Lie back and enjoy!

I haven’t read many historical m/m romances – a handful if even that really. They just never really called my name – that is until I picked up Robby Riverton: Mail Order Bride a couple of months ago. I then realized there was a whole new genre for me to explore! And word on the block is that KJ Charles is the one to read for this genre. So said and done, Think of England and I were going on a date.

Two years ago Captain Archie Curtis’s life changed, he lost his fingers, his friends and fellow soldiers along with his military career. All due to a batch of malfunctioning guns. Determined to get to the bottom of it all and make the responsible party pay – if indeed there was a guilty party, he starts to investigate. His search leads him far into the country, and a very modern, but isolated country house.

While a guest, he meets Daniel da Silva, a queer poet that ruffles all Curtis’s proper feathers. After all one can hardly expect a gentleman from the army to have anything in common with the femme and limp wristed man with questionable morals, now can you? That is until he catches the poet breaking into the same library as he, and just maybe they are after the same information. What they find is a tale of blackmail and murder and more danger than either of them expected.

I enjoyed listening to this book. It was kind of fun to watch Curtis flounder a bit when da Silva got under his skin. And he did it so splendidly – and often. Another thing that I enjoyed was Curtis coming to terms with who he was, his sexuality, and accepting it. It was all portrayed quite believably, it wasn’t overdone but fit the era, as did the ending – their beginning.

Tom Carter narrated this book really well. He captured that stiff British upper class to perfection, but he also managed to portray the more femme and swishy Daniel da Silva. He brought me to UK, back in time and into the adventures of Curtis and sa Silva

All in all, I’m not going to abandon my preferences for contemporary romances, but I will definitely continue to pick up a historical romance every now and then, because it seems I have missed out!

A copy of this book was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review for Love Bytes.

4 people found this helpful

an unexpected delight!

I found out this favorite KJ Charles book came out as an audiobook by happy surprise. Any offering by KJ Charles by Audible is a delight, but this delivers on great narration, good characters and strong chemistry. The main character Archie is a wounded war hero trying to determine if his accident was caused by treachery and finds an unlikely ally in the bohemian Danielle. Set against a very British house party, the two discover dark secrets and a strong attraction. I found Archie's quintessential British chap to have a compelling storyline in self discovery as he slowly adapts to an understanding of himself as attracted to men. The period prejudices are a little startling to hear but are important to the plot so not there just for shock value. Danielle acts as a quicksilver foil to Archie's self realization, and the sex scenes show how opposites can fit together in the end. All this is managed with a deft touch by Tom Carter as the narrator. Am hopeful it is the start of a series and even more hopeful that other books by Charles, particularly the Charm of Magpies series, will also get audible versions.

3 people found this helpful

And listening just adds to the pleasure.

KJ Charles is an amazing storyteller creating vivid images of times and places.This historical romance fits the time and place that it portrays like a glove: prejudices, entitlements, societal blinds pot, are all handled with a deft hand. Then,just when you think it can't get any better we add Tom Carter's narration. ... Let's just say I'll be listening, again.

3 people found this helpful

my least favorite book by this author

very poor character development. I never saw the connection these 2 had. some attraction. a little gay awakening. that's not really a "romance."
and I REALLY didn't like the performance. his accent was really off putting. at first I thought maybe it was an intentional south african/English hybrid and was briefly impressed, but i found his web site and nope that's just his voice. it's way too careful. it sounds like he worked too hard with a speak therapist to be "correct " and it's awkwardness really hurt my ability to get into the story. obviously. it's not normal to stop a book and research the reader's accent.

1 person found this helpful

One of my favorite novels!

Very hard to hear the reader when he lowers his voice, even at the highest volume.

One of my favorites from KJ Charles.

I've loved pretty much every KJ Charles book/audiobook I've read or listened to and this is one of my favorites (along with the Charm of Magpies series). I love both of the main characters and how the novel manages to bring in period-typical homophobia, xenophobia, etc. without (somehow) making it too broody or angsty even with all the drama of the overall story. It's an impressive feat lol. Both of the main characters are well developed with their own virtues, fears, and flaws and I've re-listened to it several times over the last year or so and still enjoy their story as much as ever.

Slightly squicky, but with redeeming qualities

Pros: very good reader, with a pleasant voice and good distinction between characters. It's also refreshing to have a strong, intelligent, and attractive love interest, who is fairly femme, no less.

Cons: the ending, with Archie refusing to take no for an answer, is in character for him but still gross.

Romantic, Thrilling, Funny, Perfect

This is my favorite MM romance book on audible so far. I haven't enjoyed a book this much in a long time. Daniel de Silva is hilarious. I love him. Some other people are talking about the lisp the narrator has, but, I found it's barely noticeable and I wouldn't really care even if it wasn't. It was a great performance and I could understand every word and could tell each character's voice apart. I borrowed it via Audible Escape, but, I am determined to buy my own copy of the story, so, I can reread it anytime. Thank you for the experience.

Murder. Treason. Blackmail.

Murder. Treason. Blackmail. A house party at a beautiful country estate has never been so treacherous. But both Archie Curtis and Daniel de Silva know that appearances can hide dirty secrets, and exposing those truths in the light of day can be a matter of life or death.

This was a beautiful and enthralling historical, romantic mystery from the fabulous KJ Charles. Curtis and Daniel’s chemistry both in bed and out in the field is intense and fascinating. I adored watching them learn each other’s personalities and how to work together. The plot was intricate and interesting, with action and suspense. Overall, this was fabulous book and I highly recommend it.

Great story, iffy narrator

I love KJ Charles, so it’s not surprising that I love this story as well. It’s her usual blend of romance, danger and intrigue. My only issue was with the narrator. He had an accent that made the main character Archie sound like he was foreign (by which I mean English as a second language) which unless I missed it somewhere, was not the case. Unfortunately I found it very distracting. I just finished listening to the society of gentlemen stories and the narrator there was amazing so this was a little disappointing.

I’m also disappointed that the story of Pat and Fen is not on audible escape. They play a minor role in this book and I want to know more about them. I would also love to see more of Archie and Daniel and their further adventures.

On the whole, I would say the story is good enough to make any issues with the narration worthwhile. I imagine it would be better to read it, but I am a cheapskate and don’t want to pay for the book when I can get the Audible escape version “free” with my subscription.