentary about the social pecking order and the abuse of privilege.

The animosity between John and Barnaby isn’t allowed to go on for too long, fortunately, and after that, they join forces to expose a thief and some very shady dealings while also coming up with a way to keep themselves well out of it, with help from the devious brain of a mostly unnamed but very recognisable character – he of the beautiful baritone voice and the dangerously sardonic eyebrow – known to detectives across England simply as “That Bastard” (and to KJC afficionados as Jerry Crozier.) I always enjoy seeing favourite characrters from the points of view of those who don’t really know them, and the author certainly doesn’t disppoint here; John and Barbaby are suitably wary of this Lilywhite Boy and his reputation, and Jerry is wonderfully grumpy – and terrifying – at being forced out of retirement to deal with “Captain Algy”.

John and Barnaby themselves are very likeable characters, clever, witty and self-deprecating but quietly competent, and their past history is laid out in some very brief flashbacks that set up their romance nicely. There’s a real sense of longing as they both think back wistfully on what could have been, and then a real blossoming of hope when they realise they might have a second chance. They’re sweet and lovely together and their HFN is just right.

Masters in This Hall is the perfect Christmas novella for those of us who prefer our seasonal tales to have a bit of zing and bite. It’s sharp, it’s funny, it’s devoid of religion and sentimentality, and it’s just the ticket for a cold winter’s afternoon. Enjoy

You can read the rest of this review at All About Romance.

A Thief in the Night by KJ Charles (audiobook) – Narrated by James Joseph & Ryan Laughton

a thief in the night

This title may be downloaded from Audible via Amazon

Toby never meant to be a highway robber, but needs must. He didn’t plan to impersonate a top London valet either, but when the chance comes to present himself as the earl of Arvon’s new gentleman’s gentleman, he grabs it. Unfortunately, the earl is the man he seduced and robbed on the road to get here. Oops.

Miles, Lord Arvon, is not impressed. But he’s faced with a tumbledown home and lost family fortune, and desperate times call for desperate measures. Toby—shameless, practical, and definitely desperate—may be just the man he needs.

To steal back a priceless bracelet, that is. What else were you thinking?

Narration – A/B; Content – B+

In KJ Charles’ 2021 novel The Gentle Art of Fortune Hunting, we were introduced to Robin and Marianne, two siblings who conned their way into society with a view to their both making very advantageous marriages. Brief mention was made of the fact that they had grown up with an older half/step sibling named Toby who just up and left them one day and whom they haven’t seen since. In A Thief in the Night, we get to meet Toby, who, like his brother and sister, lives by his wits, with one eye (metaphorically) always looking over his shoulder, and the other always on the main chance.

The story opens at an inn where Toby, while waiting for the drink he’s ordered to arrive, is keeping an eye on the attractive man of military bearing sitting by the fire. His clothing is travel-stained, but looks to be that of a man of means, so Toby nonchalantly walks over and strikes up a conversation. After exchanging names (Toby doesn’t give his real one, of course), they get to talking, and Toby learns that his companion, Miles Carteret, has recently returned from fighting on the Penunsula and is on his way home. Toby is quick to recognise the signs of interest, and to make his own interest clear; before long, they’re out back, exchanging greedy touches and frantic kisses and Toby is on his knees. After putting themselves to rights, they had back inside where Miles dozes off – and Toby helps himself to his watch and pocket book and scarpers.

You can read the rest of this review at AudioGals.

Subtle Blood (Will Darling Adventures #3) by KJ Charles (audiobook) – Narrated by Cornell Collins

subtle blood

This title may be downloaded from Audible via Amazon

Will Darling is all right. His business is doing well, and so is his illicit relationship with Kim Secretan – disgraced aristocrat, ex-spy, amateur book-dealer. It’s starting to feel like he’s got his life under control.

And then a brutal murder in a gentleman’s club plunges them back into the shadow world of crime, deception, and the power of privilege. Worse, it brings them up against Kim’s noble, hostile family, and his upper-class life where Will can never belong.

With old and new enemies against them, and secrets on every side, Will and Kim have to fight for each other harder than ever – or be torn apart for good.

Rating: Narration – B; Content – A

Note: Subtle Blood is the third instalment of a trilogy which has an overarching plotline; listeners are advised to listen to Slippery Creatures and The Sugared Game first. There are spoilers for those books in this review.

It’s been a few months since Will Darling and Kim Secretan uncovered the identity of the head of Zodiac, a dastardly, secret criminal organisation dedicated to destroying the structures of power – and Kim’s world fell apart. Effectively sacked from his job with the Private Bureau, he’s now helping out at Darling’s Used and Antiquarian, the bookshop Will inherited from his late uncle, but even though he’s turned out to be surprisingly suited to the work – organising the shop and acquiring some valuable collections – neither he nor Will is cut out for the quiet life, and both of them know it. But when Kim’s brother – and their father’s heir, Lord Chingford – is accused of murdering a fellow member of the Symposium Club, the peaceful life they’ve been building together is shattered. Could Chingford conceivably have done such a thing? Kim thinks so, yes. But did he? Chingford refuses point blank to offer any defence, believing that his station as the heir to a marquess means he’s untouchable and doesn’t have to explain his actions to anyone, even the police. Fighting against the current all the way, Kim and Will manage to find out that Chingford was heard having a blazing row with the victim earlier that day, and when Kim sees a small tattoo on the inside of the deceased’s wrist in the exact same place as those worn by the members of Zodiac, his blood runs cold. Could some of its members still be at large? And attempting to regroup?

You can read the rest of this review at AudioGals.

Subtle Blood (Will Darling Adventures #3) by KJ Charles

subtle blood

This title may be purchased from Amazon’

Will Darling is all right. His business is doing well, and so is his illicit relationship with Kim Secretan–disgraced aristocrat, ex-spy, amateur book-dealer. It’s starting to feel like he’s got his life under control.

And then a brutal murder in a gentleman’s club plunges them back into the shadow world of crime, deception, and the power of privilege. Worse, it brings them up against Kim’s noble, hostile family, and his upper-class life where Will can never belong.

With old and new enemies against them, and secrets on every side, Will and Kim have to fight for each other harder than ever—or be torn apart for good.

Rating: A

Romance, drama, skulduggery and edge-of-the-seat adventure abound in this rip-roaring tale that brings the Will Darling Adventures to an absolutely magnificent close. In Subtle Blood, KJ Charles delivers everything I wanted from this series finale – a fast-paced, tightly-plotted mystery and a well-deserved HEA for Will and Kim – with her customary wit, razor-sharp insight and masterful storytelling.

There are spoilers for the earlier books in the series in this review.

It’s been a few months since the climactic events of The Sugared Game, when Will Darling and Kim Secretan uncovered the identity of the leader of Zodiac, a dangerous criminal organisation dedicated to tearing down the structures of power by any means necessary. But doing so saw Kim relieved of his duties – sacked – from the Private Bureau, so now he, like Will, is feeling just a little bit aimless. Or a lot aimless. For the time being, Kim is helping out at Darling’s Used and Antiquarian, the bookshop Will inherited from his uncle, and has turned out to be surprisingly adept at organising the shop and acquiring profitable collections – but neither of them is really cut out for the quiet life, and they both know it.

But the peace of the life they’re building together is suddenly shattered when Kim’s older brother Lord Chingford is accused of killing financier Paul Fairfax – a fellow member of the Symposium Club – and refuses point blank to offer any form of defence. Not because he doesn’t have one (which he kind of doesn’t), but rather because he fully expects that being the heir to a marquess means he’s untouchable and above the law, and that he doesn’t have to explain himself to anybody. Even the police. He says he was having a nap in another room in the club when the murder took place, and that’s all he has to say on the matter.

But then Will and Kim learn that Chingford was heard having a blazing row with Fairfax earlier in the day – and Will spots a tattoo on the underside of one of the dead man’s wrists in the exact same position as those worn by the members of Zodiac. Which begs the question… could some of its members still be at large and attempting to re-group?

KJ Charles has done her readers – and her protagonists – proud with this one. Will and Kim find themselves up to their necks in intrigue, betrayal and murder once again, and the mystery plot is perfectly paced. But the happenings in this story fall even closer to home than those in The Sugared Game did, and with Kim’s brother accused of murder and other developments which threaten Will’s safety, he has no alternative but to take Will home to the family pile so they can try to ferret out the truth about the murder. And in going home, Kim is forced to interact with the two people in the world he least wants to spend time with – his father, the Marquess of Flitby, and his brother Chingford, who is thick as shit and twice as despicable. We know from the previous book that Kim’s family life has inflicted some serious emotional damage, and that he doesn’t get on (putting it mildly!) with Fllitby and Chingford, who blatantly despise him, blaming him for the death of his younger brother and believing him a coward because he refused to fight in the war.

As in many of her other books, the author has a lot to say about the nature of privilege, but here, she really lets rip and exposes the deeply cruel rottenness and blatant injustice of it, showing what some men will do in order to retain power and the lengths some will go to in order to attain it. And yet, these characters are not caricatures or cartoon villains; they’re real people who act in ways that are abhorrent and are so totally blinkered by their innate sense of entitlement that they simply cannot conceive of the need to take any consideration into account that doesn’t benefit them or to perceive that the world around them is changing. I can’t even begin to describe how completely awful Flitby and Chingford are, in their puffed-up self-consequence and in their attitude towards Kim, who is trying to save his brother’s life (mostly because Kim doesn’t want to inherit a marquessate!) and to whom they are completely obnoxious.

Thankfully however, all this loathesomeness is outweighed by the deeply affectionate, loving relationship shared by Will and Kim, who have, over the course of the series, gone from a relationship based on attraction and an inequality borne of distrust to one of sincere trust and mutual understanding that has put them on a much more even footing. In the previous book, we learned more about Kim’s past and how it damaged him; here, Will has to face up to some home truths about his past and his coping mechanisms, and it’s a testament to how strong they are as a couple that he can do this with Kim steadfastly at his side. Their romance really is a thing of beauty – these strong, stubborn but broken men have come to really know and understand each other – and themselves – in ways that allow them to be vulnerable with each other and to face whatever life throws at them secure in the knowledge that they’re in it together. There are some gorgeously romantic and loving moments between Will and Kim in the story that show just how far they’ve come, both individually and as a couple, during the time we’ve been privileged to spend with them, and the moment when Kim communicates what he wants from their relationship is just heart-meltingly lovely.

Oh, and I can’t end this review without giving a quick shout-out to the awesome Phoebe and Maisie, who return to give the chaps an extremely useful helping hand. Not only are they superb characters in their own right, but the friendships between them and Will and Kim are so strongly written that the deep affection lying between them all simply leaps off the page.

If you’ve been following The Will Darling Adventures, then I know you’ll be eager to snap up Subtle Blood straight away, and if you’ve been waiting for the series to be completed, then now’s the time to get stuck in. Just make sure you clear yourself plenty of alone-time because once you start, I guarantee you won’t want to stop until the very end!

Clever, witty, sharply observed and beautifully romantic, Subtle Blood is a stonking read and an un-putdownable tour de force by an author at the very top of her game. I’m sorry to say goodbye to Will and Kim but I’m also so very glad to have made their acquaintance and that they’ve been given such a fantastic send-off. Definitely one for the keeper shelf and the Best of 2021 list.

The Gentle Art of Fortune Hunting by K.J. Charles

This title may be purchased from Amazon

Robin Loxleigh and his sister Marianne are the hit of the Season, so attractive and delightful that nobody looks behind their pretty faces.

Until Robin sets his sights on Sir John Hartlebury’s heiress niece. The notoriously graceless baronet isn’t impressed by good looks, or fooled by false charm. He’s sure Robin is a liar—a fortune hunter, a card sharp, and a heartless, greedy fraud—and he’ll protect his niece, whatever it takes.

Then, just when Hart thinks he has Robin at his mercy, things take a sharp left turn. And as the grumpy baronet and the glib fortune hunter start to understand each other, they also find themselves starting to care—more than either of them thought possible.

But Robin’s cheated and lied and let people down for money. Can a professional rogue earn an honest happy ever after?

Rating: A

KJ Charles revisits Regency England in The Gentle Art of Fortune Hunting, a frothy, wonderfully trope-y, Heyer-esque romp that, while light-hearted, is underpinned by the author’s customary insight into the workings of the society of the day and a very sharp-eyed look at the importance of security and happiness and what people do to obtain it. At its centre however, is a lovely opposites-attract romance between a lonely, grumpy baronet and a beautiful, sunny-natured young man, who are nonetheless exactly what the other needs.

Newly arrived in London, Robin and Marianne Loxleigh of Nottinghamshire (*snort*) immediately set about making friends in society, their good looks, charm and pleasant, unassuming manner meaning they’re very soon assured of a welcome wherever they go. Like a great number of the other young ladies and gentlemen in town, they’re both looking to make advantageous marriages – but unlike most of them, Robin and Marianne are not well-born; they’re nobodies from nowhere who know how to play the game to get what they want – and they play it very well indeed. Within a short time, Marianne has attracted the interest of a marquess, while Robin has set his sights on Alice Fenwick, a young woman in her first season whose birth – her father was a “provincial brewer” – and unexceptional looks render her beneath the notice of high society. But Robin knows what society doesn’t – that Alice stands to inherit twenty thousand pounds on her marriage, which is more than enough on which to live comfortably. Robin might be a fortune hunter, but he’s no intention of spending all the money and making Alice’s life a misery once she’s married him; he likes her and plans to make her a good husband. In most respects, anyway.

But there’s a rather large fly in the ointment in the form of Alice’s uncle, Sir John Hartlebury. A large, dark, scowling, incredibly suspicious fly with the most splendid pair of thighs Robin has ever seen.

Hart runs the brewery left to his sister Edwina by her first husband, which makes him something of an outsider in society, but he doesn’t care. He’s not popular, good-looking or charming; he’s socially awkward, plain-spoken and irascible, but he cares deeply for Alice and is immediately suspicious of Robin Loxleigh’s interest in her. Alice is clever, funny and kind, but in society, beauty is more highly prized than any of those things, and while Loxleigh has it in abundance Alice does not… so what can he possibly see in her if it’s not her twenty thousand pounds? Hart decides to find out as much as he can about the fellow, and to persuade Edwina – and Alice – that he’s up to no good.

Robin does his best to allay Hart’s suspicions but to no avail, and things come to a head one night at the gaming tables when Hart wins a very large sum of money from Robin that Robin is never going to be able to repay. Or perhaps… he can.

All I’ll say is that Robin finds a most inventive (and mutually satisfying!) solution that allows both men to come to a new understanding of one another – while they’re also falling helplessly in love. Hart discovers Robin is far from the heartless rogue he’d supposed him to be, and Robin learns of the big heart and vulnerability that lurk behind Hart’s gruff exterior. They’re flawed and they make mistakes, but they learn from them and from each other, too. Robin believes he’s not a good person and the only things he has to offer are his looks and charm, but Hart helps him to realise that’s not true and that he has value as a person beyond the superficial. Hart lacks self-esteem and believes himself “ugly”; he doesn’t have much experience with romance and sex, and has pretty much resigned himself to living a solitary life. Worse – and thanks to some truly heartbreaking events in his childhood – he doesn’t believe he deserves love or happiness. Until Robin shows him how wrong he is.

One of the many things I loved about this novel was the fact that Hart was prepared to listen to and learn from those around him. At the beginning of the book, he’s rather unbending, seeing the world in stark black and white, but as the story progresses, he’s brought to realise that not everyone can afford to see the world as he does, that his privilege has given him many more choices than are available to women and those without wealth or connections. I particularly enjoyed the parallels drawn between the Marriage Mart – where young women attempt to find security by marrying well – and Robin’s desire to find a wealthy wife for exactly the same reason, as well as the conversations about choices and morality and the hypocrisy of high society.

The familial relationships in the story are superbly written, too. Robin and Marianne have relied on each other from a young age and trust each other exclusively; their relationship is brilliantly written and rings completely true of two people who know each other inside out and have faced many hardships together. Their acerbic wit and obvious care for each other makes them easy to like and their clear-sightedness about how society operates makes it easy to root for them to succeed in their desire to worm their way in and hoodwink (if not actively steal from!) the nobs. Unlike the rest of society, they have no illusions about what they want or how to obtain it; they’re just more honest about it.

It’s clear that Alice, Edwina and Hart care very much for one another even though they share no blood ties, and I really appreciated the strong affection between Alice and Edwina (no evil stepmothers here!) The main female characters are all three-dimensional and interesting, with agency and ambitions of their own. Alice is delightful; perceptive and quick-witted, she’s good company but her ambition is to study mathematics and she really can’t be doing with all the balls and parties she’s expected to attend. Marianne’s and Edwina’s stories show how perilous marriage can be if women make the wrong choice of partner; Edwina’s second marriage was to a “selfish, greedy swine” who bled her dry, and Marianne, determined to attain wealth and respectability, makes a calculating but risky choice which will bind her to a man for whom she has no affection and much contempt.

The romance between Hart and Robin is a wonderful mix of sweet, steamy and swoony. Relationship conflicts arise organically as a result of situations and personalities and are never contrived or overdone, as Hart struggles to find the right way to keep Robin in his life for good. The scene near the end where Robin stands up for Hart so fiercely made me whoop with joy (in my head!), and the ensuing HEA is charming and very well deserved.

The Gentle Art of Fortune Hunting seems, at first glance, to be a relatively simple story, but when you start burrowing beneath the surface, is revealed to be richly layered and incredibly satisfying in its complexity. It’s also the sort of book you finish with a heartfelt, happy sigh and lots of warm, fuzzy feelings. It’s clever, it’s fun, it’s witty and it’s gloriously romantic, and I gobbled it up and never wanted it to end. I’m sure you will, too.

The Sugared Game (Will Darling Adventures #2) by K.J. Charles (audiobook) – Narrated by Cornell Collins

This title may be downloaded from Audible via Amazon

It’s been two months since Will Darling saw Kim Secretan, and he doesn’t expect to see him again. What do a rough and ready soldier-turned-bookseller and a disgraced, shady aristocrat have to do with each other anyway?

But when Will encounters a face from the past in a disreputable nightclub, Kim turns up, as shifty, unreliable, and irresistible as ever. And before Will knows it, he’s been dragged back into Kim’s shadowy world of secrets, criminal conspiracies, and underhand dealings.

This time, though, things are underhanded even by Kim standards. This time, the danger is too close to home. And if Will and Kim can’t find common ground against unseen enemies, they risk losing everything.

Rating: Narration – B; Content – A

Note: The Sugared Game is a direct sequel to Slippery Creatures, which should be listened to first; there are overarching plotlines running through this series, and there are spoilers for the previous book in this review.

Book two in The Will Darling Adventures, The Sugared Game picks up a few months after the events of Slippery Creatures, in which former soldier Will Darling and aristocratic spy Kim Secretan foiled a dastardly plot by a shady organisation known as Zodiac to gain information that could lead to the creation of a chemical weapon – and to also prevent its ending up in the hands of the War Office, antagonising both organisations along the way.

After things had died down, Will and Kim went to the pub a few times and spent another fantastic night together – and even though Will knows Kim is unreliable and untrustworthy, and that it’s the height of stupidity to hope, he’d started to think that maybe there was a chance that things between them might actually be going somewhere. Until Kim just disappeared without a word. Two months later, Will has not seen anything of Kim and he’s still angry; angry with Kim for being such a bastard, but angry at himself, too, for being so damn gullible as to think there could be anything between a man like him and a man like Kim other than a few drinks and a few fucks.

You can read the rest of this review at AudioGals.

My 2020 in Books & Audio

2020, huh? I don’t think I need to expound on that particular dumpster fire except to say that I feel lucky to be someone who has managed to read/listen to books pretty much as normal throughout it all. Books – and writing about them – have provided a much-needed escape from everything going on “out there”, and there have been times this past year when I don’t know what I’d have done without them.

So, what was I reading/listening to in 2020? Well, according to Goodreads (which shows an average rating of 4.1 stars overall), I read and listened to 269 books in total (which was 30 fewer than 2019) – although I suspect that number may be slightly higher as I sometimes forget to mark any re-listens I do. But just taking the new reads/listens, I listened to almost as many books as I read – 52.9% ebook and 47.1% audio, according to this new spreadsheet I’ve been using, and almost three-quarters of the total were review copies.

Of that total there are 77 5 star books, 152 4 star books – by far the biggest category – 36 3 star books and 6 2 star books. (Books sorted by rating.)

The 5 star bracket includes those titles I rate at 4.5 but round-up (which I equate to A-); the 4 star bracket (B) includes the 4.5 star grades I don’t round up (B+) and the 3.5 star ones I do round up (B-), the 3 stars are C+/C/C- and so on. Of the 77 5 star ratings, only around 17 are straight A grades in terms of the story (in the case of audiobooks, sometimes a 4 star review will get bumped up because the narration is so fabulous), so the rest of that 77 are A minuses or audiobooks where A and B grades combined to rate a higher overall total. Looking back at my 2019 Books & Audio post, those numbers are fairly consistent, although I didn’t have any one stars or DNFs in 2020, which isn’t a bad thing!

The books that made my Best of 2020 list at All About Romance:

Reviews are linked in the text beneath each image.

As usually happens, I always have a few “also-rans”, books I could have included if I’d had the space:

If you follow my reviews, you’ll already know that in 2020, I awarded more top grades than ever to a single author, which isn’t something that’s ever happened before; sure, I give high grades to some authors consistently (Sherry Thomas, KJ Charles and Meredith Duran spring to mind) but those have been one every few months or per year – not nine in a single year! So, yes, 2020 is, in my head, the Year of Gregory Ashe 😉 I could have chosen any number of his books for these lists as they’re all so very good.

Sadly noticeable by its (near) absence on these lists – historical romance. I said in my 2019 post that the amount of really good historical romance around had been declining for a while, and although there were some excellent historicals around in 2020, they were fairly few and far between. Many of the best came from Harlequin Historical – Virginia Heath’s Redeeming the Reculsive Earl is a lovely, funny and warm grumpy-reclusive-hero-meets-breath-of-fresh-air-(and neuroatypical) heroine, while Mia Vincy continues to demonstrate her mastery of the genre with A Dangerous Kind of Lady, a sexy, vibrant, not-really friends-to-lovers story in which the leads embark on a difficult journey of self-discovery while coming to realise how badly they’ve misjudged each other. The “modern” historical is a term being coined for novels set in the more recent past, and Asher Glenn Gray’s Honeytrap, the love story between an FBI agent and Red Army office that spans thirty-five years, would proibably have made my Best of list had I read it in time. Annabeth Albert is a big favourite of mine; Feel the Fire is book three in her Hotshots series, a second-chance romance that just hit the spot.

Audio

When I struggled to read something – which fortuantely, didn’t happen often – I could usually find something in audio that suited my mood, plus the fact that there are still back-catalogue titles coming out of books I haven’t got around to reading means that audio is always my preferred method of catching up! I listened to a lot of pretty good stuff over the year, but for my 2020 Favourites for AudioGals, I stuck to titles to which I’d given at least ONE A grade (usually for the narration) and nothing lower than a B+.

So that was 2020 in books and audio. I’m incredibly grateful to those authors and narrators who continued to provide me with such great reading/listening material through what has been an incredibly trying time for all of us; I know some who have really struggled to get words on a page this year, and I just want to say that you’re worth waiting for and I’ll be here whenever you’re ready.

As for what I’m looking forward to in 2021… more of the same, really – lots of good books! There are a number of titles I know are coming up in the first part of the year that I’m really excited about – the third Lamb and the Lion book from Gregory Ashe – The Same End – is out at the end of January, and I’m also eagerly awaiting new adventures with North and Shaw and Theo and Auggie. Then there’s book three in KJ Charles’ Will Darling Adventures, Subtle Blood, at least three (squee!) new books from Annabeth Albert, including the fourth Hotshots book; and a new instalment in Jordan Castillo Price’s long-running Psycop series (Other Half) due out in January, although I’ll be waiting for the audio because Gomez Pugh’s incredible turn as Victor Bayne is well worth waiting for. (I really must catch up with JCP’s ABCs of Spellcraft books, in audio, too!). There’s a new book in Hailey Turner’s Soulbound series coming soon, a new instalment in Jay Hogan’s Southern Lights series, and later on, I’m hoping Josh Lanyon’s The Movie Town Murders will be out this year – I need more Sam and Jason! – and I’m looking forward to new books in her Secrets and Scrabble series. I’m looking forward to more from Lucy Parker, Loreth Anne White, Garrett Leigh, Rachel Reid, Roan Parrish… There are new books slated from many of my favourite authors and narrators, and I’m looking forward to another year of great reading and listening.

I’ll be back this time next year to see if my expectations were fulfilled!

The Sugared Game (Will Darling Adventures #2) by K.J. Charles

It’s been two months since Will Darling saw Kim Secretan, and he doesn’t expect to see him again. What do a rough and ready soldier-turned-bookseller and a disgraced, shady aristocrat have to do with each other anyway?

But when Will encounters a face from the past in a disreputable nightclub, Kim turns up, as shifty, unreliable, and irresistible as ever. And before Will knows it, he’s been dragged back into Kim’s shadowy world of secrets, criminal conspiracies, and underhand dealings.

This time, though, things are underhanded even by Kim standards. This time, the danger is too close to home. And if Will and Kim can’t find common ground against unseen enemies, they risk losing everything.

Rating: A

Note: The Will Darling Adventures is a trilogy with overarching storylines and in which character and relationship development takes place throughout, so it’s advisable to read the books in order. There are spoilers for book one, Slippery Creatures, in this review.

K.J. Charles’ trilogy of Will Darling Adventures continues with book two, The Sugared Game, a perfectly-paced and superbly plotted mystery that sees soldier-turned-bookseller Will Darling and disgraced aristocrat and (probable) spy Kim Secretan working together once again to foil a dastardly plot. It’s pure Boy’s Own Adventure, albeit with sex and violence, richer characterisation and insightful social commentary.

At the end of Slippery Creatures, Will and Kim had prevented some dangerous information from falling into the hands of Zodiac, a secret organisation determined to destroy the fabric of society, and had managed to antagonise both Zodiac and the War Office along the way. After it’s over, they’d been to the pub a few times, spent another night together and, even though Will is well aware that Kim is an expert liar, devious and completely unreliable, he’d thought that perhaps there was a chance of things between them actually going somewhere.

But by the time The Sugared Game begins, Will has seen neither hide nor hair of Kim for almost two months, and is seriously pissed off. He keeps telling himself he should have known better than to hope for anything more from a man like Kim but still, he’s… hurt. And angry with himself for thinking there could ever be anything between them other than a few drinks and a few fucks.

As the book opens, Will and his best friend Maisie Jones are going for an evening out at the High-Low Club. Will has never heard of the place, but Maisie has chosen it because one of her customers gave her a voucher for a free bottle of bubbly – and according to Phoebe Stevens-Prince (Kim’s fiancée and a friend of both Will and Maisie’s) the band is good and it’s “awfully glamorous in a seedy way.”

It certainly is that. There’s a dope dealer upstairs together with several shady sorts, and the management don’t seem to take kindly to Will looking around; in fact, when the club’s proprietor introduces herself, Will gets the distinct impression he’s being threatened. Needless to say, he and Maisie decide not to go there again.

One evening a few days later, Will returns home and sees a strip of light beneath his bedroom door. Braced for the worst – maybe Zodiac has come for him – he arms himself with his trusty (and deadly) Messer knife, flings the door open… to discover Kim, cool as a cucumber, sitting in his armchair reading a book.

Kim, being Kim, starts in on a story to explain his presence, but Will has learned enough about his erstwhile lover to be able to tell when he’s lying – and when he’s up to something. Realising Will isn’t going to accept less than honesty, Kim admits that he’s been keeping an eye on the High-Low Club for a while now and tells Will it’s linked to Zodiac somehow. More than that, a colleague of his – a specialist in following financial trails – died recently in a manner Kim suspects was not at all accidental, after he had identified a number of profitable and highly illegal operations being run out of the club that he suspects are being used to finance Zodiac.

That’s all I’m going to reveal about the plot, because the mystery is clever and absolutely gripping, with twists and turns you won’t see coming. The plot turns out to have stakes that go far beyond the thwarting of a criminal gang and which prove devastatingly personal for Kim, and he and Will are going to have to use every ounce of their wit and ingenuity to keep ahead of the game – and make it out alive.

I enjoyed this second instalment in the series just as much and possibly more than I did the first one, and that’s saying a lot! I devoured it in one or two sittings, once again completely caught up in the story and the setting, captivated by the characters and relishing the development of the relationship between Will and Kim, who, despite Kim’s untrustworthiness and their total unsuitability, can’t keep away from each other.

The Sugared Game offers further character development and a greater understanding of what makes both men tick. Will knows he’s been changed by war, but here, he’s beginning to admit more to himself about that change, to realise that has an uncivilised streak that wants someone to ask him to infiltrate night-clubs and kick people’s heads in. In the last book, he was the innocent bystander getting caught up in a dastardly plot; this time around he goes in with his eyes wide open because he wants to stick it to the bad guys. And Kim, still his funny, snarky, clever self, finally tells Will something of his past and his motivations, displaying a raw and touching vulnerability as he does so. Although, being Kim, it doesn’t mean he reveals quite all… and when Will figures out what he’s holding back, he’s – understandably – furious with him. But when push comes to shove, he’s got Kim’s back, and although there are several unresolved issues by the time the book ends, their relationship is in a much better place than before.

I’ve said before that while “book twos” in trilogies frequently suffer from “middle book-itis” (just treading water until the final instalment), that’s never been a problem with K.J. Charles, and in fact some of her book twos have been the best in their series (A Seditious Affair and An Unnatural Vice for instance). Well, The Sugared Game is certainly not treading water. It’s a terrific follow up to Slippery Creatures, a tautly-written, compelling, high-stakes mystery with a vividly realised setting, a romance that’s coming along quite nicely, villains you can love to hate, heroes you can cheer for, murder, larceny, deception, betrayals – and plenty of cups of tea.

Slippery Creatures (Will Darling Adventures #1) by K.J. Charles (audiobook) – Narrated by Cornell Collins

This title may be downloaded from Audible via Amazon

Will Darling came back from the Great War with a few scars, a lot of medals, and no idea what to do next. Inheriting his uncle’s chaotic secondhand bookshop is a blessing…until strange visitors start making threats. First a criminal gang, then the War Office, both telling Will to give them the information they want, or else. Will has no idea what that information is, and nobody to turn to, until Kim Secretan – charming, cultured, oddly attractive – steps in to offer help. As Kim and Will try to find answers and outrun trouble, mutual desire grows along with the danger. And then Will discovers the truth about Kim. His identity, his past, his real intentions. Enraged and betrayed, Will never wants to see him again. But Will possesses knowledge that could cost thousands of lives. Enemies are closing in on him from all sides – and Kim is the only man who can help.

Rating: Narration – B; Content – A

Note: This story contains mention of chemical weapons and deadly disease.

I always enjoy it when an author sets out to deliberately write a pastiche or homage to a particular type of book. It’s something that goes beyond employing specific tropes; it’s as much to do with evoking the style of writing and the era in which the story is set as it is with whichever elements of storytelling are involved, and there are few authors who can do this sort of thing as well as K.J. Charles. Her Sins of the Cities series is a fantastic homage to the three-volume Victorian sensationalist novel, while The Henchmen of Zenda is an energetic (and marvellously tongue-in-cheek) retelling of a classic that not only conjures up the spirit of the original but adds several layers to the level of characterisation and plot. Her latest series – The Will Darling Adventures – is a trilogy set shortly after the First World War written in the style of 1920s pulp fiction, featuring rip-roaring adventure, dastardly plots and evil masterminds pitted against tough, heroic types who triumph against the odds.

One of our heroic types here is Will Darling, a former soldier who returns from war to find a world that has moved on without him. Unable to find work – as was the case for so many of those who survived the carnage of 1914-18 – Will is close to destitution when he is taken in by his uncle (his namesake) who is the owner of Darling’s Rare and Antiquarian bookshop in London. The plan is to train Will to eventually take over the business, but just a couple of months later, Darling senior is dead and has left Will in possession of the shop and flat above.

You can read the rest of this review at AudioGals.