Review - An Unsuitable Heir by KJ Charles

Series: Sins of the City #3 (final)

Genre: Historical Fiction Romance

Age Group: Adult 

Ebook: 246 pgs

Source: Overdrive

Published: 2017 

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Rating: 3/5

On the trail of an aristocrat’s secret son, enquiry agent Mark Braglewicz finds his quarry in a music hall, performing as a trapeze artist with his twin sister. Graceful, beautiful, elusive, and strong, Pen Starling is like nobody Mark’s ever met—and everything he’s ever wanted. But the long-haired acrobat has an earldom and a fortune to claim.

Pen doesn’t want to live as any sort of man, least of all a nobleman. The thought of being wealthy, titled, and always in the public eye is horrifying. He likes his life now—his days on the trapeze, his nights with Mark. And he won’t be pushed into taking a title that would destroy his soul.

But there’s a killer stalking London’s foggy streets, and more lives than just Pen’s are at risk. Mark decides he must force the reluctant heir from music hall to manor house, to save Pen’s neck. Betrayed by the one man he thought he could trust, Pen never wants to see his lover again. But when the killer comes after him, Pen must find a way to forgive—or he might not live long enough for Mark to make amends.

Sadly this last book in the series didn't work as well for me. The first two books in this story were weaker than other books I've read by KJ Charles.

Unfortunately the most essential element, the romance, didn't gel with the rest. Overall the timeline was fast, even for a romance novel, and I wasn't invested in either of the characters before they became a couple. The romance felt slapped together and forced. Unlike so many of Charles' books this romance just failed to really spark my interest and I was left wanting a lot more from it.

Because the romance fizzled I expected the mystery to pick up the slack. Though the pacing and language is as good as ever, this also didn't work for me. The resolution of the story just felt anti-climatic. Charles really tried to split the story between the romance and the mystery. In the end the balancing act took away from both. I would've preferred if we focused more on the characters and the romance than the mystery.

Pen is gender-fluid and Mark has a disability. I cannot speak to the depiction of disability or gender fluidity (Goodreads reviews seem split), but I appreciate seeing both represented on the page. Just like in her other books, KJ Charles creates a great atmosphere and her language transported me to 19th century London. The historical accuracy is one of my favorite parts of her books. 

Overall, this isn't a bad series, but it didn't wow me. Luckily the next thing I read by KJ Charles was an absolute gem.

My Last Review ⇰ The Secret Casebook of Simon Feximal