REVIEW: Slippery Creatures by KJ Charles

Slippery Creatures (The Will Darling Adventures #1) by KJ Charles

Published April 28th 2020 by KJC Books

Pages: 262

Format: Paperback

Source: Purchased

Will Darling came back from the Great War with a few scars, a lot of medals, and no idea what to do next. Inheriting his uncle’s chaotic second-hand bookshop is a blessing…until strange visitors start making threats. First a criminal gang, then the War Office, both telling Will to give them the information they want, or else.
Will has no idea what that information is, and nobody to turn to, until Kim Secretan—charming, cultured, oddly attractive—steps in to offer help. As Kim and Will try to find answers and outrun trouble, mutual desire grows along with the danger.
And then Will discovers the truth about Kim. His identity, his past, his real intentions. Enraged and betrayed, Will never wants to see him again.
But Will possesses knowledge that could cost thousands of lives. Enemies are closing in on him from all sides—and Kim is the only man who can help.
A 1920s m/m romance trilogy in the spirit of Golden Age pulp fiction.

Slippery Creatures made me absurdly angry, and you know why? Because it was so damn good that now I need everything KJ Charles has written.

It’s been a really long time since a book has made me feel like this, but it was one of those that made me shake afterwards. I don’t know if anyone else has ever had that feeling when a book is so good that it just feels like a full-body experience? It doesn’t happen very often for me, so when it does I know that book is going to be a favourite for a while.

It’s hard to say at what point I fell in love with Slippery Creatures. I was definitely intrigued from the start—Will is an interesting character. I love the fact he’s a little grumpy at times, and maybe a little stupid and stubborn but it also has a kind of charming way about him. He’s honestly a lot of fun to read about, and I don’t often enjoy male protagonists. I also adored Phoebe—she’s absolutely fabulous and I feel like her story might be going in a particular way that will make me very happy, but I don’t want to spoil anything for anyone!

Moving onto Kim—oh god, I loved him. He’s so ridiculously charming and precious at times but he’s also a very complex and difficult character. The romance between the two of them is exactly the same—it’s intense and complex, but it has some really sweet moments as well. He really did make the book for me, and I just wait to learn more about him because I think there’s a lot more to him than what we got to see in this one. He could genuinely be one of the most interesting characters I’ve read about in years.

I’m so beyond excited to read the next book in this series and to give the rest of KJ Charles’ books a chance.