An Unnatural Vice

K. J. Charles does it again

K.J. Charles is an auto buy for me ever since the Magpie series. That remains the favorite, but I definitely enjoyed the second installment of the Sins of the Cities series. While the first book in the series had a gentleness between the two main characters, in this book there is friction and sparks. Following an enemies to lovers storyline, the cynical psychic Justin rubs the crusading journalist Nathaniel the wrong way. But that doesn't stop them from wanting to rub each in other ways (sorry, easy joke). The initial attraction grows to something more when danger follows them in the fog polluted streets of Victorian London. One of my favorite things about K. J. Charles is that her characters are not without flaws and issues. Justin is, to me, the more interesting as someone who will do whatever he can to keep his precarious social position as his protection from poverty and the streets. Nathaniel struggles to put aside his self righteousness but does so once he sees Justin's reality is less privileged than his own. The sex scenes work well as does the eventual solid partnership they form together. The narrator does his usual great job of giving unique voices to each character. In a nutshell, a fun listen that is well worth a credit. The biggest problem I have is the wait until the final book coming out in October.

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Solid Writing

Charles is a pretty good author. She adeptly combines love and mystery. My first experience of her writing was An Unsuitable Heir. I admit that I didn't love the main characters. But the plot was good enough, the writing solid enough, and the other characters interesting enough that I went back for more. An Unnatural Vice was more to my liking, mostly because the main characters were more attractive to me. I'll start my third Sins of the Cities book soon. (Unfortunately I unwittingly read them in reverse order, but to the author's credit, the one I liked the least still whet my appetite to read the first two books in the series.) Assuming I like An Unseen Attraction as much as I expect to, I'll probably start reading/listening to some of her other series as well.

I should note here that, though Sins of the City is a series in which all the books are closely related and interdependent, they are also stand-alone novels. No cliffhangers that make it impossible to read the books out of order, or force the reader to buy another book in the series. This was a plus for me.

Great addition to the series

4-4.5 stars

The second installment in KJ Charles' Sins of the cities series is a wonderful enemies to lovers story, with two completely opposite men clashing on every page, with a great deal of angry sex to follow, but also some fantastic character growth.

Each book revolves around a new couple, but the overall mystery story arc continues, so you really need to read the series in order to get the full picture.

Justin Lazarus is know as "The seer of London", a complete fraud and charlatan, he has no issue with manipulating and tricking people in grief, when he pretends to speak to their loved ones 'behind the veil'. Justin knows no guilt for his actions, quite the opposite, if someone is stupid enough to pay him to lie to their face, why shouldn't he?

When Justin is set opposite to Nathaniel Roy, whom we met in book one, the arch bishops son, a trained barrister and investigative journalist, with a strict moral code, who lost the love of his life in a freak accident, sparks fly.

The two suffer an instant mutual dislike and also a fierce mutual attraction. When the ongoing mystery and drama of the late earl's bigamy and lost heir bring them together over and over again. The attraction wins over the dislike.

Nathaniel and Justin are great together. Everything about them is opposite. Their upbringing, their moral codex, their thoughts about friendship, love and humanity as a whole. It leads to a fascinating tale of opposites and enemies to lovers.

The plot thickens in the mystery too, and although I guessed who the lost heir was right off the bat, there are still a lot of things left unsolved for the next book. I cannot wait to read it! Warmly recommended.

Sparks Fly in this Enemies to Lovers Tale!

I’m loving this series! I’m not sure why it took me so long to pick up the first book, since I had it on my Kindle app since it came out. Well, the lovely first book led me to immediately pick up this second novel in the series.

This second one had a very different feel than the first. Whereas An Unseen Attraction felt purposefully slow and measured like a slow drive through a lovely country lane, this one felt more like crossing an intersection at rush hour.

Nathaniel, the journalist who we briefly met in the previous book, is on a story seeking to defraud spiritualists and mediums. At his first seance he meets Lazarus, the Seer of London. Antagonistic does not even describe Nathaniel’s feelings towards Lazarus. But as much as he hates him, he’s the first man he’s felt attracted to since the death of his partner six years prior. Nathaniel is a good man; Lazarus is a liar.

Both however, get enmeshed in the tangled case of the missing earl discovered in the first book. Together, they escape attempts on their lives. No spoilers, the earl is found, but don’t expect him to be happy about it.

What I liked about this book was how the MCs antagonistic relationship served them in the bedroom. It made for a couple of very hot scenes. Lazarus had a huge arc in this book, and it didn’t feel trite, or misbegotten...how can you give a man a conscience in a matter of weeks when he’s never employed it? KJ Charles did a great job in opening him up.

And lastly, I love how the thick and greasy London fog is a character in this book. It’s almost tangible and affects the characters’ decisions and actions as much as another person would. Although the thought that fog could coat you in foul grease is beyond disturbing!

Great narration, although sometimes I had difficulty in distinguishing who was speaking.

I’m looking forward to the next book and hoping the murders is found at last. I have NO clue who it could be.

Great Read.

Loved this book. It was a very sweet love story wrapped in a violent mystery. This story is well written and the narrator does a fantastic job.

I Need Book 3 Now!

Audio book review. Narrator: Matthew Lloyd Davies

I am loving this series very much. I like how the second book is new and refreshing, yet ties into the first book with having some of the same characters.

The two main characters come together in a believable way, too - none of that 'falling in love at first sight' nonsense that so many m/m romance books use.

Can't wait for book 3 to be available as an audio book!

Really fantastic mystery and Victorian M/M romance

I was blown away by this captivating, exciting audiobook with expert narration. This is the second audiobook in the "Sins of the Cities" series, and it is best if you listen to them in order. There is an over-arching mystery and conspiracy that spans all three novels. Each book features a different pair of men who start a relationship and fall in love amidst lots of danger, including multiple murder attempts and sinister figures in the acrid London fog. It is a Victorian historical male/male romantic suspense.

KJ Charles is such a talented author! This audiobook more than lived up to my expectations from Book 1. The richly detailed mystery story arc started in Book 1 picked up more speed and remained totally absorbing to me. We get the story in third person past perspective from a new pair of men, Nathaniel Roy and Justin Lazarus. (We met Nathaniel briefly in Book 1 as the friend of Clem.) The new pair of men had a very different relationship dynamic than the pair in the previous book. Nathaniel and Justin start out as enemies who are unwillingly attracted to each other. In the midst of their fiery attraction and working together to stay alive, they discover deep feelings for each other. I wasn't too keen on either one of these characters at first because Justin is a fraud and Nathaniel is overly judgemental, but I quickly grew to like them as I read this nuanced book.

FYI, the sex scenes in this book are more explicit and steamy than in Books 1 and 3 in this trilogy, which were rather vanilla, sweet, and sensual. The sex scenes in this Book 2 might be too extreme for someone new to M/M romance, but these readers could still buy it and skip some pages because this is a fantastic series. I recommend this series to any fan of Victorian romance who is open to reading an M/M romance or to any fan of romantic suspense or to any fan of M/M romance.

Matthew Lloyd Davies did so awesomely on this series so far that he has become my second favorite male narrator, following only Robert Petkoff on my list. Mr. Davies is such an expert on all of the different British accents in this book. He is great at male and female voices, pacing, action scenes, love scenes, and every aspect of the narration! I love this narrator, and I will search for more of his work.