A Gentleman’s Position

A Gentleman’s Position (2016) KJ Charles (Society of Gentlemen)

Set in London in 1820

I am, apparently, reading this series backwards. I’d picked up the previous two books and read a few pages but wasn’t in the mood for them at the time.

Richard is a younger son, an honorable man, and the one who has arranged safety and security for his group of friends with similar desires. He also has been rather narrow-minded for someone who’s desires are illegal.

Which is what made him a complicated characters.

What initially made Richard likable for me was his love and protectiveness of his brother.

Philip struggled with the written word as badly as any untaught rustic, and no amount of beating at Harrow had helped him acquire scholarship.

This is not the first or even second book I’ve read where a character has dyslexia, and to be clear, neither main character he has reading difficulties, but as common as dyslexia is in the population, I am glad to see it appear in fiction.

It also colors how Richard sees those he loved and cares for–as needing protection, whether they require protection or not.

It also dovetails with his sense of honor, which is of the utmost importance to him.

Keep your hands off the staff. It was as simple as that. There could be no justice where one party had all the power and the other risked his livelihood with refusal. Therefore, one did not even ask, because one could never be sure that a “yes” didn’t mask “because I must.”

Which is why the two characters are kept apart–because Richard is the master and David is his valet. And Richard doesn’t believe they can have an equal relationship. Especially, as it is pointed out if Richard fell in love with a female servant, at least he could offer her marriage and the (minimal) protection that offered.

Which is what makes M/M historicals so interesting to me–the secret societies and houses and arrangements that were created to allowed these relationships to work.

“Is there anything you do not excel at?”

“Plenty. I just don’t do those things, and so nobody finds out.”

Oh yes! I’ve pointed out to Michael that one of the reasons I tend be “right” about things is that (except for fun) I rarely argue unless I am certain of my point.

As far as reading the third book in the series first, the only issue I had was that there were a lot of characters, and I did get some of background characters confused. It wasn’t a huge issue, but it was a weakness when I hadn’t read the previous two books first.

But it was an interesting and enjoyable story.

Publisher: Loveswept

Rating: 7/10

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