Three traitor lords plotted to kill the king; now their sons must deal with the aftermath.Alan Brideson has almost everything his father wanted for him: a prosperous business he enjoys selling objets d’arts imported from the Far East, a good address in town, and if everything goes according to his plan, he will soon have the last piece–a titled bride and entry into the world of the ton. All he … ton. All he needs is to cultivate a friendship with someone who has influence, who can help him get his vouchers for Almack’s famed balls. If only he could understand why he keeps dreaming about a certain dockworker he hired. Surely it was only because the man was an interesting puzzle who could read the languages that passed through the office daily.
Lord Edwin Gilford, younger son of the Earl of Martford, was studying Eastern languages at Oxford when his father and older brother participated in the plan to kill the king, and when they ran from agents of the Crown, so he wasn’t a suspect, and he wasn’t there when all of the Martford property was seized. Unable to find a position as a clerk because of his father’s treason, he takes any job he can get on the docks, where no one asks about Ed Martin’s past. At least until he gets a job at the Brideson Warehouse and accidentally reveals that he can read the foreign words on the crates. When Mr. Brideson offers him a position as clerk, he knows he should refuse, but the interesting work and promise of a guinea a week is too tempting, almost as tempting as Mr. Brideson’s kindness.
Working so closely makes it impossible to deny their attraction. But as Alan gets closer to the vouchers and the future he’s worked so hard for, Edwin knows he will have to leave. There is no way Edwin can go unnoticed and unrecognized in the world of the ton, and he will not repay Alan’s kindness by ruining his chance for a titled bride, and being seen with the son of a traitor lord would surely do that.
A gay – M/M romance novel set in the Regency period with a medium heat level. 82,000 words/ approx. 330 pages
This book was previously published with different distributor under the same title and cover. No changes have been made.
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Phew! So, I was a bit worried about this one, when Book 2 didn’t go as smoothly as I’d hoped, but it was SO much better! Much more along the lines of Book 1, which I loved a lot.
However…there are a few downsides that I want to get off my chest, so excuse me while I get a bit rant-y and drift into capital letter screaming!
This is NOT a trilogy, in the most classic sense of a connected series. Sure, they are all the sons of traitor lords, so the series title makes sense. However, there is no REAL connection between the books, beyond that coincidence. For instance, in most series – being listed as a series means they’re connected – the characters would cross-over, somehow. They would have links and connections, pass into each other’s stories occasionally, even if only in passing. That didn’t happen here. What I read felt more like 3 books set in the same world, but unrelated in every other way. The fact Edwin was a traitor lord’s son was more a coincidental plot point than something to connect him to the rest of the series.
Also – pet bug, here – the previous books were named “Lord Lynster” and Lord Heathborough, after their surnames. For some reason (I’m guessing, because he uses two names? Though the others certainly used more than one) this is named Lord Edwin, which doesn’t follow the pattern. That bugs me and I can’t rightly say why, except that it ruins the flow.
One last thing…while I really love the historical accuracy and attention to detail, it would be awesome if I didn’t have to keep stopping to ask Google to explain for me. In Book 2, it was all cravat knots, and this time it was Regency work. I’ve never had the need to discover what night-soil, pure collecting, or dust sorting, would mean, and there is zero explanation of what it means until about 80% of the book.
WHY DID EDWIN FALL SO FAR?
It was entirely unnecessary. I mean, for crying out loud, both previous books had the MC’s making an attempt to get in touch with Edwin and failing, because he never replied. It implied he’d been intentionally ignoring them, or not in residence to where they’d sent the letters.
YET, this book starts immediately after the events of the previous book, then SKIPS 3 YEARS between Chapter 1 and Chapter 2. For a start, that means Chapter 1 should have been a Prologue, but…never mind that…what bothers me is that it is explicitly stated – not implied, but stated – that BOTH Lynster and Heathborough replied to Edwin’s letter, which asks for help and assistance, esp in the way of work, with “polite, distant” replies that “contained no offers of work”. WHY? I’m sorry, but did the author even remember her previous two books? Because, I distinctly remember reading that both were concerned about how Edwin would fare, and had written to him only to feel fobbed off or ignored. Why did they suddenly become useless, ignorant and selfish? That’s not the two men I came to like and read about.
Their behaviour in this book – all off-page and mentioned in Edwin’s POV – was completely out of character and irrational. It was made to be plot-convenient, not genuine to the world and characters the author had written and asked us to fall in love with. It would have made far more sense if they’d offered an unsuitable job he’d turned down, or if Edwin had been too ashamed or embarrassed to appeal to them.
This decision to make their actions plot-convenient, but out of character, was the majority of the reason I gave this 4* instead of 5*. You can’t ask me to care about characters, and then turn them into villains, even if their greatest crime here is complacency. Considering the depths the author wants us to believe Edwin has stooped to, in 3 years, their behaviour can be seen to directly contribute to his new life. And that is unacceptable.
Also, how come both Lynster and Heathborough were *suspected* of being involved with the plot, never shunned by society, and had multiple contacts to support them and fight their cause…yet, Edwin was *known* not to be involved, had no part in it, no connection beyond being a relation, and yet the entire world abandoned him?
They’re very lucky I liked the rest of the book so much that I can’t abide to give it the 2* that this shocking deviation from character would normally warrant. But, I refuse to punish Edwin for the behaviour of an author who forgot their own characters (or certainly seemed to, from what I read.)
When it comes to the good parts, I only have two things to say:
Allen
Edwin
In this book, more than the others, the two main characters offer EVERYTHING that is good about this book. Their connection, their chemistry, their bond with each other and the people they care about. The work they do is intriguing and their passion for it is lovely. Most of all, Edwin’s pain and his reluctance to get involved in anything good that might be taken from him. The most important part is when Edwin hugs Allen the morning after, and you realise how badly he *wants* to keep what he’s found but thinks he can’t.
The ending was VERY abrupt and sudden, and the story flagged a little in the middle, but was overall a good book. Much more on par with Book 1.