Mastodawn

I'll start off my book discussion with a look at one of my favorite authors: KJ Charles, who writes *smoking* awesome romances.

I'm utterly in love with her Green Man World books: The Secret Casebook of Simon Feximal, which very much feels like a series of connected short stories, has some utterly fascinating stories, including one about butterflies killing people. It's probably not for everyone, as there's a lot of very rough intimacy, but the characters and concepts are so great that I love rereading it.

The followup to The Casebook, Spectred Isle, throws a down on his luck archaeologist (Saul Lazenby) and headfirst into a world of magic and terror, a world where the physical War was the top layer of brutal arcane battles that almost destroyed the world.

I deliberately didn't mention the romance aspect. Romance (and yes, sex) is integral to the story, not an add-on or a salacious hook. I had zero instances of "oh come on, just talk to each other already!". But the romance/sexy bits are strong *because of* how they interact with the plot, not the other way around.

KJ Charles is a totally delightful author. I highly recommend anything she's written.

Now! In the replies, I will point to the *entirely different* 2 book set I have on sale at The Scribbling Lion. So if you don't want to see the "consider buying these other two titles", don't read the reply to this post. :)

#Books #bookstodon #IndieBookstorie #IndieAuthors #authors #Romance #IndieRomance

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Leona Sep 2, 2025

OK! You're still here, excellent and thank you.

The next two KJ Charles books are *entirely* different, having no mention arcane adventures.

The first two books of the Lilywhite Boys series (see reply for more), Any Old Diamonds and Gilded Cage, are a dramatic whirlwind of intrigue and passion.

In Any Old Diamonds, Alec hires a criminal duo, the Lilywhite Boys (Jerry and Templeton), to steal from a Duke. The Lilywhite Boys involve Alec in the heist more directly than he ever expected, and his developing relationship with Jerry turns things increasingly complicated -- and dangerous.

The followup book, Gilded Cage, focuses on Templeton, framed for a brutal set of murders and on the run while trying to clear his name. Even Jerry doesn't believe he's innocent.
Driven to desperation, Templeton must turn to a deeply estranged ex-girlfriend for help. Problem is, she hates his guts... and might just turn him in herself to get her revenge.

The characters are crisp and unique, the plots devious, the story itself addictive, and the romance, of course, integral.

**I'm selling these two books as a set only, and I only have one set in stock.**

If you're interested in picking these titles up through The Scribbling Lion, here's the link:

https://thescribblinglion.com/product/lilywhite-boys-set-kj-charles/

Again -- please, talk to me about what *you* think of the books, the author, or the genre in general!

#IndieAuthors #bookstodon #SmallBookstore #BuyIndie #RomanceBooks #SmallPress

Lilywhite Boys Set | KJ Charles

This two book set includes Any Old Diamonds and Gilded Cage (Sold as a set only!) Any Old Diamonds Lord Alexander Pyne-ffoulkes, the younger son of the Duke of Ilvar, holds a bitter grudge against …

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Leona Sep 2, 2025

There are two more stories in this series. The Rat-Catcher's Daughter, chronologically before Any Old Diamonds, features Christiana, an asexual transgender music hall singer who's in debt to a dangerous criminal who's determined to make an example of her. The Lilywhite Boys are hired to protect her, but Christiana had no idea what that protection will cost her....

Rat-Catcher's Daughter is a short story (16,000 words); I recommend picking that up as a quick ebook . **Content warning on RCD: it opens with anti-trans threats and language.**

Closing the series up is the novella Masters In This Hall, another excellent m/m tale wound around holiday celebrations at a rich man's country house. There's a heist being planned; a lot of lies and deceptions; a cascading, life-threatening situation; and the sort of lovers to enemies to lovers plot that KJ Charles excels at.

The Lilywhite Boys come in , this time, because someone's trying to pass themselves off as Jerry. As a matter of criminal integrity and reputation, Jerry can't afford to let that slide, so he shows up to track down the perpetrator of that lie and see them stopped -- by whatever means necessary.

I love the way the stories overlap, intersect, and echo against each other. Charles has a gift for not only creating complex series, but *ending* them satisfactorily, which is a much harder trick.

So there you go -- check out KJ Charles, one way or another, and talk to me about what you find out!