Books 2019 - Any Old Diamonds by KJ Charles
I'm behind, I'm behind, what happened to February?! Not that I wasn't reading, I was reading, just... not posting about it. Oops.
Mount TBR so far = 7/24
Lj Book Bingo Masterpost
Lord Alexander Pyne-ffoulkes, the younger son of the Duke of Ilvar, has a bitter grudge against his wealthy father. The Duke intends to give his Duchess a priceless diamond parure on their wedding anniversary - so Alec hires a pair of jewel thieves to steal it.
The Duke's remote castle is a difficult target, and Alec needs a way to get the thieves in. Solder-turned-criminal Jerry Crozier has the answer: he'll pose as a Society gentleman and become Alex's new best friend. But Jerry is a dangerous man: controlling, remote and devastating. He effortlessly teases out the lonely young nobleman's most secret desires and soon he's got Alec in his bed - and the palm of his hand.
Or maybe not. Because as the plot thickens, betrayals, secrets, new loves, and old evils come to light. Now the jewel thief and the aristocrat must keep up the pretence, find their way through a maze of privilege and deceit, and confront the truth of what's between them... all without getting caught.
This was an automatic-buy for me, since it's by KJ Charles, although I was good and waited for it to come out in paperback rather than buying the e-book because it's published first and then having to buy the paperback later (cos I want her books in paperback - I enjoy them more that way, as I do any book). Happily it also fits the Published this Year square for ljbookbingo - yeay!
Any Old Diamonds is a perfectly solid read. It's as well-written as I expect from Charles, with some properly good bits scattered through - but there was something missing for me this time. I probably need to read it again, in case it was just me, but it felt more stodgy than her other books somehow. There were goodies and baddies, and twists and turns, and interesting characters and I felt like I was in the late 1800s, but...
I had to think about this for a while, but I think the but is that it's missing the joy of Charles' other books, somehow. There's a darkness and melancholy to this one, but she's written that before and I've loved it. In fact I'd go so far as to say it comes into all her books. What I couldn't find in Any Old Diamonds, though, was the joy to counteract the darkness, and I really missed it. Alex was fine as a character, but I didn't get him like I've got her previous characters, and although again she's written similar kinks before, and it's one that I generally enjoy, somehow Alex's kink didn't chime with me either. It just felt... wrong. Maybe because he didn't seem to be getting the joy out of it that Stephen Day, for instance, clearly gets. (*g*) Maybe because it felt more one-sided. Or maybe it was just me, and I need to read the book again to see. I wouldn't at all say that this was a duff book, but it wasn't up there in the heights, as I'd been expecting. Rats.
Booklist 2019
1. Mothering Sunday by Graham Swift (bookgroup)
2. You take the Hippy, I'll take Goldilocks by Gil Hale (fanfic re-read)
3. In a Land of Shadows by Gil Hale (fanfic re-read)
4. The Dressmaker by Rosalie Ham (MountTBR, LjBookBingo)
5. A Walk on the Beach by E.T. (fanfic re-read)
6. Chasing the Light by Jesse Blackadder (Mount TBR, LjBookBingo)
7. November by Sebastian (fanfic re-read)
8. Time Travelling with a Hamster by Ross Welford (Mount TBR, LjBookBingo)
9. The Greatcoat by Helen Dunmore (Bookgroup, LjBookBingo)
10. Cold Water Morning by Fictonwriter (fanfic)
11. All or Nothing by Kate MacLean (fanfic re-read)
12. Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli (LjBookBingo, Mount TBR)
13. Chameleon's Dish by Kitty Fisher (fanfic re-read)
14. Less by Andrew Sean Greer (LjBookBingo, Mount TBR)
15. Gravity's Angel (by Jenny Parkinson?) (fanfic re-read)
16. Band Sinister by K.J. Charles (LjBookBingo, re-read on paper)
17. Whisper of a Kill by Lois Welling (fanfic re-read)
18. Redemption by Kate Maclean (fanfic re-read)
19. What If It's Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera (new book, LjBookBingo)
20. The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli (new book)
21. The Good Thief's Guide to Amsterdam by Chris Ewan (Mount TBR, LjBookBingo)
22. The Stars are Fire by Anita Shreve (Mount TBR)
23. Sebastian Collected 2 (Adagio series) by Sebastian (fanfic re-read)
24. Any Old Diamonds by K.J. Charles (new book)
25. Of Tethered Goats and Tigers by Tarot (fanfic reread)
Mount TBR so far = 7/24
Lj Book Bingo Masterpost
Lord Alexander Pyne-ffoulkes, the younger son of the Duke of Ilvar, has a bitter grudge against his wealthy father. The Duke intends to give his Duchess a priceless diamond parure on their wedding anniversary - so Alec hires a pair of jewel thieves to steal it.
The Duke's remote castle is a difficult target, and Alec needs a way to get the thieves in. Solder-turned-criminal Jerry Crozier has the answer: he'll pose as a Society gentleman and become Alex's new best friend. But Jerry is a dangerous man: controlling, remote and devastating. He effortlessly teases out the lonely young nobleman's most secret desires and soon he's got Alec in his bed - and the palm of his hand.
Or maybe not. Because as the plot thickens, betrayals, secrets, new loves, and old evils come to light. Now the jewel thief and the aristocrat must keep up the pretence, find their way through a maze of privilege and deceit, and confront the truth of what's between them... all without getting caught.
This was an automatic-buy for me, since it's by KJ Charles, although I was good and waited for it to come out in paperback rather than buying the e-book because it's published first and then having to buy the paperback later (cos I want her books in paperback - I enjoy them more that way, as I do any book). Happily it also fits the Published this Year square for ljbookbingo - yeay!
Any Old Diamonds is a perfectly solid read. It's as well-written as I expect from Charles, with some properly good bits scattered through - but there was something missing for me this time. I probably need to read it again, in case it was just me, but it felt more stodgy than her other books somehow. There were goodies and baddies, and twists and turns, and interesting characters and I felt like I was in the late 1800s, but...
I had to think about this for a while, but I think the but is that it's missing the joy of Charles' other books, somehow. There's a darkness and melancholy to this one, but she's written that before and I've loved it. In fact I'd go so far as to say it comes into all her books. What I couldn't find in Any Old Diamonds, though, was the joy to counteract the darkness, and I really missed it. Alex was fine as a character, but I didn't get him like I've got her previous characters, and although again she's written similar kinks before, and it's one that I generally enjoy, somehow Alex's kink didn't chime with me either. It just felt... wrong. Maybe because he didn't seem to be getting the joy out of it that Stephen Day, for instance, clearly gets. (*g*) Maybe because it felt more one-sided. Or maybe it was just me, and I need to read the book again to see. I wouldn't at all say that this was a duff book, but it wasn't up there in the heights, as I'd been expecting. Rats.
Booklist 2019
1. Mothering Sunday by Graham Swift (bookgroup)
2. You take the Hippy, I'll take Goldilocks by Gil Hale (fanfic re-read)
3. In a Land of Shadows by Gil Hale (fanfic re-read)
4. The Dressmaker by Rosalie Ham (MountTBR, LjBookBingo)
5. A Walk on the Beach by E.T. (fanfic re-read)
6. Chasing the Light by Jesse Blackadder (Mount TBR, LjBookBingo)
7. November by Sebastian (fanfic re-read)
8. Time Travelling with a Hamster by Ross Welford (Mount TBR, LjBookBingo)
9. The Greatcoat by Helen Dunmore (Bookgroup, LjBookBingo)
10. Cold Water Morning by Fictonwriter (fanfic)
11. All or Nothing by Kate MacLean (fanfic re-read)
12. Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli (LjBookBingo, Mount TBR)
13. Chameleon's Dish by Kitty Fisher (fanfic re-read)
14. Less by Andrew Sean Greer (LjBookBingo, Mount TBR)
15. Gravity's Angel (by Jenny Parkinson?) (fanfic re-read)
16. Band Sinister by K.J. Charles (LjBookBingo, re-read on paper)
17. Whisper of a Kill by Lois Welling (fanfic re-read)
18. Redemption by Kate Maclean (fanfic re-read)
19. What If It's Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera (new book, LjBookBingo)
20. The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli (new book)
21. The Good Thief's Guide to Amsterdam by Chris Ewan (Mount TBR, LjBookBingo)
22. The Stars are Fire by Anita Shreve (Mount TBR)
23. Sebastian Collected 2 (Adagio series) by Sebastian (fanfic re-read)
24. Any Old Diamonds by K.J. Charles (new book)
25. Of Tethered Goats and Tigers by Tarot (fanfic reread)