The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen is a romantic romp

There is something so fun about trying a new author in the new year and for me, one of those authors is K.J. Charles with her newest release, The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen.

That’s not to say I’ve never heard of this author before. Hearing about her only made me even more excited to pick up this book. She’s a mainstay in the historical romance genre and has written a lot of beloved books and series.

In particular, though, she is known for her brand of queer historicals featuring either m/m or f/f relationships. Seeing her bring her talents to Sourcebooks Casablanca is pretty amazing so I was more than excited to pick up the ARC I was kindly sent.

If you haven’t read K.J. Charles before and want something fresh and new, The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen is it.

The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen is a sweepingly romantic romp.

Before getting into the review, let me just be honest and say I’m very selective with the historical romances I read and I very rarely pick one up on a whim. However, I will say that I was pleasantly surprised by The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen and ended up really, enjoying it.

The story begins with two men, meeting up to hook up essentially named Kent and London. It’s getting hot and steamy until London shares that he’d rather not continue their arrangement if Kent won’t come back. It’s all so frustrating as you can tell the two want to be together but the arrangement ends.

The book skips ahead to us learning the identity of London who is Gareth Inglis. Gareth is summoned to his father’s home after his death and becomes head-of-household. Things are going great until Gareth sees something he shouldn’t and ends up at the center of a local trial where he is reunited with Kent who is Joss Doomsday.

With the added drama of all of it, it’s clear the two are going to come back together but not before dealing with lots of action and adventure. Gareth, he’s trying to uncover secrets about his father and his father’s work while Joss is trying to run his family. The two plotlines are interwoven so perfectly and the action picks up at the right places, it’s just delightful.

In a way, this book felt like a road-trip story without the road trip. We’re watching Joss and Gareth fall for each other amidst the backdrop of the Marsh. For Joss, it’s his home while Gareth is learning more and more as the days go on. The same can be said bout their budding relationship.

While I adored the action and plot in the story, Gareth and Joss’ romance swept me up. These two were so different yet they complimented each other flawlessly. They were so sweet and tender with each other. I couldn’t help but swoon especially when they shared how they felt about each other. The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen made my heart flutter so many times.

Honestly, I don’t have any complaints about The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen. All it tells me is that I need to pick up more K.J. Charles in the future.

The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen by K.J. Charles is out now wherever books are sold.

Will you be picking up The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen this spring? Share with us in the comments!