Reviewed by Vicki
TITLE: Valet 
SERIES: Rose Family Chronicles #1
AUTHOR: Jet Mykles
PUBLISHER: Loose Id
LENGTH: 218 pages
RELEASE DATE: May 31st, 2016
BLURB:
Tyler has never worked for a great house, let alone one with the history and prestige of Rose Hall. He feels unqualified for the post of footman, but hopes his experience as concierge of a fine hotel might count in his favor.
Following the deaths of his parents, Earl Johnathan “Johnnie” Rose has come into his inheritance. Now he’s returned home to Rose Hall with his siblings to settle in as lord of the manor and earl of Roseton. Then his eye falls on the stunning new footman with the blond curls and shy smile. From that moment, Lord Johnnie’s intention to settle in takes on a whole new meaning.
Longing for a relationship more intimate than master to servant, and determined to taste those pretty lips, Johnnie offers Tyler a promotion as his personal valet. Thrilled by the promotion and the chance to tend his lord, Tyler’s naivete and sense of propriety don’t let him see the offer for what it is–until he’s lured into the earl’s bed.
REVIEW:
A new book from Jet Mykles! Yeah!
So the characters in this book, and I assume the following books in this series are based loosely on the characters in another series by Jet, Heaven Sent. Those books follow the lives of the members of a rock band, and I know I read them and enjoyed them, but I honestly don’t remember much about the plots. The names Johnnie and Tyler were familiar to me from the Heaven, and I can see by the description of that book what the plot was, and now I want to go read those again! This is a very different story though, and I don’t feel like I missed anything in this one not remembering Heaven.
This is a pseudo-historical/pseudo-fantasy world of English feeling, but not exactly. There are steam powered cars and trains, but not much technology otherwise. The days and months have slightly different names, and the clothing is reminiscent of the regency era. Same sex relationships are mostly accepted, and the king and queen have an acknowledged third in their relationship! It’s quite cool…
This book follows the saga of Johnnie Rose, the earl of Roseton County, and Tyler, who eventually becomes Johnnies’ valet. It’s mostly set in Rose Hall, the ancestral home of the Rose family. Johnnie has two brothers and a sister, all of whom are living at home now that both of their parents are gone. Tyler also has no parents, he and his sister have moved home to live with their Uncle and aunt after their last parents death. Tyler has been working in a hotel, and now needs a job. He is hired to work at Rose Hall as a footman, which is below his skill level, but is a job. Johnnie is smitten with Tyler pretty quickly, but Tyler is confused about his attraction to Johnnie, not having been with a man before. He’s also concerned about Johnnie’s reputation as a player, and the fact that he’s Tyler’s employer.
Basically this story is about Johnnie trying to seduce Tyler! Not only in to his bed, but he does actually want a relationship with him. There is more to it, but that’s it at heart. There is a couple of rivals for Johnnie’s affection, there are lots of details about the local theater scene the family is involved in, the queen and consort make an appearance, and we get to know the Rose siblings fairly well, and partly get to know Tyler’s remaining family.
I loved the period feeling of the story, even though it’s sort of fantasy, it has an authentic feeling to it all. I liked that Tyler didn’t immediately fall for the wiles of his lordship, and his struggle to adapt to their changing relationship felt very real to me. I loved the relationship between the siblings, and their staff. I loved the sex scenes between Tyler and Johnnie, they were very sweet, especially their first time together when Tyler is so clueless about what is happening. I liked the sense of community the theater bits added to the story, the whole county seemed to be involved in the productions. I like Jet’s writing, I’ve read a bunch of her books over the last few years, and I was happy to see this new one pop up since we haven’t seen much from her recently.
Overall this was a good story. I had a hard time rating it, I don’t actually have an issue with anything in the book, it was all very good, and the setting was unique. I guess it’s the plot that didn’t stand out for me, there really wasn’t much of a surprise anywhere, and very little drama. The details were fantastic, that’s what really kept my interest, I just wish there had been something that brought a little more spark to the story, it was a bit predictable, plot-wise. But I still liked it a lot! Especially the lovely setting and characters. And I’m very happy to see Jet writing again! I will certainly watch for the next book in this series, I’m looking forward to seeing more of the Rose family, and seeing how she’ll develop this world.
This was a fun, sweet story, with a unique setting and good characters!
RATING:
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