Audio Review: Wanted, a Gentleman by KJ Charles

Author: KJ Charles

Narrator: Greg Patmore

Publisher: Riptide Publishing

Run Time: 4 hours and 40 minutes

Category: Historical

At a Glance: This is a thoroughly entertaining historical brought to life by a fabulous narrator, who was new to me.

Reviewed By: Sadonna

Blurb: By the good offices of Riptide Publishing
KJ Charles’s new Entertainment

WANTED, A GENTLEMAN
Or, Virtue Over-Rated

the grand romance of

Mr. Martin St. Vincent . . . a Merchant with a Mission, also a Problem
Mr. Theodore Swann . . . a humble Scribbler and Advertiser for Love

Act the First:

the offices of the Matrimonial Advertiser, London
where Lonely Hearts may seek one another for the cost of a shilling

Act the Second:

a Pursuit to Gretna Green (or thereabouts)

featuring

a speedy Carriage
sundry rustic Inns
a private Bed-chamber

***

In the course of which are presented

Romance, Revenge, and Redemption
Deceptions, Discoveries, and Desires

the particulars of which are too numerous to impart

Review: Theo Swann is a man who is scrabbling to get by in life. He runs a Matrimonial Advertisement, and, on the side, he also writes romance novels. One of the adverts in his paper has caught the attention of the wealthy family, as it is their underage daughter who has engaged in a clandestine correspondence with a gentleman via aliases.

Martin St. Vincent is a free black man, once the property of the Conroys. Their daughter, Jennifer, is the headstrong young lady of the aforementioned clandestine correspondence. Martin has taken it upon himself to try to avert a disastrous ruination of Miss Jennifer and/or a calamitous marriage to a man one can only assume is after the Conroy money. When Martin confronts Theo about the ads, he is quite dismayed to discover that Theo has no idea who the man might be, as the correspondence has come in the general post. But Theo agrees to help, if he can, try to discover the identity of the man in question.

After another post has run in the paper, Theo determines the meeting place of the couple, and rushes to find Martin to tell him. They rush off, only to discover that the pair have already left—possibly for Scotland—where the marriage to an underage bride would not be illegal without parental consent. Theo agrees to help Martin pursue them, for a sum, to try to stop the marriage or the loss of Miss Jennifer’s reputation.

This is really when all the fun begins. It turns out that Martin and Theo have quite a bit more in common then they originally thought. 😊 During their pursuit of Miss Jennifer and her unknown suitor, a number of secrets come to light, including Theo’s moonlighting as a romance novelist. There are a number of entertaining conversations between the two men, as well as some nonverbal communication. 😉 And of course the plot thickens when we discover the duplicitous suitor is unmasked, and hidden motivations are revealed that threaten not only Miss Jennifer but also Theo and Martin.

This is a thoroughly entertaining historical brought to life by a fabulous narrator, who was new to me. Even though the story started off a little slowly, once we are underway, things really take off. There are a lot of hidden motivations and plot twists that made the story that much more fun to listen to. The dialogue between Martin and Theo is particularly amusing. Greg Patmore does a fabulous job with the accents and voice characterizations. I really liked they way he acted the parts of Theo and Martin, especially. Highly recommended, especially for historical fans.

You can buy Wanted, a Gentleman here:
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