Reviews with content warning for Ableism - Think of England

CWs: war trauma, PTSD, graphic imagery relating to war and injury, some descriptions of chronic pain, use of homophobic epithets, internalized homophobia and ableism, brief reference to pedophilia, pervasive racism and antisemitism, graphic sex

This was my first foray into KJ Charles' work, and I have to say that I find myself pleasantly surprised and ready for more!

If you enjoy plot-driven, bantery, steamy queer historical romance, then this is definitely the book for you. It's more plot-driven than thematically driven, I would say, but that's not a bad thing at all. Sometimes you just want a fast-paced historical mystery with queer romance and the occasional sex scene, and that's valid in and of itself.

I really enjoyed the enemies-to-reluctant-accomplices-to-lovers dynamic between Archie and Daniel. They definitely rub each other the wrong way at first, and through a series of accidents and mysteries, they find themselves working together as accidental spies trying to uncover the deep, dark secrets of their party's host. Of course, the more time they spend together, the more tensions rise between them, which adds an entertaining layer to their spy work, and it all culminates in an ultra-dramatic ending perfectly befitting this kind of historical narrative.

My main issue with the story is that it deals with heavily internalized homophobia, ableism, and also outward and blatant antisemitism towards Daniel. But those comments and notions are never challenged, not even internally in the narration. I appreciate having a queer historical romance that acknowledges those harmful societal norms as being a very real barrier and experience during this time period, but without there being an actual reckoning of those mindsets, it's hard to feel like the story is actually commenting on those experiences rather than simply perpetuating them.

That said, I really like where the story ends. I think the ending is very promising for possible future installments, because I would read an entire series based on what the author proposes by the end of the book for Daniel and Archie's relationship (both romantically and professionally). Seeing as how this book was first published in 2014 with its sapphic prequel only being released a couple of years ago, I don't know how likely it is that we'll actually see further installments for this series, but I will say that I would happily read them. And like I said to begin with, I will definitely be reading more of KJ Charles' work!

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pastel_clouds's review

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adventurous dark emotional funny tense

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

2.5

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