This queer historical fantasy dives headfirst into magical mystery when the heir to a crumbling ducal house is betrothed to the daughter of his father’s greatest rival…and then discovers that a former fling of his is going to be the head negotiator for his marriage. As they move forward to the marriage contract, members of the household begin dying under mysterious circumstances, making it clear that someone doesn’t want this marriage to go forward. The queer rep was absolutely fantastic. I'll definitely be reading more by Rebecca Ide.

An unexpectedly gripping gothic murder mystery with a dash of romance; also, sexy, angsty Cluedo.

I didn’t actually read the blurb and chose this book purely for its cover design and it didn’t disappoint.

Though slightly off-put by some modern slang usage and a shallowly introduced world, the murder mystery was engaging to distraction. In the earlier half of the novel, the mood and gothic setting was palpable enough for me to be spooked by shadows. On the other hand, the romance/erotica bits (which I completely did not expect) were a steamy counterbalance. This leads me to what I think is this novel’s strongest point: its ability to both blend and pivot multiple genres fluidly.

For the most part, the histories of the major players unfold piecemeal and the reader very much discovers the plot with Nic. While I guessed a few plot devices early on, the building details made me doubt my hunches—and I love it for doing that. Some details and twists were a bit extraneous and I would have loved if the language and characterizations were more faithful to the era.

Overall, a fun read with a mix of semi-complex and NPC characters driven by a plot that keeps you guessing.

This is a spicy, gothic mystery-meets-queer-romance mashup set in magical Regency England. Picture Lord Nic getting locked in a creepy manor with his arranged fiancée Leaf and—surprise!—his ex-lover Dashiell, the vowsmith drafting their marriage contract. Bodies start piling up, the magic is woven into contract spells, and the banter? Sharp as a dagger. Leaf’s dry wit and unexpected friendship with Nic steal a surprising amount of spotlight, while Nic and Dashiell’s second‑chance tension is delightfully messy—but electric.

Now, it’s not perfect. The pacing drags in the middle, and the magic system sometimes felt like a half‑baked seasoning rather than a main course. Dialogue is snappy and modern, which is fun, but it occasionally jarred against the regency backdrop. Some side characters are forgettable, and the end mystery twist felt a touch predictable. Still, that locked-room vibe, gothic hallways, snappy banter, and queer energy make it impossible to tear away. Fans of cozy murder mysteries and heartfelt found‑family moments will eat this up, even while side-eyeing the slower bits.

**Verdict:** A deliciously tangled cake of steamy romance, gothic mystery, and magical courtship rituals. Messy? Absolutely. Addictive? Totally. Bring your own detective hat… and don’t expect flawless world-building.

The Gentleman and His Vowsmith has really interesting world-building, a compelling protagonist, and a delightful side character in Lady Leaf. It's a locked-room mystery in essence, with two noble families stuck in one manor while they negotiate the marriage contract between Nic and Lady Leaf. Of course, Nic's former lover, Dash, is brought in to negotiate for Leaf's family and pining ensues.

I liked the characters generally and I was really impressed that Ide managed to make the system of magic (and power) clear without info dumping. I loved the aro/ace representation and there's definitely a sense of menace and mystery as the story builds. The romance didn't work for me really, though, maybe because it's a second chance romance in which we don't see much of Nic and Dash's past or much in the way of present interaction. Either of those would have helped solidify for me why Nic and Dash are drawn to each other, beyond lust. A lot of page time is spent on the central mystery (and delightfully, on the growing friendship between Nic and Leaf), but that doesn't leave a lot of space for Nic and Dash to connect.

Definitely an interesting read.

Nic grew up trapped by the title he was born into. Lord Nicholas Monterris can't study what he wants or follow his heart; he's destined to a marriage of convenience, where he must pretend that the family wealth and estates aren't merely dust and illusions. When the time to be confined in the estate with the bride's family comes, Nic is faced with the one man whom he could never get over, Vowsmith Dashiell sa Vare. Now, magically trapped for the duration of the contract negotiations, even as bodies and accusations are piling up, Nic must decide what truly matters to him and what he's willing to live and die for.

It's a fairly solid locked-room mystery where the room is an entire, crumbling Gothic mansion that adds wonderfully to all the intrigue that goes on between the characters. Nic, Dash, and Leaf are delightfully well-rounded characters with whom it is infinitely easy to connect. I was hooked on finding out their happy ending and making sure that those who kept wronging them paid for it. I confess to getting so caught up in the characters that I never even tried to solve who the murderer was. This is not to say that Ide didn't craft a wonderfully twisty mystery that surprised me with its conclusion; it's just that the characters are so captivating that the mystery took a backseat to everything else.

Very happy thanks to NetGalley and S&S/Saga Press for the twisty read!

The writing in this was good and I was intrigued by the premise and the characters, but I ended up DNFing around 35%. It felt like the story wasn't going anywhere, and even though they found several actual dead bodies, the majority of the scenes were just people making awkward polite conversation over dinner, or strolls, or card games. I am admittedly in a bit of a reading slump, so maybe I would have stuck it out in a different scenario, but it didn't feel fair to me or the book to keep going.

I really liked the premise of this book. It's well written with intriguing characters. However, I felt like we didn't get enough of the two main characters in the present, with a lot of emphasis on their past. I did enjoy the characters nonetheless, and their development was well rounded. The pacing of the plot was perfect. Highly recommend.

This was an enthralling story. It was a unique story following arranged marriages, contracts, mysterious deaths, and unexplained happenings in the house.
I loved the relationship between Nicholas and Dashiell and how it progressed and the history behind it. The characters were all super unique and had a lot of secrets propelling their stories.
It felt haunting, unique, and had a main characters you fully root for and want to make his life his own.


*thank you so much Saga Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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Amazon and Barnes & Noble reviews submitted


**TL;DR**: A fantastic start with drag of a middle and end.
**Source**: NetGalley - thank you so much to the publisher!

**Plot**: Two families are locked in with a murderer on the loose - it’s less tense than you’d think.
**Characters**: I liked most the characters here. They were quite well done!
**Setting:** The crumbled estate had a great feel to it. Rebecca Ide did a fantastic job with the setting.
**Fantasy/Romance:** The Fantasy is very light and the romance quite heavy. ****

**Thoughts:**

The Gentleman and His Vowsmith is a book I was so hyped for! It had some buzzwords I enjoy, romance and a locked room style mystery, and it’s queer to top it off. I expected something a bit more tense, or even comedic to make it a fun romp. This one however tried to go right down the middle with a touch of scares, which left it feeling a bit of a muddled mess for me.

Our main character is Nick and while I liked him I don’t actually think his voice was very strong. He spent most of the book being pulled by the plot and little else. He is frequently angry at his father and swooning over the Vowsmith but spends the rest of it following the path he’s meant to. You ever read something and think ‘This character would be an NPC in a video game I’d follow around for a quest’? That’s Nick. Even when the man who was his pseudo-father figure is murdered we see little in the way of grief.

The murders themselves were somewhat shocking, but quickly forgotten in the density of the text and the (again) swooning of Nicholas. Truth be told I would have preferred this to be told from Lady Leaf’s perspective. She was much more dynamic and interesting to me. The touches of horror we get as well were nice but they were so few and far it ended up feeling confused. Were we meant to be scared? Because the characters weren’t. Were we meant to be sad? The characters don’t seem sad for any long amount of time? We are meant to watch Nicholas swoon, but I don’t think Dash groveled nearly enough for that.

Overall I felt very mid on this one. I wanted it to commit to one thing, or to make me want the romance more. Instead everything felt a little lacking and I found the romance annoying by the end. Not to mention the very anti-climatic ending. Sadly not my favorite but it could work for some, so maybe go for it if you want a relatively safe regency style queer romance.

This had very interesting worldbuilding that I didn't expect at all, but I think it made for a very interesting plot and also I liked how it created a barrier for Nic and Dash instead of the perhaps historical accurate homophobia that I was expecting. Also I love Leaf and I'm glad she got everything she wanted.

This was fun and romantic. and scratched that itch I had for a queer norm fantasy setting.

It was a lot more magical whodunit than I anticipated and the mystery definitely kept me on my toes. I almost wish we had gotten to focus in on Nic and Dashiel a little more though because those moments of angsty yearning were definitely my favorites.

Oh, and I adored Lady Leaf. Her and Nic's relationship reminded me a lot of Gwen and Arthur in Gwen & Art Are Not in Love. Their comradery and antics were so sweet.

Thank you Saga Press and Netgalley for the ARC!

AHHH, the yearning and pain! I love that this is a mystery with a romance subplot, instead of a romance with a mystery subplot. Each character was unique and added to the story, but Leaf is my favorite. I appreciate the complexity of the world in which they were living in and the acceptance that most characters embraced Nic. The magic system as well as the steampunk ish robots were so cool, I think they added to the intrigue of the stoyr. I am glad that Nic got the ending he needed.

Definitely pick this up if you want a queer, gothic romance with a high degree of banter and fun characters!

I struggled a little with how to even describe this book. I would say if you love locked in mysteries, the regency era, queer characters and a maybe could be possible haunted gothic manor with a sprinkle of magic, I think you’ll enjoy this book.

Make no mistake though, there is a lot going on with the plot - my advice is to go into this book with no preconceived expectations and just enjoy the ride.

Leaf was definitely my favorite character - I enjoyed the snark and the witty remarks. I did like the mystery/whodunnit aspect to the story too and the magical elements were a fun surprise for me.

✨What To Expect:
💙Historical Fiction
🫖Regency Era
🌹Cozy Gothic Fantasy
🏳️‍🌈Queer Romance
✌️Second Chance
🔥Slow Burn
💍Arranged Marriage
🔍Murder Mystery

Apologies to this book for being so slow in reviewing it after I read it. It gave me a lot of time to sit and think on it and I am not sure if it held up as well over time as after initial reading.

The Gentlemen and His Vowsmith doesn't seem quite sure what it wants to be. Its a cozy steampunk fantasy romance but it fails to focus on any of these elements in a fully realized way. Cozy - it gets a little too emotional and hard hitting, steampunk - the elements aren't really explained, fantasy - same issue, the romance is a second chance were the characters are basically already 100% invested in each other and have very little bid up in the narrative.

There were however, great elements and if it wasn't tearing itself between taking itself too seriously and being just a fun little story I think it could settle into something really good. I will definitely keep an eye out for Ide's other works.

Thank you to Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book kept me on my toes! Between all the magic, murders and automatons I didn’t know what was going to happen next!

Lord Nicholas Monterris, the last remaining heir of a crumbling ducal house, must marry to save his family from complete decline. His father chooses Lady Leaf Serral, eldest daughter of his greatest rival. The head negotiator for the marriage is to be Dashiell sa Vare, an old flame he has neither forgiven nor forgotten, a man their rigid class structure forbids him to love.

The pining between Nic and Dashiell was absolutely DELICIOUS!! The banter was so good! I was cackling or swooning most of the book. The characters and their interactions were the best parts of this book. All the characters were witty and fun to get to know. My biggest gripe would be the world building and magical system. Nothing was ever explained and I’m still confused about what Dashiell’s job of a vowsmith is. We got no explanation of how magic works in the world which left me confused at times thinking I missed something!

As long as you’re looking for more romance than fantasy this is a really good time!

I loved this book! The mystery was suspenseful and I didn't want to stop reading. I enjoyed the mix of genres throughout the story.

The characters were really interesting, I especially liked Leaf. The plots were great, I loved that Nic and Leaf worked together first to solve the mystery then to meet their goals.

The epilogue was so good, I love a good happy ending and seeing the characters thriving was great! I would love to read more about their adventures!

Overall, I loved this book but would have liked to learn more about the Brilliance and how all of that works!

I loved the plot (storyline). I guess I would like more world building but at the same time I understand the story. The characters were amazing. My new favorite name is Leaf!

I enjoyed the story, with the mix of mystery and romance, and I really liked all the characters... plan to recommend this to fans of KJ Charles and Freya Marske! Thank you for the advance reading copy!

Lord Nicholas Monterris is trapped. The only heir to a declining dukedom, Nic is forced into a marriage of convenience to Lady Leaf Serral, daughter of his father’s hated rivals. Now they must all be locked inside Monterris Court for the duration of the contract negotiations, along with head negotiator, master vowsmith Dashiell sa Vare, an old flame Nic has neither forgiven nor forgotten. Nic, Leaf, and Dashiell must work together to solve multiple murders before the times up on negotiating the marriage contract.

To start with the positives, I really liked Nic and I felt genuine sympathy for him and his situation. Also, I loved Leaf. She was a fun character to spend time with and I really loved that the author just made them immediate friends. Side note, this is the second book I've read this year with an arranged fantasy marriage where the guy is gay and the woman is asexual. It's rare to get asexual representation and I appreciate that we seem to be getting more of it, but I'm not sure it should be used as a convenient go-to to make arranged marriages more acceptable. Finally, Dashiell grew on me. It took a while, but at least they finally started communicating with each other which made me like Dashiell.

Unfortunately, this book was very long. It felt very drawn out, the magic system isn't explained in-depth and what we learn of it comes in bits and pieces and often too late. I think this could have been about 100 pages shorter and I would have enjoyed it a lot more. Almost everyone who wasn't the main three characters were insufferable and the plot was incredibly convoluted and melodramatic. By the time I understood what was going on, the book was almost over and I felt like I was reading a soap opera. I did like the ending and the murder mystery aspect is what kept me going, but since the other characters were not very likable without much of an explanation I found it difficult to get drawn into the story.

Thank you NetGalley and Tor for a free eARC in return for an honest review.

The Gentleman and His Vowsmith
Genre: Queer Regency Romance
Setting: London 1788
Length: 15 hours, 5 minutes I 464 pages
Narrator: James Langton
Release Date: April 15, 2025

✨(nearly) Locked Room Mystery
✨Regency Romance
✨Secrets Surface
✨Queer normative world

Lord Nicholas Monterris is destined for a marriage of convenience. His intended bride to be is Lady Leaf Serral, the daughter of Nic’s father’s hated rival. Tradition dictates the families are confined while the marriage contract is crafted. To Nic’s surprise, the Serral’s vowsmith is his former lover, Dashiell. When the first body appears it is brushed off as an accident, but when another is found tensions rise as long buried secrets start to surface. Nic, Leaf and Dashiell must work together to uncover who is behind all of this before another citing is found.

Thoughts:
TGaHV is a regency era queer romantasy and a murder mystery. The mystery was so intriguing I couldn’t put down the book. I loved the friendship that developed between Nic and Leaf. Leaf is by far my favorite character with so much depth and I just really love her. The relationship between Nic and Dashiell is so romantic, I really loved getting to know them and the 🌶️ scenes were everything. 😮‍💨🥵 To be clear, this is a queer normative world so Leaf is made aware of Nic’s preferences but an heir needs to be produced regardless of how either feels about that. I really enjoyed this book, it had a great balance of fantasy and romance.

In short, do you like murder mysteries? Do you like romantasy? If you answered yes to both questions, then do yourself a favor and pick up THE GENTLEMAN AND HIS VOWSMITH.