Status
Available
Call number
Series
Collection
Publication
Loveswept (2017), 220 pages
Description
Fiction. Romance. Historical Fiction. LGBTQIA+ (Fiction.) HTML:In the sordid streets of Victorian London, unwanted desire flares between two bitter enemies brought together by a deadly secret. Crusading journalist Nathaniel Roy is determined to expose spiritualists who exploit the grief of bereaved and vulnerable people. First on his list is the so-called Seer of London, Justin Lazarus. Nathaniel expects him to be a cheap, heartless fraud. He doesn�t expect to meet a man with a sinful smile and the eyes of a fallen angel�or that a shameless swindler will spark his desires for the first time in years. Justin feels no remorse for the lies he spins during his s�ances. His gullible clients simply bore him. Hostile, disbelieving, utterly irresistible Nathaniel is a fascinating challenge. And as their battle of wills and wits heats up, Justin finds he can�t stop thinking about the man who�s determined to ruin him. But Justin and Nathaniel are linked by more than their fast-growing obsession with one another. They are both caught up in an aristocratic family�s secrets, and Justin holds information that could be lethal. As killers, fanatics, and fog close in, Nathaniel is the only man Justin can trust�and, perhaps, the only man he could love. Don�t miss any of the captivating Sins of the Cities novels: AN UNSEEN ATTRACTION | AN UNNATURAL VICE | AN UNSUITABLE HEIR And look for the enticing Society of Gentlemen series by KJ Charles: THE RUIN OF GABRIEL ASHLEIGH | A FASHIONABLE INDULGENCE | A SEDITIOUS AFFAIR | A GENTLEMAN�S POSITION Praise for An Unnatural Vice �Explosive.��Publishers Weekly �Animosity and attraction surge in equal measures when Nathaniel Roy, investigative journalist, faces off against Justin Lazarus, the Seer of London. Their opposing vocations and radically different backgrounds create a powerful and fascinating conflict. Although this book can be read as a stand-alone, [K. J.] Charles continues to build tension and add menace by deepening the overarching mystery introduced in the first novel. The series is definitely building to a firecracker conclusion.��RT Book Reviews �An Unnatural Vice is a tremendous follow-up to the first book in the Sins of the City trilogy. Fans of the series�and of K. J. Charles�will love the romance between Nathaniel and Justin, and the Taillefer family mystery. . . . An Unnatural Vice is exciting, entertaining, romantic�and wonderful.��All About Romance Includes an excerpt from another Loveswept title..… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member samnreader
Reread December 2019: hi, hello, yes, I am now referring to this book as "the worst" because it ended again.* Will have to read a third time to see if it happens again.
*Do not get me wrong, this book has near-perfect pacing.
If anyone needs me, I'll be stitching J&N on my pillows. Thank you, good
(Reread #8 completed)
______Original Review___
“Tell you what, my spirit guide’s a fucking tart.”
I lived in this book. I don't know what else to say. Few books hit me with the intensity that this did, fewer still where I take my time reading, soaking, rereading passages or relistening to full chapters.
Few books make the setting a character so effectively, and I can tell you, I've never enjoyed a suspense plot in a romance because one always gets cheated...But none got cheated here. Somehow, it suited the characters and the relationship.
To say I was a goner from the point Nathaniel describes Justin is probably not correct. I was a goner from the prologue, immediately entranced by Justin's voice, his intuition, and his observation. But I knew this book was going be something special unless something went really really fucking wrong from this passage:
The Seer of London was aged perhaps thirty, of no more than average height, on the thin side, narrow-shouldered, narrow-faced. His hair was too long, and fell over his forehead; he seemed to be striving for the goatee Nathaniel had vaguely expected without having the wherewithal to achieve it; his plain coat was a little worn at the cuffs. He was the sort of man one would have passed in the street without noticing, except for his eyes. They were grey, large, and luminous, almond-shaped with winging brows, and remarkably intent. They turned his face from pinched to something slightly odd, almost elfin. Something not quite wicked, but nothing good.
Something tempting.
But nothing went wrong from there. Nathaniel was, for me, super relatable. Reserved, skeptical, ruthlessly committed to fact and truth. Justin was equally recognizable-driven to survive, ambitious in his independence, and a bit ruthless in those pursuits. He’d be easy to dislike, looking as if he preys on people, but his lack of apology-almost righteousness-for it really worked in his favor. There was an intensely antagonistic dynamic, so well done you knew that it bordered on passion and hatred, more importantly, the characters knew.
He’d gone for Roy harder than he had for anyone in a while because it had felt like more than just another tedious seance. It had felt like a duel.
Unsurprisingly, this dynamic between the upstanding journalist Nathaniel Roy and the unapologetic charlatan-both who were so competent it was damn respectable-created some heavy sexual tension. While I wondered how this would culminate with them as partners and lovers, I did not doubt that it would. Somehow, due the challenges they both brought forth, the scenes became so large and combustible, and KJ Charles did not hold back the resolution as long as I’d expected-which is good, really really good.
“Oh come.” Roy inclined his head a fraction closer. “Between us. Admit what you are.”
Justin gave him a tooth-baring smile. “I will if you will.” Roy inhaled sharply, and Justin felt his grin widen at the scent of blood. “You call me a liar, Mr. Roy. Which of us is the more honest, here and now?”
“I cannot think of any company in which you would be the most honest person present.” Scathing words, uttered very low, with those summer-blue eyes fixed on his face.
Roy was going to act. Justin felt it as a certainty. He didn’t know how, or what the man would do but he would force Roy into making the first move somehow, and the reckless exhilaration was making his blood sing as much as Nathaniel Roy’s parted lips and widened pupils. This was what he lived for. The challenge, the battle.
“Would you like me to speak the truth now, Mr. Roy? Or will you find a way to stop my mouth?”
Roy lowered his face, closer, enough to feel the heat of his skin, lips a breath away from Justin’s. He whispered, like a caress, “You are born to be hanged.”
“And isn’t it fun?”
Both Nathaniel and Justin are faithful, loyal men to their people. Both ruthless, yet caring. Both vulnerable, but not obviously so.
I’m not afraid to call this installment a masterpiece. I’ve read so few romances, particularly enemy-to-lovers, of this caliber. This was a stunner as much for the masterful pen and prose as it was for the utterly atmospheric plot and incredibly fleshed out characters. Their conversations killed me. The sex scenes served a purpose, both as vulnerability being exposed, protection being offered, and frustration and fear being excised.
He had never in his life been with anyone whose will was as strong as his own. This didn’t feel like a flirtation; it felt like stags circling, antlers ready to clash.
And man….if I’m asking nicely would’ve shown up in my coat pocket I would’ve exploded. Consent was an absolute integral part of the dialogue, dealt with head-on in a manner that was both sexy and respectful. Careful, but didn’t undermine the explosiveness and unrestrained chemistry between these two. I also appreciated that each man demanded what was best—what was good—for himself, and eventually each other.
I hate what you do, and I kneel at your altar anyway.
But this is KJC, so don’t forget the healthy dose of humor.
“…And listen well or I shall make you read my father’s much applauded sermon on the topic of the Sinner who Repenteth.”
“Fucking try it.”
I won’t even try to capture the tenderness in this book. I have about 100 highlights demonstrating that. I really admired Nathaniel’s confidence in sharing these feelings, in facing them and a good deal of what worked for this book was that he didn’t continually chase away guilt for falling for a man who was in a profession that he didn’t respect, all the while finding a way to be proud of him.
”No strings, Justin. I want you on your feet, not your knees…”
What was especially miraculous was after the disappointing first installment of this series, I came to appreciate the quiet strength between Clem and Rowley as well.
But this book, I’ll never be over. I utterly hate it for ending.
*Do not get me wrong, this book has near-perfect pacing.
If anyone needs me, I'll be stitching J&N on my pillows. Thank you, good
Show More
night.(Reread #8 completed)
______Original Review___
“Tell you what, my spirit guide’s a fucking tart.”
I lived in this book. I don't know what else to say. Few books hit me with the intensity that this did, fewer still where I take my time reading, soaking, rereading passages or relistening to full chapters.
Few books make the setting a character so effectively, and I can tell you, I've never enjoyed a suspense plot in a romance because one always gets cheated...But none got cheated here. Somehow, it suited the characters and the relationship.
To say I was a goner from the point Nathaniel describes Justin is probably not correct. I was a goner from the prologue, immediately entranced by Justin's voice, his intuition, and his observation. But I knew this book was going be something special unless something went really really fucking wrong from this passage:
The Seer of London was aged perhaps thirty, of no more than average height, on the thin side, narrow-shouldered, narrow-faced. His hair was too long, and fell over his forehead; he seemed to be striving for the goatee Nathaniel had vaguely expected without having the wherewithal to achieve it; his plain coat was a little worn at the cuffs. He was the sort of man one would have passed in the street without noticing, except for his eyes. They were grey, large, and luminous, almond-shaped with winging brows, and remarkably intent. They turned his face from pinched to something slightly odd, almost elfin. Something not quite wicked, but nothing good.
Something tempting.
But nothing went wrong from there. Nathaniel was, for me, super relatable. Reserved, skeptical, ruthlessly committed to fact and truth. Justin was equally recognizable-driven to survive, ambitious in his independence, and a bit ruthless in those pursuits. He’d be easy to dislike, looking as if he preys on people, but his lack of apology-almost righteousness-for it really worked in his favor. There was an intensely antagonistic dynamic, so well done you knew that it bordered on passion and hatred, more importantly, the characters knew.
He’d gone for Roy harder than he had for anyone in a while because it had felt like more than just another tedious seance. It had felt like a duel.
Unsurprisingly, this dynamic between the upstanding journalist Nathaniel Roy and the unapologetic charlatan-both who were so competent it was damn respectable-created some heavy sexual tension. While I wondered how this would culminate with them as partners and lovers, I did not doubt that it would. Somehow, due the challenges they both brought forth, the scenes became so large and combustible, and KJ Charles did not hold back the resolution as long as I’d expected-which is good, really really good.
“Oh come.” Roy inclined his head a fraction closer. “Between us. Admit what you are.”
Justin gave him a tooth-baring smile. “I will if you will.” Roy inhaled sharply, and Justin felt his grin widen at the scent of blood. “You call me a liar, Mr. Roy. Which of us is the more honest, here and now?”
“I cannot think of any company in which you would be the most honest person present.” Scathing words, uttered very low, with those summer-blue eyes fixed on his face.
Roy was going to act. Justin felt it as a certainty. He didn’t know how, or what the man would do but he would force Roy into making the first move somehow, and the reckless exhilaration was making his blood sing as much as Nathaniel Roy’s parted lips and widened pupils. This was what he lived for. The challenge, the battle.
“Would you like me to speak the truth now, Mr. Roy? Or will you find a way to stop my mouth?”
Roy lowered his face, closer, enough to feel the heat of his skin, lips a breath away from Justin’s. He whispered, like a caress, “You are born to be hanged.”
“And isn’t it fun?”
Both Nathaniel and Justin are faithful, loyal men to their people. Both ruthless, yet caring. Both vulnerable, but not obviously so.
I’m not afraid to call this installment a masterpiece. I’ve read so few romances, particularly enemy-to-lovers, of this caliber. This was a stunner as much for the masterful pen and prose as it was for the utterly atmospheric plot and incredibly fleshed out characters. Their conversations killed me. The sex scenes served a purpose, both as vulnerability being exposed, protection being offered, and frustration and fear being excised.
He had never in his life been with anyone whose will was as strong as his own. This didn’t feel like a flirtation; it felt like stags circling, antlers ready to clash.
And man….if I’m asking nicely would’ve shown up in my coat pocket I would’ve exploded. Consent was an absolute integral part of the dialogue, dealt with head-on in a manner that was both sexy and respectful. Careful, but didn’t undermine the explosiveness and unrestrained chemistry between these two. I also appreciated that each man demanded what was best—what was good—for himself, and eventually each other.
I hate what you do, and I kneel at your altar anyway.
But this is KJC, so don’t forget the healthy dose of humor.
“…And listen well or I shall make you read my father’s much applauded sermon on the topic of the Sinner who Repenteth.”
“Fucking try it.”
I won’t even try to capture the tenderness in this book. I have about 100 highlights demonstrating that. I really admired Nathaniel’s confidence in sharing these feelings, in facing them and a good deal of what worked for this book was that he didn’t continually chase away guilt for falling for a man who was in a profession that he didn’t respect, all the while finding a way to be proud of him.
”No strings, Justin. I want you on your feet, not your knees…”
What was especially miraculous was after the disappointing first installment of this series, I came to appreciate the quiet strength between Clem and Rowley as well.
But this book, I’ll never be over. I utterly hate it for ending.
Show Less
LibraryThing member TheIdleWoman
The second volume in Charles's Cities trilogy, this reintroduces us to characters from the first book and adds some new faces, namely the so-called Seer of London, the spiritualist Justin Lazarus. The crusading journalist Nathaniel Roy is on Lazarus's trail, hoping to expose him in the papers as a
This is a quick read but not, for me, a hugely memorable one. If you enjoyed the first book, you'll like having the chance to revisit characters such as Clem, Rowley and the gang at the Jack, but I can't help feeling that this series doesn't have the weight, conviction and polish of the Society of Gentlemen series. I'm just not enjoying it so much. It feels more like a formulaic romance and less like the thoroughly plausible world in which the Ricardians lived. But maybe that's just because I preferred the Society of Gentlemen's Georgette-Heyer-style panache to the grimmer, darker Dickensian flavour of this series.
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fraud and a conman. However, Roy's mission is complicated when both he and Lazarus are drawn into the hunt for the lost heir to the Earl of Moreton: a quest which has drawn interest from some distinctly unpleasant (and murderous) characters. Even worse, Roy is finding it hard to ignore his very inconvenient interest in the blackguardly Lazarus. This is a quick read but not, for me, a hugely memorable one. If you enjoyed the first book, you'll like having the chance to revisit characters such as Clem, Rowley and the gang at the Jack, but I can't help feeling that this series doesn't have the weight, conviction and polish of the Society of Gentlemen series. I'm just not enjoying it so much. It feels more like a formulaic romance and less like the thoroughly plausible world in which the Ricardians lived. But maybe that's just because I preferred the Society of Gentlemen's Georgette-Heyer-style panache to the grimmer, darker Dickensian flavour of this series.
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LibraryThing member Gretchening
KJ Charles is always a fun read, and I'm really enjoying this trilogy! I like the baggage these guys have, and the take on the enemies-to-lovers trope (where rather than being enemies per se, they're more philosophically at disagreement/worldview/ethics). I'm very much looking forward to the
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concluding volume! Show Less
LibraryThing member N.W.Moors
Justin Lazarus is a medium in late Victorian London. Nathaniel Roy is a writer who's determined to unmask this fraud. Instead, the two find an almost immediate attraction to each other. But there's a lot of obstacles. Nathaniel lost his lover five years earlier, and Justin is determined to depend
This is the second book of the Sins of the Cities series, and I think one should read An Unseen Attraction first. Each story is told in switching POVs between the two heroes, and there is some overlap in this book to the first, but from a different POV. The author is excellent as far as her grasp on historical details of the time. She also did some great research on seances and mediums of the time and how they performed their 'tricks'.
This is also wonderful writing. The characters are very distinct, not always nice but realistic and true to the story. The missing heir is the impetus for the overarching plot of the three books. I'm curious to find out who is the murderer in the third book and how the heir deals with his new circumstances.
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only on himself. Add in their involvement in finding the missing heir to an earldom, murder, and deceit, and you have a wonderful story.This is the second book of the Sins of the Cities series, and I think one should read An Unseen Attraction first. Each story is told in switching POVs between the two heroes, and there is some overlap in this book to the first, but from a different POV. The author is excellent as far as her grasp on historical details of the time. She also did some great research on seances and mediums of the time and how they performed their 'tricks'.
This is also wonderful writing. The characters are very distinct, not always nice but realistic and true to the story. The missing heir is the impetus for the overarching plot of the three books. I'm curious to find out who is the murderer in the third book and how the heir deals with his new circumstances.
Show Less
LibraryThing member rivkat
Justin is a medium who makes his living from telling the gullible what they want to hear; Nathaniel is a journalist who first tries to expose Justin, then just wants to fuck him. This happens for the first time when they are still enemies (fully consensually), if that’s your thing. When Justin
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gets caught up in Nathaniel’s search for a missing heir, they have to work together for Justin’s safety and Nathaniel’s mission. Show Less
LibraryThing member AKBouterse
This was a really good follow up to book one! Definitely felt like there was less action in this one, at least to me. It felt very introspective to me but I liked it because I thought the relationship was very well done.
I read book one a while ago so I didn't remember all of the details but this
The relationship dynamic was really good. There's some great conflict and communication between Justin and Nathaniel. Charles does a great job of writing conflict without falling into the trap of miscommunication and non-communication. There's some great back and forth between them and negotiation of what the relationship is going to look like. There are some great lines that really demonstrate the feelings they have for each other and really made me believe in their relationship. I think I did like this relationship a bit more than the one in book one.
I really like this follow up in this series and I'm interested in book three given how this book ended. Hopefully that book will be a good wrap up to the series.
I read book one a while ago so I didn't remember all of the details but this
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book picks back up with the mystery of that book. That was interesting and I liked the spiritualism elements that were included as part of Justin's character. I don't have too much to say about the mystery plot but I did enjoy it for the most part. The relationship dynamic was really good. There's some great conflict and communication between Justin and Nathaniel. Charles does a great job of writing conflict without falling into the trap of miscommunication and non-communication. There's some great back and forth between them and negotiation of what the relationship is going to look like. There are some great lines that really demonstrate the feelings they have for each other and really made me believe in their relationship. I think I did like this relationship a bit more than the one in book one.
I really like this follow up in this series and I'm interested in book three given how this book ended. Hopefully that book will be a good wrap up to the series.
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LibraryThing member JorgeousJotts
This one might be a little bit rounded up, but I'm not much of an enemies to lovers person, and I just wasn't as fond of these two as I was the book before. Still, it had some very sweet moments, and the plot did a good job of facilitating their developing relationship. The story did seem a bit
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overly harsh on the Medium's work, yes it was a scam, but still I'm sure it brought some joy and closure and insight and things to the people who believed it worked, so it doesn't seem quite as bad is it was made out to be. That would have gotten in the way of the redemption arc and things, so I get why it was that way, but still it just seemed a little unfair. Show Less
Language
Original publication date
2017
ISBN
9780399593970