Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.

Start by marking “Behind These Doors (Radical Proposals #1)” as Want to Read:

Other editions

Enlarge cover

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Open Preview

Behind These Doors

(Radical Proposals #1)

Jude Lucens (Goodreads Author)

4.13 · Rating details · 382 ratings · 127 reviews

Lucien Saxby is a journalist, writing for the society pages. The Honourable Aubrey Fanshawe, second son of an earl, is Society. They have nothing in common, until a casual encounter leads to a crisis.

Aubrey isn’t looking for love. He already has it, in his long-term clandestine relationship with Lord and Lady Hernedale. And Lucien is the last man Aubrey should want. He’s

...more

Get A Copy

Kindle Edition, 449 pages

Published June 22nd 2018 by Greenwose Books (first published June 21st 2018)

More Details... Edit Details

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Reader Q&A

To ask other readers questions about Behind These Doors, please sign up.

Be the first to ask a question about Behind These Doors

Lists with This Book

June 2018 MM Releases

115 books — 232 voters

Mrs. Martin’s Incomparable Adventure by Courtney Milan

Miss Dominguez's Christmas Kiss and Other Stories by Lydia San Andres

Queer historical romances written by authors of color

12 books — 3 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

Showing 1-30

Average rating 4.13 ·

Rating details

· 382 ratings · 127 reviews

More filters

Sort order

Start your review of Behind These Doors (Radical Proposals #1)

Aug 02, 2018 K.J. Charles added it

Shelves: edwardian, m-m, m-f, menage, found-family

DISCLAIMER: I edited this.

A gently paced romance well grounded in the period setting, featuring a poly setup with a married couple plus one, where the plus one falls for another man as well. The dance that ensues is carefully delineated, and the pleasure is in seeing the complex negotiations of consent and power and intersections of sexuality, gender, and class across the tangled web of more than one three-way relationship. A really solid and unusual queer historical, satisfying for those who l ...more

flag 53 likes · Like · see review

Jun 19, 2018 Rachel rated it it was amazing

Shelves: kindle-unlimited, bi-visibility, own-to-read, m-m-historical-romance, lgbtqiap-plus, favorites, menage, because-talia-said-so

5 Splendid Stars

Magnificent.

"Behind These Doors" is a multifaceted, complex, multilayered story which is, at its heart, a deeply tender romance between two men. The primary romance alone is exquisite, but the descriptive historical aspects of Edwardian society, the battle for women’s rights and the Women’s Suffrage Movement, and the inclusion of a polyamorous romance thread all make this an enthralling read.

Lucien Saxby is a working class journalist, writing for the society pages. The Honourable 5 Splendid Stars

Magnificent.

"Behind These Doors" is a multifaceted, complex, multilayered story which is, at its heart, a deeply tender romance between two men. The primary romance alone is exquisite, but the descriptive historical aspects of Edwardian society, the battle for women’s rights and the Women’s Suffrage Movement, and the inclusion of a polyamorous romance thread all make this an enthralling read.

Lucien Saxby is a working class journalist, writing for the society pages. The Honourable Aubrey Fanshawe, is the second son of an earl. He spends his leisure time writing, drawing, and playing the piano.

Even though Aubrey is “Society,” he is quite down-to-earth and relatable. Aubrey is a perfectionist and when talking about the writing process he states, “How to explain the terror of ‘starting something new’? Of the blank, passive page waiting for the miracle of creative genius to stir it to life?” And later he remarks, “Editors just didn’t understand the demands of Art. Or the crushing terror of putting one’s name—even if it was just a nom de plume—to work that would be sent into the world for critics to sneer at.”

Neither Lucien or Aubrey are looking for lasting love when they initially meet. Aubrey is in a long-term (clandestine) committed romantic and sexual relationship with his childhood friends Lord and Lady Hernedale. Lord Hernedale presents as possibly somewhere on the asexual spectrum, and it is refreshing to see that realistically portrayed in a romance. Lucien has an ongoing affectionate and sexual relationship with his friend Ben, a bisexual married working class man of color. (FYI Ben and his wife’s {both former streetwalkers} story is told in Lucen’s novella, Gutter Roses: A Radical Proposals Short Story).

This story is a queer historical romance that models a complex polycule romance, a connected network of non-monogamous relationships. I have yet to read another romance with such complex and realistically portrayed relationship dynamics as this story.

Be reassured that this story has a beautiful HEA. My sweet, sweet Aubrey is the shining star around which the other characters orbit. His views regarding romantic love have opened my mind and changed the way I think about love and romance. He explains, “I have a whole heart for everyone I love, every time.”

And now, I love all of these beautiful characters, too.

Available via KU.

Highly recommend!!
...more

flag 15 likes · Like · see review

Oct 06, 2019 Pam rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorite-2019mm, poly, historical

This was so good, I don't think I can do it justice. First, it reads very much like an m/m romance in case everything else has you concerned. It is first and foremost the love story of Aubrey and Lucien, and it is lovely.

It jumps straight in to the first encounter of these two men who have full lives separate and apart from each other, but find themselves drawn to each other over and over again. There is no intsa-anything (apart from lust :), so we get to watch a realistically paced romance amid This was so good, I don't think I can do it justice. First, it reads very much like an m/m romance in case everything else has you concerned. It is first and foremost the love story of Aubrey and Lucien, and it is lovely.

It jumps straight in to the first encounter of these two men who have full lives separate and apart from each other, but find themselves drawn to each other over and over again. There is no intsa-anything (apart from lust :), so we get to watch a realistically paced romance amidst this fascinating exploration of class and the societal power dynamics of the time.

And that part is just so interesting. I am not a history buff, I don't like non-fiction, I don't do dense historicals. That is NOT what this is. It's just fascinating in its realistic portrayal of the differences between the working class of 1906 England and the nobility, and even among the different ranks of nobility.

Lucien has a very specific background that allows him to navigate between the different classes in a way most people couldn't, but the hard and fast rules of this society only stretch so far, and I love how realistic this is without being at all depressing. It is very matter-of-fact as Lucien and Aubrey figure out a way to carve out a place where they can be each other's go-to person.

Lucien has such concise, insightful thoughts and opinions on the class structure and is able to express himself so well, yet even the most kind, open-minded of the "nobs" struggle to wrap their brains around these things they just don't have any frame of reference for.

And then conversely, we get to see Lucien be the one who takes the ingrained imbalances between genders for granted. And it's not preachy or boring or heavy -- it's just woven so well into the story, as Lucien gets thrown on a piece about women's suffrage for his newspaper and works with a female journalist, as we get to know Henrietta (Lady Hernedale), as we see tiny moments of the lives of the women who run the boarding house where Lucien lives.

And these moments are all just woven in between the romance. I am ridiculously picky in that I like my romances to be about the romance, but I also want other stuff going on, yet I don't want to get taken away from the romance *too* often or for *too* long at a time... like, I want exactly the right percentage of romance to non-romance plot points to the nth degree :) And this hits it perfectly. (Partially because a lot of the non-romance stuff on Aubrey's side is really still romance since it pertains to his other romantic relationship!)

The polyamory aspect had me hesitating to try this one because I am so sensitive to any emotional imbalances between the different parts of these relationships — this is just so outside my reality, it can be hard for me to enjoy — but this one was just fantastic. And again, REALISTIC. Even as a relatively powerful Earl, there's only so much Rupert and Henrietta can realistically do to include Aubrey in their lives. This is just not something that people would accept or look the other way about, especially in a time when you literally get arrested for being gay.

Aubrey's background with the Hernedales is revealed slowly, but we get to see all the nuances play out, and it all just makes so much sense in the end. And as long as the three of them have been together and as much as they love each other, there's just only so much time Aubrey can spend with them as the technical, legal, societal "outsider" of the relationship, even if he's not the third wheel by any means in their hearts.

The way all the relationships fit together just makes so much sense as a product of that time in history and the constraints it would place on each one, but also in that way polyamory stories have to work for me personally, in that it all feels like how it was meant to be.

The whole thing is just so impressive with all the fascinating nuances she works in while also being, first and foremost, immensely enjoyable.

Note: You do have to have a little tolerance for the f part of an mmf sex scene, but I think there's just one in the whole book, and the languaging really avoids the common pitfalls. I am currently in a phase where I can't do mf sex scenes, but this one did not bother me at all. I don't know how to explain it, but even though Henrietta is a huge part of the story and very much an equal part of that threesome, this is very much an m/m romance. ...more

flag 14 likes · Like · see review

Jul 05, 2019 Kaje Harper rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 20th-century, comfort-reread, favorites, historical, m-m, lgbtq, mmf

I really enjoyed this story of a gay journalist from humble origins, and a bisexual, polyamorous nobleman, working to fit a growing loving relationship into the minimal overlap of their lives in turn-of-the-century London.

The Honourable Aubrey Fanshawe has been in love with his best friend Rupert, Lord Hernedale, since they were boys at Eton. Rupert's wife and childhood friend Henrietta loves both of them, and although marrying Rupert was her logical choice to protect all their futures, the cou I really enjoyed this story of a gay journalist from humble origins, and a bisexual, polyamorous nobleman, working to fit a growing loving relationship into the minimal overlap of their lives in turn-of-the-century London.

The Honourable Aubrey Fanshawe has been in love with his best friend Rupert, Lord Hernedale, since they were boys at Eton. Rupert's wife and childhood friend Henrietta loves both of them, and although marrying Rupert was her logical choice to protect all their futures, the couple have as much as possible made a place for Aubrey in their life and when safe, their bed. Where they all enjoy each other, with Rupert at times watching, at times joining in.

Still, Aubrey is the one who has to get up out of that bed, leave the two people he loves, and go home in the dark and cold. Sometimes, despite the sweetness of their relationship, he is desperately lonely. And sometimes he has sex with other men, because he can't just march over there and demand room in that big bed.

Lucien is the son of a valet, and spent his childhood as servant-companion to a chronically ill nobleman. He could have done that forever, but service grated on him, and he left, first for the military and now to make his living as a journalist. He has an old friend whom he sometimes meets for quick sex, and he dallies with strangers in the parks that are known cruising grounds, but something in him yearns for a relationship that lasts longer than it takes to come, and that goes deeper than being pals with a happily married man who sometimes likes a tumble on the gay side.

Lucien has never wanted a relationship with an aristocrat, though. His parents' lives were spent at the whim of nobility, and his time in service to William, where a mask of friendship covers obligation, makes him leery of the upper class. He accepts and resents William's continued gifts and casual charities, as they smooth his life but make him itch. The last thing he wants is a man of money keeping him as a lover. But a night at a play brings him and Aubrey together, and that sweet, diffident, careful young man works his way under Lucien's guard. And nothing in his life will be simple again.

I really appreciated the historical grounding of this story, from the clothes and social mores, to the details of the women's suffrage movement and the strains of class differences. I also loved having strong female characters, an ace-spectrum character, and a polyamory where a new lover isn't a reason to devalue the old. The progression of the relationships felt realistic, and the obstacles valid. The ending wraps up a bit easily, with a couple of big obstacles swept away, but it was warm and sweet and didn't impose limits on love. I'm really looking forward to the next in the series. ...more

flag 14 likes · Like · see review

Jul 08, 2018 hedgehog rated it liked it

Shelves: read-in-2018, reviewed, victorian-edwardian, historical, poly-romance

2.5* rounded up because poly + solid research.

Good:
- Everyone is poly! They make it work! \o/
- A character somewhere on the asexual spectrum! (Or that's how I read it; the modern terminology is of course never used.)
- I think this is the first time I've ever read a historical romance novel that had a character carry around a condom. Is that a weird thing to devote a whole bullet point to?
- The historical details are well researched, grounded to a specific time and place without going overboard 2.5* rounded up because poly + solid research.

Good:
- Everyone is poly! They make it work! \o/
- A character somewhere on the asexual spectrum! (Or that's how I read it; the modern terminology is of course never used.)
- I think this is the first time I've ever read a historical romance novel that had a character carry around a condom. Is that a weird thing to devote a whole bullet point to?
- The historical details are well researched, grounded to a specific time and place without going overboard. The writing is confident and smooth.
- There's an upstairs/downstairs type of romance and the book doesn't shy away from the difficulties of crossing class.

Not so much:
- The sex scenes were a little flowery and generic. Please, no more weeping cocks (why are the cocks sad, whyfor do they weep).
- I didn't like the characters or root for the romances, particularly. Aubrey is a tiresome wet blanket, but halfway through I also tired of Lucien snapping at Aubrey for not being woke enough. Which, no, he's not, but somehow these exchanges turned into Lucien escalating an innocent remark, forcing Aubrey to grovel abjectly in apology, and then grandly pronouncing he won't understand, anyway. While I did appreciate not glossing over the class differences, if your entire relationship is built on repeated insistence that your partner is incapable of XYZ (with a dash of smugness that they're not as woke as you, the paragon of wokeness), their existence is repulsive to you, then maybe... don't... date them? I didn't get the vibe this was a lasting romance, despite all the protestations of love.
- That the characters bother to communicate with each other is great, and doubly so in the Henrietta/Aubrey/Rupert triad, where communication is of the utmost importance. But too much page space is devoted to these stilted conversations where everyone lays out their psychological underpinnings and everyone responds as appropriately as if they were reading off a therapist script for How To Be A Good Listener. At some point I'd like some of the character development to be shown or acted out, not just a bunch of talking heads.
- Man, that Ben/Cath thing came out of nowhere. Demanding that I care about him on equal footing with Aubrey was a failed sell when he was hardly in the book as his own character. [Edit: there's a prequel featuring Ben and Cath that I haven't read. In that case, my bad for not realizing I needed to have read another book before this one. I will say that that this novel does not stand well alone in respect to that plotline/those characters.]
- Slice-of-life is fine, but I didn't feel like anything happened. There's an RPF suffragette subplot that Lucien/Henrietta have a hand in, but it still feels kind of... unimportant to the characters? I started zoning out around three-fourths of the way through when it became clear nothing else was going to happen but more talking-as-plot-progression. This story could've been cut by a third and been just fine; there's nothing here that justifies 400+ pages. I understand there was a thematic thing going with the exploration of women's rights and how the characters were trapped by society's expectations etc., etc. But it wasn't terribly interesting, didn't come together in any cohesive way. I can't put my finger on it exactly, but it felt like there weren't any stakes, I guess? Not enough connective tissue. Something. ...more

flag 12 likes · Like · see review

May 31, 2018 Lotta rated it it was amazing

Shelves: lgbtq, poly, bisexual, politics, class-society, ace-spec, histrom, favourites-in-2018, arc, edwardian

Review the second, December 2018: This book is so lovely. I adore the language and emotions and the characters. I cried a little at the last scene with Cath and Lucien. Glad I decided to read again <3

Review the first, May 2018: Slight back story: I've been in a bit of a book slump lately, and have spent more time on audiobooks than on my kindle, partly because of time restraints and family obligations (like, I'm obligated to spend time with my family instead of on reading). Anyway, I started thi Review the second, December 2018: This book is so lovely. I adore the language and emotions and the characters. I cried a little at the last scene with Cath and Lucien. Glad I decided to read again <3

Review the first, May 2018: Slight back story: I've been in a bit of a book slump lately, and have spent more time on audiobooks than on my kindle, partly because of time restraints and family obligations (like, I'm obligated to spend time with my family instead of on reading). Anyway, I started this book and read the first chapter, and then I didn't have time/right mindframe to continue until a couple of days ago, when I decided to give it some time to really get into it. And I did! To the degree that I lay reading in bed until well after 1am just to finish.

It started out kind of slow for me, with lots of characters that I found difficult to keep apart initially. At around 28% I was convinced this was a clear 4 star read, really good. When I finished last night that had evolved into a five star, favourite book.

This book combines several things that I really like in books. Diverse characters, romance, politics, descriptions of class society and how it affects how people think and react and see one another, awareness of social and gender (in)equality, relationships that are negotiated and communicated, friendship, non-traditional identities and sexualities. But not that these things are lectured or preached, just people, going about their lives in ways that suit them.

I love how the characters learn different things from each other. Lucien brings his class awareness, Aubrey his thoughts on love and relationships, Miss Enfield the idea that women journalists might have other ambitions than society reporting. Lucien has more conservative views on things than Aubrey in some respects.

I love the way Aubrey's and Lucien's relationship grows and evolves, and how they from early on are so drawn and commited to each other, almost despite themselves, and how they are both unsure and insecure. It's wonderfully described.

At last a word on the sex. There isn't very much on page sex, but when it's there, it's good and emotional and not your run of the mill enter peg into slot until mutual, synchronised completion. It's relatable and real, at least to me. There is some quality dirty talk between Lucien and Aubrey, and the intimacy level is very high.

Full disclosure: I got this book as an ARC and am friendly with the author on SM. ...more

flag 10 likes · Like · see review

Dec 07, 2019 David rated it liked it

This book was chosen to satisfy the ReadHarder prompt for "An historical romance by an AOC". Often smuttier than a chimney sweep just before his weekly bath, it proved to be well-researched. The writing is of a higher caliber than I was expecting, which is always a nice discovery, and the best of it is applied to descriptions of setting, atmosphere, and period costume and etiquette. The romantic dialogue and lovers' banter was less convincing; rather repetitive and somewhat stilted.

Despite promi ...more

flag 9 likes · Like · see review

Jun 20, 2020 Sam (AMNReader) rated it liked it

Recommended to Sam (AMNReader) by: Wollstonecrafthomegirl

Shelves: 3s-are-the-weirdest-rating, ownvoices, romance, queer-rom, read-in-2020, its-complicated, polyamory

I'll tell you plain: I read this because of Wollstonecrafthomegirl's review I have kindle unlimited for a week or so more, so I wanted to get this read in before it was up.

The whole time I was reading this, I didn't know how I felt. I got Audrey's emotional sensitivity. I got why you would love Lucien. I got Rupert and Henrietta. All of whom, it seems, are central romantic characters-this isn't to take away that there are several, several other characters. But something about it was so sad. And I'll tell you plain: I read this because of Wollstonecrafthomegirl's review I have kindle unlimited for a week or so more, so I wanted to get this read in before it was up.

The whole time I was reading this, I didn't know how I felt. I got Audrey's emotional sensitivity. I got why you would love Lucien. I got Rupert and Henrietta. All of whom, it seems, are central romantic characters-this isn't to take away that there are several, several other characters. But something about it was so sad. And most of my brain didn't think this ended up as a satisfactory ending for anyone. It was more of...a compromise.

Look, writing polyamory and queer romance that is historical is always a challenge for a HEA. I just want to trust the resolution better than this. And that I can't point to any single central character or romance is somewhat problematic. I know who they were supposed to be, but I don't know if that's how it ended up. I honestly added b/c of Wollstonecrafthomegirl's review, read the first paragraph a couple times, and recall vaguely a sense of ambivalence. I think I echo that here. This book is well-written. It's realistic, honestly, and it's bogged down by heavy obstacles and a lot of unhappiness. In the end, I don't know if anyone in the book will end up happy. And while I think that-to echo her review again-doesn't mean this isn't worth reading, I would go in knowing that it's a delicate dismantling of a polyamorous main character, his new love interest, and his love interests spanning more than a decade.

I will add the criticism that while well-written and reflective of the serious issues, there was very little to no humor. There was a lot of angst. And a lot of the conversations reflected angst and feelings and get-to-know-me or rehashing-relationship information dumps (necessary, but tedious to me). In the end, I just don't think it worked for me. It felt weighed down, and I didn't really buy into the characters till around 60%, feeling more at home in certain relationships than in others. (Including and not limited to friendships). I'll add the note that I like polyamory in romance. I have no trouble with it, will jump at the chance to read it, nor a lack of sexual exclusivity between characters. But in the case of several of the dynamics here, I'm not quite convinced. ...more

flag 9 likes · Like · see review

Jun 18, 2019 Wollstonecrafthomegirl rated it really liked it

This is worth reading. Saying that upfront again: this is worth reading. As historical romances go this is pretty damned impeccable on writing style, descriptions and sense of time and place. Lucens has got the chops for this game. As I said, this is worth reading.

So, why am I so focused on that central message (worth! reading!) right at the start?

Probably because my own feelings about this at the end of the book are, despite the fact that it is plainly a Good Book, muddled. Frankly, if some of ...more

flag 7 likes · Like · see review

Jul 21, 2018 Skye Kilaen rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 0-genre-romance, queer-romance-queer-author-faves, bi-pan-characters-yay, fave-romance, romance-mf-queer-faves, romance-polyam-faves, romance-by-poc-faves

Gorgeous, lovely, wonderful polyamorous romance set in 1906 London. The main love story is between Aubrey Fanshawe, second son of an earl, and Lucien Saxby, working-class journalist. If you're a fan of historical romance that engages with feminism, class and power differences, political struggles, etc. (think K.J. Charles and Courtney Milan) then you should give this a try. I loved watching these two guys - and various other characters - work so hard to love each other, make mistakes, hurt peopl Gorgeous, lovely, wonderful polyamorous romance set in 1906 London. The main love story is between Aubrey Fanshawe, second son of an earl, and Lucien Saxby, working-class journalist. If you're a fan of historical romance that engages with feminism, class and power differences, political struggles, etc. (think K.J. Charles and Courtney Milan) then you should give this a try. I loved watching these two guys - and various other characters - work so hard to love each other, make mistakes, hurt people they care about, apologize, and try to do better, and I loved how their stories were so carefully built within their historical setting. Lucens does an amazing job of having characters talk things out with each other, sometimes at length, while maintaining the character voices and the feeling of engaged conversation rather than people suddenly giving dramatic speeches.

I also appreciated the diversity here of various kinds. Aubrey is in a long-term committed romantic and sexual relationship with his childhood friends Lord and Lady Hernedale. Lord Hernedale is somewhere on the asexual spectrum, which doesn't bother his wife or Aubrey, but which sadly is a source of profound insecurity for him. Lucien has a casual ongoing sexual relationship with his friend Ben, a bisexual married working class man of color. Lucien has a wealthy acquaintance who has an unlabeled long-term disabling chronic illness. This is historical romance on the realistic end of the spectrum, not the fairy tales of balls and castles, and I am 100% here for it.

There's one minor tweak I would have wished for: a bit more of something to establish the meaningfulness of Ben to Lucien, to better support some of Lucien's personal-growth-related realizations about relationships late in the book. I originally also felt like Henrietta, Lady Hernedale, needed at least one more speaking appearance after various male characters have realized that her agency has been taken away. I needed that to feel like the book wasn't also overlooking her. EXCEPT after I finished writing this review, I read an interview with Jude Lucens on Corey's Book Corner that basically said this was a deliberate decision not to take more away from Hettie by having her story told through a man's eyes. The next book in the series will be hers. I am 100% happy with that.

I can't wait for Lucens to write 10 more books. No pressure though! Authors are not vending machines even when they're capable of making you cry. (Even when they introduce a fantastic lesbian reporter secondary character who needs her own book. Or a chronically ill nobleman who has huge growth potential. Just saying.)

Jude Lucens is a bi, demisexual, pagan woman of color. ...more

flag 8 likes · Like · see review

May 26, 2018 Emma rated it really liked it

I should start this off by saying I beta read this novel. That being said, Lucens has written a thought-provoking first book. The themes of upper-class vs lower-class have been explored in countless novels, but the juxtaposition of it here in both politics, with the discussions built around Women’s Suffrage and who benefits vs who suffers the initial cost, and personal relationships elevate it from what might have been a simple Upstairs/Downstairs story (even if Saxby is not actually a valet).

A ...more

flag 8 likes · Like · see review

May 30, 2018 Allison rated it really liked it

Shelves: favorites, 2018, arc

This is a wonderfully quiet book that still manages to pack so much into the story, plus it's got great representation. At its heart it's a story about people finding their way to each other, just living life, and doing their utmost to be the best versions of themselves. But there's so much more happening here, from the women's suffragette movement to the changing roles of society and the ruling classes, down to the minutia of how even as you try your hardest you can still hurt those you love. S ...more

flag 10 likes · Like · see review

Dec 06, 2018 Helen Kord rated it liked it

Shelves: owns-a-paperback, historical, m-m, poly

This is such a hard book to review because I could write for hours about my quibbles with it and not be done, but I just don't have the energy. So here's as brief a review as i can. Spoilers will happen

* Our main couple, Lucien and Aubrey are... okay. They're okay. They keep arguing in circles and I'm not even that sure why they fall in love, but they're perfectly fine. I was more into them before the Thing happened (and don't worry, we'll get to the Thing) but the Thing completely sucked out al ...more

flag 7 likes · Like · see review

Aug 03, 2018 Ekollon rated it liked it

Shelves: m-m, kindle-unlimited, lgbtqia, historical, romance

I was, perhaps, too excited about this book coming out. So excited because the blurb sounded so good! And then I dove in, and . . . I didn't like it the way I wanted to.

First off, this is a polyamorous novel, but not the kind that I'm really into. Instead of everyone being involved with each other, we have branching off groups and subgroups. There's nothing wrong with this, but it's not my cup of tea. We also kind of have primary and secondary partners, although everyone in the book insists we d ...more

flag 6 likes · Like · see review

Jun 21, 2018 Ellie rated it really liked it

I haven't read many polyamorous romances but I quite enjoyed this one. It's a tender, emotional romance exploring a number of conflicts (along class lines, along making a polyam relationship work). There are lots and lots of historical details, which sometimes felt overwhelming. The romance unfolded at the background of the the Suffragette movement and the fight for the rights of women. This is a very character focused story about a bunch of people who are so very different from each other but w ...more

flag 6 likes · Like · see review

Oct 21, 2018 Amy Cousins added it

I finished Jude Lucens's Behind These Doors late last night (and read the tie-in short story today!) and I'm still thinking about it. This is a lovely book, deeply thoughtful about queer found families, all the many kinds of love, communicating across class and other barriers--where we can't even see how we're misreading situations and other people because we don't understand how our own ingrained assumptions skew our perspective--politics and women's rights, compassion and service. I also wish ...more

flag 6 likes · Like · see review

Dec 23, 2020 PaperMoon rated it really liked it

Love cross the social divide brings a host of problems but more so when the MCs are Uranians (men who love men) living in the pre-Titanic, pre-Downton, pre-WW1 era - the necessary oppressive subterfuge required for survival is clearly evident throughout the read. To further compound our MCs woes, Lucien is drawn into a longstanding existing 'throuple' dynamic between Aubrey and his childhood/youthful friends Rupert and Henrietta.

The complications that ensue from adding a fourth piece into an ca Love cross the social divide brings a host of problems but more so when the MCs are Uranians (men who love men) living in the pre-Titanic, pre-Downton, pre-WW1 era - the necessary oppressive subterfuge required for survival is clearly evident throughout the read. To further compound our MCs woes, Lucien is drawn into a longstanding existing 'throuple' dynamic between Aubrey and his childhood/youthful friends Rupert and Henrietta.

The complications that ensue from adding a fourth piece into an carefully set up polyamorous is actually quite well laid out by the author (some rather expository passages aside) but it did take me a little while to warm up to any of them. However, I did get emotionally invested in all their fates ... as well as those of a couple of warmly drawn secondary characters (Ben and Cath - who have their own tale in Gutter Roses). Gender-dynamics and social justice is explored within the throuple relationship as well as in wider suffragette movement/advances of the day. Likewise, inherent power imbalance between the privileged landed gentry and those who serve them (no matter how benign, benevolent or loving the players are to each other) is similarly surveyed in Lucien's relationships with Aubrey and William.

Whilst there is no evil antagonist actively working to ruin the reputations/lives of our MCs (unlike say in Jackson Marsh's Clearwater Mysteries series, it doesn't take very much to shake the 'house of cards' as the seeds of destruction actually lie already embedded in the psyche and hidden insecurities of a couple of our main 'foursome'. I appreciate the HFN (rather exhaustingly wrought in the end) but there's a few over arching plot threads which still need addressing but alas, the next book in the series is yet to be released (no date set). If and when that happens, I hope it satisfies my curiosity and interest in characters such as Aubrey's and Lucien's parents, Lucien's feisty female colleague at work, and Aubrey's rather splendid valet - Grieve.

3.5 stars mostly, but rounded up to 4 in the end. ...more

flag 5 likes · Like · see review

Jul 25, 2018 Rafa Brewster added it

DNF at 70%. I thoroughly enjoyed it up to about halfway through but then the slow pace and repetitious nature of the book caught up with me in a major way. Things that were unique to that era at first impressed me as being well-researched, but then started to grate on me because they kept being repeated in unnecessary detail. I think the slow pace also allowed me too much time to question certain things about the two MCs behaviors. Even when certain things came to light, I couldn't look past the ...more

flag 5 likes · Like · see review

Jul 12, 2018 Joyfully Jay added it

A Joyfully Jay review.

4.75 stars

With this story, I have managed to randomly bump into a book that ticked all the boxes I wanted ticked in a story about polyamory. It’s worth noting that Aubrey, Rupert, and Henrietta’s relationship is on display from page one and Lucens does a delightful job of detailing the dynamic of these three long-time lovers both in public and in private. The new relationship Aubrey finds himself developing with Lucien is then something new and separate from the one he enj ...more

flag 5 likes · Like · see review

Jan 03, 2021 Milyd rated it really liked it

Shelves: historical, ku-read, gb-read-2021, 2021-read

Wow I was a bit nervous about the polyamory aspect, but honestly I couldn't have read this book at a better time. Although it's fiction, I think it truly gave me a new perspective on relationships, and I was pretty much rooting for everyone here. I don't think I was very sold on the Lucien/Ben aspect though. Maybe because they didn't interact as much? (Don't know if they did in the prequel) ...more

flag 5 likes · Like · see review

Jun 23, 2018 Line marked it as maybe

Shelves: 00-amazon, 00-have, 00-freebie

Free at Amazon.com right now: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B... :-) ...more

flag 5 likes · Like · see review

Jul 22, 2018 Rhode rated it it was amazing

Shelves: historic-fiction, 5-star-books

Admission: I beta-read this as it was being written and was one of several who begged the author to publish it. However, I paid for my copy of the final book.

For me, it’s the combination of all factors. Friendships and romances I can believe in, rich writing (if you love phrasing and wordplay, you’ll love this) and trustworthy historical details. It’s a lush novel you can dive into, feel embraced by and learn new things from.

For me it was also a relief from too many historical romances in which ...more

flag 5 likes · Like · see review

Jul 14, 2018 Liewen rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favourites, historical-romances, historiques, 1900-1913, mighty-girl, england-and-englishmen, lgbtqia, read-in-2018, london-calling

Beware : this is a slow pacing novel.
But oh my, it was soooo enjoyable, with all the things I love in historicals : a thouroughly researched historical background having its full part in the plot, complex and three-dimensional characters, so very likable but fitting with their time period, a nice and polished writing.
4,5 stars for this good an solid HR.

flag 4 likes · Like · see review

Jul 12, 2018 Freya Marske rated it really liked it

This will probably disappoint you if you're looking for something with a strong narrative impetus -- there was no clear tension or overarching plot structure dragging me through, so I kept comfortably putting it down and leaving it for a while before picking it up again -- but it happened to be exactly what I needed this week: a quiet, domestic, introspective, thoroughly romantic story about people having difficult conversations and falling in love. And the suffragette movement! And class tensio ...more

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

Mar 09, 2019 Taryn rated it really liked it

Shelves: romance, 2018-release, fiction, bipoc-author

A polyamorous historical set in early 1900s London, with more complicated upper-class/lower-class drama than you can shake a stick at. Aubrey is already in a fulfilling but necessarily secret relationship with his old school friend and his wife, but when he meets Lucien, a journalist, he’s immediately intrigued. It takes a lot to negotiate how the various relationships will work, especially because the society of the time so strictly dictates what is and is not acceptable, but Aubrey is a big-he ...more

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

Oct 16, 2019 Victoria (Eve's Alexandria) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: romance, bought-2019, kindle, lgbt

A quite exquisite poly romance centred on the burgeoning relationship between the Honourable Aubrey Fanshawe and a Daily Mail society journalist called Lucien Saxby. Set in 1906 it beautifully captures the established decadence of the early years of the 20th century, the last hurrah of Empire, but with a feminist and socialist eye that skewers the privilege of men like Aubrey. Raised on the edges of upper class society, as the son of a valet and the nursery companion of a lord, Lucien has all th A quite exquisite poly romance centred on the burgeoning relationship between the Honourable Aubrey Fanshawe and a Daily Mail society journalist called Lucien Saxby. Set in 1906 it beautifully captures the established decadence of the early years of the 20th century, the last hurrah of Empire, but with a feminist and socialist eye that skewers the privilege of men like Aubrey. Raised on the edges of upper class society, as the son of a valet and the nursery companion of a lord, Lucien has all the accomplishments of a ‘nob’ but now, as an adult, none of the financial and social security. He can ‘pass’ amongst them but never be one of them; not that he would want to be, given how little regard and respect he has for that way of life. It’s the central conflict of his relationship with Aubrey, a man who represents the kind of indolence and thoughtlessness that he despises.

But Aubrey is deeply lonely, and so is Lucien, is spite of the fact that both men are already involved in more or less committed relationships elsewhere: Aubrey with both of his childhood friends, Lord and Lady Hernedale, and Lucien with his boxing partner Ben (who is himself married). The attraction between them is undeniable, and beautiful, if fraught with misunderstandings and challenges. They are both cinnamon rolls, caring, kind and needful of lots of interpersonal contact for their wellbeing. We get lots of scenes of them working out their relationship and what it means, for their wider romantic network and for each other.

It’s a very talky book, told through the dialogue that spools out of our MCs, and a very touchy book, where love is expressed most in caresses and embraces rather than bedroom scenes. (Although there are some brilliant bedroom scenes too.) The writing is extremely good, polished in a way that reminds me of my beloved KJ Charles (although without her lightness of touch). This is perhaps unsurprising, given that she edited the book.

All in all, highly recommended. I downloaded the accompanying short story Gutter Roses (Ben and his wife’s story) immediately, but that’s sadly the only other thing Jude Lucens has published so far. More please! ...more

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

Jan 23, 2019 JD Crittendon rated it it was amazing

What Flaws We See In Others, We Harbors Ourselves!

The loves, likes and an antagonist are featured in the Lucien & Aubrey historical Edwardian romantic story. What well written tale with a historical look at class system, suffrage and morals of 1900s England.
There is so much to love, the well developed MCs, even the minor characters are well written. I enjoyed the intellectual debated regarding the have and the nots. The suffrage portions are well researched and the unusual relationships are exp ...more

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

Sep 07, 2018 Maarja rated it it was amazing

Shelves: romance, historical

I loved this. The historical ambiance, with all the interesting social and political background, and a very enjoyable, though not easy romance between flawed, but sympathetic characters... What I especially enjoyed about this story was showing how a poly relationship could realistically work, even in those times - although it clearly requires a lot of communication. There were misunderstandings, but those were resolved by people actually talking to each other - one of my biggest pet peeves! I'm ...more

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

Oct 16, 2018 Tori rated it it was amazing

Shelves: read-2018

This was really lovely to sink my teeth into. I'm not always in the mood to read about relationship negotiation, but when it's good it's real good. I love poly negotiations especially, so this was wonderful.

I also felt like this book did a good job navigating the line of showing how dangerous a gay relationship was at the time with giving me the happy ending I want.

I'll definitely check out more from this author. ...more

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

Jul 08, 2019 Ay rated it it was amazing

I upped this to 5 stars when I realised I was looking forward to rereading it.

This is pretty much what I want in a romance, emotionally speaking. Also, delightful nuanced characters.

It is also a good historical, no small feat.

I look forward to more books by this author.

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

Recommend It | Stats | Recent Status Updates

Readers also enjoyed

See similar books…

Genres

Romance

73 users

Historical

53 users

Historical > Historical Fiction

27 users

LGBT

25 users

Romance > M M Romance

24 users

Polyamory

18 users

Romance > Historical Romance

15 users

GLBT > Queer

13 users

Fiction

10 users

Erotica > Menage

7 users

See top shelves…

About Jude Lucens

Jude Lucens

56 followers

Jude writes historical romances about marginalised people affiliating and building family in the face of restrictive, often punitive, social norms. Her debut novel, Behind These Doors, is a 2019 Lambda Literary Awards finalist (Category: Bisexual Fiction).

For several years, she was a 1st Century Roman and Early Medieval re-enactor. Her primary focus was combat and target archery, and her secondary ...more