Genre: Historical, Regency, Romance
LGBTQ+ Category: Gay
Reviewer: Rari
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About The Book
A chancer and a rogue, Kit Angel is down on his luck. Presenting himself at Rossingley Hall in the dead of night, he begs an audience with the eleventh earl, the most enigmatic nobleman in Regency England.
The visit has purpose. Kit, hungry to ruin the baronet who ruined his sister, believes Rossingley is the only man who can help him.
Lando Duchamps-Avery, Eleventh Earl of Rossingley, doesn’t trust the sinfully handsome stranger one bit. He does not care for the tales he spins, his hot temper, or his thick, ebony curls. And, most definitely, he is not in thrall to the delicious golden hoop dangling from Kit Angel’s left ear. Lando has his own motivations to ruin the same lord, and the two men form an uneasy alliance.
As the dangerous plot they hatch unfurls, the suspicious earl and the shady scoundrel are increasingly thrown together. Whilst the wily earl gradually surrenders to his growing attraction, Kit can’t make up his mind if he wants to swive him, declare undying love for him, or throttle him.
Bit by bit, as mutual desire swells between them, Kit wins over the earl’s body, his passion, and his trust.
But in order to win the earl’s elusive heart? The scoundrel must risk losing everything.
This first book in the new Rossingley Regency romance series introduces Lando Duchamps-Avery, nineteenth-century predecessor to Dr Lucian Avery of the contemporary Rossingley romance series. With Lando’s story, we return to southern England and the Rossingley estate. This book can be read as a standalone.
The Review
Not gonna lie, romance is not a favourite genre of mine, but all the same there’s something about Regency Romance that catches my attention, and when it’s queer? Perfection!
Lando, the Earl of Rossingley, is a gay man who has to hide his proclivities, since they could get him hanged in Regency England. He’s also a man mourning his lover’s death who has to grieve in private, denied the chance to be with him in his last moments due to societal pressures.
Enter Kit Young, the nephew of his dead love, who wants Lando’s help in dealing with a nobleman who has attempted to assault his sister. Only he goes about it in the wrong way, attempting a subtle blackmail, to which Lando responds poorly.
There’s something about Kit that makes Lando want, but he cannot forget that the man intended to blackmail him, using his love for a dead man.
Kit is desperate, but he knows he can’t push a man like Lando too much. He can only trust him to do the right thing in the end.
The memory of his dead love and the knowledge that the baronet Kit wants him to ruin is a bully and a bad landlord makes Lando devise a scheme to bring him down. But he can’t do it alone. He needs Kit if he’s to succeed.
Can an earl and a rogue work together to achieve their ends, and can they keep their hands to themselves while they do so?
This was an extremely entertaining read, and I really liked Lando. His grief, the way he slowly comes out of it, and how he and Kit gets together are all very believable. Even though Kit is Charles’ nephew, it doesn’t get weird that Lando gets together with him.
A wonderful m/m romance in a regency setting.
The Reviewer
Rari is an author and editor writing under the name of Niranjan K. She is an avid reader of all things fantasy, and loves to discourse at length about her favourite books as well as shows. This blog is the space where she will be sharing her views and insights of the books, shows and movies that she likes.
