A review by wardenred
A Seditious Affair by KJ Charles

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

4.0

“You call yourself a gentleman,” Silas said, very deliberately. “Breaking the law here, bending it there, making damn sure other people obey it, but it’s not for you and your sort, is it, Mr. Frey? You act as you will. It’s other people who have to face the laws and the gaols and the gallows. Other people who belong on their knees.”

I was honestly on the fence about continuing this series at all. I tend to very much enjoy K.J. Charles's historical for the way she pokes at the ugly parts of that "beautiful high society," but in this series, those ugly parts are so specifically showcased through the protagonists I'm supposed to root for that I just can't vibe with it. But I liked the political plot in the first book, and also I really, really loved Silas there—he was the one character who made my day whenever appeared on the page. So I picked up A Seditious Affair after all, for the sole reason that he's one of the MCs here.

I'm glad I chose to do so, because if the political plot in the first book was enjoyable, then here it was simply spectacular. So many chapters had me on the edge of my seat, and I was also super engrossed in the way the romance and the politics intertwined. The two storylines were constructed so well, constantly enriching each other and pushing the individual character arcs forward. 

Silas didn't disappoint me at all, and Dom kind of grew on me compared to the previous book as I got to know him better. Their dynamic was really intriguing. I'm not a big fan of how kink was handled here, to be honest, but it definitely worked for these characters, and I enjoyed seeing their emotional connection grow in the spaces between established mutual attraction, the reveal of their identities, and their super conflicting convictions and beliefs. 

As for the rest of the cast, I guess most of them irritated me a lot less this time around, not least because the most irritating aspects of their personalities and ways of life were explicitly discussed here. The only one who never stopped bugging me not even for a second, despite the personal growth he underwent over the course of the story, is Richard, so I'm probably not going to finish the series—the third installment is his book, and I'm not wishing much personal happiness on him, so I can't imagine getting invested in a romance with him at the center. Still, I'd like to note that while I dislike a lot of the characters here, I do still like how they're written/crafted. They're definitely fleshed out and recognizable and their actions and reactions consistently make sense in the context of their fictional lives. I just don't vibe with them, I guess.
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