My first read by KJ Charles! I really enjoyed this! This had a thoughtful and sweet romance at the heart of it, but still very much felt like it had a substantial plot to keep the pacing going! I'm a sucker for regency romances, so it's not surprising I enjoyed this! I think I prefer some regency romances more than this one, but I appreciated this for what it was overall! A nice addition to the queer historical romance space and one that I definitely see myself rereading!

Masterfully written- Joss and Gareth's relationship develop in a very believable way, and is definitely not insta-love. Action-packed with moments of quietness in between that really bring out their tenderness and love for each other, and the supporting characters were realistic and dimensional. I loved how nuanced Joss' family was written to be, with all the conflict and loyalty that comes with any true family. Also, beetles!
Very much looking forward to the second instalment of the series.

I love this book, it's a wonderful, sweet romance with the best parts of a historical and a queer love story. I love both protagonists, and there are so many wonderful supporting characters. I love the story taking place on the marsh, and the world they create there together. Joss and Gareth are such a fun pair, and I look forward to reading more in this vein from Charles.

I rated the audio book 3 starts because I wasn't a fan of the narrator, but overall the story was a good historical romance that I did enjoy.

This was quite an interesting read. I loved the world-building and the characters were well fleshed-out but overall, there was something missing for me. I never quite really started to root for Joss and Gareth. Still, as far as regency romances go, I really loved this queer take on it!

Sir Gareth Inglis was abandoned as a young child and grew up in his uncle's home. He was bullied by his uncle and cousin, so grew up unhappy, cold, and well-used to disappointment. He meets a gentlemen he calls Kent and they have a passionate week together before Kent has to leave London and Gareth is once again disappointed. When his father suddenly dies, he is now the Baron and inherits all his father's property and fortune on the emote, gloomy, Romney Marsh. When he arrives he finds out that the marsh is home to smugglers and thieves. The gentleman he has feelings for turns out to be Joss Doomsday has run the Doomsday smuggling clan.

I do not read much LGBTQ stories, but I was interested in the Regency angle, as well as the smugglers and family issues. I really enjoyed this story, but I did skim any of the open door romance, as I do in any books. Gareth was a character that I felt really bad for. He was raised in an unloving environment, then finds out that he has a half-sister and that his father was not always an honest man. He is threatened and almost killed because of his father's actions and his cousin's jealousy. He tries to do the right thing, but doesn't have the money to do so. Joss has been running the "family business" since he was young, but his uncle has a hard time answering to someone younger. He causes a lot of problems and I give Joss credit for the way he tries to handle it. He is a diplomat to a degree, a fair man and one who loves his family and does what he needs to keep them safe and the business running. I wanted him to be happy and to be able to do something for himself. The story was fast moving, with a lot of adventure, thievery, family connections and problems, greed, backstabbing and danger, this story is part romance, part adventure that has some suspense and rivalry. A good start to this series. Martyn Swain narrated this book and did a wonderful job. As it is told from the POV of Joss and Gareth, he does a great job giving them voice. I recommend the audiobook as it was an enjoyable listen.

DNF @ 23%. This is one of the worst audio narrations I have ever experienced. The narrator had absolutely no inflection to his voice and spoke so slowly and stiltedly that increasing the playback speed did not even help.

That’s something I could have gotten past if the story was intriguing enough but alas, it was not. Then when explicit sexual assault was brought up I was done.

Very sad turn of events because smugglers are such an interesting concept!!

I enjoyed this quite a lot and i'm very much looking forward to the next in the series. I may read the other books by the author as well

This took me a minute to get into but once I did I loved it. It had a wide range of plot and didn't feel stilted or formulaic. I loved both the characters once I understood more about their backstory. Overall a fast, fun read that I'm sure I'll go back and read again at some time.

Equally romantic and action-packed - just how I like my romances. KJ Charles has made me fall in love yet again.

Thank you so much to Sourcebooks and NetGalley for the free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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Greendaze rated a book liked it
4 months ago
The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen by K.J. Charles
The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen (The Doomsday...
by K.J. Charles (Goodreads Author)
Want to Read
I love KJC and have read almost her entire back catalogue, but I'm sorry to say I did not love this book. The individual MCs were developed meticulously but I had trouble getting invested in their relationship when they only had a week together before their "break-up". This by itself would not be a big deal, except that when they started spending more time together again (chasing beetles, ugh), their previous week together took on greater significance even though it was literally a week of hook-ups and they didn't know each other's real identities. So by the time the climax rolled around, I didn't believe in their relationship or the obstacles they faced.

Related to that, the entire plotline with Luke felt extraneous? I understand it was supposed to give Joss his own conflict that didn't involve saving Gareth, but even as Joss worried about his family's reaction to his homosexuality, I didn't believe for a moment that there would be real consequences because his family is so close-knit and Joss himself so key to the Doomsday smuggling operations.

I'll stick around for the sequel because I'm curious to see where this story goes, but IMO this is not KJC's best.

ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley for an honest review.

This was an absolute delight! A queer historical with great characters and lots of thriller elements - perfect for those of us who aren't quite in the mood for romantic suspense but still crave the plotting and stakes of the subgenre.

This is a charming book that had me smiling. It’s emotional and the couple is when you wrote for throughout the book but all in all, it’s just such a pleasant experience to read this book.

I was going through a regency romance phase when I first requested this. However, I am no longer interested so I won’t be providing a proper review.

I LOVED this book once I got into it. It definitely took me some time, but I’m glad I read it. I am in LOVE with Joss and Gareth and their relationship. I love that it’s portrayed so realistically, where they still fight but then they’re able to come together and talk about what they got wrong and how to make it better next time. And the plot didn’t disappoint either! Between trying to figure out who was behind the stalking and why, it both taught me about 19th century smuggling and made me squeal at 1 am while reading. I will most definitely be reading about Luke in the next book!!

‘The Secret Lives of Country Gentleman’ by KJ Charles was top-tier romance. It was just so beautiful and full of heart. Failing in love with this book was inevitable, and it’s become of my top favorite reads of the year so far. Highly recommend!

This was a very enjoyable book. I loved the characters and it was well written. I will be purchasing this for my library,

What a fun, interesting and hot story. This regency MM story was a unique story with intrigue, The main characters went through good growth and I truly enjoyed the romance and story. I would recommend this to those that like a good historical romance with very little ton and out side of London setting.

Well damn. I love Gareth and Joss. The story got a bit convoluted as it went on, very involved, a little too involved, but overall, a very enjoyable historical novel. I do find it odd that a (for all intents and purposes) cishet woman is writing M/M romance. Is that not fetishization? Shouldn't she leave that to the, GAY MEN?! This seems to be her bread and butter and she even writes under a genderless name, IDK it seems weird. I don't think I'll be reading anymore of her books. I'll read gays from the gays.

As far as I can tell, K.J. Charles can’t write a bad romance. I’ve been reading her books for years, and I am always surprised, delighted, and entertained. The Secret Lives of Country Gentleman was described as “Bridgerton meets Poldark” and amply fulfills that promise—smugglers, Regency romance, and banter galore.

For me, Charles’ novels work because of her deep characterization. Her characters feel like real people with real conflicts, and she never relies on the “big misunderstanding” that often plagues the third acts of romance novels. She also has an excellent understanding of the time periods she writes in and the books are filled with (though never bogged down by) accurate details. I appreciate her ability to offer us a HEA without venturing into anachronistic character development or utopia. She reminds us that queer folks—and queer love—have always been here, and that people did thrive and find joy in the past.

Thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for an early copy of this book.