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The Savages of Falcote #2
Unexpected Fortune
Laurie Sinclair has to get married for money, and he has exactly one season to do it in. His elder brother left him more debts than capital, and it is the only way he can think of to provide dowries for his sister and niece. So he hides his secrets, plasters on a smile, and sets out to charm. But it is not easy to overcome the disadvantages of an ungentlemanly timidity, a French mother, and a complete lack of interest in young ladies. The last thing Laurie needs is to be seen to associate with a gentleman known for his shocking opinions and radical politics.
Marcus Junius Fleetwood is out of temper with the world. He is frustrated with the state of scholarship in England, he is being blackmailed by persons unknown with something he hasn’t actually done, and his best friend is too busy squiring a pretty younger son about town to talk to him. What he needs is a distraction, and a chance encounter with a handsome fortune hunter will do very nicely.
Both men are quite agreed that their first meeting should also be their last, but as the season wears on they keep running into each other, and Laurie starts to admit to himself that he much prefers spending time with Fleetwood over courting Lady Mariana Savage. And when he finds his honour challenged, it is Fleetwood he turns to, despite the danger to them both.
Marcus Junius Fleetwood is out of temper with the world. He is frustrated with the state of scholarship in England, he is being blackmailed by persons unknown with something he hasn’t actually done, and his best friend is too busy squiring a pretty younger son about town to talk to him. What he needs is a distraction, and a chance encounter with a handsome fortune hunter will do very nicely.
Both men are quite agreed that their first meeting should also be their last, but as the season wears on they keep running into each other, and Laurie starts to admit to himself that he much prefers spending time with Fleetwood over courting Lady Mariana Savage. And when he finds his honour challenged, it is Fleetwood he turns to, despite the danger to them both.
- GenresHistoricalRegencyLGBT
Kindle Edition
First published November 9, 2023
About the author
Ally Hastings
10 books3 followersAlly Hastings loves to read mystery, romance, literary fiction and sometimes fantasy, but writes only one of them. Preferably after a long walk, with a cup of tea and the radio tuned to something from the sixties or seventies. Ally is the author of The Savages of Falcote, a queer historical romance series, beginning with Unwritten Rules (March 2023).
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 25, 2023
Just as good if not better than the first book with this story-line running more or less parallel to that aforementioned volume. Main and secondary characters are equally well-drawn and whilst readers can get by without reading the previous volume, greater enjoyment will be had if they do so - at very least, the backstory to Miss Marianne Savage and her brothers will become so much clearer. 4.5 stars.
January 2, 2026
I'm sad to say I didn't like this nearly as much as the other books in this series.
Laurie is a delight, and I love how his PTSD/trauma response is depicted. Also his genuine desperation about his family and situation are really quite heartbreaking at times.
Unfortunately, I can't say the same for Fleetwood, the other MC. Him being an outspoken radical unfortunately means that a large part of the book is just him monologuing about political issues in a very 21st century way. Of course, as the author points out, these ideas were already being expressed at this time and even sooner, so it's not technically historically inaccurate to have someone believe them, but to me it comes across as incredibly preachy and smug with the modern benefit of hindsight.
The relationship between them also isn't as strong as the others in this series, even in the short stories. The characters start out as strangers with an instant spark of attraction, and they remain that for most of the book. They don't seem to get any closer or are really vulnerable with each other (especially not Fleetwood), there isn't trust built between them. (small detail that adds to this - they continue to call each other by their last names, further distancing them.) This isn't helped by the fact that every time they actually have a conversation, they end up having sex.
Now sex scenes are of course a staple of the romance genre, and compared to most other m/m historical romances, the sex here is quite tame - there's a lot of fade-to-black rather than pages long graphic descriptions of sex. Unfortunately that means the author can insert them into their every conversation without much effort, and it really shows. I have not actually tried to count them, but there had to be at least 10 instances of glossed over sex. I'm pretty sure every single conversation between them ends with them having sex. It's just ridiculous. Laurie, suffering from PTSD that makes him faint when confronted with violence, passes out after being shot at and when he's just barely regained consciousness the first thing out of his mouth is "please fuck me".
????
2.5 stars, rounded up
Laurie is a delight, and I love how his PTSD/trauma response is depicted. Also his genuine desperation about his family and situation are really quite heartbreaking at times.
Unfortunately, I can't say the same for Fleetwood, the other MC. Him being an outspoken radical unfortunately means that a large part of the book is just him monologuing about political issues in a very 21st century way. Of course, as the author points out, these ideas were already being expressed at this time and even sooner, so it's not technically historically inaccurate to have someone believe them, but to me it comes across as incredibly preachy and smug with the modern benefit of hindsight.
The relationship between them also isn't as strong as the others in this series, even in the short stories. The characters start out as strangers with an instant spark of attraction, and they remain that for most of the book. They don't seem to get any closer or are really vulnerable with each other (especially not Fleetwood), there isn't trust built between them. (small detail that adds to this - they continue to call each other by their last names, further distancing them.) This isn't helped by the fact that every time they actually have a conversation, they end up having sex.
Now sex scenes are of course a staple of the romance genre, and compared to most other m/m historical romances, the sex here is quite tame - there's a lot of fade-to-black rather than pages long graphic descriptions of sex. Unfortunately that means the author can insert them into their every conversation without much effort, and it really shows. I have not actually tried to count them, but there had to be at least 10 instances of glossed over sex. I'm pretty sure every single conversation between them ends with them having sex. It's just ridiculous. Laurie, suffering from PTSD that makes him faint when confronted with violence, passes out after being shot at and when he's just barely regained consciousness the first thing out of his mouth is "please fuck me".
????
2.5 stars, rounded up
December 24, 2024
Well-written, with interesting protagonists, and a little more bite than the first book. Actually engages with the realities of the Regency period instead of just using it as a kind of pretty backdrop, as happens all too often. A sweet, satisfying love-story, and a solution to the mystery that I didn't see coming.
November 26, 2024
The second book in the series, set at the same time as Unwritten Rules, in which Richard Savage's friend Fleetwood has to deal with blackmail, the realities of the marriage mart and a duel, when he gets entangled with a handsome Scottish fortune hunter.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews