I tend to have a love/hate relationship with period romance novels, and while I didn’t hate The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen, I didn’t love it either. I felt like too much was happening in the story that took away from the romance and required keeping up with more characters than I felt invested in. This book is probably for someone else, just not for me.

A reliable source for cozy M/M historical romance (with some steam), at this point, I've read multiple novels from K.J. Charles, and consistency is definitely one of her strengths (almost to a fault). The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen is yet another balanced effort in storytelling: lovable heroes, heartwarming romance, relatable familial drama, and a dash of intrigue.

I also notice I've consumed all of her work via audiobooks thus far, and I highly recommend this route; her writing style has a slight retro feel, and very dialog driven, which comes alive via narrator's performance, as if listening to an immersive play (and this one is done perfectly). I can anticipate the experience reading physically might be a little dull (like reading a script), and the pacing slightly sluggish.

When I mention consistency to a fault earlier, I mean K.J. Charles tends to construct her story using the same building blocks. All of the stories I've read from her features a class difference romance (and the cultural difference banter that goes along with it), and the duo eventually teams up to solve a crime/mystery. If I was someone who's reading her novels back-to-back, I would've been bored by the repetitiveness. But I pick up her work once, twice at most per year, so these I find these recurring elements rather welcoming.

Overall, The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen is another solid entry to K.J. Charles' body of work. I find her novels particularly fitting for casual romance readers, as there is quite a substantial plot beyond the romance, and the romance itself is not overly angsty (on the flip-side, I can also see romance readers arguing there is not enough romance). If you've have never read a K.J. Charles before, this is very representative of her work (just make sure you pick up the audiobook).

A phenomenal queer historical romance, which is not the least bit surprising given that it’s from KJ Charles! It was a bit of a slow start for me, but once I was in it I was IN it. It’s incredibly plot-driven, with a mystery to unravel and various smuggling gang goings-on, so the romance is incredibly low-angst. Minus the rocky separation at the end of their initial anonymous tryst and rough re-introduction, it was a very mature relationship—even when they fought, they came back together and talked it through, and they were both aware of their shortcomings and communicated their needs & how they would work on improving going forward. The chemistry was also just right, with plenty of excellent steamy scenes. I love that we just got to watch them fall in love in the midst of helping each other unravel the chaotic mess around them and falling in love with the Marsh itself.

The only criticism I have is not really of the book, but rather the audiobook narrator—I loved his performance for the most part, but he had this oddly stilted delivery the entire way through that made it almost choppy and difficult to get into the flow. I still enjoyed it, but not my favorite narrator.

I’m assuming we’ll get more books about the other Doomsdays, and I can’t wait!

The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen has a bit of everything – pirates, spicy M/M romance, a “gentleman”, mystery and more! This was my first KJ Charles book and I absolutely loved it. This is the first book in the Doomsday series and I can’t wait to see what is in store for the next books.

This book is spicy and romantic. The relationship that builds between the two MCs is lovely, but the romance and spice is not all that this book offers. There is the familial dynamics of two very diverse families, plus mystery, action, espionage, a big kidnap and even more. The audio of this book really sold the story and elevated the plot as a whole.

The only people that I do not think will like this book are those that do not like a lot of descriptive sex. While the romance is wonderful, it is not the only thing holding up the plot. I can’t wait to read more KJ Charles and will be recommending this book to all my romance/mystery lovers!

Ugh! I can't tell you how much I enjoyed this. Historically, I've learned quite a bit of random information about the Napoleonic wars through historical romance novels and my subsequent google sessions but going to the marshes of Kent to read about smugglers was such a fun departure from wounded, noble soldiers returning to the ballrooms of London. I adored Gareth and Josiah both,l and the huge cast of characters that rounded out the story.

This was one of the most enjoyable m/m historical romances that I have read. It as full of action-packed but also had all of the cute tender romance and moments of peace. It was all a good time and really followed the way that KJ Charles typically writes. I couldn't be happier with this book.

The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen by KJ Charles is a M/M historical romance that addresses racism, classism, and family trauma in an authentic, straight forward manner. Joss Doomsday is my favorite character. He's levelheaded and clever with an enviable worth ethic and apparently he's also hot! Gareth took a little while to grow on me but I did appreciate his honesty and curiosity. His exploration of the marsh and his interest in botany and wildlife was cool. The story itself was fast-paced and interesting. I really enjoyed all of the descriptions of the marsh and the different families. The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen expertly weaves together action and adventure with political intrigue and mystery and tops it off with a delicious scoop of romance. I'm so glad I got to listen to the audiobook because the narrator was amazing and fully immersed me in the world of quick witted characters.

This was an absolute pleasure to listen to - it struck the perfect balance between the mystery and the romance! I loved the way that London and Kent met and then met again, it was so perfect and I really feel like the author did such a great job of confronting period issues (as in historical era period issues, not PMS) without letting it get in the way of the story and plot. Or perhaps only getting in the way when it served the plot or story well.

London learns of the death of his father and moves to his countryside estate, only to learn that the mysterious stranger “Kent” he’d been with for a week is none other than the marsh man next door. The two navigate their evolving relationship amid a myriad of mysteries including the curious case of missing money and the hunt for various specimens of beetle.

I’d never read a period m/m romance and this was an excellent first impression of the sub genre. I will be back !

Once again, KJ Charles has written my favorite kind of romance. I love how her books are instant comfort reads at this point, while at the same time remaining fresh and new no matter how many I've read. You'd think she'd run out of unique and loveable characters (most of them gold-hearted rogues who aren't particularly morally bothered) with chemistry of the sort that means warmth and comfort and companionship and someone always on your side, in addition to the usual definition. And yet.

I love her wit and sly humor. I don't tend to like must "humorous" books because they tend to rely on steortypes, punching down, bawdy humor, etc. Not so KJ Charles. Her humor is of the witty, sardonic, dry variety and it's just wonderful. Here, I'll give you an example:
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"I would like to talk about this again, more civilly, to understand your point of view. I don’t know if I’ll agree but I’d rather disagree with more nuance.”


Joss hoped <i>nuance</i> didn’t mean shouting.
---

A lot of the humor in this book comes, as in the example above, from the language barrier of Marshman smuggler vs. educated Londoner. So I guess you have to like clever humor about words. Luckily, I do.

Joss and Gareth are wonderful characters. Really, every character in this book is a wonderful character. They all have such distinct personalities and feel so very real. Their romance feels very natural too, as they work together and learn to trust one another.

I absolutely LOVED everything about this and I had the biggest smile on my face while reading it. I knew I would love it - It's KJ Charles, that's a foregone conclusion - but it always surprises me how much I love it in the end.

The plot was great. Twisty and full of danger and trouble, but also full of quiet moments of companionship and connection. I loved how it ended, too. It was perfect. I will absolutely read the next one as soon as it comes out (and her next book, and the next...) because she's one of my favorite authors at this point. I've preordered the audiobook as I know I will want to revisit this and that's one of my favorite ways to do so.

edited to add thoughts on the audiobook 03/08/23:

This audiobook and I did not particularly get along. LOVE LOVE LOVE the book, but the audio...

The narrator speaks very slowly which is fine, I can just bump up the speed (which I did, to 2x). But he adds. Random. Pauses. in the middle of sentences, then jumps back to speaking at a steady pace and. Then. Adds. More. Pauses. and it's driving me nuts because I *can't* increase the speed any more because then the rest is too fast.

I eventually got used to his particular style of narration, but it's still not my favorite. Worth it, to experience the book again, but another narrator would have improved it.

I also found Joss' grandfather to have a really strange accent in the audio. We know from the story that he was from a plantation in Georgia and thus speaks with a slow drawl. The audiobook narrator interprets this as. Speaking. Very. Very. Slowly. With. Long. Pauses. Between. Words. It has an almost staccato effect which is very much not how a southern drawl works.

5+ enthusiastic stars for the book, 3.5 unenthusiastic stars for the narration.

*Thanks to NetGalley, Sourcebooks Casablanca, and Dreamscape Media for providing an early copy and early audio copy for review.

This is my third KJ Charles attempt, and at this point, I think I just need to say 'not my cup of tea' and move on. There's something about the narrative voice in the story that's just incredibly dull to me, and hard to keep my attention. The narrator spoke so quietly and smoothly that it was hard for my attention not to stray, as well. I am so glad KJ Charles writes books that people love, and I appreciate why they do, so I'll be recommending this to several of my readers.

I enjoyed this story very much! It has everything I love about a KJ Charles book: A captivating plot, a steamy love affair, questionable but lovable characters, and a body count.
As for the audio version, I like the narrator's voice, and for some stretches, his narration flowed nicely. But in other parts, the clipped way of reading, with a long. break. after. every. single. word. was simply awful and even made me put the book away for a while. It kept me from really immersing myself in the story. Increasing the narration speed to 1.7x made it a little more bearable but it just didn't flow well, especially in the earlier chapters of the book.
It's a real shame, too, because I'm sure the author put a lot of effort into finding a narrator who could do all the right accents. And there isn't anything wrong with Martyn Swain's voice either. It seemed to me like this clipped way of reading is something he can simply do or not do. So, it's an all-around shame that this audiobook has it so much because it makes listening considerably less fun than it should have been.
5 stars for the story
2 stars for the narration

I had such high expectations for this book and was so anxiously anticipating its release and I'm here to tell you it not only met, but well exceeded all of my hopes. The plot was tight and paced perfectly, the side characters were full of life, the main characters had my whole heart. Absolutely loved every minute of it. The audiobook was a joy to listen to, I really thought the narrator did an outstanding job. This was just so freaking good. It made me laugh, the ending left me in actual happy tears.

I'm so psyched that this book is getting so much attention because there are so many lucky readers out there who are going to start reading all of KJ's backlog and be blissfully lost in books for months. The rest of us will have to settle for rereads, which are very frequent for me with this author anyway because it's always a pleasure to revisit her characters.

If you've never read a romance, but love a well plotted book filled with action, a few dead bodies, and memorable characters, KJ Charles (or T. Kingfisher) really can't be beat as your first dive into the genre.

This one's going in my favorites for the year for sure.

Thank you Netgalley for the advanced listening copy! This book was a delight in so many ways. This was my first KJ Charles book, but it will definitely not be my last. Gareth and Joss have a fling in London, but reconnect when Gareth inherits a country estate when his father dies. Joss is the head of a smuggling family, and these two reconnect in the marsh country when Joss blackmails Gareth to save his sister. Adventure, mystery, and romance ensue in this sweet, charming, thoughtful and fun historical romance. This book is a great mix of complex and fun. Its complexity comes from the character’s embracing love and joy as gay characters, as well as Joss being biracial. The fun comes from the mystery, adventure, and great banter and writing. Also the side characters are great and interesting, helping move the plot along to its satisfying conclusion. I listened to this book, and the narrator is great, really bringing life to the main and side characters. I love a historical romance with adventure, so I am not sure why I haven’t read KJ Charles, but they will definitely be added to my list of authors to read. Overall, I recommend this book for fans of historical romance, LGBTQ+ love stories, and adventure.

How to ruin a good book with terrible narration.

I am so sorry not to have read this in an e-book or on paper. The story is entertaining, Gareth and Joss are super cute, and I am definitely looking forward to the sequel. The audio version was however painful to listen to, and while K.J. Charles goes to my "authors to follow" pile, the narrator is banished to the blacklist.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for an Advance Review Copy.

Gareth Inglis grew up with his uncle, abandoned by his father. But one day he receives news his father has passed and the title and estate have been passed to Gareth. Gareth moves to Romney Marsh where he hopes to quietly pass some time, perhaps learn a bit about his father, and figure out what he will do going forward. However, he keeps getting drawn into Romney Marsh business and finding himself in danger. Unfortunately, it seems the only man who can help him is the leader of the Doomsday smuggling clan and Gareth's former lover, Joss Doomsday.

First off, this story is so good! It's woven together so well. I also wasn't expecting the mystery aspect of this story and that was delightful! The romance is still the focus but the plot just hums along right beside it. And the character development was well done too. Gareth starts out a bit of a grump and assuming he cannot trust anyone. And Joss, while charismatic and fair, takes everything on his shoulders and doesn't delegate well. They both slowly work out their issues and are better for it. They are very loveable individually and together. And lastly, I really loved Joss's grandpa. He is totally the best - he is smart and kind and nothing got by him.

The audiobook was great, I really liked the narrator. I listened at 1x speed and while I could have sped it up, I enjoyed the regular pace too. The voices were distinct for the main characters. The voices of the female characters were less distinct than the male voices, but I still didn't have any trouble with who was speaking.

Thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

KJ is such a creative and immersive storyteller! A baronet and a smuggler falling in love. Just that had me totally hooked. Add in some one-night stand awkwardness, blackmail, tense family dynamics, and a mystery centered around smuggling, and this book is all kinds of intriguing. Gareth and Joss could not be more opposite or come from more different worlds and yet they’re lovely together. My favorite thing about the relationship is how sweet and oblivious Gareth is - he has a sort of innocence to him - and how that totally pushes all of Joss’ protective buttons. I loved their dialogue and banter, especially Gareth’s quick wit. KJ had me laughing and feeling all the feels! These two also had some really romantic moments. Despite the circumstances that bring them back together, the relationship was low angst and they ran with the feelings they had for each other. KJ is one of the best historic romance writers, so it’s no surprise that I loved this book and highly recommend it.

I did listen to the audiobook narrated by Martyn Swain. He was a new-to-me narrator and did a great job, but I will say that he speaks SO slowly. Thank goodness I was able to speed it up to 1.75x! Otherwise I know I wouldn’t have been able to get through it and would’ve had to pick up the ebook. But other than that, I enjoyed it. I actually prefer KJ’s audiobooks because the stories seem to come alive through the narration. I will say that I’m used to Cornell Collins narrating most of KJ’s books, so I did have to adjust to a different narrator. Cornell is honestly the voice I hear in my head when I read KJ’s books!

My BFF has some really great recs for other KJ books, so make sure to check out her review at https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5335103335!

Thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for an ARC of this audiobook. K.J. Charles has done it again. Loved this from chapter 1! This book was un-put-down-able.

This book follows Gareth as he tries to figure out his inherited title, house and family - a younger sister who's never heard of him and her aunt. As he's trying to navigate the culture shock of living on the marsh where things are done very differently... Things like ignoring smugglers business and treating the smuggling families like kings. Enter Joss Doomsday, king smuggler.

While this is primarily a romance, there is also a bit of mystery, light treason, and family drama. The relationship that develops between Joss and Gareth is lovely. They have different views, but learn how to disagree without hurting one another. Their connection and communication feel genuine. The supporting band of merry thieves and marshlanders feel like full characters who could easily have their own story (especially Kathy, Sofia, Abe and even Nick Sweetwater). Can't wait for the next book in the series.

I feel like you can't discuss this book without talking about the setting of Romney Marsh. The description of the land and ways of life felt very well understood and loved. As someone who had to look up where Romney Marsh is, I can't speak to the accuracy though. I can say that I hate bugs (even the cute ones), but Gareth's fascination with them in this book was charming and added greatly to the rich descriptions of places.

Audio brings more to the table with the different accents and such, but there were some moments where the narrator spoke as if each word was a sentence and it didn't fully fit the mood... I know some folks listen at 3x so maybe that's why, but I'm not on that level (yet!).

I would highly highly recommend and encourage anyone to read this wonderful book. 😊

#NetGalley #Reviews #TheTheSecretLivesofCountryGentlemen

I was sadly disappointed with this book. I just couldn't connect with the characters in this book. I kept trying and trying but I couldn't. The plot of this book was really cool and the characters were great but I just don't think it was for me.

Included as a top pick in bimonthly March New Releases post, which highlights and promotes upcoming releases of the month (link attached)

LOVED The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen soo much! The audiobook was **chefs kiss** perfection! Perfect for fans of Our Flag Means Death and Bridgerton!