Slippery Creatures

I really needed a solid book, that was fun, had some mystery, and had good and likable characters.

I only have one question: Masie and Phoebe, please?

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I read this in a matter of hours, so that should tell you how much I enjoyed it. KJ Charles's work is always a great deal of fun, and it's so easy to just zip right through one of her books. They're usually on the shorter side, and she really doesn't waste time in any of her novels. Slippery Creatures is set in the 1920's, and is written to be similar to the pulp fiction of the era. I know for a fact that Charles spends a long time researching her books, so I have faith that everything is as accurate to the time period as it could possibly be. Anyway, I really loved Slippery Creatures.

The main characters are Will Darling, a young man who has returned from WWI without a job and without any prospects. He was good at war, but now that he's home he basically has nothing going for him. He finds a long lost uncle, who reconnects with him and leaves him his book shop as inheritance once he passes away. Will is a decidedly stubborn creature, intent on doing everything his way, and hating it when he does have to rely on someone else for something. He's easy to like, but he's also very easy to get frustrated with. We meet the second main character fairly quickly into the book — we have to, there's no room for it to happen anywhere else — and his name is Kim Secretan. He is...as the title of the book says, a rather slippery creature. You want to like him, god do you, but you don't quite trust him all the way either. He's exceedingly nice, and seems quite capable of just about anything. I liked him so much. Kim is clever, charming, and so so sneaky.

The romance is fairly insta-lust as Dini said in her review, but it didn't bother me as it made sense in the context of the story. They had just been through a rather trying ordeal, and well, blood is hot after a near-death experience. The romance is also done in a way that makes sense for the time period. It's hidden away, and very secret except for those who absolutely need to know. (I really also loved Phoebe, who is in a engagement-of-convenience to Kim.) Together, Will and Kim send sparks flying, and they aren't always romantic sparks, either. That's all I'll say there.

The plot was convincing, and easy to follow with a nice amount of peril involved. There was no point where I thought there was no way out for our characters, and while I loved following what they were doing, I had a good feeling things would end happily. Before I wrap this up, I do want to mention that this first book felt less like a romance novel, and more like a historical mystery. There's very little wooing or romance involved. It's mostly lust, and fast-paced sex scenes, which is fine! There was little time for anything else. But, I hope there's more romance in the next books. Onto the next!

3.5 stars rounded up to 4. This was more than decently all right and pretty much in line with my expectations for K J Charles, who consistently churns out really great m/m romance. While The Willing Darling Adventures takes place in the 1920s and has a bit more of an adventure vibe to it, it's still pretty much cosy romance at its heart without being annoyingly contrived with the way it throws its main characters together, or being overly saccharine with the romance. It also does have a touch of some politics thrown in, although nowhere near as thorough and involved in the romance element as it sometimes is in her other works (e.g. A Seditious Affair). I don't mind action and adventure but I honestly have a tough time keeping up with it when it's represented in a textual medium, so I had to skim over some parts of this one. I much prefer books with more dialogue and character study than action, but that's really just my own inclinations. Overall though, I enjoyed this one a fair bit and would likely read the next one in the series.

Clever.

the double/triple/quadruple or whatever number crossing giving me whiplash

3.5

After a short no-read period I was more than ready to plunge right back into it. I had no idea what to pick from my list, but I've had this novel for a while now so I thought it was about time I see what it is all about, what adventures is this Will Darling engaging in. And oh, what an adventure!

I knew I was going to like the book from the first pages. This is my first K.J. Charles novel and I loved the writing style so much. It flowed so beautifully and it pulled me in so easily. Loved the description and I'm all in for that slow burn romance story. It's all so complicated too, I could weep with joy.

Will Darling is a regular man in a regular world trying to manage a regular business. After war and after going back into a society that had no use of him, he'd been blessed to inherit his uncle's bookshop. Or so he thought because things took quite a turn when a man came looking for something. What? Will had no clue, but he'd made up his mind and he's a stubborn man who sticks to his principles.

Then enter Kim Secratan, this cunning bastard who I inexplicably like. (I'm joking, it's not completely inexplicable.) Kim raised a few red flags from the start, but I wasn't sure what to make out of them. I had no choice but to keep reading. He is devious, a man who tries to do the right thing no matter what, and so great.

Will and Kim make an excellent pair. The chemistry was obvious and the air was sizzling when the two of them were in a room. I loved them together so much! But the whole situation made things so tough and when doubt creeps in there's just so much one can do. But the heart wants what the heart wants. Right?

The relationship between Will and Kim progresses slowly and tantalizing. It gives just enough to not frustrate the reader, but not too much so you would feel satiated. All in all, Slippery Creatures is a great first novel of the series, it pulls you in and promises a very good experience throughout.

The plot is definitely intriguing and fun to read. It is also pretty easy to figure out, but it's so good. I just really loved it, and I loved how brilliant both Will and Kim were. While the reader knows relatively early where this is going, in broad lines, there still is something there that keeps you glued to the pages. Like I already said, I loved the writing style, K.J. Charles knows how to use words and does it flawlessly.

Needless to say I am looking forward to the next books in this series.

It's been far too long since I've had the pleasure of a new K.J. Charles book - 6 whole months since [b:Gilded Cage 52314497 Gilded Cage (Lilywhite Boys #2) K.J. Charles https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1568030557l/52314497.SX50_SY75.jpg 71397881] - and I was so excited to make it onto her shortlist for an ARC. And now it's finally out for everyone to read ASAP!Our hero for this trilogy is a young Great War veteran, Will Darling, whose long lost uncle hires him to work in his mess of a bookstore, then promptly drops dead, leaving him the de facto heir with a place to live, a career, and an inheritance tied up in probate. Almost immediately Will is caught up in a web of danger and secrecy, because someone named Draven sent something to his late uncle that everyone wants to get their hands on. Will has no idea what or where the item is, but he'll be damned if he'll just turn over the bookstore either to the pompous War Office captain who demands that Will do his patriotic duty and let his men search the premises, or to the scary looking goon who threatens extreme bodily harm. Then a very friendly, posh-looking chap named Kim Secretan walks in and offers to help Will. Nothing suspicious about that, is there? I won't reveal any more of the plot because you should discover its twists and turns for yourself. There's lots of danger and ominously tattooed bad guys, with daring rescues, stabbing and shooting (I'd say the body count is about average for a KJC novel). Of course there's much more to Kim than he initially lets on (his last name has the word “Secret” in it for god's sake), but KJC's brilliance lies in keeping the reader in suspense about what he will reveal, how much he is telling the truth at any given time, and exactly how he feels about the inevitable sexual relationship with Will. Which is hot, hot, hot. Will is stubborn to a fault and somewhat bitter about his Great War career, but he doesn't apologize for who he is, including his sexual preferences. Kim, for all of his upper-class background, is more hesitant in bed. Part of his personality, or part of a role he is playing? You're never quite sure. Meanwhile, through Kim, Will meets the absolutely amazing Phoebe Stephens-Prince, one of the bohemian “Bright Young Things,” who is completely outrageous yet utterly genuine and kind. She has an important role to play in the plot, and I'm sure we haven't seen the last of her. She is, simply speaking, a goddess. Then there is Will's good friend Maisie, whose “callipygous pulchritude” (I always learn new vocabulary from KJC – it basically translates to “Baby got back”) and cleverness also stands out.A KJC book always features that sly British sense of humor. This excerpt takes place after Will and Kim's first sexual encounter:[Will] had no idea what civilians, or civilised people, would say in these circumstances. Thanks for that, old chap, much obliged, perhaps? Ought he apologise for coming in his mouth? Would this be a good moment to restart the conversation about where Kim had learned to use a knife?Thank God they were British. He took a deep breath. “Cup of tea?” KJC has been very upfront that it will take a full trilogy for Will and Kim to find their HEA. Slippery Creatures doesn't end in a cliffhanger, but you couldn't even call it a HFN ending, although it leaves open plenty of possible arcs for their relationship. There's so much about both Will and Kim that we don't know yet. Kim especially is a riddle wrapped up in an enigma; at various times I either wanted to hug him or throttle him, sometimes both at the same time. Will is a little more straightforward but I'll bet he has hidden depths as well. I can't wait to learn more about them as their adventures continue. ARC received from the author in exchange for an honest review.