Gentleman Jim was an excellent follow-up to its predecessor, The Work of Art. The characters’ personalities and plotlines were captivating, and I loved the literary allusions to The Count of Monte Cristo , one of my favorite classic tales. While set in the 19th century, Matthews’ prose is very accessible for the 21st century reader without feeling too anachronistic. Her knowledge of the period, its fashions and cultural norms is excellent. The romance is delectable without becoming graphic or overly steamy. Colorful language is mentioned in generalities, and while adult themes are broached, they are handled with discretion. Becoming immersed in the world Matthews has created is a pleasure, and I enjoyed this sequel very much.

Full disclosure: I’ve read the Somerset Stories out of sequence. I began with The Work of Art, skipped to Appointment in Bath (the fourth volume) and back to the sequel Gentleman Jim. This shuffling did not take away from my enjoyment at all. Each volume does reference characters from other titles, but Matthews’ writing is so strong, I felt no alienation. There was simply good storytelling. I look forward to reading Return to Satterthwaite Court (volume three) in the near future.

I adore Mimi Matthews! This book was such a fun concept. I loved the second chance aspect of this romance, and there was such wonderful tension between the characters! I will admit that I don’t do well with romance where one of the main characters lies as a main part of the plot, so this book wasn’t my favorite. It still had lovely charm and swoony moments, I just found it difficult to cheer for Nicholas with all of his secret keeping and mood swings.

Working my way through my backlog and after reading reviews of this one I can see that I am maybe missing something with this one, I even purchased it to try and continue reading after the ARC got archived as I wanted to enjoy it as much as others have. Not sure if I'll keep pushing through to get invested in this story sorry.

Nicholas Seaton is rumored to be the illegitimate son of the infamous bandit, Gentleman Jim. When Nicholas is wrongfully charged with theft, only his childhood friend Margaret Honeywell, daughter of a wealthy squire, believes he is framed. Margaret helps Nicholas escape and vows to wait for his return. Ten years later, Margaret is slated to marry bullying neighbor Frederick Burton-Smythe, who controls all her finances and land. In a bid for freedom, Margaret visits a friend in London and meets the handsome John Beresford, Viscount St. Clare and heir to an earl, recently arrived from Europe. Margaret swears St. Clare is Nicholas, which he adamantly denies lest he be proven illegitimate and lose the earldom to a distant, malicious cousin. St. Clare intends to gain back his inheritance and seek Margaret’s hand, believing there’s a way to win both.

VERDICT Best-selling author of the “Victorian Romantics” series, Matthews ups the ante with a wildly suspenseful romance, filled with scheming and betrayals, and featuring a courageous heroine in fragile health paired with a hero bent on retribution who isn’t too good to be true.

starred review in LJ

One of the best of Mimi Matthews. With the right charge of tension, exciting, surprising, and the female protagonist with a strong personality. And the quote from the 'Count of Monte Cristo' at the beginning of the book is anything but accidental.
Almost four stars.

Mimi Matthews always writes a great romance and Gentleman Jim is no different! This story has a bit of a mystery, intrigue, adventure, and a really easy to hate villain! I loved the Count of Monte Cristo feel of the story too!

I loved Maggie and St. Clair from beginning to end. The risks they take for each other made me absolutely love their relationship! I was rooting for them the entire time! The villain was so easy to dislike. He was annoying throughout the entire story. One of the reasons that my rating is not a 5 is because I felt that after everything he did, justice was not properly meted out. I also felt a deception went on a tad too long for no reason that I could see.

If you’re looking for romance, adventure, and excellent writing, I highly recommend this story!

I have a hard time finding historical romance to enjoy, most are trite and tired, but not Matthews. She never fails to engage and I easily immerse myself in her fictional world. It was so with The Work of Art and “Fair As a Star,” and it was certainly so with Gentleman Jim. I stayed up late and woke up early to read; groggy as I am, I’m here to praise it. The blurb will launch us by filling in some details of character, plot, and setting:

Wealthy squire’s daughter Margaret Honeywell was always meant to marry her neighbor, Frederick Burton-Smythe, but it’s bastard-born Nicholas Seaton who has her heart. Raised alongside her on her father’s estate, Nicholas is the rumored son of notorious highwayman Gentleman Jim. When Fred frames him for theft, Nicholas escapes into the night, vowing to find his legendary sire. But Nicholas never returns. A decade later, he’s long been presumed dead.

After years spent on the continent, John Beresford, Viscount St. Clare has finally come home to England. Tall, blond, and dangerous, he’s on a mission to restore his family’s honor. If he can mete out a bit of revenge along the way, so much the better. But he hasn’t reckoned for Maggie Honeywell. She’s bold and beautiful–and entirely convinced he’s someone else.

As danger closes in, St. Clare is torn between love and vengeance. Will he sacrifice one to gain other? Or, with a little daring, will he find a way to have them both?

Hmmm, I’m not sure St. Clare is concerned with restoring his family’s honour so much as his grandfather is. With a scoundrel son, notoriously reputed to be the highwayman Gentleman Jim, the Earl of Allenby has put his energy and vast fortune into ensuring grandson St. Clare inherits. Rumours simmer about John Beresford: who was his mother? Were his parents married? Is he legitimate? To Maggie, after a long illness and years of mourning her father and aunt, her beloved Beasley Park is bound to her marrying her hated neighbour, Frederick Burton-Smythe, the very man who exiled her beloved Nicholas from her love and protection.

Gentleman Jim is made of pure drama, swashbuckling confrontation, and the loveliest, most heartfelt romance I’ve read this year. I adored Maggie and Nicholas-John, together and apart, but especially together. The novel’s opening captured my attention despite a to-do list a mile-long. After years of solitary illness and mourning, Maggie arrives in London to stay with her friend, Jane Trumble (a wonderful character, btw), against Fred’s wishes. She has six months before she must marry him to keep Beasley Park. When she arrives, Fred is set to duel with the Viscount St. Clare. Afraid St. Clare will kill Fred and she’ll lose Beasley Park, Maggie goes to St. Clare’s private rooms to stop the duel. On seeing “John,” she faints … St. Clare swoops her into his arms and their recognition moment is divine. John denies; Maggie insists … their love and care for one other shine from this moment till the novel’s final sentences. Matthews does the BEST recognition moment:

Their eyes locked for an electricity-charged instant. For that timeless moment, he looked stunned. Stricken to his core. Maggie saw the emotion in his eyes, as plain as anything. But as quickly as it manifested, it was gone, lost beneath an air of glacial reserve.

Matthews can also do great internality, as John Beresford, with one glance at Maggie, is transported to his former life:

One moment he’d been John Beresford, standing in front of the library fireplace after a night at his club. And the next he’d been Nicholas Seaton again. As if a crack had opened up in the universe and wrenched him back to Somerset. Not to the loose box in Squire Honeywell’s stable, but to the forget-me-not grass where he’d lain with his blue-eyed love, his heart full with the promise of tomorrow.

I cannot say how much I loved these two together. Matthews conveyed their attraction, their love, their friendship and something more, that can make or break a romance, an ability to combine these things to reveal their compatibility. Here is a snippet of conversation as John-Nicholas and his Maggie are going into danger, searching for the truth of his parentage; Nicholas is reluctant; Maggie, eager:

“Very well. I’ll go myself if it will put the matter to rest.” She brightened. “And take me with you?” He gave her a forbidding look. “On no account. I told you, it’s too dangerous. I’ll go at night, and I’ll go alone.” “You can’t go alone,” she said. “You have your injured arm to think of.” “Maggie –” “And besides,” she continued determinedly, “I’m the one who discovered the existence of Father Tuck. It’s not fair that I should wait at home while you get to enjoy the adventure.” He recognized that subtle lift of her cleft chin. Her mind was made up. She wouldn’t be swayed, neither by threats nor reason. He nevertheless made one final effort. “It’s not about fairness. It’s about your safety.” She smiled up at him. “You’ll keep me safe. I have every confidence in you.”

(Thank you, Ms Matthews, for an excellent heroine-chin moment as well.) Maggie is not a TSTL heroine: she is brave, smart, intrepid. She’s a tiny ball of fire, brains, and bravery. John-Nicholas is made of pride, arrogance, and love for Maggie. They’re perfect together because they complement each other. He gives her free rein to be herself and she gives him the unconditional love he never had. It’s rare that a baby-filled epilogue feels full and believable instead of tacked-on, but Gentleman Jim‘s does. I loved it and so did Miss Austen and I encourage and urge you to read it for the élan in its adventure, the sensitivity of Matthews’s characterization, and that rare thing, a kisses-only romance that is more passionate than any number of requisite love scenes. I believe what it comes down to is simply that Matthews writes so well. This isn’t the first highwayman, hidden identity, reunited sweethearts romance I’ve read, but it is one of the few I’ll remember because of the tenderness, wit, and vividness with which Matthews tells her story. With Miss Austen, we agree that in Gentleman Jim “there is no charm equal to tenderness of heart,” Emma.

Mimi Matthews’s Gentleman Jim is self-published. It was released in November 2020 and may be found at your preferred vendors. I received an e-galley from the author, via Netgalley, for the purpose of writing this review.

Gentleman Jim is my first Mimi Matthews novel. I’ve heard so many great things about her writing, so when I saw this book available for request on Netgalley, I had to try it. And I loved it! It was full of all the Regency fun: the social season in London, ball gowns, and suitors coming to call. But it was also daring, adventure, secrets, and rendezvous. I loved how the truth was always just out of reach, and the story kept me guessing about the Viscount. The Viscount was a typical swoony hero with a soft spot for Margaret Honeywell. And Margaret was fantastic in her spunk and spirit. I loved watching their tempers collide--as well as their passion.
Overall, I absolutely loved this story and could hardly put it down until all was revealed! I will be reading more Mimi Matthews in the future, and I hope you do, too.
I received a copy of this book from Netgalley with no expectations of a positive review. All opinions are my own.

With Gentleman Jim Mimi Matthews has created a swoon-worthy second chance, childhood sweetheart romance with elements reminiscent of The Count of Monte Cristo.

Margaret Honeywell is practically an old maid at twenty-six, and determined not to marry the man her father left in charge of her inheritance. The same man who, as a young man, caused her childhood soulmate to be ripped from her life. But with her first sight of John Beresford she is sure she recognizes him - that the stableboy she loved has returned as the devastatingly handsome Viscount St. Claire.

But there is more at stake than her heart, and Mimi Matthews has crafted a fascinating and wonderful tale of love and family, inheritance, heartbreak, misunderstandings, gorgeous Regency gowns, and not a little gossip.

As ever, I cannot recommend this romance enough, having loved the writing and the deft portrayal of her characters from my first Mimi Matthews book, and this is no exception.

This review refers to a temporary digital galley I voluntarily read via NetGalley, courtesy of the publisher. A positive review was not required and all opinions expressed are my own.

I love Mimi Matthews and this book didn’t disappoint! Highly recommend. Can’t wait to read what this author publishes next!

Anytime I see I book by this author it is an automatic read. I have read and listened to her audible books and can never get enough of her awesome imagination! The same can be said for this adventure romance that does not let go until the end.

Characters that come off the page, with emotions that include revenge, subterfuge, hidden identity and of course a love that last through all of the turmoil and beyond. Two people split apart and brought together years later keep you on the edge to see what will happen!

I intend to listen to this book soon so that I can again feel part of the atmosphere and delve into the plot even more! Excellent!

Gentleman Jim is exactly what I'm looking for in a Regency romance: swoony kisses, intrigue, villains you love to hate, and a happily ever after. Mimi Matthews is a master of writing romantic chemistry, and in Gentleman Jim, she's also written a heroine with plenty of sass.

I simply loved Maggie - though life dealt her some difficult blows, she persevered and eventually found the courage to go after her desires. I especially loved the way she wasn't afraid to stand up to Fred, her "guardian" who wanted to marry her. Perhaps she was a little unwise in the way she dealt with him, but I couldn't fault her courage.

I also loved St. Clare - he changed more than anyone throughout the course of the novel, largely due to Maggie's influence, and I adored the man that he became.

Then you have the romance - it's fantastic! St. Clare and Maggie make a great couple, and I couldn't get enough of their interactions. (Also, those kisses!!!) This is an excellent Regency romance, and I highly recommend it!

Gentleman Jim by Mimi Matthews is a story of love and revenge. It was a captivating page-turner from the beginning to the very happy ending. Margaret Honeywell, a wealthy squire’s daughter is in love with Nicholas Seaton, a stable boy on her father’s estate, but is intended for the neighboring gentleman’s son, Frederick Burton-Smythe. Fred frames Nicholas to get him out of the picture, but he escapes with Maggie’s help, from being hung for a crime he didn’t commit. Nicholas asks her to wait for his return and she willingly accepts. Ten years later she is still waiting but doesn’t think he’s still alive. She is also running out of time because her father has put Fred in charge of her monies and she must marry him if she wants to keep her home. Knowing she must find a way to marry another she heads to London and the adventure of a lifetime begins.

I absolutely loved this sweet tale of young love and the journey they take to be together. Historical romances fascinate me because their social norms work against them and how do they overcome the rules that govern them. When a new suitor arrives in London his presence creates more havoc and a little mystery on what is his true identity. John Beresford, Viscount St. Clare has returned to England to marry and produce an heir for his grandfather. However, when Maggie shows up late one evening to ask St. Clare to stop the duel he has with Fred, things go sideways. Maggie and Nicholas fight hard to be together but there are always people out to thwart those plans and the tension kept rising. The story was well written and you can feel the love these two have for one another. I love stories with a bit of mystery and intrigue, and characters rich with emotion and wonderful dialogue. Gentleman Jim was an enjoyable story and I can’t wait to read more from this author.

I regretted that what happened to Maggie during these ten years is poorly told when it has a lot of importance to understand her present situation: she was seriously sick (we learn later how) and she’s been physically weak since then, so her father, then his executor after his death, took the opportunity to overprotect her, and she’s far from the full of life and strong-willed person she seems to have been before. Fortunately we see her going from resigned to more determined progressively as she puts into perspective what she really wants in her life through contact with the hero.
When she meets St Clare she’s sure he’s in fact Nicholas and she stands by it, to the hero’s great displeasure. However she puts herself in situations that could be detrimental to her, only thinking about it after doing it.

St Clare is an enigmatic hero, and I thought the author did a good job to plant seed of doubt in the readers: after his meeting with Maggie, he reacts like all the other heroes after meeting their heroine for the first time, even wondering why this chit of a girl obsesses him so fast. On the other side he shows hostile feelings for Fred without any reason (even if it happens we don’t like the look of an unknown person from the start). He needs some time before admitting his feelings to himself and standing up to his grandfather, but once decided, no threat can make him change his mind. I also liked that his identity (view spoiler)

Among the secondary characters we mainly have the heroine’s best friend and confident, her aunt who serves as chaperon – but an almost deaf chaperon who only wakes up to babble while mixing the characters with their parents – and the hero’s grandfather, a not very likeable character who control his life in order to get a heir. As for the antagonist characters we find some distant cousin of the hero, next in line to inherit the title, who conspires with his mother to remove St Clare, and of course Fred, the childhood friend who’s also the heroine’s executor, and who manages her inheritance until the day she marries a man he approves – that is himself.

I must say that even if we suspect the story from the beginning, I liked how the author thought her story in spite of some faults (especially the fact Fred, after everything he’s done, still gets a kind of happy end with wife and children), and I had a good reading time with it.

Mimi Matthews is such a good writer. Her writing very nearly makes up for the fact that this book has almost zero plot. Gentleman Jim was way too long for the amount of action that actually occurred. It was just the same sequence of events happening over and over and the characters wondering over and over if St. Clare is really the true heir of Allendale or is he Nicholas Seton? Spoiler: the answers are all clear from about chapter 2. There were seriously zero surprises here.

The two main characters didn’t have any real chemistry. All of their feelings were told more than shown. I didn’t feel any of that delicious tension between them that I’ve felt with other MM’s characters.

And overall the book just didn’t have any of the warmth normally found in Mimi Matthews’s books. It seemed to be lacking a certain spark that I’ve come to expect from Mimi Matthews. It left me feeling like I was being held at a distance from the story. I was pretty disappointed. But it is hard to admit because dang her writing is so good despite all of the other shortcomings.

I highly recommend A Holiday By Gaslight, The Lost Letter, or Fair As A Star over this one.

Thanks to Netgalley for the eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I received a copy of the book from Netgalley to review. Thank you for the opportunity.
An interesting and entertaining tale. I led the break from tradition and the inclusion of highway men.. The writing is good and the action begins from the very first page.
A good read.

Review excerpted from my blog post over at Titillated Termagant Romance Reviews (https://titillatedtermagant.wordpress.com/2021/01/27/gentleman-jim-by-mimi-matthews/)

My Rating: 4 stars

Library recommendation: Recommended for public library historical romance collections.

Warning: Hereafter, you chance spoilers. I will try never to reveal major plot points, but to review any book, you must reveal some parts of the story.

____________

Number of titles I have read by this author: 10

Love story speed: Almost instalove

Relationship dynamics: The Suitor of Dubious Parentage (H) / Headstrong Gentlewoman (h) ; Friends to lovers; Soulmates

Physical descriptions: Maggie is described as being petite, having a cleft chin, mink coloured hair and large blue eyes. Viscount St. Clare is described as “standing well over six feet,” with a lean, muscular build, golden hair and grey eyes.

Sexual content: None. Kissing only.

Triggers: Violence; emotional abuse (of h, not by H)

Grammar/Editing: My ARC had a few typos.

Review: This moderately paced novel is, unusually for Matthews, set in Regency era London and Somerset and is billed as being “a tale of romance & revenge” (the epigraph is suitably drawn from Alexandre Dumas’ The Count of Monte Cristo). That being said, it is built on a foundation of high quality of research that can always be expected from Matthews.

The main characters are Maggie and Viscount St. Clare. They have immediate chemistry and their relationship can be characterized as instalove. It is difficult to elaborate further than this without this review becoming laden with spoilers. Essentially, the most important thing to know is that this is a “soulmates” narrative – there is little question of the main characters ending up together, regardless of what is thrown in their paths. There are many supporting characters in this novel; some are well-developed, while others are less-so. That being said, I did enjoy the subplot romance featuring the main characters’ best friends – it was a very satisfying addition. I also found that the villain’s comeuppance is satisfying.

Full disclosure: I received a free advance review copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book, it was just what I had been craving to read. A childhood friends to lovers, second chance romance. The sweet and loving relationship between the illegitimate servant boy Nicholas Seaton and the spirited, loving squire’s daughter Maggie Honeywell was a delight to read.

They are inseparable as children, and Maggie teaches Nicholas his letters, and looks after him as much as she can, protecting him from the bullying and taunting of heir to the neighbouring estate Fred Burton-Smythe. When Nicholas is accused of a crime he didn’t commit, due to Fred’s machinations, and in danger of losing his life. Maggie gives him the means to escape and find his father, reputed to be Gentleman Jim, and aristocratic highwayman and trickster. Nicholas asks her to wait for him no matter what, as he will return.

10 years later things are very different, Lord Honeywell has died, Maggie is recovering from 2 long mourning periods and an extremely debilitating bout of influenza, when she finally makes it back to London for the season to spend some time with her friend Lady Jane Trimble.Her father and Sir Reginald Burton-Smythe have conspired to join their estates together by ensuring their children marry. Fred has been appointed Maggie’s guardian and trustee of the estate, with a veto over her choice of husband. Maggie just wants a bit of freedom before she finally gives in.

When she meets the handsome and cool St CLare, she is convinced he is Nicholas come back to her, when he denies all knowledge of Nicholas and introduces himself as the heir and grandson of Lord Allendale, How can Maggie be free of Fred’s control, and hang on to her beloved Beasley Park. Is Nicholas dead on some battlefield somewhere, so she can be courted by the mysterious St Clare, and when rumours start to surface about St Clare’s parentage, is he really who he seems, and can Lord Allendale ensure he inherits thatcher than the avaricious and uncouth Lionel Beresford.

This was a lovely story with some fab characters in Nicholas and St CLare, Maggie and Lady Jane as well as the irascible Lord Allendale. I really loved it.

I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book and all opinions are my own.

What a fascinating story. I fell in love with the main characters immediately and was rooting for them the whole way.

I loved how the story developed. I love how smart Maggie was and how quick of a study she was. I also loved her tenacity.

Nicholas was at times infuriating and other times quite heroic. His ability to compartmentalize parts of his life was very strong.

I loved the glimpses into culture of that time. The idea that people would become invalid after a bout with a flu or fever when all they really needed was exercise.

I also loved that this book had more of an air of suspense/mystery. It was a very engaging read.

I received an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley. This is my honest review.

I love Mimi Matthews and have purchased everything she has written for my library collection. Her attention to detail, realistic characters, witty dialogue and interesting stories make her an autobuy and an autoread. Her novels provide genuine chemistry between the characters but don't have graphic love scenes so they can be enjoyed by a wide range of readers.
Gentleman Jim does not disappoint and the story of Margaret Honeywell and Nicholas Seaton is highly entertaining, suspenseful and well told. While the resolution may not have been completely believable, the journey to the end was entertaining. Highly recommend.