Reviews with content warning for Classism - The Gentleman's Book of Vices

𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓖𝓮𝓷𝓽𝓵𝓮𝓶𝓪𝓷’𝓼 𝓑𝓸𝓸𝓴 𝓸𝓯 𝓥𝓲𝓬𝓮’𝓼
Lucky Lovers of London Book 1
By: Jess Everlee
Gay Historical Romance

𝒪𝓋𝑒𝓇𝒶𝓁𝓁: 4.5/5
𝒮𝓅𝒾𝒸𝑒: 2.5/5

𝑅𝑒𝓋𝒾𝑒𝓌: There were a lot of really cute moments sprinkled throughout this book that I loved. I cannot wait to continue this series!
That being said, I am a little sad about the spice, there was promise of something really good between characters but most of the scenes were fade to black or not descriptive.

𝒜 𝐹𝒶𝓋𝑜𝓇𝒾𝓉𝑒 𝒬𝓊𝑜𝓉𝑒: “You’re wrapped me round your damn finger too tight to just shake me off now, mate. And you know it. You love me. You said you did.”

𝒯𝓇𝑜𝓅𝑒𝓈: Dual POV; GrumpyXSunshine; Class Difference; LGBTQ+ Rep; Found Family; MM Romance

𝒯𝓇𝒾𝑔𝑔𝑒𝓇 𝒲𝒶𝓇𝓃𝒾𝓃𝑔𝓈: Sexual content; Homophobia; Alcohol; Drugs; Death; Infidelity; Addiction; Sexism; Misogony; Emotional Abuse; Classism

Content Warnings

blewballoon's review

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emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I wasn't even in the mood for a book like this. I had read so many similar books recently that I started this one somewhat begrudgingly when I was in a rush to choose an audiobook. Why did I love it so much? Why was I crying over the circumstances of a side character? The characters were too charming to resist, I suppose. In addition to the romance and friendships, I really loved the interactions between Charlie and Alma. Add Jess Everlee to the list of authors who write wonderful queer historical romance. The audiobook narrator was excellent as well.

Content Warnings

galleytrot's review against another edition

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

4.5

READ: Dec 2023

FORMAT: Audio

ENTERTAINMENT VALUE: 4.5 / 5⭐

TECHNICAL / PRODUCTION: 4.75 / 5⭐
FINAL – OVERALL: 4.5 / 5 ⭐

In this 1883 historical romance, Charlie wants the autograph of his favourite author as the last hurrah before he must get married and store his precious collection away for the foreseeable future, but the man has proven difficult to find, well-hidden behind his pen name. When he finally gets Miles’ identity, he meets the man at his bookstore, and a misunderstanding sparks the beginning of a heated affair with a quickly-approaching expiry date. Miles will simply not carry on with a married man out of principle, but Alma is just as in need of her union with Charlie as he is, and she’s too kind to willfully hurt.

I’m shocked at how intrigued I am by literally every character within this book. Every single one of them is introduced to us with enough charm and tantalizing details that I want to know more; even the less likeable characters who exist solely to force our main leads into uncomfortable decisions. I rarely give side-characters a passing glance, preferring to put all my focus on whom the story is actually about, but this world is so richly populated I can’t help but want to see more of them. Even Alma, who in most romances would likely be portrayed as terrible person we couldn’t possibly want our protagonist to end up with, has her own set of charms and quirks that make her pleasant and delightful. I needed this book to resolve in the best possible way for all parties involved, and while it didn’t fit my personal solution for making that happen, it definitely did happen.

My only gripe about this book is that, for how sexually charged it is from cover to cover, there is shockingly little spice on-page. This story takes more of a tell-don’t-show perspective that I couldn’t wrap my head around, because there are a couple of spicy scenes, but one of the more significant ones cuts off right immediately before things get going. Artistically, I think this story probably does enough to consider itself complete, but personally... I’m not ashamed to admit I’m in it for the smut. This book is also among the closest I’ve come to seeing an honest BDSM relationship played out in a historical setting, and I just feel a bit dejected that it didn’t lean more into being that. I won’t hold it against my rating, because I honestly had such a good time reading this one and it was too well-written to dismiss.

This book has representation for gays, lesbians, and non-binary gender expression. It has a generally-positive portrayal of sex workers. At least one character is described as non-white, but there is otherwise little else in the way of diversity.

The following elaborates on my content warnings. These may be interpreted as spoilers, but I do not go into deep detail.

This book contains:

alcohol use; joke bout animal sacrifice; mentions of infidelity; homophobic laws leading to past deaths and incarceration; past struggles with substance abuse and addiction; drug use (opium); past blackmail; past illness resulting in death; past grief, loss; implication of dysphoria; and, women being treated as subhuman for childbirth out of wedlock.

Content Warnings

peachmoni's review against another edition

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challenging emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Content Warnings

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