An Unseen Attraction

Sins of the Cities, Book 1

By: KJ Charles

Narrated by: Matthew Lloyd Davies

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.

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.

Thrilling

I enjoyed this book and storyline completely. It kept me guessing and I am incredibly excited to listen to the next book!

Enjoyable, but NSFW

The spicy scenes were a little gruff for my tastes, but everything else was enjoyable. The story is interesting and the characters are compelling.

Fun romp

Wonderful fun Victorian romance, with the added allure of a muder mystery, family secrets, and illicit love.

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!