-
RELEASE BLITZ: Butcher by Kimberly Knight & Rachel Lyn Adams
-
COVER REVEAL: Buddy System by Ariella Talix
-
BOOK TOUR: Our Deadly Designs by Kalyn Josephson
-
COVER REVEAL: Unexpected Moments by Dani Grimes
-
BOOK TOUR: The Crack at the Heart of Everything by Fiona Fenn
-
REVIEW: The Duke At Hazard by K.J. Charles
Gentlemen of Uncertain Fortune: The Duke At Hazard – K.J. Charles
Don’t miss the second thrilling Regency romance in the Gentlemen of Uncertain Fortune series by KJ Charles…
The Duke of Severn is one of the greatest men in Britain.
He’s also short, quiet, and unimpressive. And now he’s been robbed, after indulging in one rash night with a strange man who stole the heirloom Severn ring from his finger. The Duke has to get it back, and he can’t let anyone know how he lost it. So when his cousin bets that he couldn’t survive without his privilege and title, the Duke grasps the opportunity to hunt down his ring-incognito.
Life as an ordinary person is terrifying…until the anonymous Duke meets Daizell Charnage, a disgraced gentleman, and hires him to help. Racing across the country in search of the thief, the Duke and Daizell fall into scrapes, into trouble-and in love.
Daizell has been excluded from polite society, his name tainted by his father’s crimes and his own misbehaviour. Now he dares to dream of a life somewhere out of sight with the quiet gentleman who’s stolen his heart. He doesn’t know that his lover is a hugely rich public figure with half a dozen titles. And when he finds out, it will risk everything they have…
The Duke At Hazard is the second book of Gentlemen of Uncertain Fortune and features the first duke in K.J. Charles‘s extensive repertoire of historical MM romances. Though the ubiquitous love interests in historical romance, dukes are actually rare in real life.
The Duke of Severn is second only to the royal family, so it’s quite a venerable and intimidating position. Also, very stifling. So stifling, Severn jumped at a chance to go out into the world incognito for one month without the trappings of his title.
This is after losing his heirloom, the Severn ring, to a thief he hooked up with one night. His cousin Leo made a wager that Severn wouldn’t survive without his servants and privileges, and so, also seeing this as a chance to look for his ring, the duke became the ordinary, nondescript Cassian.
Cassian’s search led him to cross paths with Daizell Charnage, a fellow Etonian who fell from grace after his father’s crimes. Sensing the other man’s street smarts could be useful, Cassian asked for help to search for the thief and his ring in exchange for 50 pounds.
Daizell, being a gentleman with no marketable skills, can’t work. His only skill is creating portraits by cutting paper. It’s a very entertaining skill that earns him a few schillings and an occasional free lodging. The promise of 50 pounds and free meals made it hard for him to say no, so off they went on a wild goose chase.
The first book in the series, The Gentle Art of Fortune Hunting, was a struggle, so I put it on hold. The Duke at Hazard effortlessly kept me riveted for hours!
I loved how the shift between Cassian and Severn is palpable whenever the duke refers to himself by which name. It underlines his conflict between the two worlds, his wish to become whole, and how Daiz made it so.
Cassian isn’t perfect. He is the first to acknowledge his shortcomings. His lack of imposing stature and average face would have him disappear in a crowd if not for his fine clothes and the posse of servants to announce his presence.
And smartly, he used this natural anonymity to outwit the bad guys in his adventure. Watching Cassian learn about the wider world is fascinating. Fantastic character growth!
I also love Cassian for acknowledging that he was selfish in his treatment of Daizell, though it wasn’t with bad intentions. The duke also has a capacity for forgiveness and resourcefulness, which surprised even himself. One of my favorite parts is how he handled John Martin, a former valet, now a wanted man. I hope Martin’s book is next.
Also, who knew our boy Cas could be hella kinky!
Daizell has fabulous hair, average looks, and a sunshiney personality that made him well-liked, if not for his disgrace. He’s lonely and starving for affection, but you wouldn’t know it because he’s always easygoing. Also a kinky boy.
Daiz went from giving Cassian pointers to admiring Cas’s derring-do to falling hard for the man. Drifting here and there, he finally found a direction and a purpose. My heart went to him when he was so wrecked upon learning Cas’s true identity and how vastly unattainable the duke is.
Cue the most moving, squee-tastic groveling scene!
And it wouldn’t be a K.J. Charles book without dastardly villains, clever twists, and a satisfying comeuppance.
The villain is mostly off-page, but his menace and sinister workings are visibly present. Cassian took it upon himself, as Daiz said, “swinging his duke around” most magnificently to avenge the wrong, save a lady, and restore Daiz’s reputation as a gentleman!
Other reviewers mentioned this is one of the author’s milder books, and I agree. The two MCs were constantly traveling, the plot had more action, from overturning coaches to daring escapes, and the stakes were high. Still, the vibe is gentle. I would even dare say idyllic if not for the bad guys,
There were moments in Cassian and Daizell’s adventure that edged towards lulls. The charms of these two men snapped me back to attention. Seeing the world through their eyes, “a man who was interested in everything made everything interesting.” They are a great addition to the author’s roster of lovable couples.
The Duke at Hazard is the compelling journey of two men who transformed their lives from mere existence to vibrant living. With a fabulous blend of action, entertainment, and swoon-worthy moments, this cross-country adventure is a captivating and unforgettable romp!
Rating:
4.5 Stars โ perfection is only half a step awaySoundtrack: Act of Faith
Artist: Presence
Album: InsideP.S.
The Duke At Hazard can be read as standalone.
With a name like Daizell, you had to be made of sunshine.
Would you believe the duke’s first name is Vernon? No, just no. Happily, the duke chose Cassian among his many names.
If you like my content, please consider using my Amazon affiliate links below to buy your copy of The Duke At Hazard. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying Amazon purchases at no additional cost to you.
THE DUKE AT HAZARD: 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!
-
REVIEW: Secondhand Skin by Hailey Turner
Soulbound: Secondhand Skin – Hailey Turner
Nothing says you canโt steal a heart. Keeping it though? Thatโs another problem.
Wade Espinoza knows a thing or two about hoards. As a dragon, heโs got plenty. What he doesnโt have is a relationship, and he swears heโs not looking for one. But when heโs sent to Boston to answer a cry for help from another pack, heโs drawn into a mess of fae bargains centered around a selkie who Wade instantly becomes obsessed with.
Riordan Maguire is struggling to keep his selkie clan out of the clutches of a fae lord who will do anything to take over their territory. Partnering with the Boston god pack means coming face-to-face with the first person heโs ever wanted to willingly give his sealskin. Too bad Wade isnโt local and is something altogether strange that Riordan isnโt sure he can trust.
Amidst a growing danger in the streets and Boston Harbor, Wade and Riordan are desperate to find a way to keep everyone safe. For bargains are dangerous things to break, but so are hearts. Wade isnโt willing to shatter either of theirs in a race against time that could see Riordan torn from him forever.
Secondhand Skin is an exciting new standalone novel set in Hailey Turner’s best-selling Soulbound Universe focusing on Wade Espinoza.
Like most MM romance readers, I have an undying love for Patrick and Jono and the Soulbound series by Hailey Turner. But I confess, I got stuck in the middle of the series because my lazy reader brain could not handle recalling all the details of the previous installments and the many things happening in the present.
One of the most unforgettable characters was Wade Espinoza, the teen dragon Patrick and Jono rescued from slavery. Wade, like all dragons, has a bottomless pit for a stomach.
I still recall with amusement the scenes where Patrick wondered how he could stretch his government salary because, at the rate he was going, Wade could eat them out of house and home. I really loved Patrick for this.
Secondhand Skin is Wade’s book. Now 23 years old, Wade has grown into a confident (sometimes overly so), irreverent, fun-loving, sassy, protective, and loyal dragon so adept at hiding his true identity that even powerful beings can’t tell what he is. Still, a bottomless pit.
His pack gave him a mission to go to Boston to help the dire of the Boston god pack, Ella, find her alphas abducted by an evil fae, Niall. This led him to cross paths again with the selkie, Riordan, whom he met at Gerard and Orla’s wedding.
The Maguire clan is in dire straits. The same evil fae was responsible for attacking Saoirse and stealing her sealskin. Riordan and his older brother Donal were given the ultimatum to hand over their sister or Riordan. And as the clan leader, Riordan handing himself over means handing over the clan.
So Wade, Ella and the Maguires banded together to deal with the Niall problem.
I’m not too familiar with Western folklore so at first I thought selkies were seahorses. The Maguire siblings actually shift into seals! How cute! The relationship between the Maguire siblings is one of my favorite parts.
A selkie’s most precious possession is their sealskin, which can transform into anything, like a leather jacket for Riordan. Owning a selkie’s sealskin means you can control the selkie. The sealskin is usually gifted to their mates.
Wade was taught a few tricks by one of the toughest negotiators, Sage, fae-trained lawyer, tiger shifter, and wife to billionaire seer Merek. Our boy also inherited most of Patrick’s brash, not-taking-any-of-your-shit, kamikaze style of dealing with a problem.
The difference between Patrick and Wade is Patrick will throw himself directly in the line of fire to save someone despite knowing he might not survive. Wade will throw himself directly in the line of fire to save someone with all the confidence that he won’t even be scratched.
Personally, I thought his characterization here was Gary Stu-ish, like an overpowered anime character. Magic has no effect on him so he’s hardly threatened by anything. If someone becomes too inconvenient, he knows he can just eat them.
He bulldozed his way into high-level fae homes and gets away with disrespect because of his pack’s reputation and when he releases his dragon-y aura, it intimidates people. Also, he’s on a first-name basis with god-tier folks many people feared.
He doesn’t worry about spending millions of dollars bribing Carmen the succubus and her master the psycho vampire Lucien because, very conveniently, Wade has a billionaire in his pack.
So apart from a tragic past, our boy really had it easy, relatively. He even found his mate, Riordan. I loved how the selkie’s calmer energy grounded Wade’s more excitable one.
I miss the days when our heroes went through hoops of fire in their adventures. Here, it’s the Maguire clan that is put through the wringer.
But mini gripe aside, this is the same fast-paced, action-packed, completely engrossing magical romp we loved from Hailey Turner. The sass and humor were spot on and the fight scenes! There’s nothing like the Soulbound fight scenes!
These are easily some of the most jaw-dropping, high-stakes battles between our heroes and pissed-off gods/goddesses with fabulous displays of magic and no-punches-pulled derring-do. The cameos from the folks we loved and loved to hate since the beginning of the series were cherries on top of this spectacular chaos and mayhem.
The blurb said this could be read as a standalone but I recommend delving into the Soulbound main series first since many references and characters were mentioned.
Secondhand Skin is Wade coming into his own. His adventure is filled with excitement, magic, supernatural creatures, and a pack that always has his back. Overall, a rip-roaring addition to the Soulbound universe!
Rating:
4.5 Stars โ perfection is only half a step awaySoundtrack: I Am Your Skin
Artist: The Bravery
Album: Stir The Blood
If you like my content, please consider using my Amazon affiliate links below to buy your copy of Secondhand Skin. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying Amazon purchases at no additional cost to you.
SECONDHAND SKIN: Kindle I 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!
-
BLOG TOUR: Golden Hills Haunting by M.D. Neu (Excerpt)
-
BLOG TOUR: Borderland by Ross Victory (Excerpt & Giveaway)
-
COVER REVEAL: Butcher by Kimberly Knight & Rachel Lyn Adams
