Wanted, A Gentleman

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.