A review by wardenred
An Unsuitable Heir by KJ Charles

dark emotional hopeful reflective 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

4.5

He wanted to live in a world where people didn’t make a great stupid fuss about what other people wore or who they kissed, and he wasn’t sure how that made him the unreasonable one.

I remember absolutely loving this book the first time I read it, in big part because I think it was the first romance with a nonbinary/genderfluid I've ever laid my hands on. That alone was incredibly exciting and made me overlook any possible flaws of the story.

This time around, well, I still really enjoyed the genderfluid representation and how it was handled, but I was less invested in the romance from some early-ish point on. I didn't really feel like the two characters really clicked together. Yes, Mark was accepting and understanding, outside of the moments where he believed that the ways of the world simply wouldn't let Pen be fully himself (using the pronoun Pen uses). Yes, they laughed about ducks in bed together. Yes, they shared a bunch of sweet moments. But I just... I don't know. I feel like from both sides the general vibe was more... a very understandable relief at being accepted as is? The characters felt so different—not to the point of being incompatible, but different enough that I struggled to ship them. Don't get me wrong, I have my share of favorite "opposites attract" love stories (the previous book in this very series is one!), but I love the sort of opposites who have something really, really similar at their core. I don't know, I guess this part is a little hard to put into words.

Anyway, I appreciated the sensitivity of the genderqueerness and the disability rep, I loved the sibling bond between Pen and Greta, and I adored the appearances of all the past books' characters, especially Justin Lazarus, who is a delight and a treasure. Especially in that one scene about, you know, the terrible accident. The act of divine providence. You know the one. Speaking of: the last beats of the overarching mystery are really exciting, and the awful aristocratic society is suitably awful. Maybe I should finally get around to reading A Society of Gentlemen, because I want more awful aristocrats and some good people trying to get by around them, and I also continue to be on a K.J. Charles kick.
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