Abandoned by his father, Gareth Inglis was brought up in his uncle's unhappy household, knowing full well that his father had another child, money, and means in a country manor, After meeting and falling a bit for "Kent" (no real names, as their clandestine relationship isn't legal), his life changes after he finds out his father has died and left him everything. After trying to set up house, foster a relationship with his half-sister that he never knew, he runs into Joss Doomsday, aka Kent. Finding happiness together in their old relationship, a mystery involving Gareth's late father and horrible uncle unravels. Joss's livelihood isn't familiar, and not the least unsavory, and Gareth is smack dab in the middle of the chaos. Stealing what happiness amid the chaos that he can, everything comes to a head, putting in jeopardy their growing relationship.

This started slowly, but the story settled into itself and became really enjoyable. Gareth and Joss's relationship, while young and hard to manage, was really fun to follow. Charles's writing style was very approachable and enjoyable. However, I did not enjoy this narrator. There were constant strange pauses and uneven delivery, However, the character voices and the timbre of his voice were great. I will read more books written by Charles, but may avoid Martyn Swain as a narrator.

Holy hell, straight to work Gentlemen!

Starts off with a bang 😉

This book had some guts to it!! Not just your typical love at first sight, issue to overcome, happy ending blah blah romance. There are multiple real issues that arise and mystery to solve. A real story woven through this nuanced romance.

I listened to the audiobook and really enjoyed the narrator. The accents were incredible… except for the Grandpa. I thought it was a really poor job of an accent, sounded sort of southern but off. Until I realized it WAS Southern, but off. And then I realized this narrator was next level!! Not only are these men struggling with their sexual preferences being illegal, but also racial discrimination.

Lots to unpack, but it’s really easy to follow and a satisfying story of love.

I loved this book... which is not much of a surprise, since I´ve read quite a few works of KJ Charles and still haven´t found one I disliked (could it be this is also because I got a thing with queer historical plots? Idk, maybe).

Anyway, I´m going to enlist here what I liked most about this story:

- First of all, both main characters are really likeble. I found it quite funny how Joss had this image of being a smuggler, the leader of his family of traders, and yet acting more calm and reasonable than Gareth (who had quite a bit of a temper, specially at the beginning), a baronet who´s never done anything ilicit in his life.
- The book started at the middle of something, but it´s still a slow burn somehow. I just loved how that was developed.
- The other characters are also great, I think Catherine was my fav. I liked how they were all so credible in their characterization; nice people were good and bad people made me believe they´d be able of the worst (believe me, I´ve had trouble with this in other stories). And I think this is one of the main reasons I like all this author´s books: the character development always makes sense. For good or bad.
- There´s no treasure hunting (not going to say more not to give spoilers).

This was my first book by KJ Charles, and I’m definitely interested in checking out their previous works. I enjoyed the historic English setting and the love story between Gareth and Joss. I listened to this one on audio, and it is a testament to the story that I listened to the entire book, because the narrator was not good. He spoke with so many strange pauses that I had to speed up the listening speed to get through it. If you are going to pick up this book, get a hard copy and skip the audio.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for an advance copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

4,5⭐

Thanks to K J Charles, I mma huge fan of your writing, and thanks to NetGalley for providing me this Arc.
English is not my native language, so I'm gonna star saying my experience with the audiobook then with the writing per say.
it's been a long time that a read this kind of old romance. so I became defamiliarized with some expressions. But in the course of the other chapters I begin to understand what was happening. So in short, the narration was a little confusing , and I am used to speeding up the audio , so I had to go slowly.
Now about the writing, K J is a genius , I love their(I don't know your pronouns, sorry) writing, Gareth all grumpy and Joss is the sweetest thing. I love their dynamics, Joss going to look for bugs together with Gareth, if this isn't love I don't know what it's. All the drama and family feuds were well constructed. I'm excited to read the next books.

Overall:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Story:
📘📘📘📘📘
Narration:
🎙🎙🎙

I was worried about this one at first. The start felt like you were dropped into the middle of something. Thankfully, that changed! Once Gareth was settled into Romney Marsh, things pick up! There’s action, smugglers, crazy families, and forbidden romance. For being the feared head of a smuggling operation, Joss was a cinnamon roll. I love these two men together. And I found the Doomsday grandfather a fascinating character! It’s not often you find a historical romance with a character that immigrated from the US to the UK. That lends a more meaningful backstory to the strength of this family. I can’t wait for Luke’s story!!

If Bridgerton had a M/M romance, I like to think it would be alot like this book (and they totally should incorporate one!).

I really enjoyed Gareth and Joss and their romance, but also the supporting cast of characters and their families, who we got to know well.

Both Gareth and Joss are thrust into becoming the head of their families, whether they want to or not. Gareth is a Baron, while Josh leads a band of smugglers. Both are struggling with who they are and, more importantly, who they want to be. Both their families have moments of being amazing and being awful, which is true to life. We go on the journey with each of these men as they forge their own paths in life and discover who they truly are - both alone and together.

As sadly is still the case today, as people start to find out about their relationship, they get others thtreatening to "out" them and use their relationship to blackmail them. I loved that they stood their ground and pushed back! I loved seeing the support that rallied behind them, some of which you'd expect and others that surprise you!

I felt this book had the perfect ending. And look forward to more in this series.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Sourcebooks Casablanca and Dreamscape Media for both an ARC and ALC in exchange for my honest review!

Thanks to Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for the audio ARC of this!

I am absolutely obsessed with the kind of stories that KJ Charles writes and this one did not let me down. There was sweetness and danger perfectly balanced, safe and loving families, and a happy ending. The author stays firmly at the top of my auto buy list, and if you like queer historical fiction this is one to check out!

I'm a huge KJ Charles fan, and I've been eagerly awaiting this book, so I was delighted to be approved for an ARC of the audio version. The writing is, as always, excellent, and the performance sounded great to my ignorant American ear. Somehow, though, I never really connected with the characters. I was happy to keep listening, but I wasn't absorbed the way I expected to be. For me, this is maybe 3.75 stars—but I fully expect to be in the minority.

My thanks to NetGalley for an advance copy of this audiobook.

Thank you netgally, dreamscape media, publisher and author for the #gifted ALC in exchange for honest review. I love when a book starts out with a bang and they just keep banging... the enemies to lovers was perfection great narration, story fun characters. Highly recommend.

If Im being honest, I didn’t enjoy this listening to this book AT ALL! The narration was PAINFUL! Slow moving storyline

2 STARS :(

Thank you to Netgalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I had a strong feeling I would enjoy this book by KJ Charles, first of a new duology but I should mention this is a new to me author. I ended up really loving this one. There is a romance between the two main characters Gareth and Joss. And I'll see from the start that this is a nice romance where you can feel the chemistry. However I ended up finding the romance a nice extra for me. This is because I ended up loving the full cast of characters so much as well as the setting of the book. It seemed really unique to me and I just wanted more time with all the characters. The mystery involving Gareth's recently deceased father was strong as well especially as several different families becoming involved in it. I want to also mention the the book also touches on deeper topics such as child abuse and neglect and the fallouts of such. It doesn't dig in too deeply and I don't see it necessarily warranting a trigger warning but I liked to see that the author gave the characters a lot of depth. I can't wait for the next book as the main character of that one will be one of my favorite supporting characters from this book. Highly recommended.
Goodreads Review here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5112975997

Such an enjoyable read and listen! This is my first KJ Charles book, but definitely will not be my last. I think I might go on a binge of the back catalog. The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen is a M/M historical romance with smugglers and action and adventure. The book tells the story of Sir Gareth Inglis, a baronet, and smuggler Joss Doomsday. After a short-lived anonymous love affair, the two go off on their own ways only to find their lives intertwined in many ways. I love romances where the characters get together at the beginning of the story and the remainder of the book tells their combined story.

The romance is steamy and swoony, and I loved the sweet moments between Gareth and Joss. But I also enjoyed the elements with the smugglers and the crime families; these parts gave the book a lot of excitement.

I listened to the audiobook and the narration was on point. The dialects and accents brought the story to life. Overall, very enjoyable experience. I highly recommend this book! I am excited to see that there will be another book in this series!

I just reviewed The The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen by KJ Charles. #TheTheSecretLivesofCountryGentlemen #NetGalley
https://www.netgalley.com/book/282951/review/889466

I really enjoyed this book! It is very typically KJC: a Regency romance with a body count. The story in this one was great, about a smuggler, Joss Doomsday (what a great name!) and a reluctantly titled Sir Gareth Inglis and how their lives intersect on Romney Marsh in Kent.

I loved both of the characters, I loved the Kent dialect that was thrown in throughout the book (I can't even imagine the work that would have gone into this, as I would imagine the dialect today is quite different from what it would have been in the Regency era), I loved the villains, I loved the Doomsday family, I basically loved everything about this book. Also, how gorgeous is the cover???

I thought the narrator was quite good, though I found there were several times where there seemed to be weird gaps in his narration. I don't know if this is how the finished audio will be? Or if it was an issue with production? I don't know how accurate the narrator did a Kentish accent, but it worked well for me.

It is such a fantastic book and I'm so happy that KJC is finally being published by a larger publisher that will be able to really distribute her fantastic books. This is the first in a duology and I'm already excited for the next one and trying to guess which of the Doomsday family it will be about. I know who I'm hoping for, but will be more than happy with any of them!

Well this was just delightful! Tell me why I've not tried KJ Charles before? Clearly an oversight on my part. The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen is a M/M historical romance that is a rollicking good time.

We begin the book with Sir Gareth having a week long anonymous fling with a man he meets in London before they break things off. Gareth grew up with a cold and distant father who left him in the care of his uncle, but now his father has died leaving him a baronetcy. An estate that is in a swamp where most of the nearby town is connected to a thriving smuggling business during the war with France. And as it turns out, Joss Doomsday, the leader of the smugglers is none other than Gareth's mystery man. Because of course!

This book was so much fun to read. The banter between Joss and Gareth is excellent and I loved their romance, but there's also danger, adventure, and a secret plot to be unraveled. This is the best sort of light historical romance that acknowledges some of the harsher realities of the time (such as racism and homophobia) yet shows the ways that queer people have always found to live and love, AND delivering a solidly entertaining plot with great side characters. The audio narration is excellent as well and gives a strong sense of the different personalities of the main characters. This won't be my last KJ Charles book! I received an audio review copy of this book via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.

Thank you, Net Galley, for an audio ARC of The Secret Lives Of Country Gentlemen by K.J. Charles. This was an enjoyable audiobook. The narrator did a great job. There was romance, love and action!

So the story itself is delightful, and I did get a chance to read it already, BUT to be able to hear the characters with the accent and inflection adds a whole dimension to the story.

For areas where I don't naturally imagine an accent, to have a narrator provide it, with all of the additional nuance that implies class, status and a number of socio-economic makers that I may have otherwise missed is really appreciated. This nuance is a key component of KJ Charles' story telling style and therefore a good reason to read EVERY story both either eyes and ears.

4 / 5 ⭐️‘s

"The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen" by KJ Charles

This is a historical romance story that captures the essence of the 1800’s, complete with all its social hierarchies, prejudices, and secrets.

The author does not shy away from tackling issues such as homophobia and classism, and she does so in a way that is both nuanced and realistic.

The chemistry between Gareth and Joss is palpable, and their romance is both sweet and sensual.

Overall, I found this a captivating and beautifully written story that will appeal to many fans of M/M historical romance.

This ARC was provided by the publisher via @Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Loved it! I loved the main characters and all the supporting characters. It was a wild ride at times as the secrets came out and the trouble got bigger and bigger.

No spoilers... But I was a bit shocked at one of the deaths. Romance with a body count, am I right?

I had the audio as an ARC from NetGalley. The narrator had some weird pauses in some places. Also the Georgian accent was a hot mess. Overall, he was really good, though!

All Gareth wants to do with his new Baronet title is walk around town and study bugs and instead everyone is ruining his peace with crime. His plans to neck with the local bad boy are thwarted even before they really get off the ground after his very public arrival.

Turns out his sneaky hookup from before he moved to town (Joss) is the head of the local smugglers ring and Gareth is testifying against a smuggler aka Joss' sister. He very publicly threatens to let some things be known about Gareth's preferences and he's forced to back down.

To be clear, I did not love this plot point at all. I get why it had to be in the book based on the time period but still. Gareth was mortified and terrified and they went far too long without making him feel safe again. Joss does apologize and explain his reasoning and after awhile they have something resembling friendship then more.

I appreciated that these two got angry, needed time to cool off and then actually talked to each other instead of getting upset and storming off. Gareth was very quick to say, please let me sleep on this to figure out where my brain is so we don't get upset with each other and I enjoyed that immensely.

Over time, more people come to threaten Gareth and his household and after a bit of apologizing, Joss helps him to figure out the why and who of it all. They do manage to cobble together something of a life together and I thought the way the book ended was very sweet.

Thank you to Dreamscape Media, Sourcebooks Casablanca, and Netgalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are my own.