pickThe last person Gareth expected to see walk into the courtroom while he testified against a Marsh smuggler is Kent, his anonymous fling from London. Only Kent isn‘t who he appears, he‘s actually Joss, the leader of the Doomsday smuggling family.
When a competing smuggling family threatens Gareth, Joss extends his protection and help in figuring out what Gareth‘s late father was tangled up in.
pickI thought this was going to be fluff. I had no idea it would be so charming, funny, romantic, and have some mystery with a couple dashes of danger. Two gentleman in the early 19th century England lovers to enemies and back to lovers. There were times I was reading this at work and was cursing the clock that I had to go back from break already. Pick!
pickA perfectly satisfying read. I loved the balance of drama, humor, romance, and character building in this one, and the story is a lot of fun. My favorite part was definitely Sir Gareth‘s interest in the various fauna (especially insects) of the Marsh. I would definitely read this again. #LGBTQ
pickI don't normally read spicy books, but this one came highly recommended by an indie bookseller so I gave it a try. It was half adventure, half romance, like a really good episode of "Poldark," if Ross Poldark was gay.
This was my #bookspin for June.
pickDO NOT READ THIS ON AUDIO! I absolutely hated the way the narrator read this one. The speech was so stilted and odd. I sped it up to 2.2x just so it sounded like normal speech. It‘s set in Kent and the accents were fine. It was just the way he spoke. I almost bailed but I really liked the story.
#thingsincommon (bit of a stretch) - LGBTQ relationships
pickRomance, adventure and treachery amongst 19th century smugglers and landed gentry on Romney Marsh. As usual, reading KJ Charles is a lot of fun. #Romantsy
Edited because I just read this described as “a pulse-quickening queer Poldark” and that needs to be shared🤣
pickKJ Charles nails the often tricky lovers-to-enemies-to-lovers transition in her latest historical romance. She develops solid chemistry between Joss and Gareth, lays real obstacles in their path, and shows us exactly how they work through the circumstances that keep them at odds. No shortcuts allowed. There‘s growth on both sides, coupled with plenty of emotion and a durned good mystery with high stakes for both parties. ⬇️
Did some #audiobaking, partly because I need brown butter cupcakes for a thing and partly so I could keep listening to the tagged book. Narrator Martyn Swain sometimes takes odd pauses, but they‘ve become way less noticeable now I‘m invested in the story, and I‘m enjoying his performance otherwise. He does a great variety of voices for this baronet/smuggler lovers-to-enemies-to-lovers romance set in Kent.
I just knew a book with a cover this detailed would have something for me! March #ISpyBingo, a snake. In the grass, I might add!
Not one of my favorites by Charles but definitely an enjoyable, suspenseful, angsty read, with a great sense of time and place.
@TheAromaofBooks
Exciting times: I got approved for my first NetGalley audiobook, and it‘s KJ Charles‘s latest! I can‘t wait to dive in tomorrow. I love her stuff and it‘s been ages since I had one of her books on audio.
The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen | 
