Unmasked by the Marquess
After I finished Oathbringer, I was having a hard time deciding what to read next. How do you follow up a 1200+ page epic? But then I remembered that it was Pride month and I had this book on my shelf and things spiraled a little bit. So buckle up for a month's worth of LGBTQ+ reads, starting with this queer historical romance.
I've read enough London-based historical romance at this point to recognize the trappings. The dukes and marquesses and social expectations, the balls and dinners and chaperones. There's a framework within which all of these romances must operate. And this was a fun twist on it.
Charity is masquerading as her deceased employer and friend, Robert Selby in the hopes of helping his younger sister find a husband before anyone realizes that Robert is dead and the dowry disappears. They scrape together enough money to spend a season in London, and Charity exaggerates an old family connection to get her foot in the door with an influential marquess, Alistair.
Alistair is determined to rise above his father's scandals and turn himself into a respectable, profitable member of society. But it all starts to go off track when he finds himself attracted to young Robert Selby.
Sebastian pushes this historical masquerade one step further by confirming both Alistair's bisexuality and Charity's gender fluidity. The latter prefers the freedom of men's clothing and habits, though she's not above putting on a dress to assist the people she loves. And Alistair doesn't care one way or another so long as he can find a way to keep her in his life.
I appreciated that most of the obstacles were external. Alistair had a little bit of pride to shed and Charity was almost too self-sacrificing. But there was no real denial of their attraction. Rather, it became a question of how they might marry and live together. And honestly, the book may have twisted itself a bit too far to get to that happy ending. Not that I'm really complaining, since I'm reading this for the happy ending. And romance is really just another form of fantasy after all. But it all happened a bit quickly, and I think there was room for a happy ending that didn't require a marriage.
I've read enough London-based historical romance at this point to recognize the trappings. The dukes and marquesses and social expectations, the balls and dinners and chaperones. There's a framework within which all of these romances must operate. And this was a fun twist on it.
Charity is masquerading as her deceased employer and friend, Robert Selby in the hopes of helping his younger sister find a husband before anyone realizes that Robert is dead and the dowry disappears. They scrape together enough money to spend a season in London, and Charity exaggerates an old family connection to get her foot in the door with an influential marquess, Alistair.
Alistair is determined to rise above his father's scandals and turn himself into a respectable, profitable member of society. But it all starts to go off track when he finds himself attracted to young Robert Selby.
Sebastian pushes this historical masquerade one step further by confirming both Alistair's bisexuality and Charity's gender fluidity. The latter prefers the freedom of men's clothing and habits, though she's not above putting on a dress to assist the people she loves. And Alistair doesn't care one way or another so long as he can find a way to keep her in his life.
I appreciated that most of the obstacles were external. Alistair had a little bit of pride to shed and Charity was almost too self-sacrificing. But there was no real denial of their attraction. Rather, it became a question of how they might marry and live together. And honestly, the book may have twisted itself a bit too far to get to that happy ending. Not that I'm really complaining, since I'm reading this for the happy ending. And romance is really just another form of fantasy after all. But it all happened a bit quickly, and I think there was room for a happy ending that didn't require a marriage.
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