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Unfit to Print – K.J. Charles
When crusading lawyer Vikram Pandey sets out in search of a missing youth, his investigations take him to Holywell Street, London’s most notorious address. He expects to find a disgraceful array of sordid bookshops. He doesn’t expect one of them to be run by the long-lost friend whose disappearance and presumed death he’s been mourning for thirteen years.
Gil Lawless became a Holywell Street bookseller for his own reasons, and he’s damned if he’s going to apologise or listen to moralising from anyone. Not even Vikram; not even if the once-beloved boy has grown into a man who makes his mouth water.
Now the upright lawyer and the illicit bookseller need to work together to track down the missing youth. And on the way, they may even learn if there’s more than just memory and old affection binding them together…
A double post in celebration of the World Cup.
Congratulations, France!
I’m team Croatia but I couldn’t find a Croatian LGBTQIA+ book, so even though it did not come home, here’s an English book anyway.
Anything K.J. Charles writes, I read. I am reading my way through her existing oeuvre. At the latest count, there are probably only 4 books left that I need to get my hands on. I hope she keep those goodies coming.
As she had stated on her blog, historical romance and happy endings should not be limited to rich white people and true to her word, she has created happy endings for a jobbing writer and a black merchant as seen in Wanted, a Gentleman, an Indian lodgings keeper and a Victorian taxidermist in An Unseen Attraction and has also included a transman and black club manager (a couple) in the A Society of Gentlemen series.
Unfit to Print is another example of Charles’ consistent effort to write diverse and inclusive stories. Vikram Pandey is a successful Indian lawyer who works pro bono for the poor Indian residents of London. He was tasked to look for a missing Indian boy and his search brought him to the ironically named Holywell Street which is the Akihabara of porn in 19th century England. To his extreme shock, he found his childhood friend and former school buddy Gil Lawless, long thought dead for 13 years. Gil is a mulatto bastard of the Lawes family, swindled out of his inheritance and abandoned to the streets by his half brother, Matthew. He now owns a bookstore selling illicit materials.
Vikram is a moralizing, uptight gentleman with an overactive sense of responsibility and Gil is one of the free love, free will, mutual enjoyment sort who let the others do the worrying because it’s damn well none of his business. Theirs is a combination that worked quite well despite of and/or because of the differences. Vik sees through Gil’s well-cultivated apathy and knows he cares. Why else would he come to Vik’s office? Gil brought the joy and the smiles back to Vik’s life like he always had all those years ago in Oxford. And when one is uptight and the other is insouciant, the resulting dialogue is usually the laugh out loud kind.
“You’ve really got a problem with the pictures?”
“Of course I do,” Vikram snapped. “They’re illegal, immoral, and obscene.”
“Right, but what’s bad about them?”
Although the main focus was Vik and Gil and the mystery was light, it wasn’t a slouch on that area either. The two did great detective work, sorting through a massive heap of porn photos looking for clues on the whereabouts of the missing boy, Sunil, who worked as a model in some of the photos. Their search also bought another case
to their attention, that of a young boy who was found in the streets with his skull caved in, and as this boy was also found posing in the pictures, they knew the cases were related.
I commend the amount of research done for this story. I think modern day porn connoisseurs would be astounded at the variety and scope of Victorian era pornography. As always, the way Charles writes about London is like opening a door and getting hit with the smell of Thames and a barrage of Anglo accents. I also liked the way Vik and Gil’s race and background were worked into the story in a very natural way. They were important and were touched upon but not the focus. Rather, there was the well-paced and well-fleshed out development of their characters and relationship, there was the fight to right the wrongs done to poor immigrants, a discussion on the depths people go through to survive, a look at the hypocrisy of the upper class and an exhortation to be happy even if life has given you one too many kicks in the guts.
“What’s important,” he said carefully. “For me, what’s important is that you give each other a good time when you can. Carpe diem, as they used to say at school. Take your pleasures where you find them, while they last.”
“And do anything you like, because it doesn’t really matter?”
“Being alive matters,” Gil said, on a sudden wave of something like anger. “It matters that I’ve got a warm room and a full belly, and I know that because I went a while without those things, which I’ll bet is more than you ever did. It matters that I’ve a pal with me, and there’s something I reckon you’ve been missing. It matters to be happy instead of miserable.”
It’s easy to take the high moral ground but there’s also the adage of walking a mile in another man’s shoes. I think Vik and Gil made a compelling case of how we can make these things work, of keeping an open mind, of giving enough damns and taking action.
This is an opposite attracts + childhood friends to lovers story + second chance romance with great sense of time and place, palpable Victorian atmosphere and as always, that distinctly sharp humor I have come to associate with Charles’ writing. This might not be her best work, hence the quibbles, but if you ask me what’s wrong with it, I really couldn’t say. Still, this is a great addition to her collective body of work.
Definitely recommended!
Rating:
4 Stars – minor quibbles but I loved it to bits(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39330140-unfit-to-print)
P.S.
Wanted, an Author – K.J. Charles
Wanted, an Author is a 5000-word story set in 1807. It returns to the characters of Wanted, a Gentleman, and also introduces a character from my forthcoming novel, Band Sinister.
A Newsletter freebie.
This works best if you’ve read Wanted, a Gentleman.In Unfit to Print, Gil found a copy of Jonathan: or, The Trials of Virtue, said to be the holy grail of illicit books. Here is where you find the author who wrote it.
Theo getting giddy at being called “a real writer” is adorbs! I’m glad his career is going well.
Martin snoring like a foghorn and annoying the hell out of Theo is just too funny.
Setting the story at the time when Parliament was voting for the abolition of slavery was a nice historical touch and a great excuse to party. And boy, did they party!
John Raven and Lord Corvin! I can’t wait to see what mischief they are up to.
What’s up with all these birdy surnames?
Rating:
3.5 Stars – that place between like and love(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40735423-wanted-an-author)
Soundtrack: Adventures in Solitude
Artist: The New Pornographers
Album: Challengers -
Sins of the Cities: An Unsuitable Heir – K.J. Charles
A private detective finds passion, danger, and the love of a lifetime when he hunts down a lost earl in Victorian London.
On the trail of an aristocrat’s secret son, enquiry agent Mark Braglewicz finds his quarry in a music hall, performing as a trapeze artist with his twin sister. Graceful, beautiful, elusive, and strong, Pen Starling is like nobody Mark’s ever met—and everything he’s ever wanted. But the long-haired acrobat has an earldom and a fortune to claim.
Pen doesn’t want to live as any sort of man, least of all a nobleman. The thought of being wealthy, titled, and always in the public eye is horrifying. He likes his life now—his days on the trapeze, his nights with Mark. And he won’t be pushed into taking a title that would destroy his soul.
But there’s a killer stalking London’s foggy streets, and more lives than just Pen’s are at risk. Mark decides he must force the reluctant heir from music hall to manor house, to save Pen’s neck. Betrayed by the one man he thought he could trust, Pen never wants to see his lover again. But when the killer comes after him, Pen must find a way to forgive—or he might not live long enough for Mark to make amends.
An Unsuitable Heir is the conclusion of the Sins of the Cities series. Following the events of the second book, An Unnatural VIce, Pen and Mark’s story starts with Mark discovering the identity of the Godfrey twins and Pen and Mark hooking up. Pen was soon introduced as the missing earl much to the consternation of the remaining Taillefer family members. Because the killer was still at large, Pen and Greta were sent to live in Crowmarsh for their safety but it seems the killer followed them there.
Pen is what modern people call gender queer at a time when the Western world couldn’t even begin to accept homosexuality. Working as a trapeze artist with Greta lets him be himself. He and Mark just clicked right away. I really like Mark’s open-minded pansexual attitude and how he and Pen fit together quite nicely.
“Serves you right. I roll you cross-eyed and you tell me you’re not fussy?”
“I’m not,” Mark said. “I told you from the start, mate. I like men, I like women, I like whoever, however they want to be—as long as it’s you. That’s the only thing in the world I’m picky about.” He smiled into Pen’s eyes, saw him smile back. “But I’m a bloody stickler for that.”Greta also found her happily ever after with Tim who I mistakenly suspect as the killer. That was really stupid of me. Tim is likable if nondescript and I like his blase attitude towards men kissing men.
I wasn’t really over the moon with the romance. They were OK but what kept me reading were the mystery and the family scandals. K.J. Charles called the trilogy her “total Victorian sensation fiction, channelling my love for Wilkie Collins, Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Dickens in his wilder moods, and the other glorious writers of complicated plots with scandals, secrets and shenanigans up the wazoo“. A Victorian soap opera it is and with superb voice acting from Matthew Lloyd Davis, I felt like I was in on the action. His delivery of old man Desmond was really spot on.
One major conflict in the book is Pen’s dilemma. If he becomes an earl he had to cut his hair, wear a suit and be confined to what society considers to be a man. But then he cannot just throw his inheritance away and ruin his future along with Greta’s. Half of me wanted Pen to be the earl while half of me want him to be a trapeze artist hence the resolution was moderately satisfying but not as clever as Society of Gentlemen. The big reveal didn’t reveal anything too shocking. It was more of a confirmation of things that happened in all the three books. In the end, I think Justin Lazarus stole the show.
Rating:
3.5 Stars – that place between like and loveSoundtrack: Body was Made
Artist: Ezra Furman
Album: Perpetual Motion People(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33841918-an-unsuitable-heir)
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Sins of the Cities: An Unnatural Vice – K.J. Charles
In the sordid streets of Victorian London, unwanted desire flares between two bitter enemies brought together by a deadly secret.
Crusading journalist Nathaniel Roy is determined to expose spiritualists who exploit the grief of bereaved and vulnerable people. First on his list is the so-called Seer of London, Justin Lazarus. Nathaniel expects him to be a cheap, heartless fraud. He doesn’t expect to meet a man with a sinful smile and the eyes of a fallen angel—or that a shameless swindler will spark his desires for the first time in years.
Justin feels no remorse for the lies he spins during his séances. His gullible clients simply bore him. Hostile, disbelieving, utterly irresistible Nathaniel is a fascinating challenge. And as their battle of wills and wits heats up, Justin finds he can’t stop thinking about the man who’s determined to ruin him.
But Justin and Nathaniel are linked by more than their fast-growing obsession with one another. They are both caught up in an aristocratic family’s secrets, and Justin holds information that could be lethal. As killers, fanatics, and fog close in, Nathaniel is the only man Justin can trust—and, perhaps, the only man he could love.
The second book of the Sins of the Cities series, An Unnatural Vice centers on Justin Lazarus, Seer of London and his entanglement with Nathaniel Roy, crusading journalist. It picks up from the latter parts of An Unseen Attraction where Clem, Rowley, Mark and Nathaniel were on the business of the Clem’s family troubles.
The overarching thread of the series is the riveting mystery of who is murdering people to find information about the missing earl. Suspicious characters consulted the seer, then kidnapped him to force him to find the twins. He escaped but having no one to turn to, Justin ran to Nathaniel’s house to seek shelter. Nathaniel, his chivalrous streak a mile wide, offered his protection. Justin, unused to pure kindness, kept looking for strings attached. and Nathaniel had to keep assuring him there were none. From the get go, we know Justin Lazarus was a fraud but boy, was he really convincing. So convincing in fact that sometimes I forget that this series is historical and not paranormal. I really enjoyed the parts where he revealed his tricks to Nathaniel. Lying, cheating bastard that he is, Nathaniel still saw the good in him, his intelligence, confidence and skills. This is one of the parts I liked best. Nathaniel never lost faith that Justin could be so much more than a fake medium. But as much as I like the two characters and as clearly as I could see their chemistry, I was meh about them as a couple. I don’t know why. Bummer.
The big reveal, now that was quite something! Through Mark’s efforts, the missing Repentance and Regret were found and the chaos that ensued was a major laugh out loud moment. Poor Mark though. Can’t wait for his and Pen’s book. The Talleyfer family troubles is still far from being resolved.
Time and time again, K.J. Charles proved that she’s not capable of writing a bad story. While I am not blown away by the Sins of the Cities series, as much as I was with the beloved Society of Gentlemen and A Charm of Magpies, I think her slightly mediocre (if we can call something this good mediocre) works still read as highly enjoyable, fast paced and gripping. As expected of the author, there is strong sense of time and place. London is very much vividly present in most of her works. The cherry on top was narrator, Matthew Lloyd Davis who was a master at bringing the characters to life. His run through the entire spectrum of voices and accents was very convincing.
Unfortunately, this had to end with a cliffhanger so I recommend buying all three books before starting on this trilogy.
Rating:
3.5 Stars – that place between like and love
Soundtrack: Believe
Artist: The Bravery
Album: The Sun and the Moon(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32161804-an-unnatural-vice)
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A Charm of Magpies: Jackdaw – K.J. Charles
If you stop running, you fall.
Jonah Pastern is a magician, a liar, a windwalker, a professional thief…and for six months, he was the love of police constable Ben Spenser’s life. His betrayal left Ben jailed, ruined, alone, and looking for revenge.
Ben is determined to make Jonah pay. But he can’t seem to forget what they once shared, and Jonah refuses to let him. Soon Ben is entangled in Jonah’s chaotic existence all over again, and they’re running together—from the police, the justiciary, and some dangerous people with a lethal grudge against them.
Threatened on all sides by betrayals, secrets, and the laws of the land, the policeman and the thief must find a way to live and love before the past catches up with them…
A Charm of Magpies linked story, set after Flight of Magpies. Previously published by Samhain.
This is such a delightful, joyful read!
It was a treat to meet Lucien Crane, Stephen Day, Merrick and Saint once again. To see them from the eyes of Ben was double the treat. Crane was still his charming arrogant self and Merrick and Saint got married. I have always loved seeing Day at his job. He’s always been good at it. I never got over his decision.
Jackdaw follows Ben Spenser and Jonah Pastern as they escape the justiciars and the Met. Through out all these, they try to deal with their past relationship, misunderstandings and hurts until they finally found peace in Pellore, Cornwall.
Jonah’s carefree, vibrant attitude just pops out of the page. Charles did a brilliant job creating vivid pictures of windwalking. I could practically feel the wind and see the sky and feel that tingling feeling you get when you are at a high place. Ben was the steadfast, serious type, a good grounding point and conscience for his flighty lover. I felt sorry for the two of them. I think they were trying really hard.
The writing was excellent as always. The words just flow in a way that you couldn’t stop reading. I love the wit, the humor and all the feels. There was just the right amount of angst, pain and hurt to get the point across without plunging into the depths of unbearable misery that is painful to read. For me, this book is bright afternoon sunshine, the kind that makes you hop on your bicycle, pedal up a hill and swoop down with your arms out, wind in your face.
P.S.
To fully appreciate Jackdaw, please read the A Charm of Magpie Series firstRating:
4.5 – perfection is only half a step awaySoundtrack: Blood Under My Belt
Artist: The Drums
Album: Abysmal Thoughts(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34861586-jackdaw)
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My Top 10 Reads of 2017
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The Secret Casebook of Simon Feximal – K.J. Charles
A story too secret, too terrifying—and too shockingly intimate—for Victorian eyes.
A note to the Editor
Dear Henry,
I have been Simon Feximal’s companion, assistant and chronicler for twenty years now, and during that time my Casebooks of Feximal the Ghost-Hunter have spread the reputation of this most accomplished of ghost-hunters far and wide.
You have asked me often for the tale of our first meeting, and how my association with Feximal came about. I have always declined, because it is a story too private to be truthfully recounted, and a memory too precious to be falsified. But none knows better than I that stories must be told.
So here is it, Henry, a full and accurate account of how I met Simon Feximal, which I shall leave with my solicitor to pass to you after my death.
I dare say it may not be quite what you expect.
Robert Caldwell
September 1914I said before I didn’t really care for Caldwell and Feximal’s romance when I read Remnant. I spoke too soon apparently. Going into this book, at first, I really didn’t but I gradually grew to like them both as characters and I’m happy that they are happy together. However, the beauty of this book is that it kept me hooked despite my initial apathy to the romance part. The stories are brilliant spins on British folklore interwoven with actual historical details. This is one of the delights of reading a K.J. Charles book. I always learn unfamiliar and sometimes obscure tidbits of British folklore and history that they never show on tv.
The Casebook is written as a collection of different stories each featuring a case Feximal and Caldwell worked on as well as updates on how their relationship developed and thrived. The last few stories were especially evocative. I have read Spectred Isle before this and recalling and connecting these two books stirred strong emotions.The ending was heartbreaking as well with war and all its consequences. I would choose to believe the editor’s note on Mediterranean cottages and ghostless quiet for my peace of mind. Simon and Robert deserved it.
Rating:
4.5 – perfection is only half a step awaySoundtrack: Weighty Ghost
Artist: WIntersleep
Album: Welcome to the Night Sky(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34680762-the-secret-casebook-of-simon-feximal)
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A Society of Gentlemen: A Private Miscellany – K.J. Charles
A short (7.5K words) free coda to the Society of Gentlemen series, catching up on the main characters a year and a half later.
Available through subscription to the author’s newsletter
Portrait with Fox!!! Somebody make a fanart of that quick!
Rating:
4 Stars – minor quibbles but I loved it to bits
Soundtrack: All My Friends
Artist: LCD Soundsystem
Album: Sound of Silver(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33521283-a-private-miscellany)
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Society of Gentlemen: A Confidential Problem – K.J. Charles
‘A Confidential Problem’ is a 4,000 word scene which takes place between chapters 15 and 16 of A Seditious Affair (after Silas has gone down to Arrandene, but before the finale). It’s not standalone, and won’t make any sense if you haven’t read A Seditious Affair.
Available through submission to the author’s page newsletter.
I still couldn’t get over this series! This short story features the development of Silas and Cyprian’s friendship. Cyprian was his cool, cunning self all throughout the conversation but when Silas turned the tables by asking the pertinent question, BAM! Right at the kokoro!
Rating:
5 Stars – absolutely perfect
Soundtrack: Are Everything
Artist: Buzzcocks
Album: Inventory(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30373933-a-confidential-problem)
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A Society of Gentlemen: A Gentleman’s Position – K.J. Charles
Among his eccentric though strictly principled group of friends, Lord Richard Vane is the confidant on whom everyone depends for advice, moral rectitude, and discreet assistance. Yet when Richard has a problem, he turns to his valet, a fixer of unparalleled genius—and the object of Richard’s deepest desires. If there is one rule a gentleman must follow, it is never to dally with servants. But when David is close enough to touch, the rules of class collide with the basest sort of animal instinct: overpowering lust.
For David Cyprian, burglary and blackmail are as much in a day’s work as bootblacking—anything for the man he’s devoted to. But the one thing he wants for himself is the one thing Richard refuses to give: his heart. With the tension between them growing to be unbearable, David’s seemingly incorruptible master has left him no choice. Putting his finely honed skills of seduction and manipulation to good use, he will convince Richard to forget all about his well-meaning objections and give in to sweet, sinful temptation.
I suppose that topless guy up there is Lord Richard Vane. Not bad. Alas, no Foxy. But look, he’s on the Italian edition!
A Gentleman’s Position is my most anticipated book of the series and it was as brilliant as I had expected. There was so much unresolved sexual tension between Lord Richard Vane and his ever loyal and devoted valet Cyprian. Oh, happy goosebumps!
Cyprian or Foxy David is the character I was most excited to get to know. He is an unprincipled, scheming genius whom Richard depends on to deal with unsavory business. He is in love with Richard since forever and when he finally blurted out his feeling to his lord, the damn fool pushed him away.
I’m not really feeling Richard very much. I must be dense but I needed it spelled out: what on earth does David like about Richard?. Richard is so morally absolute and stuck in the mud to the point of being an idiot. He’s a good guy though and would do everything for his friends but apart from that, all he does is roughshod all over people. He means well but he’s a mess especially without Cyprian. When Richard finally did good and they got together, the feels overflowed!
The other part of the story involves the rest of the gentlemen. Their enemy Maltravers stole a letter poor Ash had written to Francis, the contents of which details their affair. Maltravers plans to blackmail his brother and bring down Silas along with Harry which has dire consequences on the rest of the gentlemen. How Cyprian pulled all the strings and made his puppets dance to save everyone was really ingenious and one of the things I really liked about this story and with the entire series in general is that even if you take away the love stories and let it just be about schemes, political intrigue, family scandals and class conflicts, it would still be as riveting as it is with the M/M angle.
Overall, I couldn’t ask for ask for a more perfect conclusion to this great series.
Rating:
5 Stars – absolutely perfect
Soundtrack: If You Want Me
Artist: Graham Coxon
Album: The Spinning Top(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25893424-a-gentleman-s-position)
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Society of Gentlemen: A Seditious Affair – K.J. Charles
Silas Mason has no illusions about himself. He’s not lovable, or even likable. He’s an overbearing idealist, a Radical bookseller and pamphleteer who lives for revolution … and for Wednesday nights. Every week he meets anonymously with the same man, in whom Silas has discovered the ideal meld of intellectual companionship and absolute obedience to his sexual commands. But unbeknownst to Silas, his closest friend is also his greatest enemy, with the power to see him hanged—or spare his life.
A loyal, well-born gentleman official, Dominic Frey is torn apart by his affair with Silas. By the light of day, he cannot fathom the intoxicating lust that drives him to meet with the Radical week after week. In the bedroom, everything else falls away. Their needs match, and they are united by sympathy for each other’s deepest vulnerabilities. But when Silas’s politics earn him a death sentence, desire clashes with duty, and Dominic finds himself doing everything he can to save the man who stole his heart.
It should be said that although A Society of Gentlemen is a brilliant historical romance series, the cover designs are terrible. Look at that one on top. Who is that suppose to be? The models don’t look anything like the characters they’re suppose to represent. There wasn’t even any blond guy on the cover of A Fashionable Indulgence.
A Seditious Affair focuses on Silas and Dominic who regularly meets anonymously every Wednesday for some BDSM fun. Silas is a firebrand radical who writes the most libelous pamphlets around and Dominic is a dyed in the wool Tory who works in the Home Office. They never get into their heads to ask each other names and so when the Home Office people raids Silas’ bookshop in search for incriminating materials, they were both in for a surprise. The rest of the book deals with the events after.
This is definitely much better than the first. For one, Harry and Julius from the POV of somebody else, Silas for example, turned out to be more likable, funnier and snarkier than in book one. Second, people often use the phrase “the struggle is real” in memes. Here, the phrase applies in several, heart wrenching levels. I really felt for Silas and Dominic and how they fought to be together and how they dealt with external and internal conflicts. I love how Silas is so non-judgmental and accepting of people and their unique preferences and helped Dominic step out of Richard’s shadow and accept himself. For some reason, I get a kick out of Silas calling Dominic “Tory”.
Third, there were some very real historical events interwoven with the different scandals involving our gentlemen. The author kept some of the dialogue as accurate as possible based on historical accounts. The resolution was complicated but very believable and satisfying. All the gentlemen pitched in even Ash (watch out for a very “Ashish” moment). Of course, it was all Foxy’s doing.
Overall, great love story between two men with opposing political views plus a good historical account of some dark period in Regency England.
Rating:
5 Stars – absolutely perfect
Soundtrack: White Knuckle Ride
Artist: Slaves
Album: Are You Satisfied?(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25241403-a-seditious-affair)
