An Unsuitable Heir (Sins of the Cities, #3)

by Kj Charles

[chymerra]

I loved the Sins of the Cities trilogy by K.C. Charles. It took one of my favorite eras, Victorian England, and spun two M/M romances out of it. Now, mention that I said two M/M romances. I say that because Pen is nonbinary/identifies as a woman. So I wouldn’t classify An Unsuitable Heir as an M/M romance. Actually, I don’t know what I would label it. If any of you could please let me know what I could label this book. I will amend the review with the correct terminology.

An Unsuitable Heir’s plot was pretty straightforward. Mark is an enquiry agent and is hired by Clem and Nathaniel to find the true heir to Clem’s brother’s earldom. Mark’s detective skills track down Repentance (Pen) and Regret (Greta) Starling. Pen and Greta are trapeze artists and are content to stay that way. That is until Mark forces Pen to do what he never wanted to do…become the earl. There is also danger involved. The killer who has haunted An Unseen Attraction and An Unnatural Vice has made himself known.He has Pen in his crosshairs.

An Unnatural Vice was a romance. What Mark and Pen felt for each other came off the pages in waves. Even when Pen was very upset with Mark, you could tell the depth of their feelings. Pen loved Mark for who he was and Mark loved Pen for who he was. It was beautiful to read. The LGBTQIA aspect of the book was very interesting too. Pen is nonbinary and I thought the author did a great job of portraying a nonbinary person in the Victorian Era.

I liked Mark. I felt bad that he felt that his disability would even interfere in his and Pen’s relationship. I also felt awful when he dragged Pen to that meeting against his will. He was doing it for Greta and Pen’s own good. Not that Pen understood at first.

I felt so bad for Pen. I couldn’t imagine going to sleep and waking up in a body that I didn’t feel at home in. He knew he was a girl but every time he looked in a mirror, he saw a man. It must have been so hard for him. The era he lived in, Victorian, was not known for their understanding of homosexuality. People were arrested and could potentially be thrown in jail if it was found out that they were gay, lesbian or trans. Pen was terrified of being in public because he knew how he dressed and acted would not be accepted. Which is why he didn’t want to be an earl. He didn’t want all that attention on him. When Mark forced his hand at the earldom, it was his worst fears come true.

Pen and Mark didn’t have real intercourse until the end of the book. But the sexual interactions that they did have were very hot!!

I was pretty surprised at who the killer was. It was the last person I thought it would be (isn’t that always the case….lol). All the other storylines were wrapped up in a very satisfactory way. I am sad that this series has come to an end. I can’t wait to read more books by K.C. Charles.

4 stars

My Summary of An Unsuitable Heir:

An Unsuitable Heir is a wonderful romance. I loved that the author chose to write about a nonbinary person in Victorian times. This book is definitely worth the read and I would recommend it!!

Will I reread: Yes

Will I recommend to family and friends: Yes

Age range: Adult

Why: Sex and some mild violence

I would like to thank K.C. Charles, Loveswept, Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review An Unsuitable Heir

Any opinions stated in this review are mine and I was not compensated in any way for this review

**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**