Baleful Godmother #4
Emily Larkin
Historical M/M Romance
Published in 2017 [requested review]
H/H - Lucas Kemp/Tom Matlock
Setting: Regency.
Read in February, 2017.
My rating:
[spoiler alert]
Claiming Mr. Kemp
is the book 4 of Emily Larkin’s Baleful Godmother series. The theme of
the story is a bit different than the author’s usual style because this
is a M/M romance. Her first one as far as I know, but it was
well-written no doubt about it.
The Baleful Godmother is a
Regency-set series based on female characters who have special “gifts”
or powers. But if you want to start from the very beginning, you can
with The Fey Quartet. These are a set of novellas listed as “prologue”
to this series. Set in Medieval-era England, this series explains
exactly how our unique heroines came to inherit their “gifts”. Books 1
and 2, Unmasking Miss Appleby and Resisting Miss Merryweather
had something common in them apart from Bale Tongue, our dubious Fairy
Godmother. Heroines of both of these books, Charlotte and Merry 1. Were
bestowed their gifts at the age of 25, which I thought was THE age they
were supposed to have their wish fulfilled and 2. They were cousins so
the stories were linked that way. But that changed in book 3, Trusting Miss Trentham.
Tish, the h, had her wish fulfilled at 21 instead of 25. She’s also a
distant cousin to the previous heroines but they didn’t know until later
in the story so the book could be technically read as a standalone.
Charlotte
had no idea about her gift because she was orphaned at an early age, so
Bale Tongue took her by complete surprise. She was living quite
miserably with her mean uncle’s family and this gave her the opportunity
to get out of there and earn money on her own. She chose shapeshifting
and transformed herself into a man to get the lucrative job offered by
Marcus, Lord Cosgrove, our H, in a newspaper advert. Merry, on the other
hand, wasn’t introduced in book 1 but she was already aware of her Fey
inheritance. She knew she’d be visited by Bale Tongue but was ever
unsure about which gift to choose. She was also an orphan by the time
her story began so she was living with Charlotte and Marcus when she met
Sir Barnaby Ware, who is also Marcus’s closest buddy. His visit to
Marcus’s estate brings Merry and Barnaby together. Something closer to a
tragedy later in the story prompts Merry to choose the gift of healing
to save people’s lives. By the time book 3 began, both girls were
happily married and expecting.
Tish was one of the wealthiest
heiresses of England. She was also quite sick of suitors who were the
worst kind of fortune hunters. Because of her gift, through which she
could discern truth and lies, Tish would discover it all. And because of
that she was still unmarried at the age of 27. She wanted to marry, but
she will only marry for love. Tish thanked her gift everyday that she
had not fallen prey to the first fortune hunter’s sweet nothings because
they all equivocally claimed to ‘love’ her. *SMH*
When she met
Icarus Reid, a gaunt, pale looking retired soldier bend on some type of
vengeance, Tish knew she had to take care of this man. Icarus looked
like a man on the verge of giving up on life and living. The only thing,
it seemed, got him going was his need for revenge done by a traitor in
the battle of Vimeiro. It left his men killed, and him almost dead.
Icarus wanted Tish’s help cause he’s heard of her gift. People generally
thought of it as a ‘knack’ she had since her birth. Of course, no one
had any idea about the her Fey inheritance.
It was while
investigating that traitor is how we were introduced to Lucas Kemp,
Tish’s cousin and Tom Matlock, an army officer, whom Icarus was
acquainted with as well. In fact, Tom was on Icarus’s list for
investigation but with Tish’s help, he clears Tom from it. Lucas and Tom
were best of friends since childhood and Tish had often been a part of
their group. There was another person, Julia, Lucas’s twin, who recently
passed away. Her death still casts a shadow on everything.
The
physical side of Lucas and Tom’s relationship wasn’t visible at all
until one scene later in the story where Tish and Reid discover them
together rather suddenly. In her innocence, Tish was shocked but Reid
sternly admonished her to forget about it, knowing the type of trouble
Lucas and Tom would be if they’re discovered by someone less
understanding. Because she had known them for so long, Tish, though a
bit baffled, accepts Tom and Lucas’s relationship as something natural.
She could imagine no better person other than Tom offering comfort to
Lucas after Julia’s death. Lucas was suffering, and Tish wanted him to
be happy.
Even though book 3 ends with Tish and Reid’s HEA after
the many storms they had to weather, Lucas and Tom’s fate was left
hanging. I wasn’t troubled by it but I did want to know more about them.
I’d say Claiming Mr. Kemp is an extension of book 3, rather
than a ‘new’ installment cause the first 60% of the story goes
simultaneously with the story of book 3, only from Lucas and Tom’s POV.
After that you get some more of Tish and Reid, even Marcus-Charlotte and
Barnaby-Merry making a cameo in the end. So if M/M romance is not your
thing, you can skip this installment. BUT, if you’ve been intrigued by
Lucas and Tom like me and would wanna know more, I’d recommend Claiming Mr. Kemp to you.
Lucas,
Julia, Tish and Tom were inseparable when they were children. But Lucas
and Julia, being twins, seemed to complete one another even though they
were more like the opposite of each-other; Lucas, shy, reserved with a
steady head on his shoulders while Julia, a tomboy, vivacious but
extremely reckless. From Tom’s POV, you will get a bit of reminisce of
their relationship and how that recklessness had ultimately been Julia’s
downfall. It also shattered everyone who loved Julia, but Lucas felt
the most of it. He was a wreck after losing his twin. And even after a
year of her death, he was not himself. He cooped himself up inside his
townhouse, living as a recluse and a drunk, which is how Tom finds him
when he gets back from the Army after getting a vacation. Noting and no
one seemed to be able to help him.
Seeing Lucas so miserable and
out of sorts, Tom is determined to take care of him. Along came the
realization and an even stronger determination not hide his feelings for
Lucas any longer. The world might view it as something abnormal and
quite wrong but it’s what it is. Tom’s been in love with Lucas for a
long time and it killed him to see Lucas so depressed. He even starts
demonstrating his affection soon and, quite often, but it was Lucas who
had a hard time accepting Tom’s ‘administrations’. He would push Tom
away, his only concern someone might see. He was scared. It was wrong!
But no matter how much he tried to hide, the fact was Lucas felt the
same about Tom. Yet he’d not been able to fully work on his feelings
because of the stigma surrounding gay men and what the punishment
involved if found. Lucas was torn and even more miserable yet he
couldn’t resist Tom. He made him happy in a way no one ever has... But
how long will they continue to play hide-and-seek? Is there even a
solution for them?
Over the course of the story, a few important
things are revealed. One was the fact that Lucas wasn’t attracted to
women at all, which is why he had been a virgin. Even Tom didn’t know
about that. He, on the other hand, had a healthy interest in women. Tom
had been with many over the years, never knowing his best friend had
been so lonely. Not knowing what to do, Lucas never confided in Tom
either. And he definitely couldn’t tell Tom how he felt about him. Now
that it was all open and out between them, it seems they’re determined
to go about as a couple in secret. Tom preferred Lucas over anyone so
there was that. :D Neither one of them needed to marry for an heir
because their elder brothers got it covered.
For obvious reasons,
this story doesn’t have a traditional HEA but Lucas does come to terms
with his feelings for Tom, knowing it does him a world of good. He is
happier than ever when he’s with Tom so how can it be wrong? Even though
I found it a bit hard to believe that the very people who suspected
their relationship took it totally in stride seeing it was the
Regency-era, I’m just glad they did. Things would’ve been so difficult
for Lucas and Tom otherwise. :(
Though personally M/M is not my thing, I enjoyed Claiming Mr. Kemp.
This was my first full-on M/M romance, though while reading, I may or
may not have tried envisioning Lucas and Tom with a h... involved maybe
from Tom? I think it would’ve been so interesting. ;) I have read rare
historical ménage romances where I loved the chemistry between the Hs
and theirs with the h. I believed that they loved each-other enough to
risk it all and be together. Tom and Lucas were both hot guys, so don’t
blame me. :P So, even though I enjoyed their romance, without a woman,
the relationship seemed a bit empty for me. But that’s just my personal
opinion.
Claiming Mr. Kemp can be read as a standalone
because it largely revolves around Lucas-Tom’s relationship. You get to
see the usual ‘magic’ of the series working around them but they
couldn’t decipher what was happening. The next installment in the
series, Ruining Miss Wrotham, will be out in May. Not yet sure
about the h and the H of that story but I can’t wait to find out! This
is what I love about this series; you don’t know what to expect and how
the author will connect the original plot of Bale Tongue’s gifts from
one book to the other. And it never fails to entertain me. 4 stars.
Complimentary copy courtesy of the author, thanks Ms. Larkin!
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