A very long seven years ago, I read An Unseen Attraction, the first entry in the Sins of the City trilogy, set in London in 1873; the events in this novel overlap and continue a major plot arc of the trilogy, and while there is a very brief and unobtrusive recap of previous events in the first couple of chapters of this book, I would definitely recommend reading these three books in order for maximum enjoyment.

As I mentioned in my review of the first book, that year the fog was a serious event that killed people; in this story, it is again itself a character, as is Victorian London--by which I mean the city as a setting, and the period, with all the cultural and social changes and undercurrents of the time.

Beware: loss of a beloved partner; grief; alcoholism; mention of suicide; brief description of torture; some violence on page; explicit sex on page; swearing.The book is narrated in third person, past tense, from the alternating point of view of the protagonists as they grapple with very real and very unwanted feelings for each other. Oh, and also, try to avoid getting themselves murdered.

In 1873, the spiritualist craze in Britain was going strong; well-to-do people, especially of the upper classes, would pay quite a bit of hard cash to all flavors of mediums and other con artists, including one Justin Lazarus. The "Seer of London" is at the top of his game, in demand with both regular and new sitters--and also bored, and increasingly bitter.

Born in a workhouse, and picked off the street as a child of perhaps seven as a familiar (trainee), by another medium, Justin feels mostly contempt, for the people who come to him. Some of them grieve sincerely, but far too many just want to use their privilege as a transactional tool with death--as if money made an actual difference there.

Life has taught Julian that he cannot count on anyone but himself, that life is a series of transactions, and that all gifts come with very sticky strings attached; at thirty, he cares for no one and no one cares for him, and that's how he likes his life.

Oh, there are his familiars, the young girls Sukey and Emma, and Frankie, now more a general helper than medium assistant; and Justin intends to do better by them than his own master did for him, but that's just being smart; it's not like he has any sort of emotional attachment for them, or viceversa. Of course it's not.

It's into this "contented" existence, that one Nathaniel Roy walks in; journalist by trade and lawyer by training, and outraged by the exploitation of the grieving by conscienceless manipulators, he's determined to start by exposing Justin as a fraud.

Nathaniel is one of those privileged pricks that Justin is fed up with; the son of an archbishop and independently wealthy, Nathaniel has never wanted for anything, including a romantic relationship as close, for all intents and purposes, as a marriage. For five idyllic years, he and Tony shared their lives, and a bed, in Nathaniel's set of rented rooms, and dreamed of growing old together away from London.

Until a sudden, senseless accident left Tony dead and Nathaniel grieving, a grief all the stronger because it must go unacknowledged outside the very tight circle of their mutual queer friends. It has been more than six years since Tony's death, and while Nathaniel has recovered enough to function, and to care for the friends who essentially kept him alive during the worst of his bereavement, he has set himself apart from the world in all other ways. These days, righteous anger is his most frequent emotion, and that suits him fine.

So neither of them are particularly pleased to meet a man they're so attracted to, who also happens to be the essence of what they generally despise. Not only are they baffled, but the intensity of the push and pull between them forces them to examine their own prejudices and preconceptions; Nathaniel has to come to terms with his privilege and self-righteousness, and Justin must learn to trust, and overcome his own sense of inferiority--not about class or even education, though those those do matter. The real issue is that Justin, despite all his protestations to the contrary, has always been aware that lying to the grieving is not a victimless crime.

Meanwhile, there is the external plot, involving the missing heir to an earldom, and the various parties with an interest in making sure he's never found. There is some violence on the page, but it's the very real sense of menace that more and much worse violence will shortly be forthcoming, that is so disturbing; the author's tagline is "romance with a body count" for a reason. Heed thee the bewares above!

Something most excellent that this author does with trilogies and series, is creating communities for her characters to inhabit that is larger than the strict needs of the plot; some of the secondary characters in this book are protagonists in either the previous book or the next one, but others are simply part of the world they all live in. Among the latter type, I am particularly fond of Phillys and Gregory at the Jack and Knave.

Then there's the competence porn--because while Nathaniel may know that whatever "psychic phenomena" that happens during séances are nothing tricks, there's skill involved, starting with knowing how to read the sitters; Justin has trained himself to be very observant, and to remember has he sees and hears. For his part, Nathaniel shows off his lawyer chops while helping his friend Clem, and Clem's cousin Tim, face off against their rather terrible relatives on the matter of the succession to the earldom of Moreton.

Over the course of five short weeks, our two protagonists meet, fight, have angry sex, eventually learn to trust each other, and finally to love, and their characterization is so rounded, their arcs so clear, I am convinced they will make their relationship work, even if they don't quite have all the answers as to how just yet. It helps that they are never indifferent to each other; contrary to the indifferent familiarity in a recent read that left me doubting the hero's feelings, I have no doubt Nathaniel and Justin love each other deeply.

As the book ends, the answer to a major question in the overarching plot of the trilogy is revealed, while making it clear that the full solution lies in the last book; despite lacking a full resolution on the mystery thread, the romance is so well done, and the action scenes so satisfactory, that the reaction to the "...to be continued" note at the end is anticipation, rather than disappointment.

An Unnatural Vice gets a 9.00 out of 10

Just like the first in the series, the worldbuilding of late 1800s London is captivating, as are the characters in this mystery romance. It's part of a trilogy with a story arc that branches through them all but with each story giving a complete couple romance.

Nathaniel Roy has set out to expose a seance artist but Justin Lazarus, an expert at his craft of making people believe they are seeing 'beyond the veil', turns out to be integral to the health and continued well being of Nathaniel's friend Clem. Clem's half brother has been murdered and the search for a possible heir has produced some surprising information.

The combination of murder mystery with opposites attract romance is a compelling read. Nathaniel hates what Justin does for a living but he understands how Justin ended up with this career - he just thinks Justin who is smart and personable could use his talents for something other than deceiving people. It's up to Justin to choose his own way forward and Nathaniel will accept whatever he chooses. Meanwhile there's a murderer on the loose and thick, soupy, acrid fog is engulfing the city.

While this can be read as a standalone, the first in the series sets the stage and introduces the main characters and I recommend it as well. If you're looking for something different, you can't go wrong with K.J.Charles who writes such wonderful queer romances and reminds us in the 21st century that just because something isn't out in the open doesn't mean it never existed.

Review has been uploaded to Amazon.

A solid historical romance with excellent character building and atmospheric setting. The plot is engaging and the chemistry between the couple is believable and emotionally appealing.

Nathaniel Roy is a journalist working on a story about fraudulent spiritualists at work in London. His assignment takes him in the path of Justin Lazarus, the Seer of London. Nathaniel has nothing but disdain for Justin. He knows Justin isn’t really speaking to the dead, but instead swindling innocent, grieving people out of their money. He expects to hate the man on sight, yet something about Justin draws Nathaniel in despite himself.

Justin grew up on the streets and has no remorse for the gullible people who hand over their money hoping to speak to the dead. Justin has learned to do what he needs to do to survive and if that means taking coin from rich fools who should know better, he is fine with that. When Nathaniel shows up to investigate, Justin knows he is in trouble from the skeptical man. But he too can’t help the attraction he feels.

The men are at odds from the start, but soon find they are linked together by a crime involving an aristocratic family, attempted murder, and secret heirs. The men realize that they must band together to figure out what is going on. And when their lives are threatened, they need one another even more. As the men spend time together, the walls between them begin to come down. But even as they are falling for one another, people seeking to silence the men from revealing what they have learned threaten their relationship and their lives.

An Unnatural Vice is the second book in K.J. Charles’ Sins of the Cities series and it is absolutely fabulous. The story follows closely on the heels of the first book, An Unseen Attraction. While this book features new MCs and their relationship, the series does continue the suspense elements that begin in the first book with regard to Clem’s brother’s potential heirs and the murderous attempts at keeping things quiet. Charles’ does a nice job catching us up with this plot and I had no trouble following along and remembering the details as the story here unfolds, even several months after reading the first book. I think a new reader might be able to make this work alone, but really you will want to read the first book before this one to fully understand the nature of the suspense plot and all the players. I think the book will be much richer for having the background.

An Unnatural Vice pretty evenly balances between the relationship end of things and the suspense elements. I think the suspense part of the story comes more to the forefront here than the first book, and I loved the way it ties these guys together. The connection is pretty clever and it allows the men to work together against a common enemy, even as they are personally at odds. Things develop nicely with this larger plot and move forward quite well. At the same time, the overarching story does remain incomplete and the hints we get for the next book and the MCs are completely tantalizing!

I love Charles’ work and pretty much read everything that she writes. And this story is particularly good, as Charles really excels at the enemies to lovers element, one of my favorite tropes. When this type of story works well, the tension between the characters feels real and strong and for more than just show. Charles does a wonderful job here really showing that tension between Justin and Nathaniel and letting it crackle throughout the book. Even as they are hot for one another, it is clear that they are at odds and it carries well throughout the story as they move from enemies, to grudging acceptance, to friendship, to love. Nathaniel comes to care deeply for Justin, but he is also clear that he can not ever be happy about what Justin does for a living. At the same time, Nathaniel makes Justin a priority and is willing to support him in what he needs, even if it is not the life Nathaniel wishes for him. So this aspect of the plot works so well and really gives the story some fire (plus some intense hate sex).

Justin and Nathaniel are such great characters and Charles develops them so well. We come to really understand what drives both of these men, what grief they have experienced in their pasts, and what shapes them into who they are today. I love the spark between them, the bit of fire that carries through everything they do, even as they fall for one another. And how they are so drawn to each other despite themselves.

So this is another wonderful story by an author whose work I just adore. Charles sets things up wonderfully for the next book in the series and I particularly loved how the suspense plot is integrated into this story. We get a chance to connect with many of the characters we meet in the first book, while also introducing a fabulous new relationship and furthering the larger mystery. So I absolutely loved An Unnatural Vice and it definitely takes its place among my favorites by the author. I highly recommend this series and this book.

A missing heir, the threat of a killer still running loose and the unwanted attraction between an upstanding member of society and a man who makes his living with lies…life on the streets of London is anything but boring. Starting off before the end of the first novel, An Unnatural Vice continues the search for the missing Tallihfer heir from the perspectives of Nathaniel, one time lawyer turned journalist and Justin, a ‘spiritualist’ out to take as much money from the rich as he can for as long as he can. I found the story, while entertaining, to be vastly different in approach from the first book, An Unseen Attraction, and even after finishing it, I’m not sure how I feel about that. I’ll explain.
So, the first novel was, in some ways, a lot easier than this latest release; I found the interactions between Clem and Rowley to be fairly smooth and they just sort of fit together like a hand and glove. Nathaniel and Justin? Ha! Most often when together it was like trying to mix oil and water; these two were basically on opposite sides on most everything and the attraction between them just made every conversation between them worse as they each tried to fight it. That aspect of the story I really enjoyed; while there was a lot of push/pull between the main characters, it was never too much and I liked seeing how they couldn’t help but gravitate towards one another. Now, I loved Nathaniel from the start and really relished the chance to get to know his character more than I did previously but Justin took a while for me to warm up to; he was kind of jaded and I didn’t care for how he preyed upon certain aspects of Nathaniel’s past in order to rattle him. He did grow on me eventually, however, and by the end of the book I actually liked the little sneak.
The mystery aspect of the book was fairly laid back here, unfortunately, and while I enjoyed seeing the characters interacting, I wanted more from the story than just seeing them together. I thought the mystery itself was pretty strong in the last story and while I did enjoy seeing the progress made here towards to next book, I didn’t have the same overall feeling of satisfaction I normally get from a seeing a great mystery unfold and get solved. I will say this; the reveal at the end of the book was nothing like what I was expecting and I give total kudos to the author for throwing me for a loop there! I really can’t wait to see what happens in the next book; it should prove to be highly entertaining. 😀
If you’ve enjoyed this author’s works in the past or just enjoy historical novels in general, I totally recommend this book; make sure you read the previous novel first, however, as it will be necessary to understand what’s going on here.

I had no idea how this was going to work, but KJ Charles is pretty much a genius. Nathanial and Justin are one of the few couples that are not only perfect for each other but absolutely the worst of enemies from the get-go. I love it. I have nothing bad to say about this story.

I loved the twist, suspense and the magic tricks on this book. I'll definitely buy the previous book from this series.

This was an amazing follow up to the first book in the series. It gave me the answers I was craving but still left me wanting more. I completely loved the skeptical side balancing act of this book that warred with the magic and suspension of belief side of the book as well. I want more set in this world and with these characters!

I started this book and left it unfinished for months because both protagonists are so unpleasant when they're first introduced so the publication date is long past. When I picked the book back up both characters and plot warmed up quickly! I have read the first book in the series and while I think anyone with a solid knowledge of romance tropes could pick this up and figure out the context, I would recommend reading in order as the plots tie together closely. I think for almost every KJ Charles book I've read I've had to struggle through the first third and then the book picked up steam and I barreled along to the end, and this followed that pattern. All in all, a fun historical with a strong action/adventure plot to pull things along. I have book three already and am eager to see how things turn out for Pen and Mark.

An Unnatural Vice is a well written historical MM romance with some mystery thrown in. Justin Lazarus is a cheat, the Seer of London, who defrauds his grieving clients and has no remorse while doing so. But, when he comes across Nathaniel Roy, a journalist set to expose him, the sparks are flying, and not just the faked kind Justin's familiars (accomplices) conjure up during the seance Nathaniel is attending.

The mystery that is the backbone of this story is almost as compelling as the love story playing out between Nathaniel and Justin. But, Nathaniel and Justin are the true stars here. Nathaniel is just recently coming out of the fog he'd been in after his longtime lover passed away. He doesn't want the first man he's been attracted to since Tony died, to be this unscrupulous fraud, but he just cannot seem to help himself from feeling intensely attracted to Justin. On Justin's part, he makes no bones about his attraction to Nathaniel, but he has all kinds of insecurities left over from the life he leads and the men who've been in his life previously. He hasn't had any easy life, and he's thoroughly aware that he's not a good person, so to be attracted to a good, rich man like Nathaniel is just strange for him. And yet, the two keep coming together, their chemistry just cannot possibly be denied.

But can a fraud and a lawyer turned journalist possibly make a relationship work? Especially when said fraud is determined to live his life the way he always has been, and doesn't want charity or help from the man he's falling for? Thank God for Nathaniel's dogged persistence in helping Justin, and their mutual passion, or I'm not sure they would have made it, because Justin's determination to live as he always had, was a big deterrent.

I really enjoyed An Unnatural Vice. The mystery is interesting, the secondary cast is well rounded and entertaining, and of course the chemistry between Nathaniel and Justin is really sexy. I'm looking forward to more of this series.

Stevie‘s review of An Unnatural Vice (Sins of the Cities, Book 2) by KJ Charles
Gay Historical Romance published by Loveswept 06 Jun 17

KJ Charles returns us to Victorian London for the second book in this trilogy about the search for a deceased earl’s missing heir, and once again we aren’t spared the less pleasant aspects of city life in the latter part of the nineteenth century. For one thing, the fog is practically a character in its own right, presenting obstacles and distractions for our heroes as they fight their way through it to avoid enemies and solve more pieces of the overarching puzzle. But what of our heroes? This time around we’re presented with a very different pair from the two main protagonists of the first book.

Justin Lazarus was raised from the depth of poverty by a fake medium, who took him in, educated him, and trained him to take over the business of conducting highly staged séances with the aim of defrauding the rich and recently bereaved. Although unscrupulous in his business dealings, Justin cares deeply for the children he has taken in and is now training up to work for him – and in some cases to eventually set up as mediums in their own right. By contrast, Nathaniel Roy was born into wealth and is on a mission to unmask fraudsters like Justin who prey on the vulnerable. Just like Justin, though, Nathaniel is a mix of contrasts: an Archbishop’s son, who is now an atheist, trained as a lawyer but now working as a journalist, and the possessor of a large house in the country who prefers to live and work in London. Nathaniel is still in mourning for his lover who died some years earlier, and this makes his attempt to reveal Justin’s con particularly poignant, when Justin uses the name of Nathaniel’s dead lover as part of his deception..

Following this less than auspicious beginning, however, the two find themselves embroiled in the same mystery. Nathaniel has been helping his friends search for missing twins: the new earl and his sister, and Justin was visited by the twin’s mother some time earlier. She left him with a clue to their identity as security against money she owed for his services, but never returned. When other, less benevolent individuals, who are also looking for the twins, turn their attentions towards Justin, Nathaniel feels obliged to step in and help – especially since the evidence in Justin’s possession may be of great help with his friends’ investigations. Soon, however, Justin is being pursued by people who will stop at nothing to prevent him revealing what he knows.

I enjoyed this book, but it suffered very much from being the middle part of a trilogy. The latest big reveal for the main series arc leaves us more with questions than answers, and the book’s conclusion in terms of its own plot is overshadowed by the lead-in to the final book of the series. Those niggles not withstanding, I once again enjoyed meeting all the individuals in this book – even the most minor of characters has their own personality, aims and agency, and I greatly hope we get to meet many of them again in the next book, where the series will conclude and presumably all loose ends will be tied up.

Grade: B

Enemies-to-lovers, opposites-attract, KJ Charles has it covered in An Unnatural Vice, book two in the Sins of the Cities series, and she’s done so with a man who is so lacking in morals, ethics, or a conscience that I fell for him for no other reason than his potential to turn this novel into a redemption story as well. Which, it is, so mission accomplished.

Justin Lazarus is a fraud, a cheat, a swindler, a grifter of the highest order, and he’s out to get everyone else before they get him. Lazarus is the Seer of London, who sits across the table from those who can afford to pay him, typically the wealthy and bereaved, and professes to communicate with the dearly departed. Parlor tricks; skilled accomplices; a gift for knowing how to be just vague enough, just complimentary enough to be convincing; and a thespian’s command of performing for his rapt, and sometimes desperate, audience has made Justin one of the most sought-after mediums in the city. Justin convinces his “sitters” that he’s capable of crossing the veil to communicate with those on the other side, which makes what he does all the more reprehensible—he preys on the hope of those who are hopeless. Or, in Nathaniel Roy’s case, the seer toys with the man whose faith in Justin’s abilities is so entirely absent that Nathaniel can’t help but hate the scam artist for offering even the slightest flicker of doubt that there’s something to his professed talents.

Nathaniel knows what it means to grieve, having lost the most important person in his life nearly six years before, so when he makes an appointment for a reading with Justin—with the intent of exposing the Seer of London as a fraud—Nathaniel’s intense loathing of Justin and everything he does, and everything he represents, wars with an immediate lust and desire to bend the medium over his own séance table and screw him six ways to Sunday. As circumstances would have it, however, Justin despises Nathaniel every bit as much; he scorns the journalist as an insufferable and pompous ass, and hands Nathaniel precisely what was expected—lies and a skilled performance that left Nathaniel with more than a few “what ifs” and “if onlys”.

When the mystery of and search for missing twins begets kidnapping, murder, and drops Justin into the heart of it all, the mystery kicks into full gear and propels the story and the series arc forward, along with the hate-lust that evolves between Nathaniel and Justin. KJ Charles is parsing out clues sparingly as to the identity and motives of a killer who’s bent upon ensuring that the rightful Earl of Moreton isn’t found, and I loved this aspect of the story.

As is the hallmark of Charles’ historical fiction, the setting is absolute and absorbing. As much as we might want to romanticize Victorian London, thanks to fiction and Hollywood, the truth is that the literal tons of horseshit in the streets and the human waste clogging the Thames was a complement to the sooty, stinking pea-soupers that descended on the city, obscuring the sun and making it difficult—if not downright dangerous—to breathe. I love the way this all added to the atmosphere of the story, in a theatrical way, and contrasted the setting when it came time for the relationship between Nathaniel and Justin to shift to an idyllic country home—even if they were running for Justin’s life at the time. It also served as another reminder of the deep divide between them but also begins to build a bridge, away from the expectations and prying eyes and the hostility.

Adding to my overall appreciation of An Unnatural Vice, Charles doesn’t attempt to convince readers that Nathaniel and Justin have begun something like a happily-ever-after together, true to the time and setting. I liked the two of them individually and as partners, especially when they teamed up to elude the killer and find Repentance Taillefer and his twin sister, Regret. Which, of course, sets up the final piece in this trilogy, An Unsuitable Heir, a book I’m so looking forward to because of the lovely little tease offered at the end of this one.

As is always the case with a KJ Charles penned novel, the dialogue is rich and revealing of the characters; though, I must say Justin stole the spotlight from Nathaniel. His character has more to reveal, his life experiences hold more interest than Nathaniel’s proper and cultivated self, and I liked how these contrasts not only began to draw Nathaniel out of the cocoon of his grief but turned, gradually, from disdain to respect for Justin’s survival skills.

While I wouldn’t make it a point to recommend reading this series out of order (i.e., reading this book and then going back to read An Unseen Attraction), I can say that if you haven’t read book one, you won’t be lost jumping into the series here. There’s just enough backstory offered to allow readers to understand what’s played out to this point, thanks to the author’s savvy for telling a story without it feeling as if she’s retelling everything that came before it. I really liked An Unnatural Vice, and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it for both the mystery and the romance.

4.5 stars.

Sometimes you read a review copy of a book, and for whatever reason it takes you ages to actually review it. You realize it's been so long since you read the book you can't properly write about it, so you read the book again. And sometimes, if you're lucky, you end up loving it more the second time around. I was lucky with An Unnatural Vice. The first time I really liked it. This time I really, really liked it.

I had a strong feeling this series would get more interesting, and I was right. Sins of the Cities continues, and gets wonderfully more complicated... and foggier. I never would have guessed I would enjoy reading about the dreadful London fog, but when it brought two lonely hearts together, the foul murkiness didn't seem that bad. Especially since the hearts in question belonged to Nathaniel Roy and Justin Lazarus.

While Nathaniel played a part in the previous book, An Unseen Attraction, Justin Lazarus was only mentioned by name, after which he was called a "damned fraud" by none other than Nathaniel, so imagine my surprise followed by excitement when I read the blurb for An Unnatural Vice, and saw Nathaniel's love interest would be the damned fraud. I just knew I'd be in for a treat. I adored Clem and Rowley from the previous installment, but Justin and Nathaniel's story was more my speed. Adversaries who become lovers, and whose fights are like foreplay -- oh, yes, it's always a lot of fun to read.

Nathaniel and Justin started off on the wrong foot, to say the least. Nathaniel was a journalist with strong opinions on right and wrong, a journalist determined to expose Justin and his profession as false. Justin was a spiritualist to whom people came wanting to communicate with the dead, and who had no qualms about lying to his visitors and taking their money afterwards. His usual clients bored him, and Nathaniel was a welcome challenge. Nathaniel had been grieving for his lover for years. He hadn't felt attraction for another man since Tony, but then his visits to the Seer of London changed that. He wanted that damned fraud, which was unsettling as was Justin's ability to guess what lay deep in Nathaniel's heart. The seance didn't end well. That could have been the last they saw of each other had there not been trouble brewing in the foggy city streets.

The mystery from An Unseen Attraction continued in this book. The secrets and crimes surrounding Clem's family were increasing in number, as there were more and more people claiming to have a right to the family fortune, some of which were willing to go to great lengths to achieve it, even resort to torture and murder. Two of those unsavory characters would find their way to Justin Lazarus and demand his help in tracking the heir to the title by using his ability to talk to the dead. Justin's performance wasn't satisfactory which in turn put his life in danger. Justin had made it his mission to never depend on anyone, so when the time came he needed help, he had no one to ask for it. Except Nathaniel.

Running away from murderers brought Nathaniel and Justin to a place where they had plenty of time to spend in each other's company and to clear the air. They had time for discussions and arguments, and enough privacy to make up afterwards. It was my favorite part of the novel. With each book by KJ Charles, I'm impressed with how she handles bringing two very different characters together, and Nathaniel and Justin couldn't have been more different.

An Unnatural Vice left Justin and Nathaniel in a good place. Well, not counting the murderer that's still on the loose. The person not in a good place at all was Mark. I can't wait to read his story in An Unsuitable Heir, and finally see how this mystery unravels, but mostly to see what happens between Mark and the heir. It'll be a great conclusion to the series, I know it!

*4.5 stars*

Excellent, excellent, excellent! This book is simply K.J. Charles doing what she does best.

I'm a huge K.J. Charles fan, but I was a little worried about this series. I'm not a huge fan of suspense and mystery, and the fact that the stories in all three books link together in a "to be continued" kind of way worried me. I wasn't crazy about An Unseen Attraction, but the characters in An Unnatural Vice just spoke to me.

I am loving enemies to lovers more and more, and here we get the intense combination of combustible sexual attraction along with strong hatred, and the result is explosive.

Justin was simply glorious. I love a flawed character, a scrappy character, and Justin did what he had to do to survive. He was fierce and so, so bright, and I just adored him.

Nathaniel was also a wonderful character. I have a soft spot for second chances at love after a partner has died, and I felt the love Nathaniel had for Tony alongside his growing affection for Justin. K.J. Charles crafted him perfectly. Plus, bonus points for making him big and hairy (*grins*).

The plot was exciting, in fact, a bit too exciting for my tastes. Like I said, suspense isn't really my thing, and I liked the moments when the two were figuring out their relationship more than the moments they were fighting for their lives. Gulp.

I'm hoping and praying that this series keeps getting better and that book three will floor me. I know K.J. Charles can pull it off.

An Unnatural Vice by K.J. Charles
Book #2: Sins of the Cities Series
Source: Purchase
My Rating: 4/5 stars
My Review:

**REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR BOOK ONE**

Nathaniel Roy likes nothing better than unearthing a juicy story and exposing scandals. Of late, he’s turned his attention to Justin Lazarus, the so-called Seer of London. As far as Nathaniel is concerned, Lazarus is the lowest kind of villain, preying on people’s insecurities, fears, and losses. Exposing Lazarus as a fraud will suit Nathaniel just fine and further his social crusade. Once that’s done, Nathaniel can move on to the next story, the next social injustice.

Justin Lazarus knows what it’s like to have nothing, to be at other people’s mercy, and he will never be that vulnerable again. In recent years, Justin has established himself as the Seer of London, a man who can commune with the dead and bring peace to those left behind. As long as the bereaved can pay, Justin strings them along dropping tidbits of information about their lost loved ones, but once the money has dried up, the mystical connection to the dead is lost. Yeah, Justin is a fine upstanding citizen, just a real gem of a human being.

Justin and Nathaniel crossing paths is inevitable and the second they meet, Justin begins working his “magic” and preying upon Nathaniel’s past, his tragic loss. Nathaniel is a man who is rarely at a loss for words, but Justin’s “knowledge” of his past, his loss, and his general demeanor is inconceivable at it leaves Nathaniel completely shaken. As Nathaniel retreats to the safety of his established circle of friends, he discovers that he may, in fact need Justin for more than just the subject of his latest investigation. As it turns out, Justin is connected to the mess brought about by the death of Clem Talleyfer’s brother, the earl of Moreton. Oh, hell!!

In the wake of the earl’s death, the title has been claimed by the late earl’s disgusting brother, but there is still the question of the legitimate children left behind by the late earl. If one of those children is a boy, he is the legitimate and legal heir and Nathaniel has been tasked by his friends to dig up whatever documentary evidence may exist to prove or disprove the case. Just as he is pondering the situation, Nathaniel finds a disturbed and somewhat scared Justin Lazarus at his door with information that can blow the missing twins case wide open. Because of his “fame,” Justin needs to flee the city and Nathaniel has just the place. Only their friends know where to find them and until the matter of the missing heir is solved, Justin and Nathaniel intend to stay out of sight. Unfortunately, being sequestered and relatively alone brings up a whole host of new naughty issues that both are incredibly uncomfortable with.

The Bottom Line: An Unnatural Vice picks up exactly where An Unseen Attraction leaves off. Nathaniel is right in the thick of things and those things get thicker and thicker when Justin Lazarus enters the mix. Justin turns Nathaniel’s world upside down and brings him out of the miasma of sadness and loneliness he didn’t even realize he was engulfed in. As the two become closer and more comfortable with the other, their respective secrets are revealed, and their walls come crashing down. As the plot unfolds, the situation gets more and more dangerous which increases the suspense and the plot pace. The naughty bits are delicious in this read and overall, this read is even better than the first. Additionally, the heir issue is still somewhat unresolved though progress is made in this book. There is still a great deal of sinning left to do in the city 😊

As usual KJ made it ! I loved this one. We care for the MCs, the plot is believable. A very very good Sunday afternoon.

This is the second book in the Sins of the Cities series and it continues the mystery/suspense plot from the first book as the background of a rather unexpected romance.

Justine Lazarus, the Seer of London, a fake psychic making money by deceiving gullible rich people who turn to him is very much at the heart of this story. And he is such a special character, he is so unapologetically bad you can't help cheer for his HEA. Justine is a shameless crook, who has no regrets and second thoughts about what he does for a living. Yet, we gradually see another side of him - he is smart and observant and crafty and resourceful and ultimately, someone with a moral code of his own, someone who cares about his people, wants to do better, live a better life.

He is not an easily likable character, especially at the beginning, but I had no trouble understanding him, relating to him, accepting as legitimate the reasons that made him act the way he did. Deep down he is a good person, caring in his own way, and what makes him even more special is that despite the difficulties he had been through , him acting like a cold-hearted cynic is all more or less a mask, a role he plays to perfection in order to survive. And still, he has dreams, and hopes, is able to love and show compassion and care.

Nathaniel was a bit harder for me to pin down as a character - strong and stoic, recovering from the loss of his lover. He was a sort of a justice warrior, guided by strong moral principles. While I'm sympathetic to his struggles to come to terms with his attraction to someone like Lazarus, he acted too superior and judgmental for my liking. His privilege was showing in his insistence for Justin to change his ways. Even though in the end he accepted him the way he was, I didn't like his attitude for most of the story.

They are an unlikely pair, which started with an irresistible sexual chemistry in a enemies-to-lovers scenario. I felt the attraction was a bit instantaneous and while I see it as fitting Lazarus, it felt forced with Nathaniel. He's been mourning his partner for a long time and suddenly his attraction awakes, just like that, out of nowhere and it draws him to the unlikeliest of love interest

The mystery/suspense part of the story was full of plot twitst and turns that kept me on my toes the whole time while reading. It was exciting and unexpected and intense and moving without ever going into melodrama and really enjoyed it.

The writing is we have come to expect by KJ Charles flawless, engaging, full of nuanced detail, creating a rich sense of place and time.

As the solving of the overarching mystery of the series progresses, not it's time for Mark to get his story told and I can't wait to read it later this year.

An Unseen Attraction is the second book in a trilogy set in Victorian London. It’s certainly starts a little more high-octane than the first book, which took quite a bit of time to get going. Where the first book picked up speed in the second half, though, this one lost a bit of it in the latter part. Personally, I preferred the shenanigans in London to the getting-to-know-each-other part in the country side. There was just more fireworks in that part. So much so that I even read the first sex scene. Yes, I admit that normally, I skim. I skimmed the later ones in this book. I’ve read so many of them over the last years that they tend to not hold my interest very often these days. It’s an unfortunate side effect of reading one genre exclusively for a long time.

Both characters are interesting, especially Justin Lazarus. Maybe not quite as interesting as Clem in the first book, but I liked both of them. I like how Charles introduces characters who have been traumatized in their youth, and who aren’t suddenly cured by magic dick. Real work has to be done in these relationships to make them work. I love that.

All in all, a really decent installment in this series. I still haven’t figured out who the killer is and that is great. I gotta say that being briefly introduced to the love interest in the next book, I am very much looking forward to that one. Pen promises to be right piece of work! Can’t wait!

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4.5 Stars for this historical M/M romance set in Victorian-era London. This is the second book in a series and is likely best enjoyed when read in sequence.

The first book, AN UNSEEN ATTRACTION, featured the mystery, mischief and murder that befell Clem Tallyfer, bastard son of his Grace, the (late, late) Earl of Moreton as he managed a lodging house, and fell in love with Rowley Green, one of his lodgers.

This story continues the investigation of whomever killed one of Clem’s lodgers, Reverend Lugtrout, and also Clem’s half-brother, Edmund, then the earl.

It seems there is some dispute regarding the entailment of the Moreton estate. As Edmund had no legal offspring, it should go to Edmund and Clem’s uncle—who cannot wait to evict Clem from his lodging house. Clem’s dear friend, Nathaniel Roy, is charged with assisting him in his legal dealings, but Nathaniel is also a writer, an investigative journalist of the time. He’s in the midst of sussing out the sham of one Seer of London, Justin Lazarus, who makes his living preying on the elite of society as a communicator with those beyond the veil.

Justin Lazarus is a 5-bit hustler of the first order. He knows all the tricks and plies his trade on the susceptible. How is it, then, that this charlatan is able to connect Nathaniel with the deepest of his many secrets, his lost love, Tony? Not only that, Justin has unwittingly received evidence of the (late) earl’s secret marriage and even more secret progeny. Justin needs Nathaniel to help him as he becomes a prime target for not only Edmund’s murderer, but also that of two opportunistic men who wish to claim the earl’s fortune as their own.

Nathaniel and Justin have no love lost between them, but that doesn’t hide their mutual attraction. What begins auspiciously turns out to genial once Nathaniel and Justin take off for parts north to escape London’s killer fog and the actual killers chasing them. It’s a very sweet romance that develops, as these adversaries turn advocates. Nathaniel recognizes Justin’s keen intellect, and admires his wit and courage. Justin’s taken by Nathaniel, but he’s unwilling to be another man’s pawn, or possession, ever again. As they aren’t social equals it seems doomed, but Nathaniel finds a way to blend their lives, if only Justin will trust him.

I really enjoyed the suspense and thrilling moments of chase through this historical landscape. The author makes great use of the natural elements—in this case the historic fog of 1873—and brings the story into a whole new sphere. The earl’s progeny are discovered and I was happy when it turned out I had correctly guessed the identity. There’s so much chicanery happening with regard to this inheritance that the heir, once names, is still in mortal danger. It’s interesting how the story has now turned another corner and will no doubt begin a new romance that will once and for all settle Clem’s claim to his boarding house and seems to solidify the growing bond between Nathaniel and Justin. While the first book seemed to move at a slower pace, this one had several full-on investigations, and it seemed we were learning more and more—yet still stuck on the resolutions!—with each page turn. I liked the way the enemies-to-lovers trope was utilized here, and also how these guys got past their preconceived notions—and actual prejudices—to risk their hearts and lives on love. I’m so looking forward to the conclusion!

Another lovely book by Charles; she just so rarely lets me down. I very much enjoyed Justin and Nathaniel’s fiery passion, most when it was still in the enemies stage of this enemies to lovers story. The little bit of mystery was easy to figure out, but still pleasant, and I’m still on the hook for who the over-all, big baddy is. (Hopefully this will be revealed in the next book. I don’t like to be strung along too long.)

I did feel the two men went to declarations of love too quickly. I thought the enemies, to friends, to lovers was well paced. But then suddenly there was love and sentimentality and such, and I thought that was a leap. I also very much disliked Nathaniel’s sense of moral superiority and the fact that Justin acquiesced to it. The tone of ‘let me show you how wrong your life is and how to live properly’ grated on my nerves from start to finish.

All in all, however, I finished this pleased as punch and can’t wait or the next one.