A Nobleman’s Guide to Seducing a Scoundrel by KJ Charles (Doomsday Books #2)

Publication date: September 2023
Series: Book 2 of the Doomsday Books
LGBTQ+ author? No
Setting: Regency England
Content warnings: Murder (off page)

I felt ambivalent about the first book in this series. The rampant homophobia, violence and not very sexy (to me) spicy scenes left me underwhelmed and overstimulated in all the wrong ways. But the setting of Romney Marsh was outstanding, with all its quirky language, culture and geography.

This second book fixes everything, while staying in the same incredible setting. I think this might be the perfect historical romance novel?

Luke Doomsday, who was a child in book one, is a part of the powerful smuggling family. Luke left the marsh to pursue an education and a career beyond criminal activity, but returns to Kent in A Nobleman’s Guide to Seducing a Scoundrel ostensibly to find a job.

Rufus d’Aumesty is the new Earl of Oxney. His position is contested by his greedy uncle who was expecting to inherit. When Luke returns Kent, Rufus hires him as his new secretary to help him sort out the crumbling estate. This is a romance novel so naturally they start hooking up and then falling in love. However, Luke’s motivations for coming to Stone Manor seem to be not entirely what he said they were.

What worked

This is my absolute favourite gay historical romance trope: nobleman and scoundrel. You can play with power dynamics in a sexy way without it feeling too icky. The nobleman may have his title, power and wealth but our scoundrel from a very powerful smuggling family is not exactly vulnerable. Plus we get many chapters of very unresolved sexual tension (“Oh I shouldn’t, I am your employer”) until it becomes very resolved. Many times resolved.

There are also a couple of mysteries in this book. What exactly is Luke up to? Is Rufus really the Earl? Those are very fun and have great twists and turns.

Finally, I love that we get to revisit some of our favourite characters from the last book, especially when all four gay men (two nobleman and two scoundrels!) get to spend time together with their families. Very wholesome. Very emotionally satisfying.

Homophobia free

Yes, I do want want to read about gay people in the past. Yes, the past (and present) has homophobia. No, I don’t really want to hear about this homophobia and I don’t want it to be a major plot point. And this book delivered.

Rufus and Luke weren’t exactly walking around Stone Manor holding hands, but their bedrooms were connected by an internal door. And Luke was his secretary meaning they could spend LOTS of time together. That’s as good as it gets in the Regency Era.

Nobody outed them. Nobody blackmailed them. They could just be horny for each other in peace and get on with the rest of the plot.

There was a suggestion that Rufus’ female cousin was queer, which makes me curious about a third book. Time will tell!

Recommendation

For many romance series, you don’t actually need to read them in order. It’s just stories of different family members. But this one you very much need to.

If you love tropey historical romances and mysteries, I very much recommend this book!