Proper Scoundrels

Both of these main characters were introduced in the Magic in Manhattan series. Everything you need to know about this book is in this book, but I'm glad to have read the other series first. Jade and Zhang are important here, which I liked, and there are intriguing new characters too, including Sebastian's artist cousin Isabel.

Unlike the previous trilogy, this book has a few explicit sex scenes. I thought the scenes were very good as well as relevant to the plot. It's not sex, but I especially loved the scene of Wesley deciding that he doesn't want to be cruel to Sebastian. That really moved me.

This story handles some serious topics with sensitivity, and the pacing is very good. In reality, I'm sure I'd find someone like Wesley impossible to tolerate, but I do believe in this romance. They are both exactly what the other needs and I was cheering for their happiness. There's quite a lot of genuinely funny humor in this book, too; I really liked Wesley's rebellious servants.

So, I absolutely loved this, and I'm very excited to find out what Allie Therin does next.