A Gentleman's Position
Ratings19
Average rating4.1
I also wasn't a fan of Richard from the other books of the series, but somehow this ended up being my favourite one of them. Maybe it's because Cyprian is so much fun! The pacing was great, the sex scenes were sexy, and it tied up the series nicely.
Honestly, I disliked Richard right from the first book. I almost gave this book a pass because of him, but after the way the author made me like Dom - who I thought was a bland stuffed shirt in the first book - I gave it a go. I still don't really like Richard. Yeah, he improves, his character develops and all that, but I'm pretty sure that the only way I would have liked him is if he'd just totally lost control. Just once, over anything. But he always seemed so perfectly composed.
On the other hand, I love the resolution to the running story of Mal. Him getting his comeuppance was brilliant and delightful and I was giggling through the entire scene thanks to David and Ash. Speaking of, David is so likable that I wish I'd felt more for his romance with Richard. And, finally, I loved how each of our gentlemen got to shine. It was nice to see them all get a little moment, so that, alone, almost made me boost the rating of this book. (But, finally, I couldn't because it does not deserve to get the same rating in my mind as Dom and Silas' story.)
The last book in KJ Charles' Society of Gentlemen trilogy wraps up the series in a thoroughly engaging manner. I knew that nothing could top the breathtakingly kinked relationship between Silas and Dominic from A Seditious Affair– but David and Richard came close. It was impossible to resist clever, redheaded, loyal David Cyprian, and his unparalleled ability to “fix things” for Richard and his friends. Unfortunately, Richard was portrayed in the previous two books as a wealthy prig (albeit a caring, well-meaning one) who let David do all of his dirty work so he could continue to have society's approval, and despite Charles' attempts to provide context for Richard's behavior (cold father, absent mother, society's mores, etc.), I never completely warmed up to him. His “courtship” of David included many tone-deaf, hurtful actions, and his efforts to help his friends consisted primarily of throwing his money and position around. However, he did make numerous (albeit clueless) attempts to do the right thing about his relationship with David, and he did have one glorious opportunity to get revenge on the man who had hurt his lover.
Overall, it was delightful to see all of the “Ricardians” working together to give the evil Maltravers his final comeuppance, and the book is worth four stars just for the scenes between Silas and David. I will miss all eight men from the series. I give the Charm of Magpies series a slight edge (and am still waiting for a sequel to Think of England), but I have no complaints if Charles wants to revisit this world (more Silas please?).
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.