The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen

The Doomsday Books, Book 1

De: KJ Charles

Narrado por: Martyn Swain

Abandoned by his father, Gareth Inglis grew up lonely, prickly, and used to disappointment. Still, he longs for a connection. When he meets a charming stranger, he falls head over heels—until everything goes wrong and he's left alone again.

Then Gareth's father dies, turning the shabby London clerk into Sir Gareth, with a grand house on the remote Romney Marsh and a family he doesn't know. The Marsh is another world, a strange, empty place notorious for its ruthless gangs of smugglers. And one of them is dangerously familiar…

Joss Doomsday has run the Doomsday smuggling clan since he was a boy. When the new baronet—his old lover—agrees to testify against Joss's sister, Joss acts fast to stop him. Their reunion is anything but happy, yet after the dust settles, neither can stay away. Soon, all Joss and Gareth want is the chance to be together. But the bleak, bare Marsh holds deadly secrets. And when Gareth finds himself threatened from every side, the gentleman and the smuggler must trust one another not just with their hearts but also with their lives.

©2023 KJ Charles (P)2023 Dreamscape Media

Wonderful book, intolerable narration

This book is lovely and I can’t recommend it highly enough… just not in audio. The narrator has a wonderful range of voices, and this could have been excellent, but he inserts. random. pauses. into the second half. of every. paragraph. regardless. of where emphasis. should. fall. It’s as if he was asked to slow down and didn’t know how to do that smoothly, so he starts out each sentence normally, then pauses and pronounces each word individually instead of letting them flow naturally. The effect is bizarre. It undercuts the emotional weight of the dialogue—which was delightful when I read it in print. All the sparkling wit falls flat in these stilted tones. I suspect this is less the narrator’s fault than the production team’s; he does an admirable job with the characters and accents, and a few better choices of direction could have saved this. The book is a keeper, but I’m not likely to listen to it in audio again.

Stunning

A remarkable and suspense filled story with great narration. Listen to it in 24 hours not to be missed.

Wow… Loved listening to this.

I’m going to miss getting to listen to this. Makes me want a London or Kent of my very own.

Lovely

I loved everything about it !!!! I’d like to say exactly why but I might spoil it for you, GET IT!

Great story. Frustrating narration.

The narration was frustrating because it was almost fantastic. He had a clear voice and did great voices to differentiate between characters. But he frequently spoke with a halting speech. Pausing between words. Occasionally it worked for the tension in the story. Mostly it was distracting and took a lot to get used to and overlook. If you’re a picky listener this one may not be for you.

Love the story tho! Vivid. Clever. With a great adventure in the marshes of Kent. A sweet romance.

A refreshingly unexpected caper

After listening, I felt like I had been on an aventure to a very different kind of scenery and society. And the progression of the relationship was not as predictable as it is in many books.

A Favorite

I truly loved this book. The story was interesting and I loved the characters. The descriptions of the marsh made it come alive. The love story was tender and sweet. I appreciated that as their relationship grew they were able to see when they were in the wrong and fixed things immediately - no drawn out misunderstandings. Against the slow growth of the relationship was true danger from different directions and that created tension and suspense. I appreciated how the author handled the very real danger to people in same sex relationships.

Several reviews were unhappy with the narration. For me it was perfect, especially the two main characters. They sounded the way I thought they should. I was also impressed that even though you don’t know the grandfather's backstory right away, I wondered why he sounded like he came from the American south - nicely subtle.

I hope this turns into a long, long series.

Solid 4

It was a toss up but I'd say it definitely is a solid 4. The performance was not bad it was engaging in some spots and you can tell the difference between the characters. However I'm not sure if it was the way the book was written but it sounded blocky in some places. Now I have read many books in this time period so that can't be the reason.
Now to the story, the character development was great very linear (I hate when characters regress). It was a great story with not many predictable turns. All of it made sense and made me fall for it. not a 5 star but a book I could read multiple times and still enjoy.
The spicy amazingly written and just enough not to much to take away the story but just enough to feel how the characters felt about each other.
definitely worth the points lol

Another superb book from KJ Charles!

Another superb book from KJ Charles! The narrator does a fantastic job as well. The emotional arc and the action are well balanced and both are compelling in their own rights. Highly recommend.

Loved it!

I loved the story! I loved the narration!

I have loved KJ Charles other books and look forward to reading more of them!