A Nobleman's Guide to Seducing a Scoundrel is so good. KJ Charles, take all of my money. I can't say much about the plot without giving spoilers, but the fight / groveling scene made my whole day. So good. Absolutely would recommend.

This was a lovely continuation of the Doomsday series, and while I was a little unsure of reading from Luke's point of view when I last read from him as a 13-year-old boy, I was able to separate myself from the thought.

I wasn't a huge fan of the lying about his intentions for a good portion of the relationship, but I did enjoy the atmosphere of the book, the characters, and KJ Charles' writing.

I will definitely read more from this series in the future if the author writes them.

An absolute delight of a followup!

The newly titled Earl of Oxney is struggling. His long-neglected and badly documented duties come with a monumental learning curve, and the family that should be his support system is actively working against him. Enter Luke Doomsday: confident smartass and secretary extraordinaire. They make a formidable pair and together begin to wrestle the Earl's manor and lands into order. But Luke isn't being entirely honest - and his secret could destroy the happiness the two men have made for themselves.

In classic KJ Charles style, an engaging storyline builds alongside romance. There's banter and there's spice, and there's unpacking and examining of social situations which are often ignored. And of course there's my favorite - healthy adult communication and interactions (and in this case, healthy adult counsel for a character who isn't communicating well). Careful attention to personality and motivation means these characters come wonderfully alive.

Though this book is labeled as the second installment in The Doomsday Books, it works perfectly well as a standalone. As with the first, Martyn Swain delivers a fantastic audiobook version that brings extra life and depth to the story.

Fingers crossed for a potential third book in the series!

Rufus is fighting an ongoing battle against his family for rights to his inheritance. After doubting everything from his parentage to his identity they've decided his father must have been married prior to his birth making him illegitimate, but that makes it possible that there's another claim to the inheritance, Luke. Luke just happens to be park of the local smuggler family with deep local ties.

He begins to help Rufus research the family history along with righting the grounds and tenants that have been long ignored as a secretary. But along the way a spark flares and something blooms.

However Luke is hiding his true intentions, intentions that may blow everything up.

Overall it's a nice smutty, historical romance with a smidge of mystery.

3.5 and rounding up.
I didn’t like this one nearly as much as the first, but it was still a great mix of a English manor house story and queer romance. I have found that my favorite type of romance books, are actually just regular fiction that has a compelling story with the relationship sprinkled in. This duology delivers on it.

If you are a fan of Jane Austen, I feel like you'll like these.
I would also HIGHLY recommend the audiobook. Martyn Swain was ***chef's kiss*** perfect.

I'd happily pickup a 3rd Doomsday book…perhaps featuring Emily and Barry? (Pretty please!)

***Thank you to Dreamscape Media for providing me with the Audiobook for free via NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

I am so excited to report that this book was equally as good as the first one. I was so excited to see Luke again and to see what he was getting up to 13 or so years after the events of the first book. The story itself was interesting and engaging. The romance was really fun. I enjoyed that Rufus was very respectful of their positions and also that he was a bit of demisexual representation. I loved how his dyslexia was handled given the time period as well. Rufus and Luke both brought great things to the story with their personalities and personal goals. I also loved the overall mystery going on in this story. K.J. Charles does a great job of hiding a really exciting mystery behind a romance story. Overall this sequel knocked it out of the park. So happy I got to read this story early.

KJ Charles is a fantastic storyteller and has become one of my favorite authors. A Nobleman's Guide to Seducing a Scoundrel surpassed my expectations! The romance is perfectly balanced with an interesting plot, complex and flawed characters, mystery, family drama, and emotional scenes that explore trauma and grief. It's the second installment in the Doomsday series and is set thirteen years after book one. It can pass as a standalone, but I highly recommend starting with The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen.

Thank you to Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for the ALC! Martyn Swain's narration is fantastic and he gives each character a distinct voice.

I need more of these people - NOW! Oh these characters make my heart so full.
Rufus finally assumes his inheritance - only to have it questioned again. By Luke Doomsday. Acting as Rufus' secretary, Luke clearly hides other motives for being in the manor. Caught sneaking in the dark, Luke can't help but inflame the passion between him and Rufus. And wow does the world catch on fire.
I was thrilled Luke was a main character - with references to Gareth and Joss, of course.
The narrator from the first returned - and I loved every moment. He does an amazing job bringing these characters to life.
Everything I could hope for in a sequel - very impatient for the next installment.

Honestly, K.J. Charles’s books are always delicious, and when you pair her writing with Martyn Swain’s narration, it’s pretty much a guarantee that the audiobook will be a hit for me.

Thirteen years after The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen takes place, we’re back in Romney Marsh. This story centers around the the new Earl of Oxney, Rufus d'Aumesty, who was raised by a draper, went to war, and is now battling scheme after scheme for his title and inheritance, and Luke Doomsday, yes, of the smuggling Doomsdays, who has been invited to Stone Manor as part of one of those schemes. Luke ingratiates himself to Rufus by serving as his secretary—goodness knows Rufus could use a good one of those at the moment—and the two become allies of sorts. As they spend more time together, their attraction to each other grows. Luke does have an ulterior motive for staying at Stone Manor, though; he is a Doomsday after all.

I thoroughly enjoyed this one. It is a bit slower to get to the action as there are lots of aspects, details, and familial relationships involved in the exposition stage of this book. Contested titles can get a bit complicated, but as the story unfolded, I loved watching Rufus and Luke grow closer. I adored watching how Rufus’s perspective and understanding on how to interact with his family members shift during the story. I loved watching Luke learn to open up and the tenderness between him and Rufus. I loved seeing the small ways they took care of each other.

There’s a romantic relationship; there’s heat; and there’s a mystery to solve. We even get a bit of adventure.

And the audiobook is fantastic. I enjoy the different voices and accents that Swain uses for each character—especially when Luke slips into his Kentish dialect and the Doomsday starts to come out.

Make sure to read The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen first to get Luke’s backstory before diving into this one.

I received an advance copy from Dreamscape Media and NetGalley. All review opinions are my own.

A delightful return to Romney Marsh in Book 2 of the Doomsday Books, 13 years later and little Luke is all grown up - and still looking for that lost gold, very, very quietly.

Meanwhile, right on page one we are dropped right into inheritance drama that ticks off all the soap opera boxes - accusations of fake marriages, secret marriages, switched babies, identity theft, and more, all brought up by the enraged uncle who just found his nephew Rufus, not he, will become earl - and the fight over the title gets as vicious as an illegal dog fight.

Rufus and Luke meet as their goals collide and are utterly smitten with each other. Its a delightful relationship to watch unfold on top of all the drama.

I wish the new characters had been developed more, both to make it easier to understand everyone's motivations and tell different characters apart, but overall this was a delightful drama of love, titles, gold, and family.

4.25

I absolutely adored the first book in the series and when I found out that this was going to follow Luke, I was so thrilled to pick it up. While I still liked it quite a bit, it didn’t quite live up to my enjoyment of the first book.

This follows Luke 13 years after the events of the first book, and he’s working as a secretary for an earl, who is battling a contestation of his title due to a lot of family drama. I really liked Luke and Rufus as characters. We get to see Luke deal with some of the trauma he experienced at the hands of his father and we get to see how truly kind Rufus is, especially in dealing with a low-key hostile situation. and I liked watching their romance blossom, and I loved all of the family drama Rufus was dealing with and the way that played out at the end was very satisfying to me.

I think part of what hindered my enjoyment is in the first book we knew where Joss and Gareth, or coming from like we saw their motivations from their perspective, and here while we have perspectives from both Luke and Rufus, we don’t know what the ulterior motive Luke has for being there, we just know that he has one. That being said, I still found this book delightful and continue to enjoy KJ Charles writing. Also, Martyn Swain’s narration was top tier. I love the accident especially when we got the hear Marsh speak.

A Nobleman's Guide to Seducing a Scoundrel by KJ Charles
The Doomsday Books #2
Pub day is 9/19 🎉

This book!!!!! The characters! I loved it so much!

First of all, the cover vibes are accurate. Take a good look. Those are two competent,  smarty pants dudes with scorching hot chemistry and clearly you can see that *someone* is a protective, stern brunch daddy. Honestly, their dynamic is just 🤭🥵👌🥺🥰 gah!! You know?!

• Keywords to pique your interest: Infamous Romney Marsh, 1823, smugglers, scarred hero(es), an earldom in question, competence k!nk, past trauma, secret plans, dyslexia, enthusiastic consent, queer!

• Gorgeous conflict, gorgeous resolution. I cannot tell you about it because spoilers, but it is angsty and then it just puts your broken heart right back together!

• You do not *need* to read book 1 first, but you'll love everything that much more if you do. And they are both 5 stars, so... !!! I actually lost my mind when I realized that we were jumping 13 years in the future, and that the young boy, Luke Doomsday, in book 1 gets his own romance in this book! Stop it right now!! I'm still emotionally not over this brilliant decision, KJ Charles thank you so much!!

• There is a mystery plot, but it is so well balanced with the relationship arc. I was really glad that the character growth and romance were the main focus of this book, because I couldn't get enough of Rufus and Luke.

• I will 100% be re-reading. If you ever want to read this series, I'll basically drop everything and reread it with you. I love the audio so much, but I think I'll need to add these to my physical collection one day so I can go absolutely bananas with annotations. It's one of those kinds of books!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🎧 Highly recommend the audiobook! Thanks so much @dreamscape_media @netgalley for the ALC! I love the narrator for this book. (Sounds perfect at 2x speed to me!)

I tried to listen to the first in this series first, but the audiobook kept cutting out, so I gave up and went to the second to get my review in before release. WOW, this book is adorable (and totally acceptable to read as a standalone, IMO). I loved the gothic feel and these gentlemen dancing around each other till they realize what they want. I enjoyed the mystery and the side characters. I’ve never read anything by this author and this book has me totally sold to pick up more. The audiobook was also excellently done.

After months of tense legal battle with his estranged family, Rufus Dornesty becomes the earl of Oxney, a position that he was unprepared for by his career as a soldier. Swamped with the work from the mismanaged estate, and constantly harangued by his bitter family, he is relieved when help comes his way in the form of the extremely competent secretary, Luke Doomsday. Like confidently helps him wrangle the estate and force unruly relatives to submit, and their successful working relationship grows into something more. However, Luke has a hidden motive behind his visit, and begins to become torn between love and ambition as their feelings grow.

I was excited to return to the world of Romney Marsh! I really enjoy how vivid the world and its characters are. Luke and Rufus are each such different, fleshed out characters, and I love how Charles shows us each of their points of views. The slow burn romance between the two characters was thrilling and had me on the edge of my seat. I was really pleased to see Luke in this book all grown up, as he was one of my favorite characters in Gareth and Jos’s book and it was cool to see his story continue. His Doomsday-esque slippery morals versus Rufus’s straight laced nature is an interesting contrast that definitely has some shades of gray.

I was pleased to see Martin Swayne narrated this book as well! I appreciate the care he puts into his accents and inflections, which helps root me in the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and KJ Charles for the ARC!

I am really loving this series! Book one was great, book two….even better! As expected in a gay historical, there is some angst, but it wasn’t overdone. Our MCs didn’t drag out the misunderstanding, they talked it out. I also just love Luke and Rufus! I especially love the creative insults he has for his awful family! Please tell me there will be a book three!!! I love the narrator, their voice is the perfect fit for these characters!

After an unexpected inheritance Rufus d'Aumesty is now the Earl of Oxney. His arrival at Stone Manor is met with anger from his uncle who expected to become the new Earl. His position is also disputed by Luke Doomsday who claims he is the rightful heir due to a hidden marriage between his mother and the former Earl. Rufus also finds that the manor has been poorly run and the estate records are a mess. Luke decides to offer his services as a secretary and soon falls into a relationship with Rufus. Unfortunately it appears that Luke is hiding more than a dubious claim to the position Rufus now holds. Rufus also must contend with his family's dispute of his claim and what they may be plotting behind his back.

This is the second in the Doomsday Books series and I loved this one as much as I did the first. KJ Charles books are some of my favorites. This has a great mix of mystery and family drama while also being incredibly HOT!! Luke and Rufus have a really lovely relationship. They are both outsiders that have had to try to find ways to fit in new worlds. I was beyond excited to be approved for this ALC. I also really enjoyed Martin Swain's narration. I can't wait to read what comes next!

I loved The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen by KJ Charles so I was delighted to find out that a sequel was in the works - and I was extra delighted to get my hands on an early review copy. This book was just as good as the first, with the added attraction of cameo appearances of some great characters from book one. Like The Secret Lives, A Nobleman’s Guide is billed as a historical M/M romance, but it is much more.

While this is the second book in the series (I don’t know if there will be any more; it might remain a duology), I think it would work fine as standalone.

The action takes place in 1823, about 13 years after the events of The Secret Lives. Luke Doomsday, a young teen in the first book, is now in his 20s and has been making a living as a private secretary or clerk to some upper-class gents (which is a huge step up in the world for him, as his family is well-known as smugglers). He has come home to the Romney Marsh area of Kent, England, in need of a new position. At the same time, a new Earl of Oxney, Rufus, is now in charge at Stone Manor, having finally (he thinks) proven that he is the true heir entitled to be called Lord Oxney. (His awful uncle Conrad had been fighting his claim for months, because Rufus’ mother wasn’t of noble birth, among other issues.) There’s a lot of machinations about inheritance of titles, but just go with the flow and you’ll be fine. Luke comes into the picture because he has some supposedly relevant information.

Rufus is an interesting character, having left the military (Napoleonic Wars, I assume), where he was an officer. Nevertheless, he has some difficulty reading and sorting through all the disorganized documents he finds, his grandfather having seriously ignored business matters for quite a while as his health declined. (His uncle Conrad and his three live-in cousins hadn’t been much help either, it seems.) Luke finds a way to make himself useful to Rufus, serving as his secretary and getting things running more smoothly. He even helps Rufus with relations with his cousins (who all have unusual names: Odo, Fulk and Berengaria!). There’s something else going on with Luke, however, and that forms the rest of the story.

Along the way, Rufus and Luke find time to start a torrid love affair. Be forewarned: there are some rather spicy scenes. (If you’re listening to the audiobook, I advise using headphones!)

I bounced between the audiobook and the ebook for this title, which was very convenient. The audiobook was again beautifully narrated by Martyn Swain. Unlike the first book, he didn’t have to show off as many different English accents this time, which I missed. I loved how he voiced the local dialect.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance reader copy of this book and to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to an advance copy of this audiobook. All opinions are my own.

K.J. Charles is an author who can make me laugh, cry, swoon and scream in desperation. Those are just things I expect yet when reading the books, like this one, I gasp like I didn't see it coming. Pikachu surprised face, that was me. My poor heart went through so much and it came out joyous at the end of the book. It was marvelous and both Luke and Rufus were perfect. Luke goes to Rufus to get himself hired but the job is not what he's looking for. He also wasn't looking for a sexy Earl in his bed doing all the naughty things yet that's exactly what he found! He definitely didn't see that coming. I loved that Luke got his love story and his well deserved happiness no matter the obstacles thrown in their way. The story was so captivating from beginning to end and now that it's over I miss them all so much. All of them, from book 1 who had a cameo here and this one that takes place many years after those events. They all deserve the happiness, and if I shed a tear or two hundred reading this, then that's something only my cat knows and he is no snitch.

I am greatly enjoying this series by KJ Charles. I listened to the audio version of both books and can't recommend highly enough how much it added to the enjoyment since the narrator did such a great job with a Kent accent. Charles does a great job of giving us good people trying to do the right thing in a world that doesn't always reciprocate.

Story: Rufus has inherited an Earldom despite having grown up as the illegitimate son of a Draper's daughter. The new family resents him and are doing their best to get his legitimacy annulled. The Earldom is in a mess, he lives with a hostile family, and all he wants to do is return to the quiet military career that gave him a home. When the family produce another illegitimate son, one whose mother might have married the deceased heir, Rufus is nonplussed. If they want to give the earldom to Luke Doomsday, they are welcome to it as long as it is legal and correct. The problem is, the 'pretender' is from one of Kent's most notorious family of smugglers - and he might just upend Rufus' life even more.

This is the story of Luke, the 13 year old from the first book who was nicknamed "Goldie" and was maimed by his father after deciding to get an education (with the help of Sir Gareth). It is now 13 years later, Luke got his education and has worked as a secretary to several prominent citizens. Luke has a secret agenda when he presents himself to the Earl - one that starts out with working for the Earl to fix the estate's bookkeeping disaster but with a greater goal underneath. At some point, he will have to decide if he can live with betraying and hurting the Earl in the process.

What I am really liking about this series (and KJ Charles' book in particular) is that they rarely deal with your typical nobility. These are more ordinary people all with their own nuances but who are good at heart. In this case, Rufus is very down-to-Earth and honest to a fault; Luke, on the other hand, has had to survive by being morally grey. His morals are in place even if his ethics may be somewhat questionable.

The maguffin of the two books is a hoard of gold that was stolen by Sir Gareth's relative and is hidden somewhere in Kent. Along the way to searching for the gold, Charles gives us great information about Kent and the people who live there. While the first book had information about the nature aspects of marshlands, this book has a gothic flare that is quite fun but fortunately never gets silly. It's a nod and a wink to the genre rather than an homage.

In all, these are very enjoyable. I am not sure if the series is done with this book 2 but I would greatly welcome more. I listened to the audio version of both books during morning walks or gym workouts and it made the time pass pleasantly. Reviewed from an advance reader/listener copy provided by the publisher.

I wondered how K.J. Charles would follow up The Secret Lives of Country Gentleman—another five-star read for me—and I can safely say that I anticipated none of it but quickly (QUICKLY) fell in love with all of it. (Just call me Ricky Bobby because the speed at which I read this has yet to be tracked on any speedometer.)

I can’t really go into much of the plot at risk of spoilers, but that’s okay because all you need to know is that you’ll be thoroughly entertained: The romance romanced even harder than the first book, (re)found family was a main source of comfort (as well as conflict), and the [redacted] mystery successfully bamboozled me right until the big reveal. There was also a distinct gothic vibe that created a really cozy yet unpredictable atmosphere.

The fight/grovel scene actually restored my faith in humanity??? I was kind of dreading the (the emotional stakes were so high yall!!), but I’ll be anticipating it during my reread. It made the romance ten times more intricate and complete than it would’ve been with something less intense. My heart broke for them both, but it hurt! So! GOOD! A breakup scene and its aftermath can REALLY do it for me when it’s done right, and I’m pretty sure K.J. Charles has actually never been wrong.

Overall, I loved everything in the book, but the romance of it actually owns me. I keep writing and deleting the small things they did for each other because I won’t spoil but !!!! Just know I can’t breathe thinking about them.

The audiobook was narrated by the same one as The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen, and I think I liked the performance even more here! This book already felt like a movie, but listening via audio made it truly cinematic. Heartbreak feels good in a place like this!! It really does!!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 🌶️🌶️🌶️*/5

*I think it was definitely hotter than book two, as the tension was TRIPLED. The forbidden boss/employee thing worked so well here.


Thanks so much to the publisher for an eARC via NetGalley. All opinions are honest and my own.