Wit and Sin: KJ Charles

Showing posts with label KJ Charles. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 1, 2025

Best Books of 2024

2025 is here and I'm so excited by all the possibilities this new year will bring. But before I dive into a year of wonderful new reads and re-reads, it's time to look back at my 2024 year in books. In 2024 I read 75 books, including a few re-reads that I fell in love with all over again. I tried 19 debut or new-to-me authors and discovered some wonderful authors whose backlists I cannot wait to dive into. And finally, I participated in my fifteenth A to Z Reading Challenge, a fun challenge that usually leads me to at least a couple of books I might not have moved to the top of my TBR pile otherwise.

I'm doing things a bit differently this year and am splitting my top reads of 2024 into two categories: Best Books of 2024 (Published in 2024) and Best Books of 2024 (Published in years prior). All of the books on this list were first-time reads because otherwise Jane Austen would just have a permanent spot on my year-end list. The books are alphabetized by author, otherwise I'd be here until 2026 trying to determine the order to put them in.

Best Books of 2024 (Published in 2024)

Best Books of 2024 (Published in years prior)

Best Books of 2023

By Kimberly 4:00 AM // No comments

2024 is here and I'm so excited by all the possibilities this new year will bring. But before I dive into a year of wonderful new reads and re-reads, it's time to look back at my 2023 year in books. In 2023 I read 75 books, including a few re-reads that I fell in love with all over again. I tried 23 debut/new-to-me authors and discovered some wonderful authors whose backlists I cannot wait to dive into. And finally, I participated in my lucky fourteenth A to Z Reading Challenge, a fun challenge that usually leads me to at least a couple of books I might not have moved to the top of my TBR pile otherwise.

I read a number of excellent books last year, but below are my top reads of 2023 (six in total made the list - I just couldn't narrow it down to five). All of the books on this list were first-time reads because re-reads are generally books that are already favorites of mine.

Wit and Sin's Best Books of 2023

1. Emma of 83rd Street (For the Love of Austen, Book 1) by Audrey Bellezza and Emily Harding
Genre: Contemporary Romance
My Review

Review: A Nobleman’s Guide to Seducing a Scoundrel by KJ Charles

By Kimberly 6:17 PM // No comments

A Nobleman’s Guide to Seducing a Scoundrel by KJ Charles
Series: The Doomsday Books, Book 2
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Genre: Male/Male Historical Romance

A Noblemans Guide to Seducing a Scoundrel cover

ISBN: 9781728255880
Release Date: September 19, 2023
Source: Publisher
Buy it here: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Audible

Major Rufus d’Aumesty has unexpectedly become the Earl of Oxney, master of a remote Norman manor on the edge of the infamous Romney Marsh. There he's beset on all sides, his position contested both by his greedy uncle and by Luke Doomsday, son of a notorious smuggling clan.

The earl and the smuggler should be natural enemies, but cocksure, enragingly competent Luke is a trained secretary and expert schemer—exactly the sort of man Rufus needs by his side. Before long, Luke becomes an unexpected ally...and the lover Rufus had never hoped to find.

But Luke came to Stone Manor with an ulterior motive, one he's desperate to keep hidden even from the lord he can't resist. As the lies accumulate and family secrets threaten to destroy everything they hold dear, master and man find themselves forced to decide whose side they're really on…and what they're willing to do for love.

Major Rufus d’Aumesty knows battle but he is wholly unprepared for the war within his own family when he unexpectedly inherits an earldom. The d’Aumestys are disasters, to put it kindly, and his uncle is constantly challenging his right to the title. His uncle’s latest scheme involves Luke Doomsday, a member of the famous Romney Marsh Doomsday clan. Except Luke becomes the ally Rufus didn’t know he needed. His secretarial skills are top-notch and Rufus begins to believe that with Luke’s help, Stone Manor may just become what it needs to be. That would be enough, but then there’s also the mutual attraction that drives both men wild. The one fly in the ointment? Luke came to Stone Manor for reasons of his own, and when the truth is revealed it could destroy everything…

Return to the gothic moors of KJ Charles’s Doomsday books, where danger lurks around every corner and love can be found if you’re willing to risk opening your heart. A Nobleman’s Guide to Seducing a Scoundrel is an entertaining adventure with secrets, danger, love, and hope.

Rufus is unprepared to become the Earl of Oxney but he steps up to do his duty nonetheless. Rufus is easy to adore; for all that he’s brash and has a temper he is genuinely caring and kind. He’s got a big heart and a heavy sense of responsibility which makes it hard for him to not give multiple chances to people who don’t deserve it. I loved Rufus and wanted him to be able to claim his place and take care of those around him. Luke is key to that, but he’s also potentially the key to destroying everything. Luke was a bit harder for me to warm up to. He comes to Stone Manor for reasons of his own (though if you’ve read the first Doomsday book you can likely guess) and he has a lot of built up anxiety, resentment, and pain to work through. He frustrates himself at times, which I thought was relatable and interesting.

Luke and Rufus are instantly attracted to one another and it’s easy to see why. They have great chemistry and complement one another perfectly, in bed and out. But Luke’s secrets are of course going to come out. I won’t spoil what happens but I did like how Charles handled it, making her characters confront what Luke did and the cost of it. The happily ever after felt more earned with this obstacle rather than it being there for false drama.

A host of secondary characters fill out the pages of A Nobleman’s Guide to Seducing a Scoundrel. Some of said characters are dastardly to the extreme and some had the chance to learn and grow. I liked watching some of the relationships develop between characters over the course of the story. If you enjoyed The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen then you’ll like the glimpse into the lives of Joss and Giles thirteen years later. You don’t have to have read that book to enjoy this one, so long as you don’t mind spoilers. But to skip it would be a shame because it is so good.

I really enjoyed A Nobleman’s Guide to Seducing a Scoundrel and hated to put it down. Charles’s writing drew me in, the characters were compelling, and the plot fast-paced. I waffled a bit on how to rate this for a few reasons (and forgive the vagueness as I avoid spoiling the story). There were some twists this story took near the end that felt unwarranted and took away slightly from the ending (for me). All in all, I didn’t love Rufus and Luke’s story like I did Giles and Joss’s, but I was still highly entertained from beginning to end.

FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Review: The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen by KJ Charles

By Kimberly 3:28 PM // No comments

The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen by KJ Charles
Series: The Doomsday Books, Book 1
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Genre: Male/Male Historical Romance

The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen cover

ISBN: 9781728255859
Release Date: March 7, 2023
Source: Publisher
Buy it here: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Audible

Abandoned by his father, Gareth Inglis grew up lonely, prickly, and well-used to disappointment. Still, he longs for a connection. When he meets a charming stranger, he falls head over heels—until everything goes wrong and he's left alone again. Then Gareth's father dies, turning the shabby London clerk into Sir Gareth, with a grand house on the remote Romney Marsh and a family he doesn't know.

The Marsh is another world, a strange, empty place notorious for its ruthless gangs of smugglers. And one of them is dangerously familiar…

Joss Doomsday has run the Doomsday smuggling clan since he was a boy. When the new baronet—his old lover—agrees to testify against Joss's sister, Joss acts fast to stop him. Their reunion is anything but happy, yet after the dust settles, neither can stay away. Soon, all Joss and Gareth want is the chance to be together. But the bleak, bare Marsh holds deadly secrets. And when Gareth finds himself threatened from every side, the gentleman and the smuggler must trust one another not just with their hearts, but with their lives.

After an affair with an anonymous lover ends poorly, a heartbroken Giles Inglis learns of the death of his father. With nothing for him in London, the lonely Giles travels to his new home in Romney Marsh to take up the baronetcy. His new home comes with family members he’s never met and digging through his father’s papers piques his interest in the local habitat. But his new life isn’t all family bonding and beetles for Giles. Romney Marsh’s chief industry is smuggling and the Doomsday family rules. When Giles agrees to give testimony against a captured smuggler, he’s thrown for a loop when he’s thwarted by Joss Doomsday…the lover he can’t get over. The sparks between them are still there, but there’s more at stake now. For Romney Marsh is full of secrets that can get the two men killed.

The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen is a truly wonderful romance. I adored Giles and Joss from the start and I loved watching the two, one unsure, the other charming, fall in love.

Joss is the head of the Doomsday clan and though he loves his family, the infighting is tearing at him. He’s got pressure on all sides, so many people relying on him, and nothing is left for himself. Nothing except Giles, that is. Giles is lonely and awkward, feeling unwanted and just trying to find his place in the world when he comes across smugglers. Giles broke my heart but I loved seeing him grow, to find joy and a life that made him happy. On the outside, Joss and Giles couldn’t be more different. Joss is the head of a smuggling clan surrounded by family and Giles is a budding naturalist whose been so lonely for most of his life. The two fit like lock and key and I loved watching them lean on each other, be there for one another. It isn’t always easy for them and there are a lot of bumps in the road, but KJ Charles made every up and down worth it for a supremely satisfying happily ever after.

Danger lurks in the background of The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen, threatening our heroes. Charles twines mystery, threats, family drama, and more through the story. I won’t spoil what happens because the fun of the book is learning what the heroes must face, but everything winds together perfectly. Charles perfectly blends the action with the quieter, character-driven moments. The result is a wonderfully entertaining story I hated to put down and one I cannot wait to revisit. I loved this story from beginning to end and I’m very much looking forward to the next Doomsday book.

FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Wit and Sin

Wednesday, January 1, 2025

Best Books of 2024

Best Books of 2024 (Published in 2024)

Best Books of 2024 (Published in years prior)

Monday, January 1, 2024

Best Books of 2023

Wit and Sin's Best Books of 2023

Tuesday, September 5, 2023

Review: A Nobleman’s Guide to Seducing a Scoundrel by KJ Charles

Sunday, March 5, 2023

Review: The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen by KJ Charles

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