Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: The Gentleman’s Book of Vices 
SERIES: Lucky Lovers of London
AUTHOR: Jess Everlee
PUBLISHER: Carina Adores
LENGTH: 300 pages
RELEASE DATE: November 29, 2022
BLURB:
Is their real-life love story doomed to be a tragedy, or can they rewrite the ending?
London, 1883
Finely dressed and finely drunk, Charlie Price is a man dedicated to his vices. Chief among them is his explicit novel collection, though his impending marriage to a woman he can’t love will force his carefully curated collection into hiding.
Before it does, Charlie is determined to have one last hurrah: meeting his favorite author in person.
Miles Montague is more gifted as a smut writer than a shopkeep and uses his royalties to keep his flagging bookstore afloat. So when a cheerful dandy appears out of the mist with Miles’s highly secret pen name on his pretty lips, Miles assumes the worst. But Charlie Price is no blackmailer; he’s Miles’s biggest fan.
A scribbled signature on a worn book page sets off an affair as scorching as anything Miles has ever written. But Miles is clinging to a troubled past, while Charlie’s future has spun entirely out of his control…
Carina Adores is home to romantic love stories where LGBTQ+ characters find their happily-ever-afters.
REVIEW:
Charlie Price is a young guy who is about to be married. Before his marriage, he is determined to get the autograph of the author of is favorite erotic novel. Through his contacts, he finds the man and shows up to request the autograph from the mild mannered owner of a sad bookshop. The meeting does not goes as planned and the owner, one Miles Montague, assume that Mr. Price is there to blackmail him. That could not be further from the truth.
Montague has second thoughts about the way he treated Charlie, so he decides to sign the book and return it to him with a bottle of wine for apology. That little trip results in a rather humorous case of mistaken identity and Miles plays along. He and Charlie end up reviewing Charlie’s collection and well the chemistry between them takes off again. But they are in Charlie’s house, so that won’t do. Charlie is determined to have more time with Miles.
Miles and Charlie start up a rather regular schedule. But there is the little issue of Charlie’s wedding. And of course there is the difficulty with Miles’s failing bookshop. Expectations and obligations that get in their way. Times being what they are, there is no reason to believe that these two can have any sort of HEA. I mean, Miles stories never end that way, so why should theirs? Have no fear! This is a romance and we must get our HEA 🙂
So I really enjoyed the beginning of this book quite a bit. There is a lot of humor and Charlie is a thoroughly entertaining character who has gotten by on his charm so far in life. Miles is a rather dour, sad guy who has inherited the bookshop he cannot part with. Then there is the matter of the intrigue of discovery – of knowing who knows their secrets. There are so many obstacles in their way and neither can see a way around it. Charlies friends at his favorite club watch out for him and try to help – I hope they show up in the next book. All in all, this was really quite the tale. There were some surprises I didn’t see coming. While this didn’t have the polish that some of the other Historicals that I’ve read, this was a really interesting kick-off to a series. I’m interested to see what comes next for these characters and this world. Recommended for historical fans and also for those who enjoy a tale where characters really have to work for their happy ending.
RATING: 
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