The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen is a fantastic novel that does nearly everything right when it comes to romance (M/M romance, so be aware).

The characters in this novel are set up clearly right at the beginning with just enough background to pull the reader in. From there, both they and the side characters develop and change to create people who it is easy to feel for.

The setting, I think, is one of the more developed ones in Regency romance set outside London. Yeah, you usually see a lot of going for rides and the area around the big houses during walks in the garden, but this book has a setting that couldn't just be substituted for another area of the country. And the countryside ended up being essential to the story. So satisfying!

I'm not going to lie and say that the plot was shockingly innovative. It is a romance plot. There is a formula, and the author follows that formula. However, within the formula, the plot is good. It is exciting, the reasons things happen completely make sense, and the way things are resolved ties up a lot of the loose ends (there is one that I feel wasn't used in the way that I hoped, but I'm willing to accept that the author had a point she was trying to make).

This book also avoids some of the most annoying pitfalls of romance novels. None of the arguments between the two love interests are put in for the sake of arguing. Not only do they fit the characters and make sense, but they actually contribute to character development. I have heard that some M/M romance novels, especially those written by women, can get weird about who is getting fucked and who is doing the fucking. "The one who is taking it in the butt is small and feminine, while the one putting it in is larger and dominant." You won't see any of that here. There is certainly sex, but the characters are well-developed, not stereotypes.

While I really enjoyed this book, it didn't rock my world so much that I'm running out to read it again right now. I will definitely read the next book in the series, and I might reread it in a few years. I also read the short story that tells us what happened right after the book's ending, which is available on the author's website. I don't think that there was anything especially bad about it. Perhaps it was just that there was nothing so special that it really touched me. On the other hand, what makes a book really special to someone can be a small thing, and there are certainly enough little details in here to make it important to someone else.

Who would like this book? If you like gay, historical romance, you probably would. I think it is a solid book for anyone, even those who aren't entirely sure if this subgenre is for them.