An Unseen Attraction

Sins of the Cities, Book 1

By: KJ Charles

Narrated by: Matthew Lloyd Davies

Length: 7 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's Summary

A slow-burning romance and a chilling mystery bind two singular men in the suspenseful first book of a new Victorian series from K. J. Charles.

Lodging-house keeper Clem Talleyfer prefers a quiet life. He's happy with his hobbies, his work - and especially with his lodger Rowley Green, who becomes a friend over their long fireside evenings together. If only neat, precise, irresistible Mr. Green were interested in more than friendship....

Rowley just wants to be left alone - at least until he meets Clem, with his odd, charming ways and his glorious eyes. Two quiet men, lodging in the same house, coming to an understanding...it could be perfect. Then the brutally murdered corpse of another lodger is dumped on their doorstep and their peaceful life is shattered. Now Clem and Rowley find themselves caught up in a mystery, threatened on all sides by violent men, with a deadly London fog closing in on them. If they're to see their way through, the pair must learn to share their secrets - and their hearts.

©2017 K. J. Charles (P)2017 Audible, Inc.

K J Charles is amazing

I had a hard start with this book. I love Charm of Magpies so much that I was initially disappointed to listen to a softer, more slowly paced book. But the author's talent won me over. As is true in all her books, the characters are portrayed as complete people with flaws and issues that make them more interesting. The characters are not "perfect" as people or physically. Which is a relief from most m/m books and gives their romance through friendship and awkward flirtation more complexities than simple physical attraction. Not that there isn't sexual attraction and a tiny bit of kink, which is nicely explored. Besides the layered personalities of the main characters, KJ Charles situates them deftly in Victorian London with nice historical details. The mystery is not the strongest element of the story but it does move the story along. The narrator had a good voice and gave each character a unique voice without overdoing it. I still hold out hope that Charm of Magpies will someday get turned into an audiobook but am perfectly happy with her current work if it continues to be of this quality. And (the best compliment you can give an author) I am definitely looking forward to the next book in this series.

Unexpected delight

This story quickly captivated me from the beginning and delightfully pulled me through every chapter to the wonderful conclusion. I have already added the next two novels in the series and can’t wait to dive into them. The mystery of the tale is cunningly parceled out with clever plot devices and gentle humor. The gay sexual element of the book is skillfully woven within the plot without being overwhelming or gratuitous. It’s a great novel in which the main characters are gay, instead of using a thin plot as an excuse to jump from sex scene to sex scene.

Truly refreshing romance

What did you love best about An Unseen Attraction?

KJ Charles is the first historical romance author I've seen to obviously do a great deal of research into the eras of their books. Weather, environment, geography, trades, laws, scandals, current events— all taken into account. I've never read erotica about London during the industrial revolution that even mentioned industrial pollution. This London feels lived in, and the setting feels to be as much of a character as the characters themselves. ALSO gosh, it was was so refreshing to see a romance about a biracial person, let alone one presented as on the autism spectrum! In fact, this is the first romance I've ever read with a non-white protagonist, and it was so refreshing to not just see Clem (front and center on the cover!), but also to have his complicated relationship with his family and culture discussed and not be conveniently glossed over.

Which character – as performed by Matthew Lloyd Davies – was your favorite?

I adored Matthew Lloyd Davies as a narrator. This was the first book of his I've listened to and I'm excited to follow to more of his work. His character voices were all a delight and all extremely distinctive, recognizable, and added extra dimension to each character.

Any additional comments?

I've now listened to this entire series and am truly enamored with this trilogy of books. I highly recommending listening to them in sequence, as a trio. The way the three books' narratives are constructed and twine around each other is unlike any other romance series I've ever read. Enjoy!

Delightful

I'm fond of adventures featuring everyday people, and this is an excellent example. I felt like I could have been one of the other residents of the boarding house or regulars at the Jack and Knave. KJ Charles' historical worldbuilding is thorough without beating you over the head with endless descriptive passages, so that you're just dropped into the rich complexity of Victorian London and allowed to live there. This is a gentler, slower story than some of her wild rides, but there's plenty of excitement, a little horror, and some truly hilarious animals.

Wow! A cozy romance with a dangerous mystery, too!

This is the first book by KJ Charles that I have read or listened to, and I was really impressed. I cannot wait to read the next two books in this trilogy. What a great combination! An exciting, gritty murder mystery, and a lovely gay (male-male) romance. I was enthralled the entire time by the excellent writing, wonderful characters, and an absorbing plot.

Clem and Rowlie are both good, decent guys. They respect each other and have patience and affection for each other's shortcomings. Rowlie is a taxidermist who came from a really poor background in South London. Clem is an autistic man who manages a lodging house for lower middle class artisans. He grew up in the English countryside. Clem looks like a handsome young man from India, but he was raised by his white English father. Clem's autistic characteristics include the following: an aversion to crowds and loud voices, an inability to multitask, a resistance to change, and a love of an orderly routine. I really like when romances have autistic characters, and this book handles it really well. I also loved the realistic progression of Clem and Rowlie's relationship, which is put under stress by the dangerous situation. They have disagreements that they work through.

The audiobook is wonderfully atmospheric. Dangerous men lurk in the sickly yellow fog. I discovered unusual parts of Victorian London where books have never taken me before: a taxidermist shop, a lodging house for artisans, a private social club for gay people, and a trapeze artist show.

I would say that there are several love scenes, and they are moderately steamy. Although they are somewhat graphic, the mechanics of what they do is not very adventurous or advanced as compared to other MM romances that I have read. Clem and Rowlie's first sexual encounter is so sweet and awkward; it was very charming. I felt the closeness and intimacy between Clem and Rowlie. The love scenes were very well written and added to the growing relationship in the book.

It was so sweet how the pair liked to just spend time together sitting on the couch having tea, talking, and petting the cat. I like both men a lot. Clem did occasionally get on my nerves with his denial and stubbornness about certain things that come to light.

Certain things in the plot were settled at the end of this book, but an ongoing story arc continues in Book 2 with Clem and Rowlie's investigative journalist friend as one of the main characters. I can't wait to listen to Book 2.

The narrator Matthew Lloyd Davies did such an excellent job! He is now one of my favorite narrators. Each character's voice was very distinctive, with the correct type of accent, different pitch, and the speed of speech. For example, Clem had an adorable English countryside accent, like a hobbit. I also like how the narrator seemed very comfortable with the intimate male/male love scenes. He is very good at expressing the emotions that Clem and Rowlie have for each other. In addition, his pacing was superb, especially for the action scenes. I hung on his every word, and I think he did a perfect job. Because of Mr. Davies' narration, I just had to buy the second book in this trilogy.

Well Done Historical M/M Mystery/Romance

This is the type of m/m romance I can get into. It has a plot first, with the romance supporting it. With so many cookie-cutter romance stories around, it is refreshing to find one as well done as this one. Told from the two main characters' POVs, the switching happens in chapters rather than paragraph ping-pong ball done by so many inexperienced writers.

I found the description of foggy London so well done that I could feel the grit on my own skin, as if I'd been walking through it myself. And of course, the narration by Matthew Lloyd Davies makes this story a listening treat for the ears, especially the sex scenes. And speaking of sex scenes - the slow build up makes this story extremely erotic, with just a slight dom/sub added in for spice.

Although a self-contained story, I like how it leads in to the sequel - which I have another month to wait for!

Loved it

The narrator was very good and brought the book alive. I did have problems with Clem. He almost was TSTL. The book was enjoyable and the mystery was very well done.

Not my cuppa

3.25 stars for the narrator. He wasn't bad but the voices he made during the sexual scenes made me uncomfortable lol.

2 stars for the story. Was not a fan of either of the characters. Clem was naive and weak when it came to his brother and Rowley was weak when it came to Clem. I just didn't care for it. I also was a fan of the story line dealing with the brother. However, I will be listening to book 2 hoping it improves.

Not worth a go

I thought to give it a go, reviews being mixed. And I listened to half the book, but the characters are just so bland and weak, the story so boring. It was boring people in a boring romance trying to live through a boring mystery. No one was smart, or brave, or ingenious, or thoughtful, everyone was just scared and reacting to everything around them. It just annoyed me. Not sure I’ll check the others in the series, it was painfully bland.

One of KJ Charles best novels, a small caveat

I really loved the characters' weaknesses and fallacies and their jumped off the page, so to speak, so vividly I was very sorry when it ended. The mystery part was weak, so if a reader is looking for a complex gay murder mystery, you will be sadly disappointed. Also, the novel isn't completed by the end of it so if you like cliffhangers... But there is a certain number of things resolved and completed. I really wish these characters would get another novel, but I doubt they will.

Good story

The concept is interesting and well written. The characters are likeable and the narration is good.