About the Book: A private detective finds passion, danger, and the love of a lifetime when he hunts down a lost earl in Victorian London.
On the trail of an aristocrat’s secret son, enquiry agent Mark Braglewicz finds his quarry in a music hall, performing as a trapeze artist with his twin sister. Graceful, beautiful, elusive, and strong, Pen Starling is like nobody Mark’s ever met—and everything he’s ever wanted. But the long-haired acrobat has an earldom and a fortune to claim.
Pen doesn’t want to live as any sort of man, least of all a nobleman. The thought of being wealthy, titled, and always in the public eye is horrifying. He likes his life now—his days on the trapeze, his nights with Mark. And he won’t be pushed into taking a title that would destroy his soul.
But there’s a killer stalking London’s foggy streets, and more lives than just Pen’s are at risk. Mark decides he must force the reluctant heir from music hall to manor house, to save Pen’s neck. Betrayed by the one man he thought he could trust, Pen never wants to see his lover again. But when the killer comes after him, Pen must find a way to forgive—or he might not live long enough for Mark to make amends.
Sins of the Cities #3
M/M Historical Romance
Loveswept | October 03, 2017
This review is more of a ramble. You have been warned.
The Sins of the Cities trilogy has been one long, three book, mystery! With an extra helping of history and romance. That’s a recipe for Birdie goodness!
The crime that started in An Unseen Attraction was concluded in The Unsuitable Heir, but the mystery isn’t what kept me reading. I wasn’t invested at all. Clearly I wanted to make sure Clem didn’t lose his boarding house, and Lazarus didn’t lose his life, but mostly I just like reading KJ Charles historical love stories. There’s always such authenticity to them. They’re gorgeous.
I think I was especially happy with this trilogy because of how diverse the cast was. I loved that Clem was Indian and autistic. I loved that Mark was missing a hand, and that Pen was gender fluid. It made the story feel even more full than a usual KJ Charles series. Not only was the cast entertaining, they were also compassionate and accepting.
Of the three books in the trilogy, my favorite is still An Unnatural Vice. There was just something special about Jason Lazarus and Nathaniel Roy. I love the initial antagonism that led to romance. I loved their heat. I also enjoyed Pen and Mark. The diversity should be noted, but I also liked that Pen and Mark enjoyed talking with each other just as much as they did getting intimate. There were even moments where they opted to just talk, which was so sweet. I love emotional connections. As much as I adored Nathaniel and Lazarus, what I thought was special about Pen and Mark was their ability to accept each other just the way they are. Mark is a simple man, and he treats Pen exactly as Pen needed to be treated. He even asked first, allowing Pen to guide their relationship. The two of them were definitely the sweetest of the three couples.
If you like accurate historical and romance, K.J. Charles may just be the author for you. I know I’ll be waiting for news of her next series. I’m loving them.
Thank you to Loveswept for providing a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Birdie Bookworm 
Ooooh this series sounds just up my ally, I love historical romance. I may have to give these a try! The couples sound sweet.
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They are! And I love how accurate it is. They definitely can’t easily make a home together. And there’s just as much history in the books as there is romance. Definitely not fluffy. You should read Society of Gentleman first though. That’s been my favorite so far.
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I love historically accurate romance, hahaha. While I am a bit of a stickler for history, with romance in particular I like the tension it lends instead of just having it be like a modern romance with a historic atmosphere.
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That’s exactly what I like too! I get tired of historical romance with modern thinking characters. Unless it’s part of the story. For instance, in Storm & Silence the main character is a suffragist, and the author really plays that up.
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