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Eric Tolladay

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The Cutthroat King (The Gwen St. James Affair)

by Nicole McKeon (Goodreads Author)

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Reading for the 2nd time

read in December 2024

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Eric Tolladay said: " The Cutthroat King is a magnificent example of a Gaslamp Romantasy. It is (I believe) the 9th book by McKeon, and of all her works this one is the closest to a more traditional Romance. The setup is a classic enemies-to-lovers trope. Almost immediate The Cutthroat King is a magnificent example of a Gaslamp Romantasy. It is (I believe) the 9th book by McKeon, and of all her works this one is the closest to a more traditional Romance. The setup is a classic enemies-to-lovers trope. Almost immediately the down-and-out Willow is thrust into the bedroom of the delightfully disrespectable Cutthroat King. From that point on you know they’re where they are eventually going to end up. Half the fun is the wait. They don’t call these bodice rippers for nothing. McKeon skillfully draws the characters closer, ratcheting up the sexual tension on almost every page, as the plot slowly unfolds around them.

This is not the Victorian London you know, but McKeon’s New London, and it is full to the brim with magic, mayhem, monsters, and modern machinery. The book is immersive. The smells, the sounds, the grit, are all well rendered. McKeon has written four other novels in this universe, collectively known as the Gwen St. James Affair, which means she really knows this city, and she is very capable of taking you there. Gwen St. James herself is a fun character, and even makes a few cameos here.

Alas, Gwen is a woman of means, which leaves her stuck always playing the respectable daughter. Thankfully, Willow has no such limitations. She’s an orphan turned tradeswoman by the kind act of the man she calls father. When he disappears, and takes her prospects with him, Willow has no choice but to turn to New London’s champion of the poor and needy, which is the Cutthroat King.

As the relationship between Willow and the King deepens, it turns out that she has passion for more than just making devices. By Victorian standards Willow is delightfully wanton, and so is the King. The culmination of their passion results in perhaps the longest sex scene I’ve ever had the pleasure to read, and it was worth every word getting there. There is a slight amount of kink involved, but nothing that would tarnish a real Victorian.

Of course bad men are also afoot, and Willow’s relationship to the King is entwined with them. Trust and betrayal, always reliable tropes in a romance novel, play out here to good effect. Suffice to say McKeon nails the dismount perfectly.

I received the ACR of this novel, and plowed through it in three days. It was so difficult to put down that I lost quite a few hours of sleep. This is perhaps the highest praise I can give a book. Get yourself a copy, and start wandering both the streets of New London, and below them in the gritty halls of the Unseen Court. Good clean dirty fun. ...more "

Dec 13, 2024 03:36PM · see review