Scan barcode
britgbrewer's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
a_reader_obsessed's review
3.0
3.5 Stars
Charles consistently delivers on this connected trilogy as the search for a missing heir continues.
Here, the story is passed onto Clem’s friend Nathaniel, who is trying to find a lost earl in order to financially help Clem maintain his livelihood. Nathaniel’s search brings him to a charlatan’s door, and though Nathaniel knows he’s a fraud, he can’t help but be repulsed and intrigued at the same time by the enigmatic Justin.
When men of ill repute come looking to get what they perceive as their just reward for finding the missing earl, it puts everyone in danger and reveals an even greater conspiracy behind all the secrets.
This had a nice mix of enemies to lovers, touching on the social divide and its barriers, along with some very explicit covert smexy. I’m still not a huge fan of historicals but as always, Charles makes a strong case for them, and I will concede that she does quite the excellent job - so much so, I’ll forge on ahead and finish this trilogy off!
Charles consistently delivers on this connected trilogy as the search for a missing heir continues.
Here, the story is passed onto Clem’s friend Nathaniel, who is trying to find a lost earl in order to financially help Clem maintain his livelihood. Nathaniel’s search brings him to a charlatan’s door, and though Nathaniel knows he’s a fraud, he can’t help but be repulsed and intrigued at the same time by the enigmatic Justin.
When men of ill repute come looking to get what they perceive as their just reward for finding the missing earl, it puts everyone in danger and reveals an even greater conspiracy behind all the secrets.
This had a nice mix of enemies to lovers, touching on the social divide and its barriers, along with some very explicit covert smexy. I’m still not a huge fan of historicals but as always, Charles makes a strong case for them, and I will concede that she does quite the excellent job - so much so, I’ll forge on ahead and finish this trilogy off!
marieintheraw's review
3.0
I just wasnt a fan of the enemies-to-lovers as much as I could have been in this one.
amandalachelle's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
jess_justmaybeperfect's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Violence
Minor: Torture and Suicidal thoughts
radikaliseradgroda's review
3.0
Fairly spooky for a romance. I loved how kjc used the fog for ambiance and plot. No wonder doctors used to prescribe seaside holidays.
accidentalspaceexplorer's review
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I really enjoyed this - I'm invested in the overall mystery & the relationship dynamics were really compelling.
emilyveryromance's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
gatun's review
5.0
The story, and mystery, begun in An Unseen Attraction continues in An Unnatural Vice. Nathaniel Roy, a lawyer with good education and upbringing, helps his friends in less ideal circumstances. Show him an injustice and he will fight to make it right. Because he is a friend of Clem, he becomes involved with the mystery that has a lodger who was obviously tortured, dead on Clem's doorstep. He also wants to protect Clem from his mercenary family which sees him as responsible for being an Earl's bastard.
Nathaniel working on a separate issue visits Justin Lazarus, a spiritualist. A seance with Justin leaves Nathaniel unsettled by the information Justice seemed to know. Nathaniel vows never to speak to Lazarus again. When the danger circling Clem, goes after Lazarus, he turns to Nathaniel to save him. Two men who detest each other must now work together to help Clem and save themselves.
Matthew Lloyd Davies does a fantastic job narrating the book. The variety of accents he handles is amazing. I enjoy listening to books he narrates.
Nathaniel working on a separate issue visits Justin Lazarus, a spiritualist. A seance with Justin leaves Nathaniel unsettled by the information Justice seemed to know. Nathaniel vows never to speak to Lazarus again. When the danger circling Clem, goes after Lazarus, he turns to Nathaniel to save him. Two men who detest each other must now work together to help Clem and save themselves.
Matthew Lloyd Davies does a fantastic job narrating the book. The variety of accents he handles is amazing. I enjoy listening to books he narrates.
jackiehorne's review
4.0
ARC via Netgalley
Another outstanding addition to Charles' SINS OF THE CITIES series, which focuses on working and lower middle class Victorian men caught up in a larger, series arc about a missing heir to an earldom.
Thirty-seven year old crusading journalist Nathaniel Roy, still grieving the death of his partner after five years, begins a series set on undermining the credibility of the London spiritualists who earn their keep by preying on the recently bereaved. His first target: Justin Lazarus, the "Seer of London." Lazarus isn't handsome, but Nathaniel finds him disturbingly compelling all the same ("Justin Lazarus was without question a disgraceful fraud, but as his lips move din silent prayer, Nathaniel could not help the thought that he looked like a glorious fuck. The bad kind, of course; the kind that left a man feeling dirt and ashamed and degraded in his own eyes. The kind Nathaniel had never had in practice, and wouldn't have admitted to imagining, but could see all too clearly. Bending the medium over his own table, holding him down. You want the furniture to move, Mr. Lazarus? That can be arranged." [Kindle Loc 202]). But even if The Seer is a fraud, he has a dangerous way of seeing into a person's vulnerabilities, even the jaded Nathaniel's.
After Lazarus escapes kidnappers intent on recovering information regarding the above-mentioned missing heir, he finds himself fleeing to Nathaniel's, despite the journalist's clear abhorrence of him. Desire sparks in spite of (or perhaps heightened because of) loathing, and the two engage in a hot tryst. But when they have to flee the city to escape the men in pursuit of Justin, the two gradually begin to understand the strong-willed human beings behind the privileged, righteous prig and the selfish gutter fraud spiritualist.
Hot hate-sex ("Letting a man bugger you didn't magically improve his character, any more than it had improved Nathaniel's mood") that gradually develops into cross-class understanding and respect; now that's a romance writing achievement that you don't see every day. But Charles pulls it all off with her trademark strong characterization, accurate historical grounding, and suspenseful storyline, making readers not just relate to, but care for, her prickly, unlikeable-at-first characters.
Another outstanding addition to Charles' SINS OF THE CITIES series, which focuses on working and lower middle class Victorian men caught up in a larger, series arc about a missing heir to an earldom.
Thirty-seven year old crusading journalist Nathaniel Roy, still grieving the death of his partner after five years, begins a series set on undermining the credibility of the London spiritualists who earn their keep by preying on the recently bereaved. His first target: Justin Lazarus, the "Seer of London." Lazarus isn't handsome, but Nathaniel finds him disturbingly compelling all the same ("Justin Lazarus was without question a disgraceful fraud, but as his lips move din silent prayer, Nathaniel could not help the thought that he looked like a glorious fuck. The bad kind, of course; the kind that left a man feeling dirt and ashamed and degraded in his own eyes. The kind Nathaniel had never had in practice, and wouldn't have admitted to imagining, but could see all too clearly. Bending the medium over his own table, holding him down. You want the furniture to move, Mr. Lazarus? That can be arranged." [Kindle Loc 202]). But even if The Seer is a fraud, he has a dangerous way of seeing into a person's vulnerabilities, even the jaded Nathaniel's.
After Lazarus escapes kidnappers intent on recovering information regarding the above-mentioned missing heir, he finds himself fleeing to Nathaniel's, despite the journalist's clear abhorrence of him. Desire sparks in spite of (or perhaps heightened because of) loathing, and the two engage in a hot tryst. But when they have to flee the city to escape the men in pursuit of Justin, the two gradually begin to understand the strong-willed human beings behind the privileged, righteous prig and the selfish gutter fraud spiritualist.
Hot hate-sex ("Letting a man bugger you didn't magically improve his character, any more than it had improved Nathaniel's mood") that gradually develops into cross-class understanding and respect; now that's a romance writing achievement that you don't see every day. But Charles pulls it all off with her trademark strong characterization, accurate historical grounding, and suspenseful storyline, making readers not just relate to, but care for, her prickly, unlikeable-at-first characters.