“I’m here. Nothing’s going to happen to you, because I won’t let it. And—and if I could reach back in time and stop whatever happened to you that left you so frightened, I’d do it.”

The Servant and the Gentleman by Annabelle Greene is a queer historical romance where two men (you guessed it a gentleman and a servant at the club he founded) need to go undercover as a couple to spy on a rival organization.

This book was an utter delight. There was tenderness and caretaking and comfort after a nightmare and tons of critique of class, wealth, and privilege and how those assets are used by those in power. Hartley stole my heart as he learned from his mistakes and actively worked to become a better man, all while grappling with trauma that left him terrified. Meanwhile, Josiah was an utter gem—I loved the great contrasts in his willingness to help Hartley overcome his fears and his ability to call out Hartley when needed.

This author has an exceptional writing style, and creates the best historical environments, every element felt authentic, the atmosphere, the clothes, the articulation, the circumstances, everything is just right!

London, 1820

William Hartley talks in an arrogant way directing servants, like a snob. When he finds his panic attack got lesser by the smooth talk of one of the servants named Josiah, he wants to pay him for extra service.
Josiah is the administrator for the Society of Beasts, he’s opposed to Hartley’s offer, he will not be used or degraded by this man.
He wants to help but not be used, he has better plans to make use of this haughty man, to compensate him. He needs the help of this influenced man for the future of the club. It seems they need each other for different purposes.

“But I’d shower you in wealth. I’d take you to all the very best places.”
“Being showered in money and taken to the very best places is hardly the most compelling reason to partner anyone.”

Josiah and Hartley will pretend to be boyfriends so they can infiltrate in another club. Practice to be romantically involved is needed (gosh, thank you very much)
Imagine the politeness used in that particular time and how they carefully approach each other.
Haughty Hartley is used to being served, he has a lot to learn about politeness, Josiah doesn’t accept less.
Hiding behind his high walls of unaffectedness is getting more difficult, Josiah is unraveling him, is soothing for his soul.

There are hundreds of lines I wanted to highlight and share. The author has such a beautiful way of expressing herself.

I adored this story, it slowly build-up their connection into something strong. Their personalities were well developed. This story has such good dialogue, this author excels in writing them.
I’ve read some books that lacked conversations it was just hard to get through. But here we are, showered in dialogues, awesomeness!! The plot was widely written, I was already satisfied with everything happening with both men, so apologies to the author for the hard work, but the case around the clubs was of minor importance to me. While it’s not a story where the romance can be openly expressed, there are so many little romantic gestures, that the romance is quite palpable.
When they were loving on each other it was like watching art, so many details to see, beautiful!!
Overall a brilliantly written story.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

4 stars

**ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**

Basics
+ genre: historical romance, LGBT, regency romance, MM romance
+ setting: Regency England, specifically in Bath and London
+ LGBT Rep: m/m
+ William Hartley (mMC): a rude gentleman of the Society of Beasts who has claustrophobia
+ Josiah Balfour (mMC): the Society of Beasts' administrator who likes William

Pros
+ fake dating trope
+ forced proximity trope
+ one bed trope
+ unrequited love
+ grumpy x sunshine
+ very palpable tension between the two
+ hurt/comfort trope
+ public setting chemistry (reminds me of the palpable chemistry when Darcy's bare hand touches Elizabeth's in public... the heat!)
+ gift giving as a symbol of feelings
+ beautiful dialogue... Greene writes incredible dialogue. She manages to capture tenderness, sensuality, and longing so well.
+ I want to read the other two books out in this series BADLY (The Vicar and the Rake & The Soldier and the Spy).

Neutral
/ William is SUCH a snob in the beginning that I really can't see why sweet Josiah likes him... but William does turn it around as the book goes on so overall I enjoyed their dynamic. Just really not in the beginning.

Cons
- It felt like William would have fallen for anyone who could've calmed his panic attacks, not specifically Josiah.

Comp Titles
+ A Winter's Earl by Annabelle Greene
+ Two Rogues Make a Right by Cat Sebastian

TW: memories of being in a house on fire, claustrophobic panic attacks

Absolutely lovely! Fans of historical MM romances should definitely read Annabelle Greens Society of Beasts series, it's a wonderful tale. You'll need to read them in order because the story is progressive, it's just that each book centers around a different couple.

I enjoyed listening to the other two books in this series. Obviously it's always a different experience listening to someone perform the story, and nothing against the narrator, whom I remember enjoying. It's just that I feel like I've possibly missed so much. Ah well, I own them, so I might just give myself a treat and go back and re-read them now.

The Servant and the Gentleman is a fantastic wrap up to all the drama that goes down in The Soldier and the Spy. I love these characters. Hartley is such an adorable goof, Josiah certainly brings out the best in him. And vice-versa!

Annabelle Green does a marvelous job pulling all the ends together and finding a way for everyone to get their happily ever afters.

I always love a good historical romance, especially if it's opposites attract. The pairing in this book just really sold me to the book because it seems like it has everything I have ever wanted in a book and it truly did. This was just a wonderfully angsty book that tugged at my heart string but was also super romantic and sweet. This was a joy to read and I really enjoyed it.

I have thoroughly enjoyed every book in this series. Annabelle Greene spins a wonderful tale. The descriptions of the area and era are lush and engaging. Her action is exciting to read. Ms. Greene does a great job of crafting characters and then creating tensions between those characters for the romance arc of the stories. I especially enjoyed the tensions between the lovers from different classes in this particular book, but all the books in the series have great tensions between characters that are made so by her multidimensional character crafting. I highly recommend this book and would strongly suggest reading the series from the beginning to really get into the world of the story and into the minds and backgrounds of the host of characters.

I hate to say it because I've loved other books by this author, but this was an awkward, one-note snoozefest. I really struggled to get through it. I will be looking out for her next book though!

I loved the dynamic between Hartley and Balfour. This is a really great story with an enemies-to-lovers vibe. The sexual tension between them was palpable. They need each other to save the Society of Beasts but things go in a direction that I never saw coming.

This story really got me with lots of feels. Hartley doesn’t quite know how to feel about Balfour at first, because he’s the administrator of the Beasts and therefore way below Hartley’s station, but eventually he can’t resist the attraction he feels for Balfour. Balfour has admired Hartley for a long time but knows that nothing can become of it because Hartley status is so far above his own.

Balfour puts Hartley in his place more than once, being bold enough to admonish him for the way he treats the servants. It was nice to see the progression of how Balfour’s influence helped Hartley to become a better person.

There wasn’t one thing I didn’t like about this book. Based on events that happened in this story I suspect that this is the final one in The Society of Beasts series and I’m sorry to see it end. The only thing that could make me love this story more would be for Cornell Collins to perform the audiobook as he has done for the first two books. I hope that eventually happens.

A review copy was provided by the publisher via NetGalley but this did not influence my opinion or rating of the book.

I hated the first book in the series but I'm glad I gave this author another chance. 3.5 stars.

Hartley is a sarcastic snob who views anything leas fashionable than himself with disdain. He’s the last person anyone expects to fall for someone who works for a living, and he has no idea what do with his inconvenient pants feelings for Josiah, the assistant manager of his club. I liked the way the Hartley is utterly clueless about working class life, and is regularly schooled by Josiah. It helped balance the power dynamics since Josiah crushes first.

I thought the main flaw was pacing, some of the sex scenes felt shoehorned in at odd times. Like, the climatic sex scene is during a large dinner party hosted by strangers. The couple just get up from the table during the soup course without saying anything, and go off and have sex in the greenhouse. LONG sex. I was so distracted by how rude and risky this was. And then they take a nap together, in the greenhouse. While everyone is having dinner. I think this is a scene you’ll either love, or hate, and I wasn’t a fan.

But there’s a lot of kindness in this book. Hartley, learning to be kinder to others because Josiah makes him want to be a better person. And Josiah, learning to be kind to himself. I love a romance where the lovers heal together.

Hot, hot, hot and sexy the love story in this book was wonderful and engaging and just awe to read loved their chemistry!!

The third in a romantic, deliciously spicy, wonderfully researched historical romance series, requesting this book on Netgalley was a no-brainer. And what I look for when I read these books - heart-sweeping romance, intrigue and drama, a happy-for-now, and some spice - well, Greene has never disappointed. I enjoy that this series followed the same group of people, but with different couples in each book, so you got a fuller sense of the world and the time in history where it was written (and in this case, the club, the Society of Beasts). I was a tad wary at first of the whole power dynamic in their relationship, but ended up cheering for Josiah Balfour (the servant) giving William Hartley (the gentleman) a piece of his mind (...and heart. And other things).

All in all, a delightful end to the series - I don't think I would read it again, but I am delighted I got the chance to read more of Greene's works, and I'm looking forward to what she comes out with next!

Sweet, complicated couple - I enjoyed this book from an author I had not read before. I hadn't read any others in the series which I think could have helped with some of the story in this one - so I would recommend starting from the beginning!

I have enjoyed each book in this series for different reasons. In this novel, we get to see what happens to William Hartley as he recovers from the betrayal of his friends in the previous books. Greene does an excellent job dealing with PTSD here.

This is almost an enemies to lovers story, as Hartley has treated Josiah Balfour terribly at the club. But we get a fake relationship plot that delivers just as you might expect (only one bed too!). We get to see Hartley have real personal growth, and the pair travel to Bath, which was a nice change. Moreover, the class differences are not just window dressing. Greene shows just how idealized and upper-class focused the Society of Beasts is and how difficult things can be for those without money and power to protect themselves from the law.

While there is heavy stuff here, this book felt in some ways lighter than the first two in the series. I enjoyed it and read it quickly. I think you can still enjoy it if you haven't read them, but there is important stuff that happened to Hartley in the past, so I recommend reading them in order.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher.

It's a good thing I looked on Goodreads before starting this, because when I requested it, I hadn't realized this was a sequel. I decided to read the other two books first, and I'm glad I did because it was fun to read about all three founders of the Society of Beasts.

From book 1 on, I did expect Hartley to be my favourite character, and I definitely do think book 3 was my favourite, although not by much. These books were a little heavier than what I'm used to reading in romance, but I do think they were balanced well.

The main thing I look for in romance, and especially in historical romance, is yearning, and Annabelle Greene definitely writes that well. I'll be very interested in what this author writes next.

Book in this series are always entertaining and compelling, this one is the best so far.
It' kept me hooked, i rooted for the characters, and liked the vivid historical background.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Josiah Balfour is the administrator for the Society of Beasts, an elite club catering to the wealthy men of London who enjoy the company of other men. While the founding Beasts officially lead the club, Josiah is the one who keeps things running, managing everything behind the scenes. Now, Josiah learns the club is facing an unexpected rival in the form of another club that could be coming to London. Josiah knows they must figure out who is behind the new club and get out ahead of things to prevent them from siphoning off the Beasts’ membership. But he also knows that he doesn’t have the clout to do it alone. The only person who Josiah can think might be able to help is one of the Beast founders, William Hartley. Of course, Hartley happens to be the man Josiah has totally fallen for and a man he most definitely can never have.

Hartley is dealing with his own struggles in the aftermath of being locked in a room and almost burning to death a year before. He thought he was doing all right, but now he is tortured by crippling claustrophobia. For some reason, Josiah’s presence seems to ease some of Hartley’s fears. So when Josiah comes to him for help with the club problem, Hartley agrees to assist if Josiah will help him get more comfortable in small spaces.

As the men dig into who is behind the new club, the trail leads them to Bath. They also realize that the only way someone as rich and well known as Hartley is ever going to uncover any information is if the men pretend to be lovers who are seeking a new club, as the Beasts’ clientele would never tolerate a lord like Hartley being romantically linked to a servant like Josiah. As they spend more time together, the connection between them begins to flare. The men begin to fall for each other, and even begin to imagine how they might make an unconventional relationship work with one another. But when the truth comes out about the rival club, it could destroy everything between them.

The Servant and the Gentleman is the third book in Annabelle Greene’s Society of Beasts series. The books each feature one of the founding members of the Beasts and, while they can mostly stand alone, I think they are best enjoyed when read in order. The first book sets up events that carry through to the other stories, so reading that one first does help. Here we catch back up with Hartley about a year after the events in The Vicar and the Rake, and it is very clear that he is still struggling in the aftermath. I appreciated that this story brings some closure for Hartley in terms of how things affected him and how some of his relationships got strained. This also sets up things with Josiah, as it gives the men a reason to interact more personally than just the business relationship they have now as employer/employee. We learn fairly quickly that Josiah has feelings for Hartley despite himself. Hartley is arrogant and rude and can barely be bothered to notice those he considers beneath him. So falling in love with your boss is bad enough, but Hartley is certainly not a man who is likely to give his heart to a servant. Yet give his heart he does, and it leads to some great growth for him as a character.

The men strike a bargain to help one another; Josiah will help Hartley with his claustrophobia and Hartley will help Josiah figure out who is behind the rival club. It leads to a fun fake relationship situation, as the men must pretend they are together and that their upstairs/downstairs partnership is why Hartley is considering striking out for another club, given he is a founder of the Beasts. What I found most interesting here is the way this story explores class and it plays out in numerous ways. We have the relationship between Hartley and Josiah, of course, but we also learn that the other club is much more egalitarian with men from a variety of walks of life. We also see how the rich and wealthy men of the Society of Beasts have much less to fear if their proclivities are exposed, as they have the money and power to make things go away if they are caught with another man. And, of course, the rules are much different for those not of means. We also see class and power play out in Hartley as a character. Like I said, he is rich and powerful and incredibly entitled. At best, as the story starts he looks past those he sees as beneath him; at worst, he is mocking and disdainful. Josiah calls him on it despite their imbalance of power. He points out when Hartley is being cruel or selfish or entitled. And as the story develops, we see Hartley really grow. So there are definitely times when Hartley isn’t completely likable, but Josiah sees the good in him and Hartley has nice character growth that I think makes it all work.

As the men dig, they learn more about this other club and whether they may pose a threat to the Beasts. It gives them a chance to travel to Bath, and to be in close proximity in a casual way away from the club, which really helps them grow their connection. I will say, in this case, the focus is more on the exploration of class than it is the suspense element that we see in other books. The first story is quite high octane, almost a thriller, and while the second book isn’t as intense, there is still the blackmail threat and a lot of maneuvering and danger. So here I felt like the story is a little more subdued, as while the fate of the club is obviously important to the characters, as a reader I found myself not quite as invested in whether these uber rich and entitled men had their elite club all to themselves.

I enjoyed the way this story all resolves and I think this book ties up a lot of threads that we have seen play out in the other two books. I am not sure if this ends the series or there are more to come, but I feel like everything comes together in a good place here. I really liked Josiah and enjoyed seeing him find happiness with Hartley, as well as the way we see Hartley grow as a person over the course of the book.

This is the third book in the Society of Beast series. I loved this book; I will also say I have not read the other books in this series as this is my first book from this author. I thought the writing was fabulous. It was very heartfelt and funny at times. The pace was excellent. I will go back and start this series from the first book, but it can definitely be read as a stand-alone book.

3.75 stars

This was a bit of a predictable, but overall definitely satisfying (likely?) conclusion to the Society of Beasts series. It's not quite as strong of an entry as the previous installment, The Soldier and the Spy, in my opinion, but Greene does a more than competent job at carrying on the story in a continually interesting and even surprising way. She has certainly improved as an author from the first entry in the series, both in her character writing and in her handling of political storylines. The Servant and the Gentleman is a romance that, as expected from its title, deals heavily with class differences, and I felt that Greene did a very decent job at handling this and making it feel relevant to the story, while also keeping the romance itself believable and engaging. Greene excels at writing characters that are both interesting on their own, as well as having great chemistry with one another, both romantically and platonically. It was very enjoyable to see characters from previous installments in this novel, and the group dynamics are very fun to read about as well. As in the previous books in the series, I found Lord Maurice in particular to be a standout secondary character, and would absolutely not be opposed to seeing a future sequel/spin-off centering around him and Lady Ploverdale, or even other characters within the universe, as Greene has really crafted a world I find myself very drawn to and invested in.

For what it is, The Servant and The Gentleman pretty much ticks all of the boxes you could want it to; that being said, it is still a bit of a cheesy romance at its core, so there is definitely some predictability and some trope-laden plot points at work here. Still, Greene manages to keep the tone both playful and self-serious enough to not feel bogged down by some of the more obvious genre staples found in her works (fake dating, happily-ever-after romances, etc). I would absolutely recommend The Servant and the Gentleman to anyone who enjoyed the first two novels, and the Society of Beasts series in general to anyone who is a fan of the genres of romance and regency-era historical novels!

A fake relationship quickly becomes something much more in The Servant and the Gentleman. Annabelle Greene’s third Society of Beasts novel shows that not everything about the beloved gentlemen’s club is as good as it seems and the book is the richer for it.

Josiah Balfour is the head administrator of the Society of Beasts. He’s used to cleaning up messes, even as members of the club snub him for it because he’s not a gentleman. Josiah is hardworking and kind but he sometimes gets frustrated with the elitist society members he works for. One of the snobbiest is William Hartley, one of the club’s founders. Despite this, Josiah can’t quite stop himself from thinking about the gorgeous man. And when Hartley has a panic attack, Josiah is the one to calm him, which forges the beginnings of a bond between the two. When a rival club threatens the Society of Beasts and Josiah and Hartley pretend to be a couple in order to uncover the leader behind this new club, things become real all too quickly.

I’ll say up front, Hartley isn’t easy to like at first and that’s on purpose. He’s a snob who is rude to servants and anyone he thinks is beneath him. He’s rich, beautiful, and connected and can’t see beyond his own privilege. I wasn’t sure how Greene would make me like him but she did. Josiah opens Hartley’s eyes to his attitude and Hartley isn’t too thrilled with what he sees in himself. I enjoyed watching the peacock become a person, albeit one who is still wholly himself. Josiah is a great hero from the start but he learns to assert himself over the course of the story. Mutual desire helps he and Hartley find common ground and there’s no imbalance of power in their romantic relationship. Greene treads a fine line with this and does so excellently. Josiah gives back as good as he gets and consent is at the forefront of every sensual encounter. The love story between Josiah and Hartley is surprisingly romantic given their beginnings and it was delightful to discover how sweet Hartley could be.

A rival club that is open to men of all classes threatens the Society of Beasts but opens our heroes’ eyes to the flaws of the club. I won’t spoil what happens but suffice it to say I really enjoyed that Greene didn’t sugarcoat that Hartley and his co-founders were elitist. They’re not bad men at heart but with Josiah’s help they come to see how to become better people.

The Servant and the Gentleman is an entertaining romance with well-crafted characters and a wonderfully satisfying ending. I hope Greene pens more books set in this world as there are definitely secondary characters I would love to see get their chance to shine.