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Proper English

(Think of England #0)

K.J. Charles (Goodreads Author)

4.16 · Rating details · 1,631 ratings · 392 reviews

A shooting party at the Earl of Witton’s remote country house is a high treat for champion shot Patricia Merton—until unexpected guests turn the social atmosphere dangerously sour.

That’s not Pat’s biggest problem. She’s visiting her old friend, the Earl’s heir Jimmy Yoxall—but she wants to spend a lot more time with Jimmy’s fiancée. The irrepressible Miss Fenella Carruth, ...more

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ebook, 243 pages

Published May 8th 2019 by KJC Books

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· 1,631 ratings · 392 reviews

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Mar 13, 2019 K.J. Charles added it · (Review from the author)

Shelves: edwardian, f-f, murder-mystery, books-by-me

Pat Merton and Fenella Carruth first appeared in my book Think of England and I have wanted to write their origin story ever since. Here it is.

It takes place two years before the events of Think of England (so, obviously, it's a standalone), and, as is only fitting for these ladies, it is a full-on Edwardian Country House Murder. I had total fun with it and I hope readers do too.

NB: As should be clear from the blurb, it's set at a shooting party (for partridge). Proceed accordingly! ...more

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Apr 08, 2019 Magali rated it really liked it

“How many country house murders do you think we’re likely to encounter?” OH FEN, MY SWEET SUMMER CHILD.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review, and I can honestly say I love these gun-toting lesbians with my whole heart. (Also, going along with this whole “honesty” deal, I read the book and wrote this review on an 18-hour travel day so please forgive any delirium typos.)

This book is a prequel of sorts to Think of England, so anyone who enjoyed that particular brand of Dr “How many country house murders do you think we’re likely to encounter?” OH FEN, MY SWEET SUMMER CHILD.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review, and I can honestly say I love these gun-toting lesbians with my whole heart. (Also, going along with this whole “honesty” deal, I read the book and wrote this review on an 18-hour travel day so please forgive any delirium typos.)

This book is a prequel of sorts to Think of England, so anyone who enjoyed that particular brand of Dramatic Country House Blackmail Murders (ToE was my first intro to the work of KJC and it is High Art) will find plenty here to appreciate, although the book is actually very different in most ways.

Sensible, practical Pat Merton is at loose ends after her eldest brother’s wedding; she’s going to have to find somewhere else to live and something else to dedicate her considerable talents to than managing their ancestral home, but hell if she has any idea what that will be. An invitation to a shooting party with just her brother Bill, their childhood friend Jimmy, and his parents sounds like a great way to put off the inevitable.

En route, she finds out that Jimmy is engaged, Bill is very put out about it, and the fiancée in question, along with some family friends and some extremely unpleasant in-laws on his sister’s side, will all be joining their “quiet” party. Pat, like every other chill and capable lesbian I’ve ever met, is *just* introverted enough for this to sound fairly nightmarish... and that’s BEFORE Mr. Haworth (the brother-in-law) begins insulting everyone at the dining room table and Pat overhears him blackmailing someone in an empty part of the house.

Events unfold, as they are wont to do in a KJC house party novel, and Pat goes from “I would rather die than be here, and also Jimmy’s fiancée Fenella appears to have nothing between her ears except perhaps a gentle breeze” to “I would kill a man for Fenella Carruth and also we are going to move in together” in the course of 3 days. (Insert joke about lesbians and Uhauls here.) It is HIGHLY entertaining, and I am very happy for them both.

The stakes felt somewhat lower here than in Think of England, probably because the murder victim was literally the worst person in the world, and also because it’s hard to imagine either Pat OR Fen ultimately ending up in the kind of scrapes that Daniel and Archie got into because their shit is just *so* much more together. I missed a bit of the absolutely scorching, desperate and borderline manic energy of my original country house murder gays, but watching Pat & Fen circle each other carefully for a while before both clearly deciding to say “fuck it” was satisfying in another way.

Pat’s “I am MIND-BLOWINGLY competent and practical and everyone respects me and treats me like one of the boys but I secretly want to be pretty and a little bit cherished” contrasted so perfectly with Fen’s “I am the most beautiful person possibly in the world but all I want in life is for even one single person to take me seriously,” and I loved watching them slowly make their way to an Understanding. The romance on the whole was... softer? than what I usually go for, but as a queer woman who came to that realization pretty late in the game, it was relatable in a way that hot sad gay spies giving desperation blowjobs to hot sad gay soldiers isn’t (for me). (Though I am still very into the latter.)

Speaking of hot, I know this is like, the lowest possible bar to hit, but I have to commend KJC for NOT fading to black (or at least grey) at the critical moments, because I feel like I see a *lot* of that when m/m writers make the jump to f/f. Thank you, KJC, for Letting The Lesbians Fuck.

Anyway: please read this book. It’s got everything! Heaving, jewel-bedecked bosoms! Drug fiends! Guns! Vegetarians! A noble family Fallen On Hard Times! Bigots getting hella stabbed! Walking in on your brother having sex and then your girlfriend telling you he has an ass only his boyfriend could love! I am just saying. This book is a gift that you can give yourself. DO IT. ...more

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Aug 23, 2019 lov2laf rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: action, british, crime, drama, historical, lesbian-or-f-f, love-leads-in-their-20s, plus-size-characters, romance, borrowed-scribd

This reminded me of an Agatha Christie style mystery with a sapphic twist. Many guests who've never met each other before are trapped in a castle-like estate in the middle of nowhere as adversarial tensions build between them that ultimately result in a murder.

The first 2/3 of the book focus on the relationships of the guests and the growing romance between our leads while seeds of mystery are dropped. The last 1/3 deals with the murder and resolving who did it.

Overall, the writing was well done ...more

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Apr 05, 2019 Stephanie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: romances-for-adults, historical-romances-for-adults, mysteries

A gloriously fun Agatha-Christie-style historical country-house murder mystery, sparkling with wit and full of great characters, including a really lovely romance between two equally fabulous heroines. I started reading my ARC in post-surgery recovery, when I could have felt really grim, and the sheer joy of this book really saved me. A total delight!

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May 16, 2019 Mo rated it did not like it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Warning: Spoilers for Proper English and Think of England

KJ Charles is a great novelist. Proper English is not, however, a very good novel. As such, it’s an excellent case study in the kind of pitfalls otherwise talented authors make all too often when writing f/f.

Charles’ m/m books are typically written in a crisp, propulsive style, with strong characterization, deep passion, and an excellent grasp of historical realities. They demonstrate a nuanced understanding of how social power structures ...more

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Apr 29, 2019 Ami rated it really liked it

Shelves: mystery-suspense-thriller, arc-books, ff-romance

3.75 stars rounded up

Old-time readers / fans of K.J. Charles who have read Think of England might remember Patricia Merton and Fenella Carruth; two secondary characters from the book. Proper English is the prequel, set two years before the event in Think of England, that tells how Patricia and Fenella first met: Patricia attends a shooting party while visiting her old friend, Jimmy Yoxall, who is recently engaged with Fenella.

If I can use one word to describe this story, I will use DELIGHTFU ...more

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Apr 09, 2020 Annery rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: audio-book, own-audio, smart-cookies, historical, series, own-digital, favorites, murder-mystery, ff

Psst ... here's an embarrassing secret: this is my first FF and my first K.J. Charles. *hangs head in shame* KJC is one of those authors that for a host of reasons I've known I'm going to like or even love, in fact I own quite a number of her books, but keep postponing the reading of them. It's mystifying and it ends now.

I loved this story and the audio by Bella Lowe is aces. In a way it was return to basics for me:

*An Edwardian Country House Party

*Secrets and otherwise uncomfortable facts are ...more

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May 25, 2019 Kaje Harper rated it really liked it

Shelves: comfort-reread, favorites, historical, mystery, f-f

I was looking forward to this prequel story with Pat and Fen from Think of England and I really enjoyed seeing these two women meet. Pat is intelligent, self-contained and practical, raised along with her brothers enough to have the expectation that a woman should be just as capable as a man. She's a champion shot, and is used to running a household, but with the marriage of her oldest brother she's suddenly at loose ends, no longer mistress of his home.

She decides a brief holiday with an old f ...more

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Apr 03, 2020 Teal rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: crime-mystery-thriller, ebook, historical-fiction, lgbtqi, uk-or-ireland, own, f-f, autobuy-author, read-in-2020, reviewed

I wasn't sure what to expect from KJ Charles' first venture into f/f romance. But she's an auto-buy author for me, so much so that I've even read her m/f romance, Gilded Cage (and enjoyed it!). If she writes it, I'm going to read it, because I trust her to entertain, amuse, and move me, and she almost always delivers.

She delivered here, with this country house murder mystery set in 1902 England. If you've read Think of England, set two years later (but written first), you might remember the scra ...more

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May 07, 2019 Caz rated it really liked it

Shelves: queer-romance, arc, 4-and-5-star-books, romance-1850-1900s

4.5 stars/B+

K.J. Charles’ latest book is a companion piece to Think of England, in which readers were first introduced to Pat Morton and Fenella (Fen) Carruth, a pair of formidable ladies who seem already to be rather adept at solving mysteries. Proper English takes place a couple of years before those events, and is their origin story, if you will. It’s a witty, sharply observed, sweetly romantic and clever country house murder-mystery; in short, everything you’d expect from K.J. Charles (incl ...more

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Jul 19, 2019 Corrie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: lesbian-romance, family-involved, ff, 1901-1914-edwardian, high-society, crime, europe-britain, historical, murder-mystery

This is getting really annoying, Goodreads. To say I finished a book before I actually have. I would never throw a book unrated and without a review into the world. Ugh!

So I will get back to this space as soon as I finish it. Which will be later today.

----------------------
So this was simply fantastic and all things delightful even though we are talking about a murder mystery. KJ Charles normally writes m/m and therefore she was (to me at least) an unknown author. Apparently our two mains Patri ...more

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Aug 02, 2019 Linda ~ they got the mustard out! ~ rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: f-f, part-of-a-series, set-in-1900-1919, read-in-2019, outside-the-usa, 4-stars, historical, lgbtq, romance

This book should have been shorter, because there was some redundancy that seemed to be there only to show us how truly horrible a certain character is, (view spoiler) and it mired down the story a bit. Also, I can't call this a mystery since that part didn't even kick in until the last third of the book, though once it did kick in it was fairly interesting - if also a bit too long. There was too much of everyone gett ...more

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May 08, 2019 Joyfully Jay rated it it was amazing

Shelves: jay

A Joyfully Jay review.

5 stars

Oh, this story was such a delight! I was completely captivated and could barely put it down. Proper English develops a wonderful relationship between Pat and Fen, and then adds to it the drama of a remote country house party filled with interesting (and abhorrent) characters, along with a murder mystery twist. K.J. Charles just excels at wonderful character development and excellent historical elements and both are showcased perfectly in this story.

Pat is our POV ch ...more

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Apr 09, 2019 Helen Kord rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favourites, f-f, arc, historical

Oh this was absolutely magnificent. The f/f histrom of my dreams!!!!!!!! I loved it so much. Full review to come later but OH MY GOD KJ DID IT AGAIN, BUT THIS TIME WITH LESBIANS

Edit: Okay usually I just delete the old gushy review and replace it with the actual review, but I find this one hilarious so I'm keeping it :D Here's my full review:

Proper English made me think of all the Hercule Poirot stories I grew up on. There’s a hunting party full of colourful snarky characters, hilarious banter, m ...more

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Apr 16, 2019 Laura rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fave-author, lgbtqiap-adult, review-copy, 5-star, best-of-2019, historical, romance, best-gay-rep, books-i-will-never-forget, ff-or-sapphic-rep

Thank you very much to KJ Charles for providing an advance reading copy of her novel.

I’ve been a fan of KJ Charles’ work since (checks Goodreads) 2014 when I read the first book in her A Charm of Magpies series, The Magpie Lord. I’ve read all of her books since that first one and have been patiently waiting for Charles to release a full-length f/f romance novel … and the book gods delivered!

Proper English is a wonderfully fun and still pretty violent Agatha-Christie-type murder mystery (because, Thank you very much to KJ Charles for providing an advance reading copy of her novel.

I’ve been a fan of KJ Charles’ work since (checks Goodreads) 2014 when I read the first book in her A Charm of Magpies series, The Magpie Lord. I’ve read all of her books since that first one and have been patiently waiting for Charles to release a full-length f/f romance novel … and the book gods delivered!

Proper English is a wonderfully fun and still pretty violent Agatha-Christie-type murder mystery (because, let’s be honest, it wouldn’t be a KJ Charles novel without at least one murder) with remarkable, badass characters and a gorgeous romance. I had a smile on my face pretty much the entirety of my reading experience, and I never wanted this gem of a book to end.

Proper English is the origin story of my two favourite sapphics, Pat and Fen, from Charles’ Think of England. While you don’t need to read Think of England to understand Proper English, I still highly recommend that you do because it’s just marvellous. In Think of England, Pat and Fen are already in an established relationship (and quite skilled in solving murder mysteries), and very quickly grew to be fan favourites. In Proper English, we get to see how our gun-toting lesbian and sweet-tempered lesbian met.

Patricia Merton is a practicable and rational woman. She has spent a good portion of her life managing her and her brothers’ ancestral home, but now that one of her brothers is married, she finds herself adrift and stumped as to what she’s going to do with the rest of her life. Pat accepts an invitation to a shooting party with her brother Bill, hosted by their childhood friend Jimmy, as one last hurrah before Jimmy is to be married. But Pat’s quiet shooting holiday is soon disrupted when Jimmy’s fiancée Fenella is invited too, as well as Jimmy’s parents, his sister and horrible brother-in-law, godsister, and a man who may or may not be having an affair with Jimmy’s sister — nightmarish for someone as introverted as Pat.

However, Pat’s dread soon evaporates as she grows closer to Jimmy’s beautiful fiancé, Fen, who quickly charms almost everyone in the country house. Fen is absolutely adorable. I loved her in Think of England and I loved her even more in this novel. She’s so sweet and lovely, but all she wants in life is to have one person see her, to take her seriously, and to take notice in her interests. She’s so used to being someone who cares for others and goes out of her way to make other people comfortable, and yet no one makes the same considerations for her. Until she meets Pat.

I love the contrast between Pat, Fen and Miss Singh, Jimmy’s godsister, in how they perform their femininity. Pat can be quite mannish sometimes, but she’s never judgemental of other women, and sometimes just wants to be adored and noticed as a woman. Sometimes with characters who aren’t into “girly” things, there’s a tendency for them to be quite sexist but Charles doesn’t descend into that stereotype. Pat appreciates how all women have their differences and acknowledges that there is no one definition of a strong woman — Pat is physically capable, Fen is generous and loving, and Miss Singh is staunch in her convictions and beliefs.

Proper English is very easily one of my all-time favourite KJ Charles novels. I know I say that about a lot of her books, especially her most recent standalones, but it’s true! This book has everything I want in a novel and more: badass sapphic women saving the day, sad gays hiding their Secret Romance™, and an appreciation for large bosoms. You’re doing yourself a disservice if you don’t read Proper English! ...more

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Jul 08, 2019 Sam (AMNReader) rated it liked it

Shelves: one-clicked-that, kobo, sweet-talker, historical, romance, f-f

Sometimes I don't like suspense plots with my romance. This was one of those times. And, unfortunately, it felt a bit like Think of England for me. I thought the characters were cute and sweet to each other...but the pacing was off. It was probably hard to go back and create this, I don't know, and make them who they were (scene-stealers) in ToE, but it is what it is. What it was for me was barely satisfying. Both pieces were sorely lacking the tension that can make KJC books so incredible.

If yo ...more

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May 12, 2019 Freya Marske rated it it was amazing

Literally everything I hoped for, this book provided. Murder! A house party full of awful people! Ladies bonding! Two of those ladies falling in love and having a lot of sex! The narrator being a thoroughly sensible person who is also a gay disaster! K.J. Charles just keeps getting better and better.

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May 30, 2019 Talia Hibbert rated it it was amazing

Shelves: queer-heroine, historical, f-f

I have screamed about this book so constantly that I actually thought I'd reviewed it weeks ago. But no - all my reviews have been verbal, in the form of friendly harassment, i.e. "READ THIS F***KING BOOK OR ELSE". Yes, I am a fun person to know.

Before I get into exactly why this historical f/f murder mystery romance is so great (if you need more than that description, I mean), it seems only fair to mention that this book is dedicated to me. I don't think I am biased because I read this book ear ...more

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Jul 04, 2020 Wollstonecrafthomegirl rated it liked it

This review is the definition of grading on a curve: KJC is a genius and I really love Think of England, which I've just finished in audio [sequel K.J.? Sequel. SE-QUEL].

Consequently, my expectations for this were sky high. I felt so, so sure KJC would be the one to deliver in my, so far, somewhat fruitless quest for great historical f/f.

Alas, this didn’t really deliver as I hoped. Ultimately it all felt, pfffft, *shrugs*: underpowered.

There is real promise here - Fen and Pat seemingly being su ...more

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May 09, 2019 Andrea rated it really liked it

Shelves: historical-romance, lgbtq

3.5 stars rounded up

It was really nice seeing how Fen and Pat from Think of England started. And to think they met at yet another house party that turns into a good old-fashioned country house party murder mystery. Well. Not that old-fashioned. It's K.J. Charles, after all. ...more

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Aug 06, 2019 Kurt rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, english-language-style, lesbian, criminal-intrigue, 4-5-stars, historical, british, read-in-2019

Reread July 17, 2020.
I've finished a book and it is a good one. I mention this as I've been turned off of the usual ff romances lately as being somewhat formulaic. "Proper English" does not feel formulaic in the slightest and it is one of my favorites of the genre. This is a story of Pat, an intelligent bold woman living in a man's world of early 1900s Britain. She's supremely confident in her abilities, quite opinionated and a marvelous shot with her guns and hunting fowl in the English countr Reread July 17, 2020.
I've finished a book and it is a good one. I mention this as I've been turned off of the usual ff romances lately as being somewhat formulaic. "Proper English" does not feel formulaic in the slightest and it is one of my favorites of the genre. This is a story of Pat, an intelligent bold woman living in a man's world of early 1900s Britain. She's supremely confident in her abilities, quite opinionated and a marvelous shot with her guns and hunting fowl in the English countryside. For all of this confidence, she's a novice when it comes to relationships and her love of women and is quite nervous about it.

She's invited by a family friend to go shooting/hunting, to "be a gun" to use a phrase of the time, accepted by the men as she is so skilled at a country estate owned by her friend's parents. Once ensconced in the house she is confronted by all manner of personalities, mystery, intrigue, and, luckily for me, romance. Very diverse characters involved in the story help it along.

For a re-read, I was surprised that my opinion of the story had not changed. It goes on a bit long with the mystery that pops up but the romance is fine indeed.

I finished this story literally as a 'beach read' on the shores of Lake Michigan, squinting at my iPhone and holding up my hat for shade so I could read the words. You like to know the background of my reading experience, don't you?

Unfortunately, the author seems to write primarily M/M romance so this might be it for me and this author.

Original review was rubbish.

Positives: Well written with two enjoyable main characters, Pat and (XXXXX *edit) involved in romance and a murder mystery. This mystery was in the last third of the book after the romance and was not a slow burn but none too quick either.

I haven't read any historical romance in a long while and this felt well done (though I couldn't determine the exact time period with the references to the Boer Wars and motorcars). The'Proper English' or language of the time, seemed to fade as the book progressed (or I just became accustomed). There's modernity to the story. ...more

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Jun 21, 2019 Lexxi Kitty rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: lgbt, lesbian-romance, genre-historical, genre-romance-historical, 2019-favorites, f-f-relationship, lesbian-historical, favorites, lesbian-fiction, best-by-author

“Murder is ill-mannered”

The previous book I read I expected to be a murder mystery type of book - turned out to be a slice of life/legal thriller type book. Which I mention specifically because I entered this book here somewhat excited to read a lesbian fiction book that fell into the historical fiction genre. I like reading lesbian fiction; I like reading historical fiction; rarely do I find and read historical fiction starring lesbians. So, again, somewhat excited to read this book here (o
“Murder is ill-mannered”

The previous book I read I expected to be a murder mystery type of book - turned out to be a slice of life/legal thriller type book. Which I mention specifically because I entered this book here somewhat excited to read a lesbian fiction book that fell into the historical fiction genre. I like reading lesbian fiction; I like reading historical fiction; rarely do I find and read historical fiction starring lesbians. So, again, somewhat excited to read this book here (only somewhat as I'd never read the author before, and the historical fiction period is about 100 years later in time than what I normally read). Only for this to turn into a murder mystery book. heh. hmms. Still a historical fiction starring lesbians, though.

Book takes place in 1903 and involves a rather 'mannish' looking woman who isn't interested in men (though has examined the idea of marrying a man so she could manage his estate, and he could wander off and do other stuff) who has been invited to a shooting party. She's the champion, see, of shooting. Well, of the ladies shooting competition. And likes joining shooting parties and going off and shooting stuff with them. She expects a small party at a family friend's house with her brother along and a few other people.

Things turn a direction she didn't want, unfortunately, because - not only will there be a lot more people in attendance, but some of them, gasp, are going to be female! Hopefully, she hoped when learning of this change, she won't be forced to stick with the women when the men shoot. Another weird thing to unfold, for her to see unfold, is her brother acting all 'off', and, worse of all! acting stiff and dickish to the family friend Jimmy.

Right, so - shooting party in England. At a remote estate of an Earl. Both of which are important-ish, the remote estate somewhat more important. Since the remoteness causes issues during the story, but let's not get ahead of myself.

The shooting party consists of: Jimmy (the future Earl of Witton), the fiance of Jimmy (Fenella Carruth), the current Earl and Earl's wife (father and mother of Jimmy), Patricia Merton (Pat - lead character), Pat's brother (Ben, it's Ben right?), the goddaughter of the Earl's wife (I think I recall the goddaughter's name as being Victoria, or something like that - she's of Indian ancestory, though grew up in England), Jimmy's sister and her dick husband, and . . . . two other men whose names escape me (Preston, I think, and another).

The characters, even when I now can't recall their names, are quite fully formed and entertaining. The story is solid and quite interesting. The story was more sexually explicit than I expected (and quite nice at that, really). And I liked how LGBT stuff was handled in the story - both with the women, and with the men (and with the recognition that it's illegal for the men).

Neat unfolding story with characters more than they seem. With a nice country-estate party feeling. That turned relatively easily into a country-estate murder mystery. The kind, because of the remoteness and the elements, wherein it's much more likely one of the party is a murderer than some random 'tramp' (as someone says might be the murderer) being the killer. The mystery part was also handled quite well.

As far as I can tell, everything else by this author involves, as lead characters, men. Though with background lesbians - the two lesbians in this story, for example, were previously seen in another book by this author set a year later (though published earlier). While I noted I hadn't read the author before, I had seen some of the covers, and some of them did interest me. So I'll probably try something else, probably that one includes Pat and Fen.

Rating: 5.0

June 22 2019 ...more

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May 10, 2019 Hart_D rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites

I don't think I can really review this book right now in any way that will be helpful to other readers, because I loved it so much. When it comes out in paperback, I'll probably buy a copy just so I can literally draw hearts in the margins.

I was in a major book slump before I started this. For the past few months, I've been rereading all my old favorites, while picking up a lot of new books, then eventually setting them aside. But I couldn't tear myself away from this. It's just what I needed. ...more

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Oct 10, 2019 Racheal rated it it was ok

Shelves: dnf, fellow-fat-folk

Dang, I think I'm going to have to DNF this because I'm halfway through and there is nary a drop of tension, whether dramatic or romantic or sexual, even though tension is normally K.J. Charles' main wheelhouse.

I'm just so frustrated with how many f/f romances seem to act as though women are all nice and forgiving and placid all the time. Like too often they seem to be ruled by the need to avoid having their female characters do anything that will tip off the reader's internalized misogyny- lik ...more

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Apr 10, 2019 Kaa rated it really liked it

Shelves: queer-romance

Yeah, I was pretty much guaranteed to enjoy this - I love KJ Charles's writing and I already had crushes on Pat and Fen from their appearances in Think of England. Getting a chance to see the beginning of their relationship was just wonderfully fun. I'm pretty indifferent to murder mystery plots, but I do love the cozy/creepy closed house mystery atmosphere. ...more

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Jan 15, 2020 Farah rated it really liked it

Shelves: drink-tea-with-the-pinky-up, ff-amore, it-s-getting-hot-in-here

A group of friends got together for a Partridges shooting party and one of them was our lead, Patricia 'Pat' Merton. Pat attended the gathering as a Gun. Yup, as a Gun, thanks to her All-England Ladies’ Champion title + knowledge/reputation with weapons/ammo. So everyone was excited to show off their skills but the news of some unwelcome guests dampened their spirits a bit. However, when Pat met the one of a kind Ms.Carruth, she was intrigued by her personality and her rather large bosom. All th ...more

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Jun 27, 2019 Summer rated it really liked it

Shelves: england, historical, romance, historical-romance, lgbt, f-f-romance, 1900s

K.J. Charles writes wonderful queer historical romance.

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Dec 03, 2020 Mónica BQ rated it liked it

Finally after ten centuries I got to read this.

I think that my huge expectations played against me here. I had thought that reading something from KJ Charles again, after more than a year of a respite from her writing, would give me ALL the good vibes.

Unfortunately while this book is good, it is just that. There's something missing here with Pat and Fenella as a couple. There wasn't much to their relationship. They liked each other from the start. They had open conversations from the beginning. ...more

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Apr 08, 2019 Lotta rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: british, lgbtq, whodunnit, f-f, histrom, britain, arc, edwardian

Lovely. Edwardian house party murder mysteries are indeed the best ones. Review to come.

OK, here goes:

This is both a delightful romance and a country house, body in the library type murder mystery (but without the pesky racism you often find in Christie *and* with more lesbians). There is a nice wink to Murder on the Orient Express, an exotic dagger and a Bad Person who gets what's coming to them. It's also written in true KJ Charles style, with a great sense of detail and wonderful characterisa Lovely. Edwardian house party murder mysteries are indeed the best ones. Review to come.

OK, here goes:

This is both a delightful romance and a country house, body in the library type murder mystery (but without the pesky racism you often find in Christie *and* with more lesbians). There is a nice wink to Murder on the Orient Express, an exotic dagger and a Bad Person who gets what's coming to them. It's also written in true KJ Charles style, with a great sense of detail and wonderful characterisation.

Patricia Merton, Pat to her friends, is a champion shot and a no-nonsense, capable, straight forward person. She and her other brother, Bill, are travelling to the country home of a mutual friend, Jimmy Yoxall, for partridge shooting. But what was supposed to be a small shooting party turns out to be a much larger house party, with various different family members and guests.

Among them is Fenella Carruth, the loveliest girl Pat has ever seen. Unfortunatly, she's also the fiancée of her host and very good friend Jimmy. Pat's sense of fairness stands against her building attraction to Fen, and it doesn't get better when the women become better aquainted. Fen is pretty, outgoing and fluffy, and an heiress to boot. Most people don't make the effort to take her seriously or look further than the surface, but when Pat does, she is surprised to learn that Fen is much sharper than she makes out to be.

But of course things go awry. As the weather grows stormy, so does the atmosphere in the house, with conflict brewing, and secrets that need to be kept. Before the party is over, one of the guests is dead.

I liked how Pat and Fen complement each other. Both have their insecurities, but see the best in each other. Pat admires Fen’s roundness, femininity and ”outstanding bosom”, and can’t see how she, with her plainer looks, can ever measure up to that. But Fen’s always been judged by her looks and values the fact that Pat takes her seriously.

I also found this review to be wonderfully spot on.

For the sake of disclosure, I am a fan of the author and got this book as an ARC—which is to say I probably thought a little more about what to write in my review than if I had bought the book on publication day, but my feelings and reactions would have been the same. ...more

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Apr 08, 2019 retro rated it it was amazing

Shelves: arc, lgbt-romance, historical-romance, mystery

Received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review.
So there is a trend in fiction that features a strong female protagonist to have her shun femininity in favor of more mannish pursuits (the tomboy who was raised by brothers), all while undergoing an unnecessary makeover scene at some point, to prove to the reader that, no, she's actually very conventionally attractive and desirable. When I started Proper English, I figured yep, I'm in for one of those.

Pat is described as being se Received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review.
So there is a trend in fiction that features a strong female protagonist to have her shun femininity in favor of more mannish pursuits (the tomboy who was raised by brothers), all while undergoing an unnecessary makeover scene at some point, to prove to the reader that, no, she's actually very conventionally attractive and desirable. When I started Proper English, I figured yep, I'm in for one of those.

Pat is described as being sensible in the way she dresses, completely dismayed at the thought of socializing with women, uninterested in marriage, and fond of shooting guns. She even grew up with four brothers and a father who treated her like a son! But then she arrives at the country home of one her brother's closest friends and meets his fiancee. And she is full of admiration. For another woman. And makes another female friend.

At one point, she even has this great line about how you can't turn up your nose at women being decorative when they've been raised to have no other value. Don't come at her with that 'you're not like other girls' nonsense.

It would have been so easy to concoct a Mr Darcy-esque character for Pat: that is to say, someone whose discomfort makes them cold and rude to those around them. But Pat isn't that. She's uncomfortable in many situations, sure, but she doesn't take it out on others. She's immensely sympathetic. She likes Fen, even though at first Fen seems a tad silly. She agrees to spend time with her and takes an interest even before Fen reveals her hidden depths. There's a sense of her investing in the relationship way, way before there's any hope of such a thing.

And that's really marvelous to find in romance, where sexual chemistry is sometimes just about all that characters have in common.

Which isn't to say that because this is an f/f romance, there's a lack of sexy shenanigans. Oh, no. Fen's ample decolletage features prominently and the sex scenes are pretty scorching. There's a heartbreaking bit, though, when one of the characters doesn't know how to refer to her own genitals in a way that isn't gross or academic but fits a sexual context, and I just wanted to reach through my screen and hug her. I loved the way sexual inexperience is handled, how not-heterosexist the sex scenes are, and how utterly careful the protagonists are with each other.

It's just really, really nice reading about not-awful people who are meant to be in love being not-awful.

Oh, and there's a rather good whodunit afoot, as well. The story does a good job of foreshadowing the victim and set up the sometimes callous atmosphere of an Agatha Christie book, in that no one really misses the murdered party or feels all that bad that they're gone, so the sleuthing can proceed apace. You've got the country house, the colourful cast of characters, the wannabe detectives, and a solid reason why the professionals can't be called in. I thought I had an idea as to who Did the Murder, but I was wrong, which I enjoyed.

I wish this were the first book in a series. I could stand to read a lot more about Pat and Fen being sexy and sensible and also a little silly. And no, Pat never gets a makeover. ...more

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About K.J. Charles

K.J. Charles

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KJ is a writer of romance, mostly m/m, historical or fantasy or both. She blogs about writing and editing at http://kjcharleswriter.com.

She lives in London, UK, with her husband, two kids, and a cat of absolute night.

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Quotes from Proper English

“Sorry, sorry,” Bill said. “He told Miss Carruth what?” “Oh, a lot of romantic stuff about how he hadn’t realised he was dreadfully in love with this other girl until it was too late. You must surely know about her? Or is he keeping this a deep dark secret from everyone?” Bill cleared his throat. “I’d an idea, yes.” — 0 likes

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