Book 850: Slippery Creatures (The Will Darling Adventures #1) – K.J. Charles

I legit have no clue how this one ended up on my hold’s shelf at my local library. It could’ve been the cover (love it), it could be the description – “MM Romance in the style of Pulp Fiction”, or maybe it was the setting of the bookstore, or maybe the author since I have read something by her previously. Whatever it was, after having extended the hold time twice I finally worked it into my schedule.

I didn’t plan to read it in one sitting, but I got sick and couldn’t sleep so started reading it and just kept going. Next thing I knew I was finished and grinning like a fool.

This is the story of Will, a WWI veteran who has inherited a bookshop from his uncle along with a massive mystery that’s causing all sorts of chaos in his bookshop, and Kim, a secretive aristocrat whose only reliable characteristic is his lack of loyalty to anyone.

I found the story and the characters to be utterly charming. Honestly, I didn’t think I would because pulp fiction has such a negative connotation, but it was wonderful. Not only was there humor:

A fuck, a fight, a friendship: he’d take any or all. (45)

Unfortunately, nor was Will. He had no idea what civilians, or civilised people, would say in these circumstances. Thanks for that, old chap, much obliged, perhaps? Ought he apologise for coming in his mouth? Would this be a good moment to restart the conversation about where Kim had learned to use a knife?
Thank God they were British. He took a deep breath. ‘Cup of tea?’ (71)

I know I had to do it: that was why I did it. I don’t stab people by accident. (240)

but there was drama and romance and I just want to live in the world with Will and Kim, whose relationship somehow evolves but stays the same throughout the book. I still don’t really know what to expect going into the next book, but the ending of this one and Will’s openness to whatever comes along when it comes to Kim was refreshing and lovely. And as much as I wanted a happily ever after, for the time period what they have and the potential for them to have is better left as a happy for now versus a happily ever after.

Charles did a great job of writing Will’s uncertainty in exploring MM relations post-war and I felt really got the interactions right between Will and Kim. The primary sex scene of the novel, after the one rushed one that gives he middle gem above, was well written and truly felt authentic to a conversation you could see two young men having at this time.

The minor characters from Phoebe, Kim’s fiancé, and Maisie, Will’s closest friend, to the inspectors of the War Office and the fanatics of the cult-like Zodiac trying to find the secret were all well written and every one of them added something to the book. The plot was enjoyable and the mystery/thriller side engaging and I cannot wait to see how the next two books stand up to this first one.

Recommendation: I enjoyed this WAY more than I thought I would. I found Will and Kim to be great characters and Charles really rounded out the book with a bunch of other characters that evoked emotions which is all you can ask for. The plot was fun and engaging and it was such a quick read I’m looking forward to the other two books in the series: The Sugared Game and Subtle Blood.

Opening Line: “Will Darling was outnumbered by books.”

Closing Line: “He might as well find out what.” (Whited out to avoid spoilers, highlight to read.)

Additional Quotes from Slippery Creatures
“And he owned a lot of books, although just now and then, when it got dark and the shelves loomed over him, he got the feeling that they owned him.” (1)

“What I say is, one can be as moral as one likes but one should have the courtesy to do it in private, like any other bad habit.” (102)

“If you couldn’t have a thing without hurting someone who didn’t deserve it, you shouldn’t have it.” (106)

“He didn’t know if she’d even done the job yet. Going to a pawnshop could be a humiliating business for anyone, and doubtless far more so for a black woman than a white man.” (186)

“Nobody had ever told him imprisonment would be so dull. He’d read The Count of Monte Cristo as a boy and come away with the idea that Edmond Dantès had suffered from the dark, rats, terrible food, and the cruelty of his gaolers. Now he thought about six years with nothing to read, nothing to see, and nobody to talk to, and realised that he’d missed the point entirely. Six years? He’d barely managed six hours.” (187)

“Why do we count the cost of change, but not the cost of the world staying the same?” (193)

“‘My name, since you raise the topic, is Arthur Aloysius Kimberley de Brabazon Secretan. What would you do in my place?’
‘Leave the country,’ Will said wholeheartedly. ‘You poor bastard, you never stood a chance.’
‘Not much of one.’ Kim’s lips twitched, just a little. ‘Pub, you say?’
Will stood. ‘Black Horse. And you’re buying.’
‘Oh, now I see the motive.’ Kim stood too and shrugged his coat on. ‘The gin there is abominable, by the way.’
So drink beer. Is it always Kim, or does anyone call you Aloysius?’
Kip picked up his hat. ‘Not if they want to live.'” (248)