This book was so amazing! There was so much action that I was biting my nails until the very last page, but so much swoony romance that kept it balanced. The many antagonists were properly threatening, and the many allies were each uniquely lovely. And there’s beetle hunting!

I cannot WAIT for the sequel, which deals with one of the amazing side characters, since this is a book with many amazing side characters you want to see again.

My first time reading a KJC book and I’ll definitely be back for more!
A historical enemies-to-lovers that’s been compared to Bridgerton more than once.
A story that dives into family dynamics and how they affect the decisions these characters make. Honestly, I instantly felt super attached to these characters right away. The ending of course, wow. I can definitely tell it’s a book that will be talked about.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

A huge thank you to NetGalley, SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca, and of course, KJ Charles for providing me with an eARC of this book. I am voluntarily leaving a review, all opinions are my own.

This book was fantastic, I flew through the second half in no time because I had to know how this one ended. I loved Joss and Gareth and watching their relationship unfold- the good, the bad, and the ugly.

The time period was gold for this story and I loved the setting- the marshes really gave it that extra layer and it was wonderful.

I will definitely read the next book and absolutely cannot wait.

One of my favorite series of all time is A Charm of Magpies by KJ Charles. Not only did I read the books, but I also bought the audiobooks and listened to them as well. I just loved them! I was thrilled to be able to review The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen, the first book in her new series The Doomsday Books. I figured no way would I be able to love her newest even half as much as "Magpies". Or could I? Well, ladies and gentlemen, lightning CAN strike twice! We've got another winner here!

When Gareth Inglis was a young child, he was abandoned by his baronet father and sent to live with his hateful uncle and cousin. He was used to being lonely and disappointed, but he fell into a passionate anonymous affair with a handsome stranger; unfortunately, it ended as quickly as it started and he's left alone again. He doesn't have to long to fret, however, as his father suddenly dies and Gareth goes from being a London clerk to being Sir Gareth, with a grand house on remote Romney Marsh and a family he doesn't know. The Marsh is an entirely different world than Gareth is used to; it's an empty place known for its smugglers...and one is VERY familiar! Joss Doomsday has run the Doomsday smuggling clan since he was a boy, and his family means everything to him. When new baronet Sir Gareth testifies as a witness against Joss's sister for a hanging offense, Joss blackmails Gareth with the secret of their former relationship to force him to recant. So much for a happy reunion! When things calm down, though, Gareth and Joss can't stay away from each other. Things become dangerous and there's a mystery to solve. Will an often-disappointed baronet survive the danger and finally find the love of his life with a smuggler?

This Regency romance is a LGBTQIA+ one. If you think that you won't enjoy reading this type of story and avoid it, you will be doing yourself a great disservice. For as you read this book, you will just see it as simply a beautiful romance, not one with a label to define it. Ms. Charles can spin a yarn of romance, humor, danger and mystery like nobody's business! Her characters are finely drawn and she brings them to life. Gareth has always been lonely. After his mother died, he was sent to live with his uncle and cousin and worked as a clerk in their law office; he was very hurt when his father wanted nothing to do with him. He had occasional bright spots with men he met at a special bar; but nothing like the feelings he had for "Kent", who was actually Joss. (Gareth was "London".) When he was told that Kent had to leave for a while, Gareth took it as the rejection he was used to. When he ended up in Romney Marsh and being blackmailed by Joss, his pain took on a whole other level! While the two mended their relationship, Gareth found he actually had something in common with the father who sent him away: Gareth realized he was interested in being a naturalist like his father. Who would have guessed he would be interested in great diving beetles and crested newts?! I loved how Gareth found he was much stronger and protective than he ever imagined. Joss was the perfect foil for Gareth. His entire life revolved around his family. His Ma was head of the family business since her husband and oldest son died, but Joss basically ran the smuggling business. He was very protective of those on the Marsh. He hated having to blackmail Gareth, but he had to save his sister. Even though there was much anger on Gareth's part, Joss worked hard to regain his trust and show Gareth just how much he cared. The attraction was palpable, and when they were together they ignited. Love scenes were very passionate but also sweet. Supporting characters were very entertaining; I especially liked Joss's sister Sophy and his granda Asa, and Catherine, who had been the mistress of Gareth's father (and sister of his first wife!). The mystery of the treasure everyone thought Gareth possessed had me glued to the pages. I loved this first Doomsday book and have no patience waiting for the next installment!

I received an ARC of this book courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley. I received no compensation for my review, and all thoughts and opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Intrigue? Check. Smugglers? Check. Bad blood and family drama? Check. A blossoming romance between two “bad” but beautiful (inside and out) boys? Check. This is my first read from KJ Charles, but it probably won’t be my last. I came to this read expecting a strong spice factor, but instead found a thoroughly researched historical. Many thanks to Sourcebooks and NetGalley for my gifted ARC.

This was my first KJ Charles read, and won’t be my last! A M/M regency romance with superb banter, well written and engaging supporting characters, and a SOLID plot. The Secret Lives of Country Gentleman really delivers!

I absolutely LOVED this book, and I can't wait until book 2 comes out later this year. I thought Gareth and Joss were great characters, I absolutely adored the development of their relationship. This story had a lot more depth than what I was expecting from a regency romance novel, but I was completely blown away by the plot and characters. It was really great seeing how much Gareth came into his own throughout the book, learning not only how to rely on others but how to be someone others can rely upon.

Thank you NetGalley and Source Books Casablanca for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest view. I rate this book 3.75 stars
Overall this was a good book. It's a historical MLM romance that takes place on a marsh in the UK, run by a group of smugglers, the Doomsdays, namely Joss Doomsday. Joss is a handsome, very sure of himself, biracial young man who rules the roost. Enter newly appointed (also known as outmarsh) baronet Sir Gareth who comes to the marsh after his father (who abandoned him in childhood) dies. Sir Gareth is the opposite of Joss, tall, pale, academic, and someone who is not very confident in himself. It's not enemies to lovers but, certainly opposites attract and I enjoyed them as a couple.
It has some mystery, danger, a bit of violence and a few spicy scenes. The marsh is a lovely backdrop to make the situations Joss and Gareth find themselves a bit more foreboding. And the book tackles the struggles of being gay during this time period, as well as biracial.
My issue with this book was the length. The middle was very bogged down (no marsh pun intended), I kept thinking we must be further along than we were! And I wasn't impressed with Joss making the same mistakes over and over again, even right after he said he wouldn't do that anymore. His character still needed some growth even by the end of the novel.
Overall I would recommend and would love a sequel of Sophy because she is so badass!

This book had me, mind, body, and soul, in the first chapter. K. J. Charles' prose is lovely and so fiercely evocative that London and Kent wholly absorbed my thoughts for the weekend.

To equate this to Bridgerton and Poldark is fair, but there is an emotional thread through the novel that pulls on something distinctly different. Through the trial of the characters, the mad world spinning around them, and the dread at their circumstances driving them to extremes, there is a sense of hope whenever the pair find themselves together. When quarreling, at odds, and fiercely determined to ignore the spark, hope lingers and it is beautiful thing.

Beyond the romance and emotional journey, Charles utilizes place and history to a delightful degree. Plot points hinge on the use of a single word, the Marsh becomes the world. This is a masterclass in storytelling and when I tell you how quickly I recommended this to my romance-reading friends, you will be appalled, because it was roughly halfway through Chapter 2.

Well this is really good. Smugglers! Marshes! Beetles! Recovering legal clerks! A big noisy family! Awful family! Genuine peril!

If you ever read The Unknown Ajax and thought “well this is good but I want more of the smuggling, less rich people problems and lots of walking on the very atmospheric marsh” then this might be the very thing - as long as you don’t want closed door of course, because maybe don't read this on public transport. Gareth and Joss have plenty of issues to work through but they both grow and come into their own as they find a way though everything. Lovely.

4.5 out of 5 Stars
I really enjoyed The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen, I think it's the first LGBTQ Regency romance that I've read and I want to read more in this genre. I have read LGBTQ romances and Regency romances and putting them together was just excellent. Obviously there have always been people who were queer in history, but because of the way the world has been they've had to be hidden and The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen is a great example of that. Throughout the story the two male leads, baronet Gareth Inglis, and smuggler Joss Doomsday are falling in love with one another but they can never tell anyone around them, even their loved ones.
I really enjoyed Gareth's character, in the beginning of the story I did not care for him because of one interaction he had with Joss before he went back home. He said ugly things that didn't make him look good. But once you get to know more about him and his past you start to sympathize with Gareth. You also begin to realize all those ugly things were said out of anxiety and that he was actually angry at his father who abandoned him as a child, that he could no longer confront.
Joss was an equally entertaining character, as a smuggler he dealt with a some interesting characters, including the entire Doomsday Clan. While Gareth's feelings towards his family were EXTREMELY complicated, Joss truly loves the majority of his family. And so much of what he does, including the family business of smuggling, he does for his family. I mean he blackmails someone for his little sister to keep her out of jail.

[I received a digital arc for an honest review]

The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen by KJ Charles is the start to a new series called The Doomsday Books. Sir Gareth Inglis has returned to his childhood home after the death of his father who never wanted him. He has inherited his father’s title as well as a half sister and her aunt who he’s never met. He’s out of place in Romney Marsh and feels even more so when he gets involved with the Doomsdays, a smuggling family who runs the area. Gareth never expects that a London dalliance will turn up on the marsh and be the head of the notorious Doomsday clan. Josiah ‘Joss’ Doomsday was slighted by the last time he had with Gareth so finding him on the marsh is not a welcome situation. The two men have never gotten to know each other outside of secret rendezvous in a London club so exploring the marsh together opens up an entirely new side to both men. As they get closer, Gareth finds himself tangling with his uncle and cousin from London as well as a rival smuggling family. With Joss’ help will Gareth be able to build a new life on the marsh or will he be left dealing with his fathers mistakes.

Sir Gareth Inglis has been thrust into a role he was never prepared for by his father who sent him away as a child and never looked back. He had a semi-comfortable life as a clerk in London with his secret trysts keeping him sane. When he moves to the marsh he feels like an outsider; they all treat him as though he learns the land and creatures based on his father’s writings. It isn’t until he allows himself to open up to Joss as themselves, not London and Kent that he feels he can really start setting down roots. Although it’s not safe for them to fully embrace their relationship, both men feel strongly enough about each other to try and make it work.

Joss Doomsday has always put his family first and their business first. When Gareth shows up on the marsh it is the first time he wants to be selfish and just spend time with the man he grew so fond of in London. Joss is also saddled with the issue of his uncle and the fact that there is smuggling going down in his marsh that he wasn’t aware of. He has always felt the need to be the protector but this becomes a problem for Gareth who wants to provide Joss with just as much support.

I am a fan of KJ Charles and the MM historical genre. I appreciate the level of cloak and dagger that go into these relationships that would not be readily accepted at the time. This story in particular took on the topic of smuggling that was completely new and fascinating to me. Add in that Gareth and Joss were wonderful that this book just really worked for me.

5 stars for Gareth and Joss find a life together in the marsh.

A low rating on a queer regency romance physically hurts me. This book follows Sir Gareth as he moves in to his late fathers estate. With a new sister & his fathers mistress to live with he quickly makes the mistake of ending up on the wrong side of James Doomsday. Their previous relation not ending on the best terms, Gareth has a lot to deal with.
This feels contradicting because I liked a lot of this book. doomsdays snark was fun & I love a gay regency romance! I could’ve gotten behind Gareths bug interest and the romance scenes were great. But something about it didn’t click for me.

KJ Charles is master a creating complex characters that are true to themselves yet grow into greater versions of themselves through the story. Joss and Gareth start off seemingly on opposite sides - different classes, different upbringing, different beliefs - but they are so far gone on each other that they are willing to learn and change to be together.

The story is set in Kent, and the way Charles describes the land and the people, you feel like you are there, traipsing about in the marsh with Gareth. I enjoyed learning new Kentish words, right along with Gareth. Charles does such a compelling job with the historical elements I felt like I was getting a peak into history.

I loved this story both for its drama and its tenderness. I would recommend it to anyone who likes Charles' previous work as well as anyone interested in trying her work for the first time. It's a wonderful historical romance that I can't wait to reread it.

The first of The Doomsday Books, this is another one of those books where I got lost from the first page. Just lost in the world, and the people, and the language. The author recreates a whole world in a specific moment in time, with its own traditions and history, around Dymchurch, in Romney Marsh, Kent.

This matters not only because The Marsh is more character than setting, but also because the politics of the time (1810, the recently dubbed United Kingdom was at war with Napoleon’s France) have more than a little to do with who the people living there are.

The publisher’s blurb clearly sets out the situation our two main characters, one, reluctant baronet, and the other, leader of a smuggling gang, find themselves in as the novel starts: they've met in London, without knowing who each is, and now that Gareth is in the Marsh, not just an outsider with a heretofore unknown family, but a baronet, and Joss the leader of the local smuggling gang, squaring off in court over Joss's sister...well, things are not off to a great start.

So, to get the obvious out of the way: of course all the smuggling brought Poldark to mind–how could it not? (novels by Winston Graham). Mind you, while there’s a lot of talking about smuggling, planning runs, what happens once the goods are on land, and so on, we don’t really see any actual smuggling happening.

The family dynamics are fascinating, and stark, and, frankly, painful. On the one hand, without family, you are unmoored, and lonely, and often always the outsider in other people’s lives. On the other, when you have family, you also have a boatload of cares and responsibilities and conflict–whether said family cares for you or not.

So while Gareth breaks my heart, being always the unwelcome, unwanted, out of place ‘other’ (“All along, his father had had so much time and interest and attention to give, and he’d devoted it to beetles.” (chapter 3)), Joss’ position isn’t by any means enviable. It’s not just that he’s the one responsible for everyone else’s safety and wellbeing, which is its own hell, but there are snags in the pecking order that rub everyone wrong.

Aside: you may have noticed that I tagged this one ‘interracial romance’, and while it’s a bit of a stretch, Joss’s grandfather is a formerly enslaved Black man from Georgia, and this has some weight on the Doomsdays family dynamics, and so I stand by the tag.

As for the language, there have been many conversations about how accents shouldn’t be written in novels, because so often writers will insert a clichéd word or phrase in a different language, or write things like, ‘he made a Welsh/Spanish/Scott sound”, or use broken English (usually reserved for foreigners, either visitors or immigrants), and that can be the sum total of characterization (often with implied derision and/or moral judgement).

However, it is a fact that people speak the same language differently, far beyond accents, and I love seeing that in conversations between Joss and Gareth; specifically the discussion around ‘middling’ (“Yes, but I speak English” says Gareth), and I couldn’t help laughing my head off, thinking of Mexicans saying “ahorita”, and watching every other Spanish speaker get it wrong at least half the time.

Speaking of conversations: far too often, especially in historical romance, there are assumptions about what both ‘the common man’ and ‘the quality’ would feel about everything from the crown to the colonies, that is divorced from any examination of the injustices and cruelty of the political system in which these characters lived.

Which is why it’s so great to have these two discuss, among many other things, politics, patriotism and war. As Joss says to Gareth, “What’s it to me which rich man runs the country?”

Which brings me to: the romance between these two characters is lovely, and heartbreakingly poignant.

At first glance, Gareth seems to be too vulnerable and too emotionally needy for them to have a relationship of equals; but as the story unfolds, Joss realizes that he too has some growing up to do.

One of the things Ms Charles does really well is writing community, so that the secondary characters are people with their own baggage, opinions, feelings and hopes, rather than two-dimensional figures who clearly only exist to serve the plot. There is a rather large cast of characters with speaking parts, but it is a story that covers a lot of miles. A few of the characters are developed through the novel–Catherine, Sophie, Luke–and others are drawn more through their influence on those around them than by direct on-page interactions–Ma Doomsday, Joss’s grandfather Asa, Henry and Lionel Ingliss, Cecily.

And finally, there’s the action. I read this in one long sitting, staying up until after 3am to finish it. I would have finished earlier, but I had to stop reading a few times to breathe, because the stakes felt all too real.

The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen is everything I have come to expect of a K.J. Charles book, and I can’t wait for the second book (A Nobleman’s Guide to Seducing a Scoundrel) to come out. 9.25 out of 10

If you love historical romance that has layers of deception, love, angst, and drama then you'll want to add this M/M historical romance. In the first of this new series you'll find all of that with a dash of secrets, a bit of family drama and a suspensful risk of some wishing to prevent a love that is destined to be great.

Gareth and Joss will discover that the desire to be loved and find love will bring them on a journey of smugglers, blackmail, kidnapping, murder, and a dash of spicy heat.

I receved an advance reader copy for a fair and honest review.

The Secret Lives of Country Gentleman is the first novel in the Doomsday Books series. It is a fun action-packed historical m/m romance, so it immediately drew me to want to read it. Sir Gareth Inglis, who was abandoned by his father as a child, is a newly appointed baronet in Romney Marsh. Joss Doomsday is an overworked smuggler that runs the Doomsday smuggling clan. The two connect and are separated only to be reunited under different circumstances. The two of them were great representatives of the mix of smugglers and country gentry in times of tension in England with France.

Their romance is a nice opposites attract tale where they may be different, but they still go together. Gareth is unhappy with how his life turned out and is working towards finding balance in his life. After being estranged from his family, he returns to the house and life he inherited where he needs to figure out the local smuggling operations and his relations. On the other side is Joss who is like Gareth where he is balancing his business and personal lives even though they appear differently on the surface. There is a lot happening in this novel from the two characters interacting along with the family dramas, societal issues, and other scandals. The geography played a nice role in the story as it was the perfect backdrop to the story. It became a nice third character in a way and I loved how the characters and world interacted on the page. Overall, this was a fun story with a lighter spice romance. The two characters were a nice match and I look forward to reading the next novel in the future!

**I give a special thank you to Netgalley and the publisher, Sourcebooks, for the opportunity to read this novel. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.**

KJ Charles does such a great job writing compelling, complicated characters. This novel sucked me in and got me invested in the Doomsday smuggling family. This m/m romance brings together men from different classes and parts of England, so there is an element of culture shock. I love how Charles has some of their miscommunications be just that the expressions they use are unfamiliar to one another.

There is a lot of plot in this book, some of which actually sort of goes unresolved at the end, though in a way that works. If you enjoy m/m historical romance, this is a great choice, as it takes things outside of London and adds country flare. I love how Charles brings the setting into the plot itself. It is really lovely.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher.

I have to start by saying what a fan I am of Will Darling, how much I adore him and enjoyed the first book in his series, Slippery Creatures. Hence, why I was keen to read Charles’s trad-pubbed romance, The Secret Lives of Country Gentleman. Would her unique voice and style be “standardized” for a wider audience, or could Charles retain everything that makes her self-published m/m romance unique? Also, with a selling point of “Bridgerton meets Poldark,” I was doubly intrigued. (I’m still mulling how much I liked this. But let’s consider Secret Lives on its own merit.) The publishers’ details for our orientation:

Abandoned by his father, Gareth Inglis grew up lonely, prickly, and well-used to disappointment. Still, he longs for a connection. When he meets a charming man in a London molly house, he falls head over heels—until everything goes wrong and he’s left alone again. Then Gareth’s father dies, turning the shabby London clerk into Sir Gareth, with a grand house on the remote Romney Marsh and a family he doesn’t know.

The Marsh is another world, a strange, empty place notorious for its ruthless gangs of smugglers. And one of them is dangerously familiar…

Joss Doomsday has run the Doomsday smuggling clan since he was a boy. When the new baronet—his old lover—agrees to testify against Joss’s sister, Joss acts fast to stop him. Their reunion is anything but happy, yet after the dust settles, neither can stay away. Soon, all Joss and Gareth want is the chance to be together. But the bleak, bare Marsh holds deadly secrets. And when Gareth finds himself threatened from every side, the gentleman and the smuggler must trust one another not just with their hearts, but with their lives.

Charles’s strengths in Secret Lives are her characterization and setting. Like Will Darling, Sir Gareth Inglis is diffident and humble…until he isn’t. That’s what I adore about both. Like Will, Gareth is infused with delightful humour and caustic banter (also his funny asides to the reader, yay for asides!). I chuckled at Gareth’s first glimpse of arriving in his newly-claimed inheritance: “Romney Marsh was hardly Kent; it was hardly anywhere at all. The population of the whole place looked to be about thirty, plus sheep.” I was, of course, fascinated, as I love desolate, flat landscapes with lots of weather, so I went down a Google rabbit-hole of Romney Marsh images. I thought it was beautiful! There truly are many, many sheep.

Charles makes initial impressions shift and change over the novel’s course, as Gareth discovers the marsh’s infinite variety of flora and fauna, paralleled to a sense of being home, for a character who never had a home, a neglected, rejected child and lonely adult. When Gareth muses, “He preferred his own home, and the little family that was forming there,” it was cause for reader-celebration. As Gareth bonds with the people his father left behind, mistress-and-SIL Catherine and daughter, Gareth’s half-sister, Cecilia “Cecy”, his sense of belonging grows. As he discovers his father was as awful as he first thought, he does take one thing from him, a natural historian’s fascination with the marsh insects; as Gareth builds interests, family, purpose, it’s easy to feel joyful for him. Charles’s descriptions of the marsh were beautifully rendered, evocative, and atmospheric. Gareth also shares a lovely friendship with Catherine and a humorously fraught one with his temperamental 17-year-old sister. Cecy does some growing of her own and it’s wonderful to see, by the end, Gareth gains family bonds, strong ones.

I have to admit I was less enamored of Charles’s romance: was it the romance, or was it Gareth’s love interest, Joss Doomsday. Joss never quite “came alive”. However, when Gareth gave him a piece of his mind, it’s a delight: ” “How the devil was I supposed to know someone I’d ‘met’ in London was living less than a mile from me, a fact you hadn’t troubled to communicate to me in the entire time I’ve been here, and Josiah Doomsday of all things? Why would I imagine anyone would be called that?’ ‘It’s a perfectly good name,’ Joss said, stung. ‘It’s an utterly ridiculous name. It sounds like a Gothic villain.’ ” Joss is, in so many ways, Gareth’s opposite; he has more family than he knows what to do with, he’s garrulous, popular, good-looking, assertive and, as Catherine calls him, a “prince” of the marsh. I enjoyed Joss’s struggle with family obligation even while Gareth develops family bonds: it was a lovely paralleling of the characters. I thought how Joss and Gareth worked out their roles in their relationship well done: Joss has to learn to trust Gareth’s ability to take care of himself and others and not be a control freak; he has to learn to stand up to his family and depend on someone other than himself.

Charles offers wonderfully rendered secondary characters, especially the sympathetically drawn Catherine, who forges a friendship with Gareth, who understand the marsh, its people, and Gareth too. Officer Bovey, the smugglers’ enemy, who turns out to be more decent and true than at first appears. Cecy, who runs like a bull and bursts into gulping, messy tears at the drop of a hat, also becomes a true and loving sister to Gareth. Gareth who deserves it all. And the marsh, changeable, dangerous, and beautiful all at once. And the ever-present danger of what it means to be a gay man in Regency England: the threat of exposure, fear combined with desire: I thought this was terrific. As were the politics: this is where Joss shines, where the local meets centralized power, where the weak meet indifferent authority, where fellow-feeling meets expedient:

…nobody gives a damn for the Marsh except Marshmen. The government and king don’t care if we starve. They put on the blockade but charge their rents and taxes same as ever, and they’ll let the sea or the French take us if that preserves their skins for another day. So we look after ourselves. And that means trading, and selling wool — some of it wool off the sheep that are going to be saved when old women and children will be let behind…

This is where the narrative is at its best, how Joss’s understanding of power and vulnerability change Gareth:

Gareth…had a vague sort of idea that country, king, and law were the foundations on which the nation was built, while nevertheless acknowledging that he had no intention of taking up arms for the country, the king was a mad German, and he’d spent much of his adult life happily breaking the law. Still, they were principles, even if they weren’t his principles. He’d thought this would be an easy fight to pick. He’d met plenty of radicals in London — men who wanted wealth redistributed, laws changed, the government made representative. Joss Doomsday, fervent patriot of a hundred square miles of marshland, was perhaps the most radical man he’d ever met.

As Gareth is transformed by Joss, Joss is by Gareth: “…the lanky outmarsh [Gareth] had made him see his own beloved home with new and sharper eyes. There was a whole world on the Marsh he’d never known and that they’d explored together, alone in their waterlogged Eden and sharing its discovery.”

In the end, Secret Lives dragged its resolution and Joss remained etiolated, but Charles is a fine writer, elegant and clear, a great “world-builder” (I’m looking forward to book 2), Gareth is wonderful, and the marsh drawn in its infinite variety and wild beauty. I don’t know if Miss Austen would be scandalized by queer Regency romance, I suspect not, as there’s an earthiness and truth to her that Austen prigs never quite get, she’d agree Charles’s Secret Lives is “a mind lively and at ease,” Emma. (Also, what a beautiful cover!)

KJ Charles’s Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen is published by Sourcebooks Casablanca and was released on March 7th. I received an e-arc from Sourcebooks, via Netgalley, for the purpose of writing this review, which does not influence my opinion.

The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen is my very first of KJ Charles books, but it certainly will not be the last. I took one look at this cover and instantly felt drawn in. I've been looking for historical romance that feel similar to Alexis Hall's, Something Fabulous, and while this is not quite as rollicking as that, it certainly fit the bill. Gareth and Joss were such an unlikely pairing and it was an interesting dynamic to have the story opening with them already being lovers, even though their arrangement was anonymous.

Having them meet again in unlikely circumstances gave this one very much a second chance romance feel, which is one of my favorite tropes. Seeing Gareth and Joss grapple with their feelings in their real lives added a layer to their story that felt very tangible and realistic. Gareth's longing to see Joss smile at him again the way he did in London felt like a gut punch.

I was a bit unprepared for the violent side plot of this one, but the villains were so well written and I vehemently loathed them. Overall, this was such a sweet, adventurous romance that I highly recommend. Thanks so much for the chance to read and review this early copy!