Proper Scoundrels

4 stars for the romance, 3 stars for the plot. Watching a cynical misanthrope catch feelings is always entertaining, although the pairing here is less grumpy/sunshine than it is grumpy/self-loathing martyr. I enjoyed the scenes of Westley and Sebastian together, but there were too few of them, especially in the first half of the book, as the clunky plot was set in motion. Although this is marketed as a standalone, I read recently that Therin signed a book deal to continue the series, so maybe the next installment will be better now that the MCs are an established couple.

As I was reading the book, I was attempting to make mental notes for a review, but I kind of don't remember any of them now.

Anyway, I wouldn't recommend starting with this book. Things are explained moderately well, but both Sebastian and Wesley played parts in the Magic in Manhattan series - enough that I really think you'd miss out if you didn't read it first. (Of course, I'm totally biased, because I loved it as well.)

Notes on the guys:
Sebastian is a total marshmallow, much to my surprise. (Please note: Jade's word, not mine.)
And I am not at all surprised Wesley and Arthur couldn't get along. Or that few people get along with Wesley.

About the romance:
One of my favorite things about this book (along with everything else about this book) is how tentative they are in their attraction to each other. There's none of that first meting and my spidy sense is tingling so not only are you attracted to the gender I am, you're attracted to me. This was a lot more gradual and - even though the story itself doesn't take place over a long enough period to truly be slow burn - I appreciated that.

Note on the plot:
... Look, I loved Magic in Manhattan in its entirety. I love the paranormals and the time period (though I do have a slight preference for the stories taking place in America instead of - like this one - mostly England) so do you really expect me to not love this. (Also, it's not dragged out. We have a plot and a rescue mission and it moves. Which is nice.)

Both of these main characters were introduced in the Magic in Manhattan series. Everything you need to know about this book is in this book, but I'm glad to have read the other series first. Jade and Zhang are important here, which I liked, and there are intriguing new characters too, including Sebastian's artist cousin Isabel.

Unlike the previous trilogy, this book has a few explicit sex scenes. I thought the scenes were very good as well as relevant to the plot. It's not sex, but I especially loved the scene of Wesley deciding that he doesn't want to be cruel to Sebastian. That really moved me.

This story handles some serious topics with sensitivity, and the pacing is very good. In reality, I'm sure I'd find someone like Wesley impossible to tolerate, but I do believe in this romance. They are both exactly what the other needs and I was cheering for their happiness. There's quite a lot of genuinely funny humor in this book, too; I really liked Wesley's rebellious servants.

So, I absolutely loved this, and I'm very excited to find out what Allie Therin does next.