KJ Charles

Will Darling is all right. His business is doing well, and so is his illicit relationship with Kim Secretan--disgraced aristocrat, ex-spy, amateur book-dealer. It's starting to feel like he's got his life under control. And then a brutal murder in a gentleman's club plunges them back into the shadow world of crime, deception, and the power of privilege. Worse, it brings them up against Kim's noble, hostile family, and his upper-class life where Will can never belong. With old and new enemies against them, and secrets on every side, Will and Kim have to fight for each other harder than ever--or be torn apart for good.

Subtle Blood

h a z e l * ੈ✩‧

People say I love you to madness, but I love you to sanity, because loving you is the sanest thing I have ever done.

Amanda

KJ Charles knocked it out of the park again. Absolutely adore everyone and will miss them dreadfully. Hoping that inspiration will hit and we'll get a few more volumes... Maybe about Maisie and Phoebe in Paris?

This book wraps everything up very negating and quite enjoyably.

Lu Kluck

This is the third novel on 'The Will Darling Adventures' trilogy, so there might be spoilers for the first and second books, Slippery Creatures and The Sugared Game.

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𝐖𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 - 5/5⭐
𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 - 5/5⭐
𝐏𝐥𝐨𝐭 - 5/5⭐
𝐄𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 - 5/5⭐

𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: References to Self-harm, Violence, Threats of Violence, Murder, Emotionally Abusive Family, Vomiting.
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It's been months since the death of Lord Waring, also called Capricorn, head of the criminal organization Zodiac. Since then, Will Darling thought that his life would finally feel like his own. His shop and his relationship with Kim Secretan have been doing great. That lasts until a heinous murder takes place in a gentleman's club and drags them back to the dark and deceptive world of crime. Everything worsens when they have to stand against Kim's noble family and the noble life where Will can never belong.

More than any of the previous books in The Will Darling Adventures, Subtle Blood shows Kim and Will fighting to stay together. But unlike other occurrences of this trope (where said fight feels more like stubbornness than anything else), K. J. Charles shows why they want to be together and how far they are willing to go for it. This book presents profound and intricate dialogues where the characters talk about their feelings and what they want from each other emotionally. Will and Kim's relationship is one of the healthiest I've ever seen represented in media. Nothing important "goes unsaid" from the first book and their talks on consent and sexual enjoyment to the last book with their conversations about love and reciprocity.

It is truly astonishing how K. J. Charles writes such deep and complex characters and relationships while also creating a breathtaking and mysterious plot. The whole trilogy centers around power and privilege, Slippery Creatures through the discussions on corruption and war. The Sugared Game shows the protection that privileged and powerful people have. And Subtle Blood demonstrates how privileged people (such as rich old white men) have the power and liberty to commit outrageous crimes without ever knowing or caring for the consequences.

The writing style in all three books is straightforward but introspective, lighthearted but intense, descriptive but not overbearing. Along with presenting this Golden Age pulp fiction/art deco ambiance, the historical setting in this trilogy was accurate and maintained throughout all the near-fantastical plotlines. These books are impossible to put down, with a rollercoaster of feelings, complex and mysterious plots, and earth-shattering conclusions.

Talking more specifically about the third book, it presents the perfect conclusion to this splendid trilogy. The slow-burn romance comes to fruition, Kim and Will address their differences and feelings for each other, as well as facing their past and how it shaped them. The plot has a bit of an open-end in the way it leaves it up to the reader to imagine how their stories will continue but still settles the 'big-picture narrative of the trilogy with a well-written conclusion. And when it comes to the characters, their trauma and past receive much more attention as they overcome or, more accurately, discuss it and come to understand each other better.

Ville Guldborg Hansen 

midnightjelly

Will Darling is all right. His business is doing well, and so is his illicit relationship with Kim Secretan--disgraced aristocrat, ex-spy, amateur book-dealer. It's starting to feel like he's got his life under control.And then a brutal murder in a gentleman's club plunges them back into the shadow world of crime, deception, and the power of privilege. Worse, it brings them up against Kim's noble, hostile family, and his upper-class life where Will can never belong.With old and new enemies against them, and secrets on every side, Will and Kim have to fight for each other harder than ever-or be torn apart for good.

Subtle Blood

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