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MUSIC MONDAY: Coffin Change by Wallows
Pick a song that you really like and share it on Monday.
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RELEASE TOUR: Sunflower by Kayla Halleur (Excerpt)
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PROMO BLITZ: Short Stack 3 by Lily Morton
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MANGA: Doukyuusei A
Doukyuusei A – Ouji
Asaoka, the delinquent who rules the high school, and Saji, his taciturn classmate. Asaoka looks down on Saji for being unremarkable and friendless, but one day, a single comment from Saji completely changes their relationship…
Classmate A is a story of a high school boy who has yet to learn not to mess with somebody with dead eyes.
This is a fucked up story of one socially adept delinquent, Asaoka, befriending the perpetually solitary Saji. By all appearances, it’s a kind gesture, but Asaoka’s true motives were less than charitable. He thought he hid it well, but when Saji was headhunted by a criminal group over Asaoka, his envious rage was turned on himself when Saji revealed he knew Asaoka’s intentions all along.
And this is where an insidious friendship, a deceptively affectionate sadism, and a desperate codependency took root because that is all Asaoka could do to survive.
Saji calls it returning a friendship and vows to take care of his classmate. His brand of TLC is something else. He might look nerdy but he’s a hella strong fighter, literally packing a punch and able to take down three yakuza members by himself.
The one-shot is not overtly romantic, but it’s easy to see the beginnings of an intimate bond that would progress into a deeper connection. I could easily see Saji pushing Asaoka’s limits further.
Why our boy thought Saji was a pushover is stupid. Saji is actually attractive, but come on, look at those eyes! It’s always the quiet ones.
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REVIEW: The Gentle Art of Fortune Hunting by K.J. Charles
Gentlemen of Uncertain Fortune: The Gentle Art of Fortune Hunting – K.J. Charles
Robin Loxleigh and his sister Marianne are the hit of the Season, so attractive and delightful that nobody looks behind their pretty faces. Until Robin sets his sights on Sir John Hartlebury’s heiress niece. The notoriously graceless baronet isn’t impressed by good looks or fooled by false charm. He’s sure Robin is a liar, a fortune hunter, and a heartless, greedy fraud – and he’ll protect his niece, whatever it takes. Then, just when Hart thinks he has Robin at his mercy, things take a sharp left turn. And as the grumpy baronet and the glib fortune hunter start to understand each other, they also find themselves starting to care – more than either of them thought possible. But Robin’s cheated and lied and let people down for money. Can a professional rogue earn an honest happy ever after?
The Gentle Art of Fortune Hunting is the first book of Gentlemen of Uncertain Fortune by my all-time favorite, K.J. Charles. I started this book beforehand but finished the sequel, The Duke At Hazard, first because, for some reason, I wasn’t jiving with the story.
I enjoyed The Duke At Hazard so much, and Hart and Robin had a fun cameo that I wanted to give their book another try.
Second time’s the charm!
Still, it was a bit of a slow start but I had a better appreciation of the cleverness of the plot, the layered characterizations, the scandalous family politics, and the surprising rightness of Hart and Robin’s dynamics once they started their arrangement.
Robin and Marianne Loxleigh of Nottinghamshire are in the business of stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. The poor being them. They set their sights on Alice Fenwick, a brewery heiress, and the titled gentlemen of the Season, all of whom were impressed by their manners and attractive appearance.
Alice’s uncle is the grumpy Sir John Hartlebury, a known misanthrope who saw through their ruse from the get-go. Hart tries to convince his sister Edwina that her daughter is being wooed by a fortune hunter, but she isn’t convinced and tells Hart to prove his claims.
This is one of the most amusing parts. Doing his damnest, Hart pointed out all the signs that Robin is a charlatan who uses his appearance and charms to gain advantages and titles. Only for Edwina to counterargue, “It’s what people do” in the Marriage Mart.
I loved the irony and how the author made it seem the Loxleighs are really no different from everyone else, except that they have no illustrious lineage, and that everybody is, in a way, a charlatan when it comes to securing an advantageous marriage.
Another fun part is the unexpectedly endearing relationship between Robin and Alice. Our young heiress might be average-looking, but she’s no fool and a math prodigy, too. Also, she has no interest in marriage. Schemes aside, Robin developed a fondness for the lady and had an enthusiastic appreciation of her mathematical skills.
I loved how he encouraged her to pursue her dream to be a mathematician. Might be that he sees potential use of her math theories in the gaming halls. I could imagine Robin rubbing his hands in glee as he raked in the money. But really, this enterprising fortune hunter is actually soft-hearted and wants to help Alice enter a university.
Also, he’s lusting after the uncle with the thunder thighs.
Hart and Robin’s arrangement started after an unfortunate card game (guess who lost). The author did a spectacular job weaving the hurt comfort, the class difference, the importance of consent, the kink exploration, and the blossoming affections in this clandestine arrangement.
The characters are wonderfully nuanced and if you love words of affirmation, this has swoon-worthy declarations to melt the heart!
Robin more or less trampled the power dynamics with his unbridled sensuality, shameless imagination, and sincere admiration for the “unlovable” Hart.
Robin is easy to like but Hart is the underdog I was rooting hard for. Going against his heartless mother to protect his sister and their family legacy and thus practically a social pariah, he is a man with only three known friends.
He is also considered physically unattractive by even his mother. Add to that his lack of conversational skills and social graces, it was hard for Hart to believe anyone would actually like him.
But Robin saw through the gruffness. Hart is fiercely protective of those he loves. He’s an astute business owner, a loyal friend, kind, generous and fair even to desperate fortune hunting rogues.
This wouldn’t be a K.J. Charles book without a twisty-turny climax. The scene is deliciously sharp, cutting with surgical precision, bringing the bad guys down before they even realized their heads were sliced off. Metaphorically that is, since no blood was shed, just dignity and enemy reputations in tatters.
And you got to hand it to narrator Cornell Collins for performing this scene to it’s most dramatic effect.
The Gentle Art of Fortune Hunting is a story of pretty faces and plain janes, false claims, and genuine treasures. Set against the backdrop of dazzling ballrooms, bustling gaming halls, and secluded private rooms, it is a tale where fortune favors the bold (and desperate) in the game of love, money, and privilege. Swoony and captivating, it’s definitely a winning hand!
Rating:
4.5 Stars – perfection is only half a step awaySoundtrack: Fortunately
Artist: Mokita
Album: FortunatelyP.S.
The books in the Gentlemen of Uncertain Fortune can be read as standalones. Witness another fortune lost and gain during a card game in The Duke At Hazard.
If you like my content, please consider using my Amazon affiliate links below to buy your copy of The Gentle Art of Fortune Hunting. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying Amazon purchases at no additional cost to you.
THE GENTLE ART OF FORTUNE HUNTING: Kindle | Audiobook
If you like my content, please consider supporting me on Ko-fi or PayPal. Your donations will help keep this website going. Thank you so much!
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SOUNDTRACK: Fortunately by Mokita
Soundtrack to Gentlemen of Uncertain Fortune: The Gentle Art of Fortune Hunting by K.J. Charles
Fortunately by Mokita for a book about a pretense, a gamble, a dalliance and a security.
Like an illusion they don’t see
Keep building castles against the wind out on the beach
All my mistakes in front of me
Send me a lifeboat the second that I drift way too deep…
I had to believe
That I had somewhere to fall
FortunatelyRight from the start
Just a shot in the dark I’d take anything
A million to one right here under the sun
I heard everything -
Like an illusion they don’t see
Keep building castles against the wind out on the beach
All my mistakes in front of me
Send me a lifeboat the second that I drift way too deepWhere did the years go by, by the way
You keep stand by when you could’ve walked awayI had to believe
That I had somewhere to fall
FortunatelyI had to believe
That I had somewhere to fall
FortunatelyRight from the start
Just a shot in the dark I’d take anything
A million to one right here under the sun
I heard everythingPulling the weight when I was tired
Needle to thread held my life on the line
Odds are against me but you’ll never leaveI had to believe
That I had somewhere to fall
FortunatelyI had to believe
That I had somewhere to fall
Fortunately
Fortunately
FortunatelyThat I had somewhere to fall
FortunatelyThat I had somewhere to fall
FortunatelyThat I had somewhere to fall
FortunatelyFortunately
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MOVIE FEATURE: The Wedding Banquet
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BLOG TOUR: Late Bloomer Baby Boomer: A Collection of Humorous Essays About Being Gay Back in the Day and Finally Finding My Way by Steve Milliken (Excerpt + Q&A with Author)
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NEW RELEASE BLITZ: Earth’s Passion by Emily Carrington (Excerpt & Giveaway)
