Thank you, Emmalita, for this wonderful book and first exposure to KJ Charles! In the 2023 Cannonball Book Exchange I put that I would like any book by KJ Charles and she graciously gifted me The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen.
Kent and London had a good thing going. They met up at the Three Ducks in London for some enthusiastic and anonymous sex. But then Kent needs to do business away from the city and London, familiar with abandonment, decides to shut things down instead of carry what he perceives to be a false hope and be hurt again.
London is actually Gareth Inglis a gentleman and soon owner of the title ‘Sir’ at the death of his father. A father he hasn’t seen since age six. Kent is Josiah (Joss) Doomsday, smuggler and sometimes leader of the Doomsday clan. Their worlds unexpectedly collide again when Gareth moves into the country house that his father owned in the remote Romney Marsh. Home and smuggling grounds of the Doomsday family, defacto protectors of Dymchurch and the Marsh.
Gareth and Joss would like nothing more than to rekindle their romance but life, duties, and uncertain feelings keep them apart. However, their lives quickly intertwine when Gareth and his household is threatened by Bill Sweetwater. Gareth is bewildered by the insinuations that he is withholding information when all he wants to do is study the insects and life of the marsh. Joss is furious that a family under his protection is being menaced. It doesn’t take long for the pair to find their way back to each other. And together they face threats external and internal to bring peace to their homes.
I devoured this book. I could not get enough of Gareth and Joss and was thoroughly drawn in by the mystery of what Gareth’s father was up to. I was as desperate as our protagonists when the sh*t hits the fan in the third act. And overjoyed at their reunion at the end. I highly recommend The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen if you like period piece romances or like the lord and commoner trope. I will definitely be looking into KJ Charles back catalog.