Slippery Creatures

Will Darling Adventures Series, Book 1

By: KJ Charles

Narrated by: Cornell Collins

Length: 7 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

Will Darling came back from the Great War with a few scars, a lot of medals, and no idea what to do next. Inheriting his uncle's chaotic secondhand bookshop is a blessing...until strange visitors start making threats. First a criminal gang, then the War Office, both telling Will to give them the information they want, or else.  

Will has no idea what that information is, and nobody to turn to, until Kim Secretan - charming, cultured, oddly attractive - steps in to offer help. As Kim and Will try to find answers and outrun trouble, mutual desire grows along with the danger.  

And then Will discovers the truth about Kim. His identity, his past, his real intentions. Enraged and betrayed, Will never wants to see him again.  

But Will possesses knowledge that could cost thousands of lives. Enemies are closing in on him from all sides - and Kim is the only man who can help.  

Contains mature themes.

©2020 KJ Charles (P)2020 Tantor

good yarn

The timing of a book that doesn’t glorify war is spot on. I was expecting a romance with some action. This is mostly a mystery. A broke world war 1 veteran, Will, inherits a bookstore and a pile of trouble via a wayward package. Hijinks ensue. The least bad person coming after the package is Kim, who comes from money.

Normally I don’t root much for characters who are stubborn just to be stubborn, but I was fully rooting for Will & his stubbornness the whole time because he wasn’t wrong to be so stubborn. I only wish he was more stubborn about carrying his knife. Kim was a chaos generator and kind of irritating. This might be because the story has a single POV from Will, or it might be because Kim’s a secretive guy with trust issues who never really worked with Will, only adjacent to him. I was unable to tell if they were working together by the end. I would have enjoyed it more if I could have.

I think the mystery was pretty good. Clues and action came along often enough to keep the plot moving, the stakes make sense, and the conclusion was satisfying.

But the romance barely reaches infancy by the end of the book because Kim is a secretive loner whose motives are murky to both Will and the reader. Having just re-read the Magpie series, again, where the romance is solid by the end of book 1, I was a little thrown here. I’m not sure if it’s entirely fair to be disappointed in the romance because I can’t tell if it’s a matter of false expectation on my part. Kim & Will spend this whole book working independently, hoarding secrets from each other, then playing catch up. Sometimes this makes sense. Sometimes it’s annoying. We mostly know they’re “good people at heart” because their friends think so, but their friends are few and rarely in scenes. While I don’t think the guys will sell each other out, they are a long way from being a couple that collaborates. I need see Kim & Will deliberately work together more before I will believe that they’ll have a reliable future. I like the author so if this is a series, I’ll keep reading despite finding the romance more frustrating than not.

Steam: Med Low. There’s some M/M shenanigans on page but less than average. There isn’t a great deal of emotional intimacy either, which makes what is there a little flat.

Narration: I remain a fan of this narrator’s work. It’s easy to follow. I think there’s a slight hiss to the background.

meh*********spoilers*************************

so its with heavy heart that I give the story a low score, the reason why is the way the story progressed, it began great, in fact there were a few moments I actually threw my hands in the air and screamed "YES"! finally a gay character who wasn't a female with a mans name, so many authors....unfortunately they are all women, write gay romance as straight romance and just change the main characters name to a mans name, in all other aspects the character acts and behaves like a woman, this was one of the only gay romance, and ive read a few=P that actually made me believe the Will was a man and not a female character with a mans moniker, this changed unfortunately when will threw himself back into kims arms, being gay back than, I wasn't, but I know the fear of hoping people don't find out, if someone had basically proven that they used me under orders of the secret serivce for the government, and honestly at that point that's exactly what Will Believed .....especially a strong male GAY character from the 1920's, there would be no way on gods green earth that id go back to the person, especially a lord who had pretty much just proven he may have used my sexuality in a bid to blackmail or sway my mind...…...the betrayal itself to a gay man in the 1920s would have been enough to leave the city ….or at the very least NEVER wanted to have contact with Kim every again, it should have been Kim who had to move heaven and earth to win his trust back, and than betraying Will AGAIN?!?! ………..im sorry but wills character would NOT have threw himself back at Kim...…...where this sticks in my craw is that, that would have been perfectly normal behavior for a woman in a straight relationship, there would have been nothing stoping a woman from seeking kim out again, it would have been romantic and spontaneous and hopefully optimistic, when it's a gay man in the 1920's that changes...will had Everything to loose...in a horrible embarrassing and socially catastrophic way that could have put him in prison, and more than likely killed, men arrested for being gay did NOT live a happy life, SOO in conclusion the blaise faire way in which he just happily and with out a second thought throws him self back at Lord Kim(whos gay behavior could have been forgiven as he was acting to save queen and country)is absolutely un believable......that's the unfortunate thing that a lot of female authors don't get is that even today being outed and just being a gay man is a BIG dangerous deal, and NO gay man takes being outed as a no big deal kinda thing. being gay is dangerous even today.

Espionage and intrigue

This was more understated than the author’s other books, both with the MM romance and the action.
But, between Cornell Collin’s fabulous narration and the wonderfully murky plot, I had a great time trying to figure out the mystery and trying to tell the good guys from the bad. It’s very satisfying to have complex, flawed, and shady characters to liven up what could have ended up as just another MM love story. Indeed, I’m not entirely sure I count this as romance. It’s much better as a wicked tale of period spycraft.

Loved this!

Cornell Collins was an excellent choice for this audiobook. I think he especially nailed both Will’s and Kim’s characters!

KJ Charles coming in with another fantastic book. I loved everything about this book and I loved Will and Kim. Will is totally jaded from his time as a soldier and the period of poverty he experienced when he came home and there wasn't enough support for returning veterans. He doesn't take any crap in this book and gives as good as he gets. I thought it was hilarious! He's totally not what you're expecting with all that happens in this book. And then there's Kim. Oh boy, he's an absolute character. Used to charming his way into everything, he's not ready for Will constantly challenging him. All of their scenes together are fun. In this book Will and Kim are extremely attracted to each other and there are some spicy scenes, but things are still building up to an actual romance. I'm honestly loving the tension; and both men are almost annoyed that they can't keep their hands off each other. There are also some really fun side characters - even the "bad guys" made me laugh at some point - and a very interesting plot!

I waited until the full series was out before reading this and I'm glad I did because I need to go right into the next book and see what happens next.

I also listened to the audio - highly recommend it! The narrator really brings all of the characters to life and it's fantastic.

If lord Peter Whimsy was gay

Set in the same time period, a decamped soldier from WW1 is facing hard times when luck changes with an uncle taking him in and soon leaving him a used book shop. Quickly strange occurrences and people come to him in search for information he is not aware he may have. A handsome lord comes to the shop and eventually becomes involved with helping the shopkeeper unravel the mystery. Plenty of plot twists, flushed out characters, ( graphic M/M sex) satisfying ending.

Consistent talent

Hey folks if you haven't read anything by this author do yourself a favor and pick up anyone of her books. You will not be disappointed this is not really a review just an ode to her greatness.
Also thanks to Cornell Collins you are amazing and as a result i move from my bookshelf to my kindle then joy oh joy end with the audible production. Pure bliss. thanks guys.

I've lost count

I've lost count of the number of times I've listened to this series.

Excellent narrator compliments the unique, complex characters, and the story is very enjoyable, even after multiple listens.

Excellent story and performance

KJ Charles doesn’t miss. This story is the perfect balance of action and romance.
Narration is perfect.

Cleaver and thought provoking

The banter is lots of fun, but the moral dilemma faced by the two leads puts all aspects of war and government under a microscope. Loved this book.

An Enjoyable Mystery

A veteran inherits a bookshop and with it a mystery. A good read and narration.

Great story, very poor narration 😕😕😕

I LOVED this story, but as usual KJ has chosen Cornell Collins/Matthew Lloyd Davies to narrate. Yes, it's her story and of course, the choice is up to her BUT I really do wish she would try someone else [although to be honest, that doesn't seem to have worked out too well for her sometimes in the past...Think of England for example 😒😒]. 1.5 stars only for the narration, so my overall rating for the story has lost a couple of stars I'm afraid.

It was a REAL STRUGGLE to finish this one, and that had nothing to do with the story and EVERYTHING to do with the narrator. Cornell Collins/Matthew Lloyd Davies seemed to switch between *coughs* accents for Will, anything from a West Country accent to a dour Yorkshire man...sometimes even in the same sentence, and it was either mumbled or spoken so quickly that you had trouble understanding him; his female voices are still non-existent and his Welsh accent for Maisie was laughable too. I was under the impression that Will came from Northants, so what happened to his Midlands accent...or is that an accent too far for Mr Lloyd Davies? 'Kim' was fine of course as an upper-crust Southerner, but the narrator's performance in this story has absolutely ensured that I won't be buying the audio of The Sugared Game or Subtle Blood. I try to avoid MLD like the plague now; just because he's good at upper crust English accents doesn't mean he's any good for regional accents...are you listening English authors??

Excellent as usual

Really enjoyable and well paced. A great start to the series! The narrator as always was spot on!

A wonderful story

The characters have a great depth and the author uses the time, place and genre (post WWI London) to explore all the roots and depths of uncertain romance, being gay, and finding the imperfect perfect.

The narration is solid and manages male and female, mixed accents well.

Good spy story..suprisingly made me laugh

As say good story...and found myself laughing out loud every time the character called Will had a realisation! Not sure if that was author's intention as not the genre of the book. Surprised me every time and so suppose it is a reflection of this reader...but was a very enjoyable aspect of the book. Excellent

I have no ear for accents so I loved it

I’m not saying the accents were right (no ear) but I thought it was well acted.

I read the book so went for the audio too!

The narrator is brilliant and I'm really pleased that it is the same one throughout the series. He's very talented with the different use of voices and tells the story well.

The *polite cough* naughty bits are told with passion (we all know why were here) and without embarrassment. He also has a beautiful speaking tone which lends to the production admirably.

I've collected the other two in the series (as well as the books) and the story itself is gripping. The plot perhaps a little simple if you are an avid crime reader but it's all about the characters in these books by KJ Charles. I've started reading 'The Magpie Lord' series too, which I do enjoy but not half as much as this series of Will, Kim, Phoebe, Maisey and the Messer.

Alright

Nothing special though entertaining. The narrator should keep his hands of the mic while recording. The noise it makes is distracting.

Ebb and Flow

Dramatic tale of the ebb and flow of emotions and passion caused by disillusionment, despair and treachery between the MCs. Excellent narration enhances the action. Good start to the series. ENJOYABLE

Sadly, rather tedious

I was disappointed with this audiobook on two levels. Firstly, the story plot was tedious and messy. Secondly, Cornell Collins narration was not up to par. His upper-crust accents were delightful as always, but Mr. Collins seems to be a one-trick pony when it comes to accents.

The character of William Darling was from Northampton. For those who don't know, this is in the West Midlands, UK... close to Birmingham. The accent is a very particular kind of drawl, which as Mr. Collins didn't attempt. He should have stopped there and given a basic RP accent. However, the accent he did give Will was DREADFUL. Not only was it unattractive and incorrect - a cross between Yorkshire and West Country, but he also spoke VERY fast when narrating Will's lines, which made them sound garbled. I couldn't even change the narration speed on my device to make him audible, as it would slow the whole production.

All in all, I just could not take to Will as a character. He made little sense to me and his actions and reactions bugged me. The plot was so drawn out, centering around a book shop and the consistent visits from ruffians and the War office looking for 'THE INFORMATION'. I got bored very quickly but persevered for the love interest, but sadly, even that couldn't detract from the rest of the book. Shame. I really hoped this would be as good as Simon Feximal or the Green Men books.