3.5 stars.

a solid, solid read with pleasant romance that started off sizzling at first... only to cool down toward the end.

my personal grip with the romance is the over communication between our mcs. i live for subverted tropes, and i appreciate the attempt, but i just feel that the it doesn't translate well here. it gets to the point where ///spoiler if you care but not really if you don't/// they were hinting towards a lifelong relationship and confessing their undying love to each other - all through dialogues and nothing but dialogues, mind you - and i'm staring at my ereader like... okay? i feel nothing? you'd been together for what feels like two weeks and went on like three dates? maybe the miscommunication trope is surperior after all, i just crave more pining, more sparks. more showing of their relationship developments instead of all these "all love you"s that feel superficial. these twos get together pretty early and after that i'm just not as invested in their relationship like i did in the beginning - everything is moving too quickly for my taste.

but i still had a lot of fun reading this and honestly, that's what important. for once, the supporting cast is a gem, (most of) the Doomsday family has my entire heart. the climax honestly surprised me. with everything that is going on, i was bracing myself for something much more dramatic and overdone - but it's all wrapped up reasonably. no unncessary melodrama here and my heart has kj charles to thank.

anyone who finds the synopsis interesting should give this book a try.

4.5 stars


This book was a goddamn delight!! The setting was unlike any I've read before in a regency romance, and while the non-romance conflict felt distinctly KJ Charles, it was also wonderfully unique and engaging. I'm really looking forward to buying a copy once this comes out, and I'll heartily be recommending it to others!

I wouldn't rank this as Charles's best book (that honour still goes to Think of England, a book which incidentally shares a couple of plot beats with this one) but KJ Charles on her worst day is still at the top of the game, and this was, by, far, not her worst day. I have remaining quibbles with a few things here that are issues across the genre (m/m histroms have gotten into the habit of including cosmetic diversity, where they'll have a non-white character and devote absolutely no time to how their race and culture impacts them as a person), the politics are half-baked, and the character of Cecilia is mostly there to just be bratty and get threatened with sexual assault. But the character development of the two leads was wonderful, and the dry sense of humour throughout made me chuckle out loud several times. I don't know if I'd recommend this to someone just getting into romance - it's more a romance/mystery hybrid - but if you go in without any genre preconceptions, you'll almost certainly enjoy it.

The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen by KJ Charles is a wild ride. Gareth Inglis has been passed over by others and pushed away by his father his whole life. Joss Doomsday is the smuggling prince of the Doomsday family. What could possibly go wrong? After initially meeting and not exchanging names, these two believe their time together is over. However that all changes after Gareth’s seemingly simple, albeit surprising, inheritance. Sir Gareth now finds himself enmeshed in the confusing, dangerous, and unpredictable world of free traders and his father’s legacy. Absolutely recommend this one, be sure to check it out!

“Meanings and hints are a lot of bother. When I want something, I say so.” ~ Josiah Doomsday

*Received as a free ARC*
I loved this so much! Gareth and Joss we're excellent and I loved all the side characters as well. I love queer historical fiction for taking back history. I appreciated that even when they had falling outs they didn't hate each other and they quickly solved their issues through communication. Happy to recommend this book!

KJ Charles just can't miss. This delightful adventure is chock full of characters you can't get enough of, oozing romance, and smoldering charm and snappy wit in equal parts.

Gareth Inglis has just inherited his estranged father’s barony and now must move from his lonely life of disappointment as a clerk into the strange grand house on the remote Romney Marsh to see a family he never knew and to face old pains.... as well as run into the handsome smuggler he had a fling with but broke up with.... who just happens to live there too. Gareth was abandoned by his father as a child, sent away to live with his uncle who never wanted him. Gareth is use to being unwanted, he is use to disappointment, and so when his handsome stranger who he occasionally hooks up with asks to meet up after he leaves for work and actually get to know him and maybe start dating... Gareth freaks out and reasons that its better to dump him before he is left. Then two days later he receives a letter saying his father who abandoned him died and left him everything. Now Gareth, who was a poor clerk, is no a baron and so he moves to his father’s home... only to discover he has a sister he never knew about and never knew he existed. On top of that, the area is known for its ruthless gangs of smugglers... and one of them is dangerously familiar, its none other than Joss Doomsday who runs the Doomsday smuggling clan. When Gareth accidentally stumbles upon smugglers and goes to court to testify... its against Joss’s own sister and lets just say it’s a reunion that is definitely not happy... but after they sort everything out its up to Joss and Gareth if they want to make it work.... but there are deadly secrets, money hungry people, and power struggles all happening. Can they survive the dangers of the Marsh or will their romance be doomed? This was a pretty great read, I enjoyed the character development for Gareth especially, he starts off as someone who is always being walked over, but only grows a spin and lashes out when hes arguing with Joss, to someone who is willing to risk their own life for others and finally stick up for themselves. The romance was sweet as Gareth and Joss might be opposites but they try and take care of one another and communicate as best they can. This is definitely a romantic read with a dash of danger and I would recommend it for sure!

*Thanks Netgalley and SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca, Sourcebooks Casablanca for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*