I read The Servant and the Gentleman by Annabelle Greene with my book club, and immediately knew that I wanted to go back to the start of the series to get to know the rest of the Beasts better.

In this first book, Edward Stanhope, the Duke of Caddonfell, returns to his ancestral home to go into hiding after being discovered in a compromising position with the wrong person. There he runs into Sir Gabriel Winters, his childhood best friend and the town's vicar.

I really enjoyed that this book had elements of mystery and danger to keep you on the edge of your seat as Edward's life is threatened and he tries to figure out who to trust. I did find myself wishing that the friendships with the Beasts had been a bit more fleshed out to really make the most of the book's climactic moments. Overall, this was a quick and easy read with a nice childhood friends to lovers romance

I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series, and hopefully seeing more from this author soon (especially about Edward's brother!).

I was not a fan of the writing style. The story was incredibly slow and I struggled to get through it. I did not end up finishing the book as a result.

I started reading this book and found that it was not for me. It didn't seem fair for me to review a book that I didn't finish.

Overall: 3.5 rounded to ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Plot/Storyline: 📖📖📖
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋💋
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑🍑
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Humor: Just a touch

Basic plot
Gabriel has never forgotten his young love Edward. Heartbroken, his letters left unanswered, he has become a vicar and lives a simple life of helping others. Edward removed himself to London to live the life of a rake and forget the abuse he’s suffered by his father. Unfortunately, one of his escapades gets him noticed by the Duke of Sussex, who will stop at nothing to harm Edward for his actions.

Give this a try if you want:
- M/M romance – our heroes are Edward and Gabriel
- Regency time period – this one takes place in 1818
- Hero nurses hero back to health
- Childhood friends to lovers
- A bit of action/mystery mixed in – Gabriel and Edward work together to save Edward
- Mix of country and London setting
- Medium to higher steam – 4 scenes, I found most of them plenty explicit and well developed


My thoughts:
This is Annabelle Greene’s debut novel and I really loved a lot of it! I did listen to the audiobook with Cornell Collins, who I am now obsessed with. His voice was perfect to me and really loved listening to him tell me the story.

Edward and Gabriel grew up together. There were feelings there, but nothing was acted on. When Edward inherited the dukedom, he went to London without a goodbye and didn’t answer any of Gabriel’s letters that arrived. Gabriel stayed in the country with his self-imposed celibacy and became a vicar to try to do some good in the world.

Edward causes all sorts of uproar in London with his behavior, but when he’s caught in a compromising position in the stables with the Duke of Sussex’s son, the duke will stop at nothing to end Edward’s life. He retires to the country in hiding. Immediately upon his return he finds a sick Gabriel that he nurses back to health.

I really loved a lot about this story. I thought the characters were lovable. I liked the supporting cast of family members and animals. I loved the sex. Some parts were really tender to me, and I loved how Edward opened up with Gabriel and was vulnerable in ways he hadn’t been with others in the bedroom.

Some of it went off the rails for me in regards to the whole duke vs Edward plot, especially towards the end. I also could have used a bit more character depth. You got a bit with Edward with the abuse he suffered, but I wanted his recovery explored a bit more. And I definitely wanted to know Gabriel more.

I would 100% try this author again.

This unfortunately felt like it needed another edit or something as their were way to may different points being shoved into one book. Not even the audio could save it after I put the earc down. Oh well. Maybe nex ttime

There was something incredibly off about the grammatical (and story) pacing of this book. Unfortunately I did not finish it.

I love historicals, and yes, I say that every time, but it truly makes me happy to read an m/m historical. Because I know there are people out there that believe that being anywhere on the LGBTQ+ spectrum is only a thing that has been around for 20-40 years. It's not, there is evidence, lots of evidence dating back as far as historical records, and even further back before paper could record anything.This book was so well written, and yes, it's a debut book by this author, but it was just so well done. The characters were so rich and had depth, but also kept true to themselves, even as their worlds were crumbling around them in one way or another.The fact that Gabriel and Edward knew each other as children really helped this story to feel true to the time period of the book. They likely would not have crossed paths much at a later point in their life, despite the mess that Edward found himself in. Maurice was a conundrum to me. He supported his brother no matter what, but seemed to have a bit of an icy heart...until he looked into someone else's eyes. :)The background mystery, I will say, did get a bit confusing for me, and I was surprised at the end. However, following along with the suspense seemed to really take some of the focus away from the romance for me. Some of the questions weren't answered, some were cleaned up quite neatly. Also, there was a cute cat, and that should be worth an additional 1/2 star there. :)All in all, I thought this book was well done, and fully fleshed characters. Just needed a little more smoothing of the suspense for me.4  pieces of eye candy

I'm afraid The Vicar and the Rake by Annabelle Green was a late-in-the-day DNF for me at 50%. There was a good recipe for angst here - a Vicar still carrying a flame for his childhood best friend has to save said friend, now a notorious queer rake, from scandal - but it was poorly plotted and quickly squandered. The best moments were when the main characters were interacting directly with one another, but as soon as the wider world was implicated everything went to chaos. There were simply many holes in the narrative. Add to that the indifferent writing and some odd pacing and it got to be too much for me to battle through.

Gabriel, now a vicar, has left behind his childhood friendship with Edward, Duke of Caddonfell. When a chance encounter throws them together again, sparks fly. But can they work through the trauma of their pasts and find a connection strong enough to endure? This was perfectly readable, and it contained a lovely kitten. Grown men undone by a kitten. Enough said.

A decent historical fiction. It didn't really strike my personal fancy, but I'd still recommend it to people who enjoy historical fiction.

A solid 3 stars!

A character driven book through and through. Now I personally enjoy that but others might not. However, I felt that the main characters were developed enough and there was a good enough side cast to support them that I really enjoyed this book. This was one of the first historical romances I have ever read and I'm happy I did. While yes there were some missing parts in the plot and the pacing was a bit off, I thought the humor and the writing definitely made up for it.

The first entry in a new gay historical romance series focuses on the moral and upstanding Vicar Gabriel Winters and his childhood friend and now, noted libertine. Edward Stanhope, Duke of Caddonfall. Edward is sent into hiding after a disastrous scandal and on arrival home finds his old friend passed out in the bushes—having overworked himself into illness. The characters have long histories and interesting stories and I’m very curious to pick up the next book! CW: child abuse.

I'm not usually a big fan of historical romance, but this one was a lot of fun. Gabriel and Edward are both real and flawed, and the swoon was real between them. There was a sense of anticipation throughout, and I just wanted them to find their happily ever after. I'll definitely be checking out the next one in the series!

Try as I might, this book just didn't work for me. The main reason was the romance, or lack of romance. The characters were certainly attracted to each other, but attraction and steamy time is not love or romantic chemistry, and I just didn't get that vibe from them, at least not until we're almost done with the book and things are wrapping up. Part of that could be the considerable push and pull between Edward and Gabriel. I will, I won't - I do, I don't. These two irritated me for most of the book. Now, I can't just leave it at that because this author does have a gift with words. There are some truly great lines in this book, and I'm sure I'm not the only one to notice this. So, while these characters and their love story may not have worked out for me, the author is talented and I would read another book by her.

The Vicar and the Rake was so good! I loved the writing and the story, The characters were extremely well done. This book left me completely satisfied. I can't wait to read more from this author!

This book didn't wow me, and upon reflection I got it completely confused with another book; that's how similar the plots were! Yikes.

3.5/⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was a really a really good start to a series, and also the author’s debut. I love historical romances and liked how both characters were reconnecting and starting something new all at once. There were parts where I feel a bit more context was needed especially when it comes to straightening out the conflict. Annabelle Green has a lot of promise, can’t wait to see what she does next.🥰

I loved this book so much! It's not too often that you see queer regencies, but I love that they are getting more and more popular. This one in particular was so sweet with a satisfying romance.

Determined to bury his secret desires, Sir Gabriel Winters renounced his claims to nobility to pursue a life of celibacy and good deeds as the vicar of his home village. Despite his sterling reputation and his full life, he still can’t forget his first love or the desire that changed his life.

Edward Stanhope, Duke of Caddonfell, has no such compunctions about reining in his lusts, and delights in being as scandalous as he dares. When he goes too far and makes an enemy of a powerful man who will stop at nothing to silence him forever, Edward finds himself where he’d hoped to never return — his ancestral seat, and the home of his boyhood friend...

Schemers, blackmailers, and murderers bring Edward and Gabriel into each other’s orbit. Can they save each other? Or is their love one that will resign them to flames?

This is a smoking hot and suspenseful story full of heart and unrequited or unfulfilled loves. I didn’t know what to expect but I got a terrific read. The chemistry between our heroes is palpable and delicious, as is the tension of lovers kept apart by a society who doesn’t accept their love. It’s a good read and I’m excited for the rest of the series.

The Vicar and the Rake will hook you from the start. A story of childhood friends reunited as adults, this book is full of romance, mystery, and hot sex.