Think of England

I'm starting to think that post-war mm romances are my favourite. The angst that comes from being a returning soldier, adding illegal desires and a battle-tired country, makes for some compelling reading. K.J. Charles does that very well.

Crippled at the tail-end of the Boer Wars in Africa, not from battle but from faulty (sabotaged) ammunitions shipped from his own country, that also killed his best friend and lover, Archie has a vendetta. He attends a stay-over house party in the middle of the country to try to find out who's responsible. There he meets a very effeminate foreigner named de Silva who both repulses and intrigues him. He finds out that de Silva is on a mission not dissimilar to his and they form a shaky alliance, but Archie starts to see there's a lot more to de Silva than his initial impressions.

There's a good mystery with lots of intrigue, and both characters are likeable and well-written. The conclusion was shocking in the best way and it has a HEA. A definite recommend.

Probably more like 4.5, dinging it just a little bit because I just finished the Will Darling series recently and the two MCs here are pretty similar to Will and Kim (tall, blond beefcake war veteran and smaller, dark-haired, supposedly untrustworthy character), but neither of those are uncommon tropes, so it's not too distracting. And it's probably my fault for binging KJ Charles books anyway! (General warning, however: this book has a LOT of slurs for gay people, Jewish people, and people from Spain, mostly said by people we're not supposed to like, but it is a lot.)English country-house mystery that's not all that much of a mystery (the people you think are bad and suspicious are mostly bad and suspicious), but still has intrigue and drama and is overall a lot of fun. Also enjoyed seeing Fen and Pam from [b:Proper English 44420645 Proper English (England World, #1) K.J. Charles https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1554298689l/44420645.SY75.jpg 68974183], which is a prequel to this, though I'm not sure how much they overlap. Embarking on a reread of that now, so we shall see. This isn't one of my favorite KJ Charleses (it would take a whole lot to beat out [b:Band Sinister 39345944 Band Sinister K.J. Charles https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1537454594l/39345944.SY75.jpg 60995770]), but it was well-written, a fast read, and very enjoyable.

That was an excellent snow day read.