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Despite his noble family, a life of idle indulgence has never suited Gil Charleton. Fortunately, working as the Earl of Crawford’s estate manager requires the same caution, care, and charm he already uses to hide his true desires. On a discreet visit to a pub catering to men like himself, he’s dismayed to see the earl’s imprudent valet. At least the reckless, flirtatious Jarrett doesn’t see him in return.
Jarrett Welch takes any chance to have a little fun—or a lot of fun. But when a man he flirted with winds up dead, he can’t give his alibi. After all, that kind of fun between men carries the same sentence as murder.
Gil knows Jarrett is innocent, but it’s his own life on the line if he comes forward. The only other way to save him is to find the real killer before their shared secret can be revealed.
Working together to clear Jarrett’s name, the attraction between them becomes impossible to fight. But the more the mystery unravels, the more it becomes clear that one of them will have to choose which is more important: his love… or his life.
4 out of 5 (very good)
Independent Reviewer for Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
This book kinda follows on from another series by this author called His Lordship’s Mysteries but it’s not necessary to read those before this one. While Dominick and Alfie are mentioned, and this book takes place in Balcarres House where they live, they take no part in it. I’ve read books one and two in that set, but not all the series.
I really enjoyed this book! Set in Victorian times, it comes with all the problems that being a man of a certain persuasion brings.
And it’s those problems that hold for much of this book. Given as the only way to save Jarrett from the noose is to put his own neck in it, Gil keeps quiet about seeing Jarrett the night that man in the chapel died at the hands of another. And it wrecks his head, it really does. His attraction to Jarrett has been bubbling under his skin for months but seeing him in the one place he never thought he would, brings that attraction front and centre.
Jarrett, on the other hand, found himself getting all tongue tied and flustered around Gil, even if he wanted to get his hands on the son of a baron, Jarrett knows that he never will, since he is just a lowly valet.
Things move quickly in places, and slower in others and I liked that I was able to take a breath before the next bit ran away with itself. Once things started to come together, though, there was no catching that breath and I did not know whodunnit til everything became clear in the book! So very well played for keeping me on my toes!
Both Jarrett and Gil get a say, so we get it all in glorious detail. How Jarrett feels about the man who gets him out of jail. How Gil feels about his family and about the man whose kiss he will never forget, and we get it all, when each man teaches the other about their way. I loved how different they both are!
A thoroughly enjoyable read! I really must go back and read the other stories about Alfie and Dominick.
4 very good stars
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Samantha SoRelle grew up all over the world and finally settled in Southern California when she soaked up too much sunshine and got too lazy to move.
When she’s not writing, she’s doing everything possible to keep from writing. This has led to some unusual pastimes including but not limited to: perfecting fake blood recipes, designing her own cross-stitch patterns, and wrapping presents for tigers.
She also enjoys collecting paintings of tall ships and has lost count of the number of succulents she owns.
She can be found online at www.samanthasorelle.com, which has the latest information on upcoming projects, free reads, the mailing list, and all her social media accounts. She can also be contacted by email at samanthasorelle@gmail.com, which she is much better about checking than social media!