To Sketch a Scandal

By: Jess Everlee

Narrated by: Joel Leslie

Forbidden love is an art all its own

London, 1886

Barkeep Warren Bakshi is happy with the secrets that he keeps—those of the patrons he serves at underground queer club The Curious Fox, and his own.

But when Warren’s long-lost brother returns, bringing unexpected wealth to the Bakshi family, his elevated status requires more dignified pursuits. An art class seems an ideal way to keep questions at bay, until it reunites him with the subject of his recent fantasies—a man Warren’s boss has expressly forbidden him to pursue.

Detective Inspector Matthew Shaw has brought some of London’s worst criminals to justice. With laws against homosexuality on the books, meeting Warren could detonate his undercover case—and his career. But when his artistic deficiencies prove a greater threat than his desire, Warren is the only person he can turn to for help.

Private drawing tutorials give way to an affair that may put more than their jobs in jeopardy. But real life is infinitely more complicated and surprising than any lessons could prepare them for…

Lucky Lovers of London

Book 1: The Gentleman's Book of Vices
Book 2: A Rulebook for Restless Rogues
Book 3: A Bluestocking's Guide to Decadence
Book 4: To Sketch a Scandal

I liked the first two books okay; returned this one

Jess Everlee! If you are reading this! I believe in you, girl! I’m rooting for you! But for people looking for an honest review, I was so, so bored by this one. The plot was somehow convoluted and overly simplistic. There was nothing keeping me interested. I tapped out around Chapter 17 and DNF. I feel badly about this, because Everlee is a good writer and I can feel her stretching her legs in each of the books in this series. But there is nothing really historical or forbidden keeping these guys apart. Not to oversimplify, but the best MLM historical fiction weaves in details of the age that heighten the stakes for the characters. This one is a bit anachronistic and strange: the detective is not a closeted undercover cop, but a guy groomed as bait that everyone knows (in??? 1890?? Ish??) is gay and used for raids and honey traps. Everyone in his life and department knows this. The suspension of disbelief is simply too much. The Indian-British immigrant Warren has some backstory that sort of makes sense but again, upon scrutiny, definitely does not. His whole family is encouraging him to paint? No one cares that he’s gay? What is going on here? Basically, there are no dangers and no stakes here. There is no real conflict. There is a gesture at conflict when Warren’s boss forbids him, as a bartender at a molly house, to stop sleeping with a cop, but there is no sense of danger, and seventeen chapters in, nothing had come of this threat. Disappointing narrative; felt like a second draft. I will still keep trying Mx Everlee, because there’s a paucity of good writing in this subgenre of romance (once you’ve read all of KJ Charles and Joanna Chambers, there’s nowhere to go!), and I think Everlee is still maturing as a writer. But some conflict would make this narrative more engaging.

The reader/performer of this audiobook is also wrong for the material. I’ve listened to three of these now narrated by him, and he sounds like he has difficulty breathing. I assume this is an attempt at lustful acting, but it sounds like he’s constipated.