Romney Marsh, Kent, in the early 1800s. A remote part of England, thinly populated, misty…and perfect for smugglers. The Doomsday clan run the free trade across the Dymchurch area of Romney Marsh. But two of them are about to get mixed up in crime, conspiracy, murder—and unexpected love.
The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen
Abandoned by his father as a small child, Sir Gareth Inglis has grown up prickly, cold, and well-used to disappointment. Even so, he longs for a connection, falling headfirst into a passionate anonymous affair that’s over almost as quickly as it began. Bitter at the sudden rejection, Gareth has little time to lick his wounds: his father has died, leaving him the family title, a rambling manor on the remote Romney Marsh…and the den of cutthroats and thieves that make its intricate waterways their home.
Joss Doomsday has run the Doomsday smuggling clan since he was a boy. His family is his life…which is why when the all-too-familiar new baronet testifies against Joss’s sister for a hanging offense, Joss acts fast, blackmailing Gareth with the secret of their relationship to force him to recant. Their reunion is anything but happy and the path forward everything but smooth, yet after the dust settles, neither can stay away. It’s a long road from there—full of danger and mysteries to be solved—yet somehow, along the way, this well-mannered gentleman may at last find true love with the least likely of scoundrels.
“Charles successfully balances a complicated suspense plot and an emotionally resonant romance. … This novel launches a delightful new Regency romance series from Charles; readers will be eagerly anticipating the next installment.”–Library Journal starred review
“A dark and stunning love story between a smuggler and a newly minted baronet. … Readers will devour this … a surprising number of beetles and newts for a romance.” –Publishers Weekly starred review
“The various financial and internecine quarrels are convincingly rendered and the supporting characters and setting finely textured, but it’s the tenderness and steam that emanate from Gareth and Joss that really give the story its spark. Their relationship is deeply passionate, and they have a lovely way of communicating even when they don’t have the language to articulate their feelings.”–Book Page starred review
“a pulse-quickening queer Poldark … a high-heat epic”–Oprah Daily
“This poignant romance is an absolute joy! … And it has been far too long since there was a landed gentry/smuggler romance.”–Library Reads March 2023 Pick
“I loved this book so hard. Action, adventure, mystery, tenderness, and romantic love, this book had it all, and I eagerly devoured every word. This is one of those books that you read in the car while sitting at a light, or while waiting at the pick-up line at the grocery store, literally unable to put it down until you get to the HEA.”–Smexy Books
“a fabulous mix of frenemies-to-lovers romance and mystery boasting a wonderfully evoked setting, lots of interesting historical detail and plenty of the wry humour and sharp observation that I so enjoy about the author’s work.”–All About Romance, Desert Isle Keeper
“As always, Charles combines masterful prose, thrilling romance, fantastic wit, and gripping stakes. Her characters feel as real and relatable as a bruise. She is, in my opinion, a titan of her genre.”–Talia Hibbert
“The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen has it all: Smuggling! Blackmail! Secret rendezvous! Scoundrels! Sweethearts! Big feelings! KJ Charles is one of the best romance novelists writing today and The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen is proof. Historical romance at its finest.” – Sarah MacLean
A Nobleman’s Guide to Seducing a Scoundrel
Major Rufus d’Aumesty has unexpectedly become the Earl of Oxney, master of a remote Norman manor on the edge of the infamous Romney Marsh. There he’s beset on all sides, his position contested both by’his greedy uncle and by Luke Doomsday, son of a notorious smuggling clan.
The earl and the smuggler should be natural enemies, but cocksure, enragingly competent Luke is a trained secretary and expert schemer―exactly the sort of man Rufus needs by his side. Before long, Luke becomes an unexpected ally…and the lover Rufus had never hoped to find.
But Luke came to Stone Manor with an ulterior motive, one he’s desperate to keep hidden even from the lord he can’t resist. As the lies accumulate and family secrets threaten to destroy everything they hold dear, master and man find themselves forced to decide whose side they’re really on…and what they’re willing to do for love.
Coming 19th September 2023