ARC Review: The Servant and the Gentleman (Society of Beasts #3) by Annabelle Greene
Ellie's Review: 5 stars
Annabelle Greene seems to excel at writing fun, tropey historicals without sacrificing great prose and emotional connection. This features class differences, hurt/comfort, fake relationship(!), slow-ish burn, forced proximity (only one bed), long time pining and also whatever trope "being comforted after a nightmare" is, which I now realize I need more of. And it's good to read a regency-era historical where, while homophobia does exist and isn't discarded, the fear of being found out and the shame of one's sexual orientation aren't main plot points.
I read this straight after reading and loving the second book in this series. I already liked Josiah, the hardworking chief assistant of the Society of Beast. He's used to blending in the background of this molly club he basically runs almost by himself and to being disregarded by every member because he's from the lower class. Hartley should have been a harder character to like: he's filthy rich, arrogant, snobbish, and doesn't seem to do much for the club despite being one of its founding members. Josiah has been pining forever for him while Hartley, being by nature has barely ever noticed him or any of the other servants, for that matter. But from his first appearance in the story, he shows vulnerability and complexity: he's hiding a crippling fear of being trapped in enclosed spaces since a traumatic event that happened earlier in the series. It's impressive how the author made me feel for him so quickly, considering how protective I already was of Josiah after the second book.
Josiah and Hartley's relationship develops in a context in which they become partners with a common goal, so I didn't feel a big power imbalance in their romance, despite the class difference. The plot is fun and a little silly, in a good way: they have to fake a relationship to investigate a rival club, while Josiah helps Hartley "testing" the limits of his fear, as he seems to be pretty good at, ahem, distracting him. I liked how the fake dating goes, as it is NOT used as an excuse for every intimate moment they share. The way the classic "is he just faking?" angst is handled here is not insufferable and overbearing. As with The Soldier and The Spy, the flirty banter here is also excellent, without falling into clichés, and the chemistry between the two MCs is great. With that being said, Hartley/Josiah still had their unique dynamic that was very different from Benjamin/August, which I loved, because sometimes I feel like couples in the same series tend to resemble each other. As much as I loved the D/s undertones in the second book in the series, I'm glad this one took a different turn. August and Hartley have a softer feel and a slower burn (ok, maybe more of a medium burn), and I loved how the power shifted from encounters to encounters in a way that the characters were very aware of (yay for discussing consent!). This is still high-steam, don't get me wrong, but in a way that feels unique to these characters.
Class differences are a big theme in this book, as the main plot deals with a rival society that caters to gay men of lower means. I like how this forces the reader to see the Society we saw mainly as a good thing in the previous books in a different light. I liked how this issue wasn't easily solved with a Walt Disney-like solution, and the gulf between Josiah and Hartley's backgrounds felt very real. It would have been easy to make Hartley super progressive, but he isn't, and love didn't cure him of his class bias either. The scenes with Josiah's cousin were well-done and didn't feel heavy-handed.
In my review of The Soldier and The Spy, the previous book in the serie, I talked about how I usually don't go for historicals, as I'm not a fan of the writing style. But the prose in this series is very accessible while still having this lyrical feel that made me immediately re-read some parts. I felt like the writing was even better in this one.
Note that I didn't read the first book in the series, and went straight for the second one. Hartley's backstory is featured in book 1, but I still felt like I could follow along pretty well in this one, even though not everything was explained.
the kevins review: 5 stars
We received a free copy of this book and are providing our honest review voluntarily.
“But it’s simple enough. No one can spend too much time in Mr. Balfour’s company and—and not feel. Not feel exactly as powerfully as he does.”
This is by far and away one of the most adorably, romantically, swoon-worthy heart-feeling books I’ve read in a long time. The teasers for Hartley and Josiah in the previous book had me absolutely hooked to read their story, and did Greene ever deliver!
I loved seeing Hartley’s growth, both as a person and through his relationship with Josiah. Even Josiah had his own personal growth arc through his cousin Samuel - both of them dealing with big personal revelations, and taking them in stride (mostly) to become better together. The best.
Together their relationship was absolutely precious, they worked so well and played off each other beautifully, the neediness and caretaking and just everything. Even the class differences were used in a way that enhanced their relationship. It addressed the elitism of the Society of Beasts, as well as the original difference between Hartley and Josiah themselves. I liked seeing them have to confront their prejudice in the face of Samuel and the rival club.
I really appreciated how the treatment of Hartleys trauma was handled. It was not at all magic-dick. It was kind of like pre-therapy therapy, via Josiah. No magic cures, but just Josiah helping Hartley work through it from the source, and talking, and such. So sweet. He was never 100% cured, but working towards handling it.
I got so mad at Frakes though - so mean to Josiah and half-assed the whole thing with Hartley. Rude. I know the characters were fine with how it went, but Hartley and Josiah are precious and I will remain mad on their behalf! Forever.
>:(
…coherence is overrated for reviews, go read this immediately when it releases!!
Highlights: usually I include a few highlights from the book at the end of my ARC reviews, since I can’t import them like a normal book…but I have so many I cannot. like 70. It’ll have to wait until I can get the kindle version of the book. It was lovely and poetic and romantic and dramatic and just perfection.
We received a free copy of this book and are providing our honest review voluntarily.
Comments
Post a Comment