Reviews tagging 'War'

A Nobleman's Guide to Seducing a Scoundrel by KJ Charles

12 reviews

kell_xavi's review against another edition

emotional lighthearted fast-paced

4.0

My qualms? Earlier and more frequent sex than I prefer, and I did not expect the spoilers. I think, not having read the first book, Luke’s story is a bit all over the place. 

I loved everything else. The characters of Luke and Rufus, and the cousins. The writing style. The portrayal of dyslexia and adaptations. The family and country history, related with weight, humour, and a healthy dose of blasphemy. The drama. The love. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Violence, and Death of parent

Moderate: Rape, Murder, and Classism

Minor: War

thenexthing's review against another edition

emotional lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Sexual content, Grief, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: War

crystalisreading's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful reflective

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Ableism, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and War

becksus's review against another edition

mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.25

Eh, a solid gay period drama with lots of time-appropriate language and family intrigue

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content and Violence

Moderate: Child abuse

Minor: Death of parent and War

yourbookishbff's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted mysterious tense 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? No

5.0

This was the perfect follow-up to Gareth and Joss's story in The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen. I hadn't realized just how much we needed a happily ever after for Luke, but reading this felt like bringing a small bit of justice to him, even so many years later. I loved the role reversal here - our Doomsday is the submissive, "golden-haired" academic and our earl is described as brutish and crass (as well as honest and kind). They are wonderful foils to each other. Where Luke can code-switch between his Kentish country upbringing and his aristocratic clerking with ease, Rufus repeatedly begs people to speak plainly with him, having no ability to sort out insinuation or subtext. Where Rufus is direct, at times painfully so, he's honorable, and Luke realizes through their relationship that he has grown comfortable with deception to a degree that he can no longer justify. Both characters learn from one another in realistic ways, and it makes their happily-ever-after feel secure and just right. I also thoroughly enjoyed the return of our mystery from book one, some on-page appearances of both Gareth and Joss, and a cast of comedic side characters. Loved this.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement and Sexual content

Moderate: Death, Death of parent, and Murder

Minor: War and Injury/Injury detail

mabellene's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Abandonment, and Classism

Minor: Homophobia, Miscarriage, Sexism, and War

figsofpeach's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense 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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Rape and War

onefineelephant's review against another edition

emotional funny mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

9/10. This book was deliciously steamy, romantic, and intriguing. There were a million twists and turns that I didn't see coming. I love that the main leads became true friends before becoming lovers. Also, the plot was so rich and interesting outside of the romance. I actually read this one before the first book in the series so I do plan on rereading this when I can read the books in order. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Sexual content, and Classism

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Outing, War, and Injury/Injury detail

saltycoffee's review against another edition

emotional lighthearted mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, and Classism

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Murder, Abandonment, and War

blewballoon's review against another edition

emotional hopeful slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

It's so hard to decide which book I liked more in The Doomsday Books series. As much as I loved this, I think I have to give it to the first book for spending more time discussing the wildlife and landscape of the marsh and having a little more action and mystery. This book is a bit like a gothic novel where a newcomer has to contend with an intimidating estate and the unwelcoming people living in it with them. The estate is not spooky or particularly mysterious, though. The story focuses more on internal character struggles and family dramas (not that those aren't present in the previous book.) You also get a clear sense of how time has passed since the last book, and a lot of familiar faces pop up from the last story. The premise of the Inheritance drama is a good setup for introducing the new characters. Luke and Rufus are fantastic together. KJ Charles seems to be really good at creating characters that feel like unique, distinct people despite them sharing similarities with each other. Luke and Rufus are not just transplants of the lead characters in the last book, their circumstances and their romance are their own. The uncle and aunt causing 90% of all the problems were comically awful people, I always pictured Victoria's parents from The Corpse Bride when they were in a scene. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement and Sexual content

Moderate: Classism

Minor: Rape, Violence, and War