I did think it a bit hand-wavy how it ended, because it would never have ended that way in real life, but this isn’t real life, and I’m glad these characters got their happy ending. Jonah and Ben’s relationship is very compelling and sweet, and in the end, satisfying. He wants to find Jonah and exact his revenge (which is the most gentle form of revenge, wanting him to be punished for his crimes, and he can’t even do that in the end because he’s too good of a guy).įor once with these Magpie-world books, the romance is the star of the show and the world and the magic takes a backseat, which I very much appreciated. He lost his friends, his family, his job, and his health, and can no longer find decent work. Our narrator isn’t Jonah Pastern, though, it’s ex-policeman Ben Spenser, who was left behind by his lover Jonah to face jail time and months of hard labor for “gross indecency.” Ben’s life was completely ruined after Jonah swept out of it one morning. And, as it turns out, Jonah wasn’t really a bad guy for what he did in the original trilogy. This review may also contain spoilers for that. Events in book 3 of that wonderful, exciting, sexy (go read it now) series are important for understanding this book, and will be spoilered if you read this story first. I’m not really a fan of “redeeming the bad guy” stories, but of course Charles pulls it off. This story is definitely best when read after A Charm of Magpies series. Smut, skulduggery, and swashbuckling may occur.Follow on Twitter at kjcharles, join the KJ Charles Chat group on Facebook, or check out for book info and many posts on reading, writing and editing. I was surprised by this! The premise turned me off a little, which is why it took me so long to pick up. She writes mostly historical queer romance, some paranormal.

Jackdaw by K.J. Charles