Emotional whiplash

Set a generation after the trapeze artist stories, in that version of England, a duke’s children are scraping by, with what counts as scraping by for the aristocracy, on a meager allowance and in the case of Alec, his skills as an illustrator. He hires professional jewel thieves to steal a necklace from his wicked stepmother and in the course of setting up the heist, they fall for each other.

Content warnings for death by means violent and neglectful. There’s low gore but as a primary plot driver, it’s integral to the tale. There’s also a brutal beating, thieving by protagonists, and general worries over gay sex being illegal.

The tale of the heist kept me involved. The choices people made, in part, due to laws of the time, made things difficult for the characters and me as a reader. Every main character had me both rooting for them and cringing away from them at some point. I get that people are imperfect but this book really offers wild swings between what is & isn’t “good” behavior given boundary conditions of what is & isn’t legal or possible. The mitigating circumstances do not quite sway me from cringing at some choices. And there was a little too much “getting back at my dad by hurting his wife dynamic” hence -1 star.

The whiplash examples:
Alec’s father is a terrible father and a rather miserable employer but… he truly loves his 2nd wife and makes improvements to his house and estate.
Alec is tough and self supporting and a good brother & he, himself is kind but… with the “I can be friends with a perpetrator of genocide” kind of kindness that can be annoyingly, and potentially fatally, shortsighted. Yes, find the humanity in these people who will cheerfully, or grudgingly, kill you but don’t help them hurt you! Literally the second he is out of the crosshairs he will forgive slights to himself. (But not to his sister.)
Jerry is pragmatic and caring to those he values but… he values very few people. He might not be lovable by one such as me despite him being nearly my ideal in his private tastes. Unlike the fortune teller (referenced in this book, from the previous series), a jewel thief seeks out his victims. He doesn’t just target those who ask. Having been robbed I have pretty strong feelings about not liking robbers. Then again, how ever much jewels may mean sentimentally, a jewel thief does target people who most likely can absorb financial loss, and had likely exploited people to afford the jewels. And when one’s standard employment options have evaporated, punching up is better than punching down. So I fundamentally reject part of him for the hurt he causes others in his career. But he’s a good foil for Alec.

Steam. Medium-hot. On page M/M sex happens in several scenes, pretty much all in a D/s dynamic. The kink isn’t around pain or humiliation at all and consent is explicit and exquisitely attended to. I’m a little thrown by another reviewer thinking the kink here is extreme since I’d be tempted to offer this as an entry level foray into healthy D/s kink.Alec can handle his life fine, he’d just prefer not to make decisions in the boudoir. Jerry, who prefers making decisions in the boudoir, figures this out. The dynamic’s a big part of why they get together; Jerry can direct without taking advantage,addressing a problem that has plagued Alec’s earlier forays. Honestly the sexual dynamic is the healthiest thing these guys have going. But for sex & Alec’s art, the plot is a jumble of morally questionable actions.

Narration: I usually like this narrator and do here. He uses good dynamics. The production quality is consistent. (I wish narrators would sing when folk songs are included though.)

20 people found this helpful

Another masterpiece of storytelling by KJ Charles

There are very few titles I buy without reading the reviews and certainly fewer that I pre-order, KJ Charles is the exception and so far I have never been let down by her work. This type of story is not everyone's cup of tea, but for those who enjoy a regency feel with an M/M romance it doesn't get better than this!

Another reason this audio story is amazing is because of the narration. Cornell Collins is FABULOUS. He does characters' voices with such a dramatic flair, I am always captivated by his performances. He does women's voice well, does each character with unique expressions and I never have to think about whom is speaking.

A final note--if you have not read or listened to her other books set in a similar time period (not the Magpie ones) like Society of Gentlemen and Sins of the City series I would start with those first. They are not dependent upon one another to know or enjoy the stories but reading or (even better) listening to those stories first makes this one feel much richer and familiar,

6 people found this helpful

surprise double plotline

I enjoyed the twist in the plotline, I had to reverse and listen again to make sure I had it right. wonderful book.

3 people found this helpful

Twisty and naughty

This is a great twisting plot with sexy gentleman. A smart and surprising tail about righting past wrongs. And the narrator's voice is lovely.

2 people found this helpful

Fantastic story, fantastic narration

After loving the Magpie Lord audiobooks I decided to try another KJ Charles/Cornell Collins audiobook and was not disappointed. Any Old Diamonds was a fun story about thieves, aristocrats, betrayal, murder, and with some hot D/s sex and a M/M love story. Totally enjoyed it start to finish. Fantastic performance by Cornell Collins!

2 people found this helpful

Knives Out gone Torrid, Twisty MM Regency

Deliciously dangerous and domineering. It’s like Dangerous Liaisons meets Oceans Eleven meets an MM Shades of Gray? Well, never having seen or read that last one, I can’t be sure. There are cons, crosses and double crosses, and scorching scenes made all the more thrilling because you don’t know who to trust. The twists and turns really pick up in the final third, delivering a phenomenal heist mystery story. And, Cornell Collins’ bourbon narration goes down smooth and fiery in all the best ways.

1 person found this helpful

3.5

It took me a while to get into this book, but I eventually did and enjoyed it. I very much appreciated the way both men tried to be good to the other and the way Jerry insisted on clear boundaries and obeyed them. They were definitely perfectly matched in desires. However, I also thought there was a tad too much sex, it cluttered the plot. (It was hot though.)

The close bonds outside of the main pairing were also appreciable—Jerry and Lane, Lazarus, the siblings. There were tons of platonic relationships and connections and I thought it enriched the story. Plus, it was fun to get an indirect peek at some of the characters from another Charles book!

All in all, I wouldn’t call it my favorite Charles book, but as always I enjoyed reading it…or listening. Cornell Collins did a fabulous job with the narration.

1 person found this helpful

Enjoyed this story & narration, surprises and all

There were many layers to this story, some I did not see coming. Alec wanted revenge upon his very selfish, guilt-ridden father. He met Jerry, and the business arrangement became personal quickly. Both men knew what they wanted out of life, though one was a more honest man than the other. I felt that Jerry, in a straightforward manner, brought out Alec's strengths and true desires, bringing Alec more to life than he had been. I really enjoyed this story and recommend it.
The narration by Cornell Collins was very well done, with all the different characters he brought to life. He helped me picture the story as I listened wherever I was.

Good story with plenty of steam

This is definitely a hot book. If this wasnt a single pov I would have given it 5 stars.

Cute story

I really enjoyed this story. Very simple. But I don’t care for the narrator. I’ve always thought he sounds like a 65-70 yr old man. Really hard when the boy is 24-30 years old. So I wish KJ Charles would use a younger man. The story was very predictable but cute.