Hee. Heeeheeeheee. Oh my.

So, this is my first foray into the world of m/m romances. I, like a lot of young women, was deep, deep into the fanfiction scene years ago. What I had no idea was that there were actually the man on man equivalent to Harlequin romances, which may or may not be a guilty pleasure of mine. (Hey, they're 69c at Value Village. Also, to the person who made the pulpy romances 69 cents: lol)

Anyways, on to the book.

FHASKHFFHSLJLFHLGSH.

Ahem.

Seriously though, this book was made for me. Uptight ex-military British aristocrat going-as-far-as-wearing-a-green-carnation dark eyed poet? Meow. Both Curtis and da Silva are investigating happenings around Peakholme Manor. The bump into each other in the course of their investigations, and decide to work together. Sparks fly, romance ensues, and of course, so does the loving. Expertly written, the characters came alive and one could definitely picture the whole story in their head ;). I thoroughly enjoyed my first venture into the world of m/m romances, and will definitely be back.

One final note: ENORMOUS props to K.J. Charles for using a piece of period speech that I rarely see even in mainstream, "proper" novels: she put the apostrophe in front of 'bus. Seriosuly, that's worth like, 5 stars there, in and of itself.

I came for the sex, but I found a world of well-written romance, drama and action. 5 stars. ( )

I tend to shy away from romance because I like there to be more to a book than a love story, but I’m happy to make an exception for KJ Charles. A well-researched background, a real plot, funny dialogue and characters I can care about – Think of England has all of these. ( )

This took me a little bit of time to really get into, but by the end I felt very engaged, and pleased, and quite fond of the main characters. I like them for each other a lot. ( )

I love it when I can't tell how the plot will go! I guessed some things, but not others, and that's a real treat for a lifelong reader. Daniel da Silva is so different from Archie Curtis in so many ways that, as Archie comes to understand where he's misjudged, I got more and more invested. I am a sucker for heroes, all kinds of heroes. Body differences are fun, class differences are merely hurdles, and on and on.

I loved this to the extent that I'm even side-eyeing any reviews under four stars. That's atypical - not every book is for every reader. Usually. I really really want further adventures with this pair! ( )

Loved this! No one writes historicals quite like K.J. Charles. Most of her works are solid 5-star reads for me, and this one was no different. Wonderful cast of well-drawn characters, great mystery, and lovely opposites-attract romance! All of these, coupled with her amazing writing, made me a very happy camper. ( )