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.
The Meta Details:
Source: Netgalley
Format: eBook
Length: 247 pages
Genre: Historical Romance, Mystery, MM Romance
Content Level: Adult
Pearl Clutching Content: Explicit sexual content that wades into the Great Lake of BDSM
Trigger Warnings: allusions to past rape; mentions of previous child abuse; mentions of bullying; shitty families; homophobic language; abelist language and names; taxidermy; shitty families
Featuring: Slight taxidermist; Half-Indian lodging house keeper on the autistic spectrum; the best club in all of London; Cat; The Flying Starlings; gay heroes
Scorecard:
Recommended for: Fans of historical and MM romance
Rating: This was amazing and you have to read it
Ginny Lurcock’s Thoughts: So Clem is basically everything I never knew I needed in a romantic hero. A half-Indian bastard son who falls somewhere on the Autistic spectrum (I think, if I’m wrong please let me know) with a heart as big and bright and pure as the sun.
I’m a little in love with Clem. I just want to smoosh his face so hard…
And yes, there was more gushing over Clem, but I’ve cut that bit for time.
Rowley, on the other hand, is scared of yelling and violence because of an alcoholic father who prefers the quiet and doesn’t feel comfortable in his own skin and shit am I crying because this is basically the homosexual Victorian taxidermist version of me?
Why yes, yes I am.
Fuck, I’m fucking this review up. Let’s pretend all that text up there never happened and is just fangirl flailing.
It’s becoming harder and harder to find books that don’t rely on hurtful phrasing or tropes. Even in the romance genre. Especially in the romance genre. More often than not I stick to a subset of authors I know I can trust and recommendations from those authors and friends.
One such author is K.J. Charles, and whenever I need a historical mm romance set in England, she’s who I turn to first.
“An Unseen Attraction” features all the highlights I’ve been craving recently. Diverse heroes who don’t fit societal standards of perfection who were from the working class in Victorian England. Throw in a mystery and it’s even sweeter.
There’s nothing not to love about this book. The book moved along quickly without any dull moments. The characters were fleshed out with flaws and depth and … Jesus they’re stunning. Their relationship grows as we watch and when it takes a turn for the physical…
I want to cry over how well their physical relationship was handled. It was beautiful. Simply glorious.
The mystery that we’ve embarked upon with these characters is at a good stopping point for the first book of a series as well, leaving just enough answers and a fair few questions that leave you wanting more from the next volume. Something I’m now desperately craving.
Thanks, K.J. Charles…
A complimentary copy of this book was provided in exchange for a fair and honest review via Netgalley.
Ginny Lurcock 