#kj charles

[a-ramblinrose]

JOMP BPC || January 19 || Deserved So Much Better: Proper English by KJ Charles is an amazing book but the cover is painful to look at.

[noahhawthorneauthor]

Hey, the title says it all. We've got back stabbing, and other activities involving the backside ... Okay but some of these are my absolute favorites, like A Power Unbound, Prince and Assassin, and The Lawrence Browne Affair.

[paintedbutton]

I don't really have a lot of authors I look at and say "I want to be like you" but if there is one, it's definitely 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?

[beamorgan]

I've just started a reread of The Secret Lives of Country Gentleman by KJ Charles for my book club and I'd forgotten how much Gareth needs to be hit over the head with a pillow. This man really walked in, took off all his clothes and said "I've got Issues and I'm making them everyone else's problem"

[magickkart]

Nicky was always looking at Toby. Jem knew that because he was always looking at Nicky. ---- Just one of those expositions lines that absolutely devastate me every time.

[overflowingshelf]

March 2025 Reading Recap

I feel like March was the month where I finally found my reading mojo! After months of feeling like it had been taking me forever to finish books, I felt like I was FLYING through books this month. Having one print book, one audiobook, and one digital book in rotation at all times definitely helped. And I think that’s reflected in the fact I’ve read seven books this month – the most since last…

[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)

[dandyreads]

Just finished A Nobleman's Guide to Seducing a Scoundrel. I'm going insane, brb

[thesarahshay]

KJ Charles: "His voice was as light and bitter as a gin and tonic."

Me: Girl you are doing G&Ts wrong.

[cherismomish]

Will Darling/Kim Secretan:

[saltybenchday]

*spoilers* for Death in the Spires by KJ Charles

Of course Charles writes a murder mystery where the ‘bad guy’ and the ‘murderer’ are two different people. By the time we learned for sure who the killer was, I was so firmly on their side it didn’t even matter.

Kj Charles really is a MASTER at her craft. I’ve already read it twice. Highly highly recommend.

[tlfandersson]

I'm obsessed with the portrait sitting scene in Band Sinister.

I took inspiration from shoujo manga, as well as Classical architecture, for the frame around Philip's eyes. Also had some fun with flower symbolism in the last panel.

[pleasedotjpeg]

you know what, maybe i am happy to be alive on this planet because i get to listen to kj charles audiobooks

[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! ✨

[magickkart]

wanted to do a quick stephen redraw, ended up spending an hour and a half on it

i didn't polish it quite as much as the og, simply because my artistic focus has shifted away from the over-polished, over-detailed style. the original has its charms but it is far too stiff for me now. also the outfit was just. so wrong.