A review by cheye13
The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen by KJ Charles

adventurous 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? It's complicated

4.0

I picked this up for a cozy silly time and that's what I got for the first two thirds. Then it spiraled into a Peaky Blinders-esque crime thriller genre and I gotta say, while I was not disappointed, I was also not prepared. While I didn't end on the cozy note I was hoping for, that last portion did have me turning pages like crazy and did make for a fun read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual content, Blood, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Homophobia, Torture, Violence, Medical content, and Murder

Minor: Rape, Slavery, Grief, and Pregnancy

- There is understated threat of blackmailing both main characters with homosexual/sodomy allegations throughout the book

- Because semi-organized crime is a large part of the plot, there is violence and threats of violence throughout

- There is a torture scene, which is detailed but brief, consisting primarily of threats and culminating in a drowning attempt

- There are mentions of a past rape and veiled threats of rape

- The child abuse happens largely off-page, but the results are quite detailed, and it ultimately culminates in a knifing attempt