{"id":11233,"date":"2018-11-16T15:43:32","date_gmt":"2018-11-16T20:43:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/?p=11233"},"modified":"2022-10-30T20:47:36","modified_gmt":"2022-10-31T00:47:36","slug":"band-sinister","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/11233","title":{"rendered":"Band Sinister"},"content":{"rendered":"

Band Sinister<\/a><\/em> (2018) K.J. Charles<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Set in England in the 1800s.<\/p>\n

This is probably the sweetest KC Charles book I’ve read. It’s a M\/M romance, and there is boinking, but there is less boinking than I’ve come to expect, and I absolutely adore the main characters.<\/p>\n

Guy Frisby and his sister Amanda live in seclusion. Their mother was a scandal, their father squandered his fortune, forcing them to be dependent upon their aunt, who is acting in what she believes to be their best interests. Never able to leave the small town where they live, Guy spends much of his time continuing his studies, while Amanda has written a gothic novel–loosely based upon their neighbor and his friends.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s all perfectly decent,\u201d Amanda said. \u201cOr at least, if it isn\u2019t, the indecent parts are only hinted at, which means they\u2019re in your head. I can\u2019t be held responsible for your thoughts going awry.\u201d \u201cOh yes you can,\u201d Guy said with feeling.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Sir Philip Rookwood was never supposed to be their heir. But his older brother ran off with a married woman, and then died, leaving Philip an estate in which he has no interest. So he spends his time with his friends–a supposed Hellfire club called the Murder.<\/p>\n

Sir Philip never hosted balls, or dinners, or made any effort to meet his peers or cultivate his tenants. Upsettingly for the narrative, he was an excellent if eccentric landlord, possessed of a superbly efficient steward. This was deeply resented by landowners who had more moral character but were less prompt in carrying out repairs.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

They have some rather shocking ideas.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cShocking ideas about rocks?\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cYes.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cGoodness,\u201d Amanda said dubiously.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The plot is similar in some ways to Georgette Heyer’s Venetia<\/em>, but different in important ways to make a unique and lovely story. Where it’s similar is the horse riding accident, and the love the two siblings have for one another, where the elder of the two has given up much of their life to look out for the other.<\/p>\n

Except that the romance is between Guy and Philip (although Amanda is not left dependent up on her brother and his lover at the end of the book). There are of course misunderstandings, some of which were due fact that homosexual men were forced to keep themselves hidden, lest they be jailed or even executed. But those misunderstandings are always cleared up by the two of them talking to each other.<\/p>\n

The Bible does tell us that the sins of the parent are to be visited upon the child.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cThe New Testament tells us that children belong to the kingdom of God,\u201d Frisby said. \u201cAnd that the erring woman was forgiven, and that only he who is without sin is entitled to cast a stone at her. I\u2019d rather hold to that.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

On of best parts of the book were the love between Guy and Amanda. They clearly and truly are devoted to each other, and one will do anything for the other.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t talk nonsense.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cYou look wonderful,\u201d Guy repeated. \u201cBecause you aren\u2019t feverish and you aren\u2019t lying there barely breathing and I\u2019m not afraid of\u2014 of\u2014 Don\u2019t do that again, Manda, please.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I also liked that although all the characters had horrors in their past, their love and reliance for one another allows them to be strong and relatively healthy.<\/p>\n

(T)hat\u2019s how life tends to work in all its aspects. We try things out, and make mistakes, and recover, and learn from our experiences. We live, we learn.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I think if you\u2019re going to forgive someone, you should do it, and not keep dragging things up afterwards, or it isn\u2019t really forgiveness, is it?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

OBVIOUSLY, I loved this bit.<\/p>\n

\u201cGlorious,\u201d Philip said, shoulders shaking. \u201cIt takes a truly special gift to find indecency in flowers.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cNot at all,\u201d Street said. \u201cThey\u2019re disgraceful things. Notoriously promiscuous with bees and butterflies.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The one thing I’d ding the story for is that there are a LOT of characters, all with their own complicated backstories, and to be honest it would have been helpful to have a cast of characters to keep them straight at the beginning.<\/p>\n

Otherwise, I really loved this story.<\/p>\n

Publisher: KJC Books
\nRating: 8.5\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Band Sinister (2018) K.J. Charles Set in England in the 1800s. This is probably the sweetest KC Charles book I’ve read. It’s a M\/M romance, and there is boinking, but there is less boinking than I’ve come to expect, and I absolutely adore the main characters. Guy Frisby and his sister Amanda live in seclusion. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[191,30,33,148,26,56],"tags":[50,476,544,548],"class_list":["post-11233","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-8-5-10","category-british","category-historical","category-queer","category-romance","category-sexual-content","tag-boinking","tag-kj-charles","tag-mm","tag-regency"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/piQkW-2Vb","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":12659,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/12659","url_meta":{"origin":11233,"position":0},"title":"Band Sinister","author":"Michelle","date":"March 26, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Band Sinister (2018) KJ Charles Set in England in the early 1800s A lot of us are struggling right now, so this is a good time for comfort reads. If you've read Georgette Heyer\u2019s Venetia, you'll be familiar with this story: younger sibling is hurt and has to stay at\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "9\/10"","block_context":{"text":"9\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/9-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Band Sinister","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Band-Sinister-678x1024.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":14290,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/14290","url_meta":{"origin":11233,"position":1},"title":"Band Sinister","author":"Michelle","date":"May 15, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Band Sinister (2018) KJ Charles Set in England ~1811 \u201cIt\u2019s all perfectly decent,\u201d Amanda said. \u201cOr at least, if it isn\u2019t, the indecent parts are only hinted at, which means they\u2019re in your head. I can\u2019t be held responsible for your thoughts going awry.\u201d \u201cOh yes you can,\u201d Guy said\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "9.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"9.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/9-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Band Sinister","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Band-Sinister.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":20837,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/20837","url_meta":{"origin":11233,"position":2},"title":"Band Sinister","author":"Michelle","date":"September 29, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Band Sinister (2018) K.J. Charles Why? Because I needed something I knew would take me out of my own head, and I do adore Guy. \"Oh dear God,\u201d Frisby whispered. \u201cPlease get better. Please. I can\u2019t do without you and you\u2019ve got so much more to do, and I know\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "9\/10"","block_context":{"text":"9\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/9-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Band Sinister","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Band-Sinister.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":24335,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/24335","url_meta":{"origin":11233,"position":3},"title":"The Countess Conspiracy","author":"Michelle","date":"March 25, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The Countess Conspiracy (2013) Courtney Milan (Brothers Sinister #3) Set in Cambridge in 1867 \"...the chance that a male cat will show tortoiseshell coloring is so small we cannot calculate it\u2014one in a thousand, perhaps. My theory provides no explanation for such smallness.\u201d The woman\u2019s voice was beginning to rise\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "9\/10"","block_context":{"text":"9\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/9-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Countess Conspiracy","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/The-Countess-Conspiracy.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":11647,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/11647","url_meta":{"origin":11233,"position":4},"title":"Any Old Diamonds","author":"Michelle","date":"February 12, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Any Old Diamonds (2019) K.J. Charles (Lilywhite Boys) Set in England in 1895. Lord Alexander Pyne-ffoulkes--who goes by Alec Pyne--desperately wants revenge upon his father. So he hires the Lilywhite Boys to steal the diamond parvane his father is planning to give his second wife on their 20th anniversary. But\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/any-old-diamonds-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":17492,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/17492","url_meta":{"origin":11233,"position":5},"title":"Short Stories: KJ Charles","author":"Michelle","date":"June 9, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Short Stories: KJ Charles \"Five for Heaven\" (2019) A Charm of Magpies 3.5 Set in Nagasaki, three years after A Flight of Magpies (15 pages) \"A Confidential Problem\" (2016) Society of Gentleman 2.5 Set in England in 1820 (14 pages) \"A Private Miscellany\" (2016) Society of Gentlemen 3.5 Set in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "7.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"7.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/7-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/A-Private-Miscellany.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/A-Private-Miscellany.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/A-Private-Miscellany.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/A-Private-Miscellany.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/A-Private-Miscellany.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/A-Private-Miscellany.png?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11233","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11233"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11233\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11233"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11233"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11233"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}