Her Every Wish is a novella in the Worth saga, following Once Upon a Marquess. 

Daisy Whitlaw is the sole support for her mother, who is in poor health. When a charity bequest is offered for the best proposal to start a new business, she seizes on the fact that the contest does not technically say it is open only to men to set out her plan to open an emporium for working class women.

Crash comes from a proud line of sailors and dock whores. He's of uncertain paternity and mixed race, and dubious associations. He also charms men and women alike, refuses to let anyone else define his place in the world, and is currently planning to open a shop to sell velocipedes, a less stable predecessor to the bicycle.

Crash and Daisy had a tryst some months before that ended in a stupid argument, and then Crash left the country. Now he's back and is prepared to teach Daisy how to swagger and bluff her way through the final presentation of her proposal.

This is a novella, and almost necessarily a rather simple story, but it is elegantly done. The conflict between Crash and Daisy is resolved naturally, as spending time with each other again leads them each to understand how the other heard what they'd said back when things went wrong. Supporting characters don't get as much space as they would in a full novel, of course, but Crash and Daisy's family members are all a joy for as much as we do see them. And of course, since it's a Courtney Milan story, the dialogue is terribly entertaining and the plot uplifting and feminist in a completely believable 19th century kind of way.

Overall: A+

A Seditious Affair is the second in the Society of Gentleman series, after A Fashionable Indulgence. There are no spoilers for the first book in this review, but there are in A Seditious Affair, and I don't just mean the rather obvious fact that the two main characters wind up together (these are romances, after all, so you knew that, right?).

For the past year, Silas Mason and Dominic Frey have been meeting every Wednesday. Frey needs to be dominated sexually; Mason wasn't previously inclined to that kink but liked the idea of having a chance to abuse a rich Tory and found that he liked it (but no whips, he has personal experience on the wrong side of those). They have sex and discuss books and current affairs, but neither knows the other's name, so things take a turn when they each realize that Frey works for the home office and Mason is running an illegal, radical print shop in his book store.

I loved this book. I love me some 18th/19th century radical politics, and K.J. Charles may do the combination of sex and politics better than anybody else. Mason and Frey are both deeply principled men but capable of friendly disagreement, which might be as beautiful an example of wish fulfillment fantasy as anything else that's ever been seen on the pages of a romance novel, and tightropes they walk so as to maintain their relationship while remaining true to their beliefs will keep you enthralled until the last page.

Overall: A

Miracle of miracles, I actually had time to read something that wasn't for anything. The Silence of Stones is the latest medieval noir starring Crispin Guest, a former knight stripped of his title and property after being implicated in treason, now eking out a living in the seedier side of London as "The Tracker." When the Stone of Scone is stolen from the Coronation Chair in Westminster Abbey, Richard II takes Crispin's apprentice, Jack Tucker, as hostage, insisting that Crispin find those responsible within three days or Jack will be hung for treason. Crispin has no problem finding conspirators; the problem is that none of them actually have the stone. Meanwhile, Jack finds himself engaged in his own investigation within castle walls.

I've always enjoyed this series. It's deeply involved in historical politics, and I can always count on an engrossing mystery and engaging characters. The historical John Rykener, AKA Eleanor, plays a large role in this edition, acting as Crispin's assistant in Jack's absence. This one doesn't quite feel like it completely comes together in the end. There are at least four different groups involved in the plot to steal the stone and discredit Richard II. One steals the stone. One was supposed to take the stone away. One is responsible for the side of the plot that Jack was investigating. But I'm not sure I was ever clear on what the fourth one did, or on why the stone wasn't taken away as it was supposed to be. Still, it's a solid and exciting look at political machinations of the 14th century.

Overall: B