Unfit to Print

By: KJ Charles

Narrated by: Vikas Adam

When crusading lawyer Vikram Pandey sets out in search of a missing youth, his investigations take him to Holywell Street, London's most notorious address. He expects to find a disgraceful array of sordid bookshops. He doesn't expect one of them to be run by the long-lost friend whose disappearance and presumed death he's been mourning for 13 years.  

Gil Lawless became a Holywell Street bookseller for his own reasons, and he's damned if he's going to apologize or listen to moralizing from anyone. Not even Vikram; not even if the once-beloved boy has grown into a man who makes his mouth water.  

Now the upright lawyer and the illicit bookseller need to work together to track down the missing youth. And on the way, they may even learn if there's more than just memory and old affection binding them together....

Contains mature themes.

©2018 KJ Charles (P)2018 Tantor

another home run by KJ Charles

Loved this! Great characters and compelling storyline. As a heterosexual woman, I still found this book compelling, and the narration was excellent.

Short but enjoyable

A short, but sweet, story. Friends as children, a lawyer and a purveyor of pornography reunite when the lawyer goes looking for a missing boy who may have wound up in the dirty pictures trade.

The romance is focused on two formerly close friends who were ripped apart, and who have gone in vastly different directions in life, so much that both wonder if anything can come of their rediscovery of each other. Charles makes them both believable in their incomprehension of the other, but also gives them a platform (the investigation) through which to come together again.

The mystery part of the plot is fairly thin, but appropriate to the length of the work. The connections are believable, and the resolution quite satisfying.

Recommended.

As a matter of interest, there are strong parallels here to some details from the Sins of the City series, likely because some of the research on the pornography trade was originally planned for that series, but that story line didn't work out. I was fascinated to see similar background details being used to flesh out an entirely different character arc.

The narrator is quite good. His voice for Vik reminded me of the voice the narrator for Wanted, a Gentleman used for Martin, but, no, different narrators.

#MM #dirtybooks #tagsgiving #sweepstakes

Former Lovers

A beautiful love story of two men who were torn apart as young boys finding each other again. The mystery as they search for a murderer was very gripping. The narrator was wonderful. He brought these characters alive.

I enjoyed this book immensely

KJ Charles is an author I have come to admire, her periodical romances are raw, unique and gender/ethnically inclusive. She is a fantastic storyteller with well researched stories that are time accurate.
This short story had everything you can wish for in a Historical M/M Romance: thrill, mystery, an investigation, complex family issues among the high society and a strong connection between the two MC's, Vikram and Gil.
One of my favorite troupes is Friends-to-Lovers and Second Chance, this book had them with such an intensity, I loved it!
I also admire her use of people of color and ethical variety in her stories, it shows a side of Historical Romance that is not usually found in any Romance genre (be it M/F or M/M) and brings to light the complexity of living in that time period.

The narrator (which I am sure I heard before but could not find the book if I had) was great! I love his voice, the accents and characters where unique and he really brought an emotional punch in his narration.
If you liked this but haven't read any other books by this author, check out Sins of the Cities books or The Magpie Lord, you will not be disappointed.

Sexy Who Dunnit

This book a mystery set in the old days of London when chamber pots were dumped in the street. Two old flames meet again after 13 years and team up to find a missing young man. They discover themselves and learn new things about each other as well as work out some issues along the way. This story has a HEA ending. Very enjoyable read/listen.