An adorable story of British characters in Paris, set in 1919 and rooted in the language and attitudes of the time. It moves slowly with plenty of character buildup as we watch the two main characters--wealthy disabled ex-army officer James and his newly appointed secretary Edmund--get closer and slowly come to understand each other.

It's full of secrets and misunderstandings, which worked for me because of the two characters' very different circumstances. Edmund doesn't want to give away his background, and James, seeking amusement, wants to discover it. James is an experienced (though jaded) lover while Edmund is struggling with the morality of loving men. James's former "kept man" Loulou comes between them and scares Edmund off because he's afraid of being pushed into that situation. All of this was convincing for me, given the era and the characters.

James has a Jeeves-type valet who should definitely have his own book :) I loved the humor in their relationship and the way Parkin showed the kinder side of James from the beginning.

It's in diary form, so the language is of the time period. Anyone who doesn't like the style of older books or finds them slow or difficult to read, might not like this either. Also, it's not explicit at all, and they don't get together for a long time because Edmund is so hesitant.

But if you appreciate historical accuracy I'd definitely recommend this. It put a smile on my face so many times, and I shed a few tears too.

A very sedate love story set at the end of WWI in Paris. James Clarynton survived the war, but lost a leg and an eye. He's set up in an apartment in Paris with lots of money (courtesy of a rich dead relative) but with little to actually do. His friend suggests he write a book and James engages a male secretary, Edmund, to take shorthand and transcribe.

Edmund lives a rather grim hand-to-mouth existence in Paris with his mother and brother Robby, who has tuberculosis. There is a secret about Edmund's family, and he keeps that shame very close to the chest. Edmund has his pride, if little else, and is very closed-mouth about his family and his background, and even his first name, which he doesn't share with James at first. (He goes by E. Vaughan.)

The novel is written in an epistolary style, so we get both James' and Edmund's POV throughout via their respective journals. The pace of the story is very, very leisurely as the two men work together for some time before James learns Edmund's first name, and longer as he slowly discovers more and more about Edmund's family. There are miscommunications a-plenty, and while both men are attracted to the other, it takes most of the book before they kiss, and there is no on-page sex, other than a fade-to-black scene.

I liked the historical setting for this story and James' recovery from his injuries, and how the romance between James and Edmund gently unfolds, but felt the pace was at times excruciatingly slow. Also the epistolary style added another layer of distance in the romance, since we are reading about what happened after the fact in a journal entry, rather than feeling the emotions "live."

Overall, I liked the premise of this story, and I would definitely read more by Megan Reddaway in the future, but this story didn't really come to life for me. 3 stars.

This is truly unfortunate. Well this is unfortunately disappointing, extremely boring and it tries to be melodramatic but fails. The epistolary style does not work it creates an unreliable narrative that even with both mcs journals leaves very large gaps. I can see how epistolary could be very useful but not in this case. There is not enough time given to the actual relationship or courting of each other. They are separated several times which is to its detriment. The constant reprisal of cocaine addicted LouLou is more of an irritant to a story than an actual help to further along the plot. This could have been an amazing story with a well done employeer vs employee angst and drama but it just comes off sour. Complete opposite of similar books like A Gentleman's Position by KJ Charles.

If more time was given post kiss and or forming of the relationship and less truly unneeded separation I may have been more forgiving. But as it is they dont kiss until 77% and are immediately separated by LouLous antics.

What should have been a dramatic and emotional scene at the train station with the journal was ultimately lackluster. Granted i still want Parkins and Williams story in a not journal written style.