#kj charles

[the-dust-jacket]

Heyer but gayer!

In honor of KJ Charles' new books The Duke At Hazard, a twist on one of Georgette Heyer's most delightfully ridiculous novels, The Foundling, we present to the tonne a selection of queer romance sorted by a few favorites from the queen of Regency Romance.

(Mostly Regency, a few earlier, and occasionally creeping all the way up to Victorian, and please note that most of these are steamy enough to make a Heyer heroine collapse on the fainting couch clutching her vinagraitte!)

Sylvester, or the Wicked Uncle:

Band Sinister

Wanted, a Gentleman

Something Fabulous

Infamous

The Masqueraders:

The Gentle Art of Fortune Hunting

The Perks of Loving a Wallflower

Frederica:

It Takes Two to Tumble

Unmasked by the Marquess

Her Lady to Love

Cotillion:

Infamous

Venetia

Band Sinister

The Ruin of a Rake

Faro's Daughter

The Gentle Art of Fortune Hunting

The Hellion's Waltz

The Society of Gentlemen series

Beauvallet:

Valiant Ladies

Brethren

These Old Shades

The Society of Gentlemen series

Unmasked by the Marquess

Devil's Cub:

The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue

Her Morning Star

The Corinthian:

The Perks of Loving a Wallflower

Wanted, a Gentleman

A Civil Contract

A Lady's Guide to Celestial Mechanics

The Care and Feeding of Waspish Widows

The Society of Gentlemen series

Friday's Child

Band Sinister

The Talisman Ring:

The Queer Principles of Kit Webb

A Thief In the Night

Something Fabulous

The Reluctant Widow:

Trouble

The Lawrence Browne Affair

The Nobleman's Guide to Seducing a Scoundrel

Arabella:

Unmasked by the Marquess

An Island Princess Starts a Scandal

Her Lady to Love

The Unknown Ajax:

The Secret Lives of Country Gentleman and The Nobleman's Guide to Seducing a Scoundrel

What are your favorites?

[oidheadh-con-culainn]

let's be more positive about books for a while! here are some queer historical romance novels that i've been rereading recently that i think do something interesting with making characters feel historical in their mindset and worldview, but are also fairly progressive, diverse queer books that are, frankly, a delight to read

this is by no means exhaustive and to be honest i could put almost anything by cat sebastian or kj charles on a list like this so this is purely the highlights of what i've reread in the past week to take my mind off work, and why i think they're interesting from this specific angle

cat sebastian, the ruin of a rake (turners #3)

this is technically the third in a trilogy but they're only very loosely connected, so you don't need to have read the others if you don't care about knowing who all the background characters are. the others are also good though

why it's interesting: features a character who has had to painstakingly study and learn the rules of polite society in order to claw his way up to respectability, and is now deploying those skills to help another man repair his reputation. shows the complexity of those rules, the social purposes they serve, and the work that goes into living by them, as well as the consequences of breaking them. also explores some of the financial side of aristocracy, and features a character with chronic illness (recurring malaria following repeated infections as a child in india) whose feelings about his illness are very relatable without feeling overly modern.

kj charles, society of gentlemen series.

this trilogy is closely related plot-wise and best read in order. all three explore cross-class romances and characters struggling to reconcile their political views and personal ethics with their desires, in the aftermath of the peterloo massacre, with a strong focus on the political role of the written word. first book is long-lost gentleman raised by seditionists / fashion-minded dandy teaching him to behave in society; second book is tory nobleman submissive / seditious pamphleteer dominant who've been fucking for a year without knowing the other's identity; third book is lord / valet and all the complicated dynamics of consent there with a generous side-helping of crime.

why they're interesting: close attention to the history of political printing and the impact of government censorship and repressive taxes on the freedom of the press; complex ideological disagreements that aren't handwaved as unimportant; examination of trust, consent, and social responsibility across class differences and in situations with problematic power dynamics; most of the characters are progressive for their time without feeling like they have modern attitudes. the second book, a seditious affair, deals most strongly with the revolutionary politics side of things, but all tackle it to some extent.

kj charles, band sinister.

look i'm probably biased because this might be my favourite KJC. it's a standalone about a pair of siblings: the sister wrote a gothic novel heavily inspired by their mysterious and scandalous neighbour whose older brother had an affair with their mum (causing scandal); the brother is a classics nerd. the sister breaks her leg on a ride through their neighbour's estate and can't be moved until she heals so they both have to stay at the house and find out if the neighbour is really as scandalous as he seems.

why it's interesting: discussion of atheism and new ideas about science and creation (very shocking to the brother, who is the viewpoint character); details of agriculture and estate management via main LI's attempt to grow sugar beet, as well as the economics of sugar (including references to slavery); "unexpurgated" latin and greek classics as queer reference points for a character who nevertheless hasn't quite figured out he's queer; material consequences of society scandal

bonus: wonderful sibling dynamic and a diverse cast including a portugese jewish character, which i don't think i've seen in a book before

i will add to this list as i continue to reread both of their backlists! (bc i have read them all enough times and in close enough succession that they blur together in my head unless i've read them very recently)

[magickkart]

Lord Crane and Stephen Day from “A Charm of Magpies” by KJ Charles

[bunnyloupe]

Please go read The Magpie Lord by KJ Charles i am on my knees. Stephen Day is an angy pocket-sized magical bottom and Lucien has a filthy mouth. Also Stephen solves murders while Lucien just looks pretty.

Want a sketch like this? Commission me on VGen! ✨

[cherismomish]

Will Darling/Kim Secretan:

[hussyknee]

KJ Charles has breathtaking range. And it's all so organically diverse and vivid and excellently paced and clever.

Doomsday books -- Smugglers of Romney Marsh in 1810–20s in the wake of the Napoleonic Wars.

Society of Gentlemen -- Clash between the royalist establishment and radical republicans in the last years of Regency.

Sins of the Cities -- Small businesses and trade of the Industrial Revolution in London's immigrant quarter (taxidermy of all things!), Victorian spiritualists and musical hall artists in the 1870s.

Lillywhite Boys -- London criminal underworld, bluestocking feminists, private detectives, colonial gem trade, the rise of industrialists in the 1890s, and pre-Victorian folk Christmas traditions.

Charm of Magpies -- Shanghai traders and Chinese immigrant communities of London in the late 1800s.

England World -- Nascent British intelligence agencies and new technology in the shadow of the Boer War in the 1890s + integration of Indian nobles from its last kingdoms with elite British society + classism and xenophobia in British antisemitism

Will Darling Adventures -- The reverberating social, political and economic changes from the aftermath of WWI and further development of intelligence organisations during the 1920s.

Just finished Band Sinister, which touched on Hellfire Clubs, the emergence of new medicine, atheism, and challenge Creationism from the fields of natural science, and Black British life before abolition. Currently reading Unfit to Print, which seems to be about London's underground pornography trade with character focus on the shared plight of Black and Indian immigrants from the colonies and their mixed race offspring. Charles's body of work really brings home that the 19th century was a full hundred years long and the distinct character of every decade. And that the real and authentic history of Britain had people of every race, religion, colour, disability, neurodiversity, gender and sexuality who have been deliberately erased by the same power structures that kept them disenfranchised and ghettoed back then.

[werewolfjism]

One of my fav "extended banter" scenes in The Will Darling seriess by KJ Charles

“Why the blazes you’re called Kim when your name is Arthur.”

“My name, since you raise the topic, is Arthur Aloysius Kimberley de Brabazon Secretan. What would you do in my place?”

“Leave the country,” Will said wholeheartedly. “You poor bastard, you never stood a chance.” 

.....A few eventful happenings and a lot of gay later....

“I want you to fuck me till I forget my own name.”

“What, all of it?”

“Take that as a hint.”

[noahhawthorneauthor]

I'm not ashamed to say that audiobooks saved me this past month. August was long and weird, but every story was a hit so that's a plus.

[ruthryry]

Holy fuck those magpie books are something, huh?

[aurorawest]

Summer Reading Update (part 1)

Teach the Torches to Burn by Caleb Roehrig - 4.75/5 stars

This was a really well done retelling of Romeo and Juliet. I read another book from the Remixed Classics series, Dear Henry, and while that one was also good, it felt like it adhered too slavishly to The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, so sometimes things seemed to be happening only because they happened in the original. And I haven't actually read the original book, it was just...easy to tell. Teach the Torches to Burn never felt like that, and I loved how it fleshed out so many of the characters from the play.

You Should Be So Lucky by Cat Sebastian - 5/5 stars

I feel like tumblr sings this one's praises enough that I don't really have to, but—everyone should read this. Everyone should read all of Cat Sebastian's books. I think I liked this one better than We Could Be So Good, but that could just be because I've found myself becoming more and more of a sucker for sports romances.

Unhallowed by Jordan L Hawk - 4.75/5 stars

Sad to say goodbye to the Whyborne and Griffin series, but I already love this spinoff!

Soul of Ash by HL Moore - 3.75/5 stars

Crow's Fate by Kim Fielding - 3.75/5 stars

The Sleeping Soldier by Aster Glenn Gray - 5/5 stars

I sound like a broken record re: Aster Glenn Gray, but please read her books. If you like Cat Sebastian's mid-century romances (like You Should Be So Lucky!) you like Aster Glenn Gray. This one is ostensibly a Sleeping Beauty retelling, but one where the sleeper actually sleeps for 100 years. In this case, it's a Union soldier who is put in an enchanted sleep in 1865 and wakes up in 1965 and oh my god, it's so good. It examines racism, it examines toxic masculinity, it examines homophobia, and how same-sex platonic affection became taboo. I'm pretty sure this woman has never written a bad book, but this may be her best.

Alec by Kaje Harper - 3.75/5 stars

Artemis by Andy Weir - 3.75/5 stars

Oak King Holly King by Sebastian Nothwell - 4.75/5 stars

I loved this one! There are so many books about Faerie and they can be pretty hit or miss for me, but this one struck just the right balance of otherworldly, inhuman creatures and characters I could root for. Shrike and Wren were lovely.

Imperfect Illusions by Vanora Lawless - DNF at pg 56

Orchestrated Love by AJ Buchanan - DNF at pg 1

Razorblade Tears by SA Cosby - 4.25/5 stars

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern - 5/5 stars (reread)

The Only Light Left Burning by Erik J Brown - 5/5 stars

Excellent sequel about what happens after you make it to the last bastion of civilization after the apocalypse.

Unwieldy Creatures by Addie Tsai - DNF at pg 12

A Nobleman's Guide to Seducing a Scoundrel by KJ Charles - 5/5 stars

Oh man. This may have displaced the Will Darling Adventures as my favorite KJ Charles book. Wonderful MCs, A+ side character arcs, and villains you really loved to hate. I rambled on a lot about this book to my wife after I finished it.

Stars in Your Eyes by Kacen Callender - DNF at pg 156

His Lordship's Secret by Samantha SoRelle - 3.75/5 stars

Us, Et Cetera by Kit Vincent - 5/5 stars

Cinderella retelling with androids but Christ on a bike was this a painful read. Really, really well done. Highly recommended.

Charming Young Man by Eliot Schrefer - 5/5 stars

My 5 star rating diverges pretty sharply from the average Storygraph rating for this book, and I'm not sure why, other than maybe people thinks it's PrObLeMaTic. It was definitely not a super happy book, though it ends on a good note (that's a pun btw!). I thought it was a great book about a period that isn't often written about (1890s Paris) with a fascinating protagonist (who was a real person).

Dark Heir by CS Pacat - 5/5 stars

It's a CS Pacat book; it's the sequel to Dark Rise; obvs I loved it. I don't understand why this series is shelved under YA except that Pacat's publisher thinks more people will buy them. This series is the gay Lord of the Rings you always wanted and somehow is an even slower burn than Captive Prince.

Of Knights and Books and Falling in Love by Rita A Rubin - DNF at pg 50

Cover Story by Valerie Gomez - DNF at pg 176

Letters to Half Moon Street by Sarah Wallace - 4/5 stars

[a-ramblinrose]

JOMP BPC || April 1 || Books and Chocolate:  Slippery Creatures by KJ Charles

[mywingsareonwheels]

The stratification (in marketing at least) between "grimdark" crime fiction (inc books) and "cosy" crime fiction grates on me sometimes, because I like nothing that's at either extreme. I don't want relentless pain (and I find both organised crime and serial killer plots pretty boring unless they're really well-handled), and I don't want cheerfully callous "ooh, the bodies are piling up! how inconvenient! have another slice of Victoria sponge!".

I want humanity and compassion and humour and treating deaths like they do actually matter even when they're of awful people, thank-you-so-very-much. I want the satisfaction of a puzzle solved. I want an awareness by the author that yes the human fascination with murder mysteries (going right right back to Oedipus Tyrannus etc.) is kind of odd, while also not apologising for it. I want characters I warm to and care about, even if I sometimes want to throw things at them. I want a predictable structure to some extent, because it helps my autistic brain when I'm having a rough time (see also romances!). If at all possible I like at least some awareness that there is structural oppression in the world and that capital punishment is Not Great even if by the very nature of the genre (especially in police procedurals) I never expect murder mysteries to have the same politics or morality as me[1].

Some of the murder mysteries/crime fiction I do really love: the Cadfael books, Endeavour, the Lord Peter Wimsey books, the Ruth Galloway mysteries, the Discworld Watch books, the Ian Rutledge mysteries, and every time KJ Charles or T Kingfisher get a bit murder mystery on us. And so on and so forth. There are a good number! And a fair variety in tone in all of these they just... still all operate in that blessed middle space between grimdark and cosy, and involve Caring About People, and I just wish there were even more. <3

(Do recommend your own favourites if you wish!) [1] In real life, I am very much of the opinion that ACAB, that prison is a horror, that capital punishment is one of the greatest evils there is, and that retributive justice in general is wrong and unhelpful; those views affect which murder mysteries I like and how I read/watch/listen to them to some extent but, well, fiction is not reality. And being aware of that gap helps me to keep true to my views while still enjoying stories that go very much the other way!

[avuncularwalt]

Was living my life normally until I remembered:

Kim promised Will he wouldn’t lie again.

And he tells him he loves him BECAUSE IT WAS BECOMING A LIE OF OMISSION.

Something poetic about vulnerability and leaps of faith here

[magickkart]

Listened to the first audiobook of the Will Darling adventures and enjoyed it more than I did when I was reading it for the first time. That happens a lot with KJ Charles books, so I shouldn't have been surprised. What I love most about the writing though has always been the description of Kim as looking like a nervous greyhound. Couldn't really get past it. I tried my best to make him look as oblong and tense as those dogs look. Whereas Will is just. Some Blond English Guy. What a pair.

[haveyoureadthisqueerbook]

[snotsloth]

I am currently reading book 2 of the Will Darling Adventures, The Sugared Game by KJ Charles, and I want to put Kim Secretan between my teeth and shake him back and forth like a dog with a mangled chew toy. He is so character. This man is so profoundly traumatized and fucked up and he lashes out in the most horrible, beautiful, cruel ways. His walls have walls, and moats, and spikes. He's like a porcupine where every spine is a different defense mechanism. He's like if Astarion could actually make and execute plans with more than two steps to them. And yet. AND YET! Will can say something as simple as, "Nothing's gone like I thought it would since 1914. And all I can think about is you," and Kim just melts into sentimental goo. I am screaming. I am climbing the walls. I am not okay!

Actual footage of me in my hotel room, reading this fucking book:

Meme frame from @wendydoodles