The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen by KJ Charles
Gothic scandal meets Bridgerton intrigue in this swashbuckling Regency romance from celebrated author KJ Charles. Abandoned by his father, Gareth Inglis grew up lonely, prickly, and well-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 with their lives. Readers Rave about KJ Charles-"KJ Charles is one of the best romance novelists writing today. Historical romance at its finest. " -Sarah MacLean, New York Times bestselling author"Once again KJ Charles has produced an absolute.
- Suggested age range- Adult
- Format- Paperback
- Product dimension- 5.5" W x 8.2" H x 1.2" D
- Genre- Romance
- Publisher- Sourcebooks, Publication date- 03-07-2023
- Page count- 352
- ISBN- 9781728255859
Web ID: 16836723
Historical M/M romance and more
This is my first book by KJ Charles and it definitely will not be the last. It's billed as a historical M/M romance, but it is so much more. The action takes place in England in 1810, first, briefly, in London, and then in Kent for most of the story - specifically in area area of Kent called Romney Marsh. It’s a story that involves an extended family of smugglers (actually two extended families of smugglers), a sudden unexpected inheritance and a mystery. The characters were terrific individuals, not stereotypes, from Gareth to Joss to Ma Doomsday to Nate Sweetwater and on and on. Beyond the wonderful romance between an aristocrat and a smuggler, I learned a ton about an area of Kent, England called the Romney Marsh. You could say that I fell down a rabbit hole, looking up information about it while reading this book! I bounced between the audiobook and the ebook for this title, which was very convenient. The audiobook was beautifully narrated by Martyn Swain. It was a treat to hear all the different English accents over the course of the book. Warning: there are some very graphic steamy encounters, so if you’re listening to the audiobook, I advise using headphones! I was excited to find out that KJ Charles is planning a second book featuring some of these wonderful Romney Marsh characters! Thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance reader copy of this book and to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to an advance copy of this audiobook - although I was a bit late to both. All opinions are my own.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Adventure and Romance
Full of romance and adventure, this book is perfect for those readers who are looking for a great m/m historical that takes place in a fully developed world. Joss and Gareth met up at a pub while on travel and agreed to casually hookup. The book opens with a bang (literally) which is great; however, soon after we meet them the two agree to part ways as each returns home. Little do they know their lives will completely intersect once Gareth learns of his father's death prompting him to leave London for his estate in the country. Part of the greatness of this story is the world that Joss and Gareth live in. While they come from two completely different backgrounds and classes, they wind up in the same area geographically and end up working together to solve a mystery. There is a ton of adventure that is just as much a part of the story as the romance. The additional characters in the story are wonderful and really fill out the worlds that Joss and Gareth belong to. The relationship between them is full of chemistry and steam but what I really loved is the way they loved one another. They made me laugh and swoon and just feel so much. I adored every minute and cannot wait to return to this world with the next book in the series. Thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca and NetGalley for an ARC of this book. The opinions here are my own.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Another fantastic KJ Charles novel
KJ Charles is just a wonderful writer. With The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen, Charles gives us another historical romance that is so much more than just that. It’s filled with action, suspense, and mystery in addition to the romance. Charles has such a talent with character development and dialogue and her plots are unique and clever. I can’t wait for book two!
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
utterly delightful and charming romance
Once again, KJ Charles has written my favorite kind of romance. I love how her books are instant comfort reads at this point, while at the same time remaining fresh and new no matter how many I've read. You'd think she'd run out of unique and loveable characters (most of them gold-hearted rogues who aren't particularly morally bothered) with chemistry of the sort that means warmth and comfort and companionship and someone always on your side, in addition to the usual definition. And yet. I love her wit and sly humor. I don't tend to like must "humorous" books because they tend to rely on steortypes, punching down, bawdy humor, etc. Not so KJ Charles. Her humor is of the witty, sardonic, dry variety and it's just wonderful. Here, I'll give you an example: ---- "I would like to talk about this again, more civilly, to understand your point of view. I don’t know if I’ll agree but I’d rather disagree with more nuance.” Joss hoped *nuance* didn’t mean shouting. --- A lot of the humor in this book comes, as in the example above, from the language barrier of Marshman smuggler vs. educated Londoner. So I guess you have to like clever humor about words. Luckily, I do. Joss and Gareth are wonderful characters. Really, every character in this book is a wonderful character. They all have such distinct personalities and feel so very real. Their romance feels very natural too, as they work together and learn to trust one another. I absolutely LOVED everything about this and I had the biggest smile on my face while reading it. I knew I would love it - It's KJ Charles, that's a foregone conclusion - but it always surprises me how much I love it in the end. The plot was great. Twisty and full of danger and trouble, but also full of quiet moments of companionship and connection. I loved how it ended, too. It was perfect. I will absolutely read the next one as soon as it comes out (and her next book, and the next...) because she's one of my favorite authors at this point. I've preordered the audiobook as I know I will want to revisit this and that's one of my favorite ways to do so. thoughts on the audiobook: This audiobook and I did not particularly get along. LOVE LOVE LOVE the book, but the audio... The narrator speaks very slowly which is fine, I can just bump up the speed (which I did, to 2x). But he adds. Random. Pauses. in the middle of sentences, then jumps back to speaking at a steady pace and. Then. Adds. More. Pauses. and it's driving me nuts because I *can't* increase the speed any more because then the rest is too fast. I eventually got used to his particular style of narration, but it's still not my favorite. Worth it, to experience the book again, but another narrator would have improved it. I also found Joss' grandfather to have a really strange accent in the audio. We know from the story that he was from a plantation in Georgia and thus speaks with a slow drawl. The audiobook narrator interprets this as. Speaking. Very. Very. Slowly. With. Long. Pauses. Between. Words. It has an almost staccato effect which is very much not how a southern drawl works. 5+ enthusiastic stars for the book, 3.5 unenthusiastic stars for the narration.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Great read!
I've read a lot of historical romance, and a MM story is certainly a rarity. Secret Lives is my first title by KJ Charles and I thoroughly enjoyed it! Gareth and Joss were great together, but I also loved the roles their extended family members and friends played. Gareth was not only navigating his relationship with Joss, but also his newly discovered sister and aunt. Add in mystery, adventure and suspense and you have an entertaining tale. I listened to the audiobook and found the narration good and engaging.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Fascinating
Gareth inherits a baronetcy upon the death of his estranged father. When he moves into the manor house, he discovers that the town is a den of smuggling—and his former lover, Joss, is their leader. Gareth gets caught in a web of rivalries that threaten to strangle him. Can Joss help him save himself? This is a fascinating novel, as much mystery as romance. The author does a great job of dramatizing Gareth's struggles to come to terms with the ethics of the society in which he finds himself, which differ from the ethics of London. The book also examines the internal conflict between self-reliance and community. But it's also got a strong, engaging plot and a steamy, heartwarming love story. You really can't go wrong with a KJ Charles book. Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
So delightful!
4.5* The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen was such a delight to read. But coming from K.J. Charles I wouldn't expect any less! It was mysterious and suspenseful, but also sweet and thoughtful. I think Gareth and Joss might be my favorite KJC couple. Such opposites, but so perfect together. I really enjoyed this story so much. The intrigue, the passion, the setting all came together to make for one engaging read. KJC always does such a fantastic job of transporting me into the worlds she creates and this one was no different. I felt like I could see Romney Marsh and all it's inhabitants (human and insect) from her descriptions. I used to think I wanted to be a pirate, but I'm rethinking that now and feel like I might be better suited as a smuggler.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Love and smugglers
Absolutely delicious! The plot revolves around smugglers and family. The two main characters are poles apart on the issue of smuggling but find they have a lot in common when it comes to family problems. The absolutely sweetest romance blooms, withers, then has the potential to bloom again. I loved all the local dialect from the Marshmen. So expressive!
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com