Reviews with content warning for Suicide - Any Old Diamonds

Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

Any Old Diamonds by KJ Charles

7 reviews

mallorypen's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.5

When I tell you that all of my reading journal entries for this book were done in all caps … I enjoyed the HELL out of this book!

What I adore about KJC romances is the B plot could stand on its own. The relationships themselves are so compelling - complex, richly built and cleverly developed - but the jewel heist hiding a

murder investigation

all the while was a story I would read regardless of the tension between the conspirators. The family dynamics of the Duke and new Duchess; the exiled children; Cara making her siblings promise not to forget the horrible things done by their father … it had the potential to be melodramatic and overwrought, but KJC balanced it so perfectly into believable motivations across the board.

But then, the relationship - Jerry and Alec. What a fun ride from uncertain co-conspirators to those D/S overtones to uggggghhhhhh kicking my heels and blushing over the Yearning™️ and intimacy!! Here is a short list of the things I all-caps’d in my reading notes:

- AND YOU DESERVE BETTER THAN ME. THAT’S WHAT HE WAS GOING TO SAY. FUCK YES!!!
- WHAT THE FUCK (re: the twist)
- HE SAW THE PORTRAITSSSSSS AHHHHH
-JERRY RECOMMENDED HE TAKE THE FALL FOR THE ROBBERY SO JUSTICE COULD BE SERVEDDDDDD THAT BOY IS IN LOVE

There were such great breadcrumbs throughout the novel about Jerry’s approach to life (not sorry and no regrets) and MacGuffins for the mysteries that made this such a great read.

It was also fun seeing some familiar faces - the Morton family, the Lazarus family, and the Jack And Knave - that rooted me right back into the world without needing all the backstory.

And as always - Cornell Collins is the GOAT.

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20sidedbi's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny mysterious reflective sad medium-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

3.75

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pvbobrien's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious medium-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

4.0

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littlewishling's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

Adored this. There was lots of intrigue and twist that I didn’t expect as well as characters that I instantly loved.

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unwise_samwise's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Content Warnings

wardenred's review against another edition

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challenging emotional tense 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

You understand that I’m not a good man, don’t you?

Wow. This was quite an emotional rollercoaster!

To tell the truth, up until almost two thirds into the story, I was certain I would give it far fewer stars than I'm now enthusiastically handing out. There were points even before the midpoint when I thought my review might lean a bit into "angry rant" territory. See, when it comes to romance with D/s elements, I have some pretty strong opinions (although I'm fully aware that some of them are purely personal preferences). There are things in such stories that I absolutely love and can't get enough of, and then there are things that steer way too close to triggers, and there's preciously little middle ground.

This book, for a big part of the story, kind of zigzagged between my "ooh, give me more" territory and my "get away from me" territory. So I was feeling pretty conflicted. I was also low-key frustrated that there was only one POV throughout. I kept wanting a chance to get in Jerry's head, too.

But I really like K.J. Charles's writing style, and I loved how this book was written, with all the theater and literature references and small Shakespeare quotes injected here and there. Besides, I was getting invested in the whole heist part of the plot—I happen to love heists. So I kept reading despite my reservations, and my, I'm so glad I did!

As the book got closer to the finish line, plot twists began to pile up. There was that one twist—you must know which one if you've read it—that literally made me gasp out loud. Those reveals in the late part of the story completely recontextualized so many details from the earlier parts and made me completely fall in love with this complicated romance. I'm also now convinced that keeping solely to Alec's POV is the best decision the author could have made for this story. I didn't need, after all, to get a glimpse into Jerry's mind to see his arc play out and to be half-a-step ahead of Alec when it came to the changes Jerry was facing—and I loved that arc, and those challenges. I loved so many characters here, really, and there are so many scenes that are stuck vividly in my mind, like the one where Alec draws the duchess's portrait and gets her, and the two big honest conversations Alec and Jerry have.

Also, big extra points for the crossover with Sins of the Cities. I now want to reread those books!

Content Warnings

toobendy's review against another edition

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adventurous funny sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Be gay do crime!

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