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The Turner Series: The Soldier’s Scoundrel – Cat Sebastian
A scoundrel who lives in the shadows
Jack Turner grew up in the darkness of London’s slums, born into a life of crime and willing to do anything to keep his belly full and his siblings safe. Now he uses the tricks and schemes of the underworld to help those who need the kind of assistance only a scoundrel can provide. His distrust of the nobility runs deep and his services do not extend to the gorgeous high-born soldier who personifies everything Jack will never be.
A soldier untarnished by vice
After the chaos of war, Oliver Rivington craves the safe predictability of a gentleman’s life-one that doesn’t include sparring with a ne’er-do-well who flouts the law at every turn. But Jack tempts Oliver like no other man has before. Soon his yearning for the unapologetic criminal is only matched by Jack’s pleasure in watching his genteel polish crumble every time they’re together.
Two men only meant for each other
I first met Jack Turner as Georgie’s brother from The Lawrence Browne Affair and his sardonic comments to Georgie were really funny. Rewind to The Soldier’s Scoundrel where Jack first met Oliver who was in a state because he thought Jack was an unsavory character swindling his sister, Lady Charlotte.Their chemistry and banter, the way their relationship developed were a pleasure to watch as it unfolds. Tried as he might, the unsmiling, snarky Jack couldn’t help but be charmed by Oliver, gentleman, ex-soldier and expert curricle driver. The two endeavored to solve the mystery of Jack’s client’s missing letters with Oliver tagging along mainly because he was bored and wants to keep seeing Jack. Jack, for most parts, was in some sort of denial about his feelings and it was fun to see Oliver slowly win his heart. Oliver was made out to be kind of naive and inexperienced so it was very satisfying when he gets the upper hand.
This Regency romance has all the right ingredients: well-developed and interesting characters, intrigues, mystery and class conflict. The enemies-to-lovers trope was done convincingly. The writing has that typical breezy CS trademark of humor, fluff and food. I confess, I put off reading this because of the terrible, terrible cover. I’ve always wondered why they usually feel compelled to put bare-chested men on the cover of most MM books when beautiful clothes on beautiful people would do the trick much more effectively, at least to me that is.
Cases in point: these random male models as Oliver and Jack
Still, I regret not reading this sooner because this Cat Sebastian debut is every word as brilliant as the reviews say.
Rating:
5 Stars – absolutely perfect
Soundtrack: I Will Possess Your Heart
Artist: Death Cab for Cutie
Album: Narrow Stairs(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29875088-the-soldier-s-scoundrel)
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The Turner Series: The Soldier’s Scoundrel – Cat Sebastian
A scoundrel who lives in the shadows
Jack Turner grew up in the darkness of London’s slums, born into a life of crime and willing to do anything to keep his belly full and his siblings safe. Now he uses the tricks and schemes of the underworld to help those who need the kind of assistance only a scoundrel can provide. His distrust of the nobility runs deep and his services do not extend to the gorgeous high-born soldier who personifies everything Jack will never be.
A soldier untarnished by vice
After the chaos of war, Oliver Rivington craves the safe predictability of a gentleman’s life-one that doesn’t include sparring with a ne’er-do-well who flouts the law at every turn. But Jack tempts Oliver like no other man has before. Soon his yearning for the unapologetic criminal is only matched by Jack’s pleasure in watching his genteel polish crumble every time they’re together.
Two men only meant for each other
I first met Jack Turner as Georgie’s brother from The Lawrence Browne Affair and his sardonic comments to Georgie were really funny. Rewind to The Soldier’s Scoundrel where Jack first met Oliver who was in a state because he thought Jack was an unsavory character swindling his sister, Lady Charlotte.Their chemistry and banter, the way their relationship developed were a pleasure to watch as it unfolds. Tried as he might, the unsmiling, snarky Jack couldn’t help but be charmed by Oliver, gentleman, ex-soldier and expert curricle driver. The two endeavored to solve the mystery of Jack’s client’s missing letters with Oliver tagging along mainly because he was bored and wants to keep seeing Jack. Jack, for most parts, was in some sort of denial about his feelings and it was fun to see Oliver slowly win his heart. Oliver was made out to be kind of naive and inexperienced so it was very satisfying when he gets the upper hand.
This Regency romance has all the right ingredients: well-developed and interesting characters, intrigues, mystery and class conflict. The enemies-to-lovers trope was done convincingly. The writing has that typical breezy CS trademark of humor, fluff and food. I confess, I put off reading this because of the terrible, terrible cover. I’ve always wondered why they usually feel compelled to put bare-chested men on the cover of most MM books when beautiful clothes on beautiful people would do the trick much more effectively, at least to me that is.
Cases in point: these random male models as Oliver and Jack
Still, I regret not reading this sooner because this Cat Sebastian debut is every word as brilliant as the reviews say.
Rating:
5 Stars – absolutely perfect
Soundtrack: I Will Possess Your Heart
Artist: Death Cab for Cutie
Album: Narrow Stairs(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29875088-the-soldier-s-scoundrel)
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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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REVIEW: Seven Summer Nights by Harper Fox
Seven Summer Nights – Harper Fox
It’s 1946, and the dust of World War Two has just begun to settle. When famous archaeologist Rufus Denby returns to London, his life and reputation are as devastated as the city around him.
He’s used to the most glamorous of excavations, but can’t turn down the offer of a job in rural Sussex. It’s a refuge, and the only means left to him of scraping a living. With nothing but his satchel and a mongrel dog he’s rescued from a bomb site, he sets out to investigate an ancient church in the sleepy village of Droyton Parva.
It’s an ordinary task, but Droyton is in the hands of a most extraordinary vicar. The Reverend Archie Thorne has tasted action too, as a motorcycle-riding army chaplain, and is struggling to readjust to the little world around him. He’s a lonely man, and Rufus’s arrival soon sparks off in him a lifetime of repressed desires.
Rufus is a combat case, amnesiac and shellshocked. As he and Archie begin to unfold the archaeological mystery of Droyton, their growing friendship makes Rufus believe he might one day recapture his lost memories of the war, and find his way back from the edge of insanity to love.
It’s summer on the South Downs, the air full of sunshine and enchantment. And Rufus and Archie’s seven summer nights have just begun…
Seven Summer Nights is a standalone novel featuring a disgraced archaeologist and an atheist vicar. The story could be split into two. One thread follows Rufus’ struggle with PTSD, his endearing friendship with Archie, Archie’s rescue and Rufus and Archie’s awakening.
That rescue scene in particular had me crossing my fingers and praying really hard for Rufus and Archie. Theirs was one of the most wholesome relationship I have seen so far and a delightful combination of insta-love and slow-burn. They were so kind to each other from the beginning, there was never any moment of unnecessary drama between them. The second thread was archaeology and witch craft. From the island of Sabros to the rural village of Droyton, mysterious labyrinth and mysterious women kept their secrets for centuries. Rufus and Archie uncovered these mysteries to reveal tragedy and bloodshed. But even with the cruelties, the book was overflowing with kindness and humanity. I felt sad that Archie had to give up his post. He was one of the kindest, most humane persons I have ever come across with.
Women were one of the most significant aspects of the book. I love the rest of the cast. Mrs. Nettles, the level headed, very practical housekeeper, Drusilla, the mystical priestess, Elspeth, the precocious changeling, even the difficult Mrs. Trigg. Together, they form a sort of network or sisterhood that went back to millennia before Christianity and patriarchy took over. The antagonists were effective as well. I felt a significant amount of schadenfreude when that ass of a brigadier had his Wizard of Oz-like comeuppance.
Clocking at around 16 hours, the book was, admittedly, a tad too long but god was it beautiful! At the hands of another, less talented writer, the pace might have been called glacial but Harper Fox imbued the story with so much charm and appeal that I was swept along its languid pace. That summertime ambiance, the easy camaraderie, the small town quaintness, I was effortlessly transported to post-war rural Sussex. Living in a small rural town myself, I could easily relate to both the simple, hospitable, kind-heartedness and the religious narrow mindedness of small town folks.
I also have a special shout out to the narrator. Chris Clogg’s calm, measured delivery and the voices he created for the characters were perfect, especially Rufus’ mild-mannered, very polite and proper Englishman tone.
I think Seven Summer Nights is one of Harper Fox’s best books. Soft, surreal and pure with tight, suspenseful episodes that left me on the edge of my seat. I am not familiar with any archaeological expeditions of the 1940s so I am not sure how close to the facts the details are, but the mystery combined with the romance, post-war struggles and archaeological adventures make a potent brew.
Rating:
4.5 – perfection is only half a step awaySoundtrack: Sparks
Artist: Beach House
Album: Depression Cherry(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33116450-seven-summer-nights)
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The Community: Oversight – Santino Hassell
Spoiler Alert! The following blurb contains spoilers for Insight, book one of The Community.
Holden Payne has it all … or so he thinks. As heir to the founder of the Community—an organization that finds, protects, and manages psychics—he’s rich, powerful, and treated like royalty. But after a series of disappearances and murders rock the Community, he’s branded the fall guy for the scandal and saddled with a babysitter.
Sixtus Rossi is a broad-shouldered, tattooed lumbersexual with a man-bun and a steely gaze. He’s also an Invulnerable—supposedly impervious to both psychic abilities and Holden’s charms. It’s a claim Holden takes as a challenge. Especially if sleeping with Six may help him learn whether the Community had more to do with the disappearances than they claimed.
As Holden uncovers the truth, he also finds himself getting in deep with the man sent to watch him. His plan to seduce Six for information leads to a connection so intense that some of Six’s shields come crashing down. And with that comes a frightening realization: Holden has to either stand by the Community that has given him everything, or abandon his old life to protect the people he loves.
Last we know of Holden, he left a cut-off message on Nate’s voicemail begging for help to look for Chase. Oversight covers the aftermath of the Evolution debacle and after Nate and Trent left. Holden was assigned a handler by his father. The handler was Sixtus, a former juvenile delinquent psychic turn security guard for The Farm. Six was an Invulnerable, a psychic with an impenetrable shield, placed in the position of Holden’s babysitter as he was supposedly immune to psychic influence and seduction. Well, we all know where this is going.
I could definitely say this is a much better book than Insight. First, there were less info-dumping and more character development.
On the surface, Holden seems to be a typical privileged rich man’s son but he proved to be smarter than he looks.
As he realized the less than savory side of the CW, he struggled to reconcile what he know of The Farm and The Com and the reality of everything. Nonetheless, it was clear from the start that his heart was in the right place even if he didn’t know it until Six told him. Six was an enigma at first and
I didn’t know how Holden and Six’s combination would work but Holden’s a seductive little bastard and Six has a secret connection to Holden so it did, quite magnificently.
The pacing was fast and the writing was tight. The only let down was at the rescue scenes where I felt they were talking too much it was a wonder they didn’t all get caught. That and there was not much super power action.
With Santino Hassell dropping X-men references here and there, I am still hoping for an epic psychic vs psychic showdown. Come on, don’t waste all that cool superpowers, Santino. Jasper, the super villain did make an appearance. The dude just ooze so much evil he left a cold blast of arctic winds in his wake. I also think Greg Bordeaux knocked it again out of the park with his narration, especially that short scene with Chase.
Oversight was a well-written take on psychics and a vast improvement on the first book. It ended with a typical book 2 cliffhanger but has nonetheless a nicely resolved conclusion. I think this is why people love Santino Hassell in general and The Community series in particular. Highly recommended!
Rating:
4 Stars – minor quibbles but I loved it to bitsSoundtrack: Reflections
Artist: Cast
Album: All Change(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30364801-oversight)
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Cronin’s Key: Cronin’s Key II – N.R. Walker
History isn’t always what it seems.
With the battle of Egypt behind them, Alec and Cronin are enjoying the thrill of new love. Though fate doesn’t wait long before throwing them back into the world of weird.
They know Alec’s blood is special, though its true purpose still eludes them. And given Alec’s inability to be changed into a vampire, Cronin is free to drink from him at will. But the ramifications of drinking such powerful blood starts a ripple effect.
With the help of Jorge, a disturbing vampire-child with the gift of foresight, Alec and Cronin face a new kind of war. This time their investigations lead them to the borders of China and Mongolia—but it’s not what lies in the pits beneath that worries Alec.
It’s the creator behind it all.
In the underground depths of China, amidst a war with the Terracotta Army, they will find out just what the Key is, and what Alec means to the vampire world.
Well, it went downhill, didn’t it. Book 1 charmed me with major USTs, Gaelic endearments, multitude of accents and Egyptology. Book 2, unfortunately, turned into a boring fuckfest between Cronin and Alec. It didn’t help that the other vampires were listening in all the time and Eiji kept laughing at them. If book 1 was well-paced if info-dumpy, here I could feel the drag. So much so that I no longer care about the big mystery of Alec’s blood. All the Gaelic endearments in the world couldn’t save this one for me. DNF.
Rating
2 Stars – it’s a struggle to finish the damn bookSoundtrack: Every Weekday
Artist: Camera Obscura
Album: Desire Lines(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25429279-cronin-s-key-ii)
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Fence #4 – C.S. Pacat & Johanna the Mad
Nicholas begins to overthink everything as he struggles to prove he deserves his place at Kings Row.
Poor Nicolas!
Rating:
4 Stars – minor quibbles but I loved it to bits
Soundtrack: To Darkness
Artist: Mumford & Songs, Laura Marling & Dharohar Project
Album:(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38090191-fence-4)
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Innocent: The Innocent Auction – Victoria Sue
London 1810.
Their love was a death sentence.
Deacon, Viscount Carlisle, was aware of the slums and gin-lanes of London. Just as he was aware of the underground traffic that furnished the brothels and bath houses with human innocents. He was also aware that the so-called justice system would hang the accused without much of an attempt at a defense, unless the unfortunate had deep pockets to pay for it.
He just hadn’t expected to be directly involved in any of it.
It started with a plea for help and ended with forbidden love, the love between a Viscount and a stable-boy. An impossible love and a guarantee of the hangman’s noose.
Will Deacon fight for Tom? Will he risk the death sentence and take that fight from the stately halls of his English mansion to the horrors of Newgate Prison and the slums of London?
Or will he realize that if he doesn’t, death will be a welcome end to the loneliness of the sentence he is already living?
As somebody with boring brown eyes surrounded by more brown eyes, descriptions of eye and hair color always fascinate me. My only first hand encounter with natural blue eyes is the right eye of my cat with heterochromia. Tom’s eyes was called stunning several times and if my cat’s eye is anything to go by, it might be quite stunning indeed. Face claims below:
This be tom
This be Deacon
Deacon has dark hair and grey eyes. Nice!
Theirs is a fluffy romance between an viscount, Deacon, who saved a young boy, Tom, from the innocent auctions, a highly illegal event that puts up the young and innocent for sale. Little did he know the boy would grow up to be the love of his life. Tom who was then sent directly to the countryside, was good with horses and worked for Deacon in his estate. They haven’t seen each other for five years since the rescue. When Deacon’s father, the earl, died, Deacon who inherited the title, visited the estate and there met Tom again. Both felt the strong attraction between them. There ensues the internal and external struggles of the two main characters with societal pressures and class conflict warring with personal desires. To add more complication to the mix, Deacon’s cousin and best friend, Beau, was caught in flagrante with the young son of the Duke of Cambridgeshire, a very influential and powerful figure. Beau was thrown into Newgate Prison and thereafter sentenced into pillory. Tom and Deacon tried to help him all the while trying to avoid scandal.
Major points for the atmosphere and historical details. Overflowing commodes, naked prisoners sleeping in dirty straw, the greasing of palms and exchange of coin for a slight change of accommodations…Regency era Newgate Prison was a very, very dismal affair. Poor Beau! His was the horror story every Regency era gay guy keeps in mind as they stumble into their clandestine affairs. Hence, Their love was a death sentence.
The story was the standard historical romance fare with the M/M angle thrown in but what I really like about it is that instead of the usual, arrogant sharped tongued rake, we get a newly minted earl who’s genuinely nice, kind, watches out for his own servants and rescues people. And while the writing lacked the humor and sharpness I always expect from British writers and the resolution was wrapped up a little too neatly in a tidy bow, it still has enough moments of fluff and drama to keep me interested and go for the second book.
I think this is a nice introduction to Victoria Sue’s work. Not quite as outstanding as I expected but definitely a lot of potential.
Rating:
3.5 Stars – that place between like and loveSoundtrack: Stepson
Artist: Foals
Album: Holy Fire(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35274455-the-innocent-auction)
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Tyack & Frayne: Tinsel Fish – Harper Fox
Christmas in a Cornish seaside town, bright lights and a hot new romance to ward off the winter storms… What could be finer? But Gideon and Lee’s first festive season together is shockingly interrupted when Lee tries to rid a client’s home of a malevolent presence. The ritual goes wrong, and in its aftermath Lee is strangely altered. As well as dealing with the changes in his lover, Gideon has a sinister thread to follow, linking the haunted house with disappearances among the homeless people of Falmouth.
Can love withstand what looks like a case of possession? As the darkest night of the year comes down, Gideon finds himself locked in a battle to restore his lover’s soul.
Someday, I’ll go to London, Manchester, Edinburgh, Cornwall and all these places I have read about and make a pilgrimage to sites mentioned in books like Camlet Moat, Gretna Green or a desolate moor.
The second book of the Tyack and Frayne series had Lee attempt to do a sort of cleansing and ended up not being himself. The result was a riotous scene where he picked a fight at a restaurant and ended up being hauled away like a sack of potatoes by Gideon. That was the best and one of the very few highlights of the book for me. The rest of the book was flat and uninteresting but those into steam would be glad that Lee and Gid had a lot of smexy time together.
Another thing of note is the appearance of Gideon’s brother Ezekiel and Lee ‘s meeting with Gideon’s parents. There was also a nice follow up on the Kemp kid’s situation and Isolde had more page time but all of these were not enough to save the book. I think I couldn’t be arsed to read the rest of the series anymore but a visit to Cornwall is still in order.
Rating:
2 Stars – it’s a struggle to finish the damn book
Soundtrack: Faded from the Winter
Artist: Iron & Wine
Album: The Creek Drank the Cradle(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18949069-tinsel-fish)
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The Community: Insight – Santino Hassell
Growing up the outcast in an infamous family of psychics, Nate Black never learned how to control his empath abilities. Then after five years without contact, his estranged twin turns up dead in New York City. The claim of suicide doesn’t ring true, especially when a mysterious vision tells Nate it was murder. Now his long-hated gift is his only tool to investigate.
Hitching from his tiny Texas town, Nate is picked up by Trent, a gorgeous engineer who thrives on sarcasm and skepticism. The heat that sparks between them is instant and intense, and Nate ends up trusting Trent with his secrets—something he’s never done before. But once they arrive in the city, the secrets multiply when Nate discovers an underground supernatural community, more missing psychics, and frightening information about his own talent.
Nate is left questioning his connection with Trent. Are their feelings real, or are they being propelled by abilities Nate didn’t realize he had? His fear of his power grows, but Nate must overcome it to find his brother’s killer and trust himself with Trent’s heart.
My first Santino Hassell book sadly didn’t blow me away. For the most part, it felt like nothing was happening. What saved the book was the awesome voice acting and the dialogue. Hassell wrote some of the most natural sounding dialogues I have ever come across with and Greg Bordeaux did an outstanding job acting them out. It felt like I was listening to actual conversations between real people when Nate and Trent were talking. Chase’s emotional outburst was delivered in the most gut-wrenching clenched teeth delivery ever and with these, I would have gladly given the book 5 stars.
However, there is much left to be desired. Insight is the first book of The Community series and it introduces Nate Black from the notorious Black family, all psychics and all slightly unhinged. Nate works in a liquor store where he first met Trent. The attraction was instantaneous which would have worked had this part been explained a little more. All throughout the book, Trent was just this highly intelligent supportive friend/boyfriend figure and not much else. The chemistry between him and Nate worked for me somehow but it would have been great if Trent had been more fleshed out.
The story was part mystery, part romance and mostly paranormal thriller. Nate received visions of his brother’s death in New York and he set out to hitchhike with Trent all the way to the city. There he met the members of Theo’s band and Evolution’s staff, a club for queer psychics where he discovered The Community, an organization that supposedly takes in and assists disenfranchised psychics like his brother. Soon he noticed the suspicious and unsavory side of The Com and tried to uncover how all of these are related to Theo’s death. These parts involved a lot of talks and explanations about The Com and psychics in general and not much action so it was a bit of a drag. There were a lot of cool powers mentioned and I was over-expecting some awesome shounen anime type battles but only a few of these powers were seen in action so meh.
It was also easy to guess who’s who and what’s what so the big reveal was not as shocking as it’s suppose to be. However, Jasper wins as the creepiest supervillain of the series even though we haven’t met him in person yet and I can’t wait for the showdown between him and Chase (book 3 maybe?).
I will tag this one as a case of first book syndrome and hope that Holden’s and Chase’s books fare much better.
Rating:
2.5 Stars – far from hate but not quite a likeSoundtrack: Instant Crush
Artist: Daft Punk feat. Julian Casablancas
Album: Random Access Memory(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30364791-insight)
