Jeremy Naylor thought he had found the man of his dreams, the one man who might understand him. Someone passionate, handsome, and respectable. But in one shocking moment his world is destroyed, and he is forced to run for his life.
Flung together to escape the hangman’s noose, the passion between David and Jeremy burns fiercely. But Jeremy yearns for respectability, and David refuses to admit what lies in his heart. Will they find a way together, or will their differences lead them to the very brink of disaster and the shadow of the gallows?
David Lambert is what I refer to as a “good bad guy”. He’s had an incredibly rough childhood and has spent his adult life sticking it to the man with no apologies. He’s a jewel thief who has learned to model and mock the aristocracy while stealing their treasures and has made a comfortable life for himself and his fellow outcasts who have become his family.
Jeremy Naylor is a footman (who hates being a footman) and he is as sweet as he is beautiful. David is smitten with him from the start and finds himself breaking all the rules he has set in place for himself; No getting involved with the help, no repeat trysts and no kissing. One by one he breaks those rules and he is frustrated with himself but also powerless when it comes to Jeremy.
David accidentally puts Jeremy in danger as his thieving goes awry during a house party where David is the guest and Jeremy is a servant. Now a true bad guy would be fine with letting Jeremy swing for David’s crimes, but this is why David is a good bad guy, he can’t let that happen. He takes Jeremy to London and the two set up a uncomfortably comfortable home life. This was my favorite part of the book. For once in his life Jeremy was able to thrive and be himself just like the others in the house. Jo Crawford, David’s housekeeper, was amazing, I loved her character and the bond that she and Jeremy developed.
The push and pull between David and Jeremy was frustrating one moment and sweet as pie the next. Because of all of David’s past traumas he has a lot of trouble seeing happiness as something he deserves. He’s convinced it’s not something he’ll ever have and has resigned himself to that fate. It makes him lash out at times and his communication skills, when it comes to what is in his heart, are non existent. He can sweet talk a room full of dowager widows, but he can’t tell Jeremy how he feels. Even though it is SO obvious to everyone else.
I wouldn’t say that the two had miscommunication issues, it was more of an evolution of maturity and realization for David. It was something he probably never would have dealt with if it hadn’t been for Jeremy. Jeremy was his match and there wasn’t a damn thing David could do about it, their togetherness was inevitable. There’s more than just a romance here too.
There’s political intrigue, family drama and the threat of the gallows on more than one occasion and for more than just one instance of criminal misdeeds. All of it served to give the story more depth and was never a distraction from the story of David and Jeremy. All the shenanigans played well with the relationship as it weathered its ups and downs and was the catalyst for many moments as they did the “two steps forward, one step back” dance.
The secondary characters were just as strong and helped me get to know the MC’s, David especially. They were a great vehicle for showing me who David was without David having to say much about himself, it allowed the reader, and Jeremy, to know him while David could still stick to his more naturally stoic personality.
There were a few typos throughout, but nothing that took me out of the story. The author does an amazing job of describing everything so vividly and with historical, yet accessible language. The verbiage is a treat to get lost in, much like the characters themselves and I would recommend this book highly.
**a copy of this story was provided for an honest review**
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