Wanted, A Gentleman

I didn't mean to read this in one sitting, but oops. Also, I didn't realize until I opened the ebook from the library that it was a novella, which is not at all a bad thing, but just an FYI. KJ Charles might be my current favorite historical romance author and I could've read another hundred pages or so of this story quite happily. The secret identity surprised me but everything worked out in a delightfully twisty way.

(2020 summer romance bingo: secret identity, could have also maybe worked for “there was only one bed,” if you define bed as bedroom, and I'd argue for “villain's love story” as well.)

Not my favorite KJ Charles, but still a lot of fun. The stakes aren't as high as the Magpie or Society of Gentlemen series, although the road trip romp takes a serious turn about two-thirds of the way through. I appreciated the unique (and apparently accurate) portrayal of Martin St. Vincent, a freed slave and successful businessman whose complex relationship with his former owner sets much of the plot in action. And Theo Swann is another one of Charles' small, feisty MCs (shades of Stephen Day from Magpie and Daniel da Silva from Think of England) who is a better man than he thinks he is.

Despite the brief length, Charles manages to skewer the 19th century version of Tinder, debate the commodification of marriage, and pose the difficult question of whether a freed slave owes any gratitude for being released from a cruel, inhumane institution. Plus there's lots of delicious sexual tension from the moment Martin realizes that Theo “looks like he'd f*ck like a tomcat.”

Anything new from K.J. Charles is cause for celebration and it feels like it has been too long since her last release.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.