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Another England #3
no way out
It’s April of 1816 in Another England.
And Jeremy—a whore from the Dock—is living in a guest bedroom in the London home of the (in)famous Iron Marquess, with over fifteen days missing from his life.
For someone who remembers everything from his third birthday on, it’s unnerving not to know. Fine, fourteen days for the coma and the infection delirium, with a couple of brief remembered moments. But those first thirty-six hours. Do they explain how he got hurt, how he got to Ireton House, and why his lordship’s mountain-sized valet is taking care of him? Or why his ironness looks at him with nothing iron at all in his eyes?
Jeremy and the Iron Marquess both have dark secrets. Toss in a forced engagement, an inheritance, a scheme to clap Jeremy in Bedlam, a wall in a hall with paintings to the left and waiting emptiness to the right, the revelation of the missing hours, a problem with plumage, some numbered accounts, and a long sea voyage, and even with incredible sex, humor, Shakespeare, Lewis Carroll, and a fabulous toy collection, it all seems to mean there’s no way out of the snares surrounding them.
Or is the old saying true: where there’s a waltz, there’s a way?
All royalties will go to a local LGBT organization.
And Jeremy—a whore from the Dock—is living in a guest bedroom in the London home of the (in)famous Iron Marquess, with over fifteen days missing from his life.
For someone who remembers everything from his third birthday on, it’s unnerving not to know. Fine, fourteen days for the coma and the infection delirium, with a couple of brief remembered moments. But those first thirty-six hours. Do they explain how he got hurt, how he got to Ireton House, and why his lordship’s mountain-sized valet is taking care of him? Or why his ironness looks at him with nothing iron at all in his eyes?
Jeremy and the Iron Marquess both have dark secrets. Toss in a forced engagement, an inheritance, a scheme to clap Jeremy in Bedlam, a wall in a hall with paintings to the left and waiting emptiness to the right, the revelation of the missing hours, a problem with plumage, some numbered accounts, and a long sea voyage, and even with incredible sex, humor, Shakespeare, Lewis Carroll, and a fabulous toy collection, it all seems to mean there’s no way out of the snares surrounding them.
Or is the old saying true: where there’s a waltz, there’s a way?
All royalties will go to a local LGBT organization.
- GenresHistorical
463 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 13, 2018
3 people are currently reading
26 people want to read
About the author
Eric Alan Westfall
29 books65 followersGuess what...that image ain't really me! (Not nearly enough grey hair). That's Kerry Chin Chew Yee's image of DarkFire for the cover of The Warlord and the Bard. And since he's the favorite of my characters...what better image? Maybe more about me later.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 18, 2021
This historical romance has a slightly different flavor, since being gay is not a crime in this alternate universe. That removes some of the most dangerous pressure on the main characters. And yet, only the law is truly different. Gay men are still despised and reviled, and men with wealth and titles are still expected to marry and engender heirs. Status is still a precious commodity, in a very stratified society with an abused underclass.
In this context, two men of extremely different stations in life (at least at that moment) come together with distrust and confusion, desperation and betrayal and drama. Jeremy's past held trauma and pain, and his trust is slow to develop. But their relationship becomes one of bawdy heat, clever and funny banter, mysteries, emotions, reveals of identity, a villainous plot, and a happy ending.
The story is long but there is enough plot and character development to carry the pages. I was caught by surprise by a couple of twists, and connected with the main characters, engaged in their fates. I read quickly through, eager to watch them reach their destinies with a helping of karma and justice. And was well satisfied with the outcome.
In this context, two men of extremely different stations in life (at least at that moment) come together with distrust and confusion, desperation and betrayal and drama. Jeremy's past held trauma and pain, and his trust is slow to develop. But their relationship becomes one of bawdy heat, clever and funny banter, mysteries, emotions, reveals of identity, a villainous plot, and a happy ending.
The story is long but there is enough plot and character development to carry the pages. I was caught by surprise by a couple of twists, and connected with the main characters, engaged in their fates. I read quickly through, eager to watch them reach their destinies with a helping of karma and justice. And was well satisfied with the outcome.
January 26, 2019
It’s a moderately good regency marred by a lack of pacing in one section. So why only two stars? Misogyny.
At the start of the book, a young woman is excoriated in the lead character’s mind for having a sex life that, rumored exaggeration aside, was entirely normal for the time period. He’s shaming her, calling her a whore, thinking her disgusting ... while holding in high esteem an equally young man who is an actual sex worker. (I don’t mind sex workers, I do mind double standards.)
We never meet the young woman again. There’s no reason in the plot for the hero’s dramatic disgust of her.
Later he treats another young woman badly, with zero empathy for probably ruining her life for no fault of her own.
And at the end of the book, he uses excessively ugly language repeatedly (including fat shaming and making crude remarks about the stupidity of women) about a woman who is a hapless, mostly quiet, entirely innocent bystander to his conversation with another man.
Aside from dead mothers and a very few women in the Ton who appear briefly for the purposes of plot, there are no other woman characters I can recall and zero positive ones. Not even servants. It’s clear this author really wants his men to exist in a void with nothing but men and if a woman deigns to enter the room, he reviles her for no real reason.
It’s sexism and hate. And I’m wouldn’t be surprised to learn he’s entirely unaware of it.
At the start of the book, a young woman is excoriated in the lead character’s mind for having a sex life that, rumored exaggeration aside, was entirely normal for the time period. He’s shaming her, calling her a whore, thinking her disgusting ... while holding in high esteem an equally young man who is an actual sex worker. (I don’t mind sex workers, I do mind double standards.)
We never meet the young woman again. There’s no reason in the plot for the hero’s dramatic disgust of her.
Later he treats another young woman badly, with zero empathy for probably ruining her life for no fault of her own.
And at the end of the book, he uses excessively ugly language repeatedly (including fat shaming and making crude remarks about the stupidity of women) about a woman who is a hapless, mostly quiet, entirely innocent bystander to his conversation with another man.
Aside from dead mothers and a very few women in the Ton who appear briefly for the purposes of plot, there are no other woman characters I can recall and zero positive ones. Not even servants. It’s clear this author really wants his men to exist in a void with nothing but men and if a woman deigns to enter the room, he reviles her for no real reason.
It’s sexism and hate. And I’m wouldn’t be surprised to learn he’s entirely unaware of it.
November 8, 2018
This story is full of vibrant descriptions of 1800’s London, you get a real feeling of life back in the day. We see both the low class and the upper (Ton) class, and their stark differences.
The story follows Jeremy (later becomes Brandon) Who is saved from almost drowning in the filthy infested Themes by Iron Marquess. It later becomes known that Jeremy is infect Branden the son of a Baron. The Brandon almost succeeds in having Brandon committed insane, so he can take his sons inheritance left by his Grandfather.
Iron Marquess and Brandon connect, and their relationship quickly develops, but they both know that their lives are on different paths the Iron Marquess is required by his title to marry and raise a heir.
I loved the banter between both characters, they often pushed the other and they seemed to have the perfect relationship until Branden finds remembers what happened when he was rescued.
You get a real flavor of life’s difficulties and how the Ton (Upper Class) Looked down on everyone below them, and many would stab the other in their backs to step up one more step in the social circles.
The book is quite long, but you get pulled into the story world and connect the characters and by the end of the book, you kind of want a few more pages or chapters or sequels to find out what happens next to the characters.
The story follows Jeremy (later becomes Brandon) Who is saved from almost drowning in the filthy infested Themes by Iron Marquess. It later becomes known that Jeremy is infect Branden the son of a Baron. The Brandon almost succeeds in having Brandon committed insane, so he can take his sons inheritance left by his Grandfather.
Iron Marquess and Brandon connect, and their relationship quickly develops, but they both know that their lives are on different paths the Iron Marquess is required by his title to marry and raise a heir.
I loved the banter between both characters, they often pushed the other and they seemed to have the perfect relationship until Branden finds remembers what happened when he was rescued.
You get a real flavor of life’s difficulties and how the Ton (Upper Class) Looked down on everyone below them, and many would stab the other in their backs to step up one more step in the social circles.
The book is quite long, but you get pulled into the story world and connect the characters and by the end of the book, you kind of want a few more pages or chapters or sequels to find out what happens next to the characters.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews