Spectred Isle

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.I've read almost all of KJ Charles' books, and this novel is very different from anything else she's published. The romance develops fairly quietly and almost gently, while the supernatural mystery plot is subtle and clever. Spectred Isle takes place in the same world as [b:The Secret Casebook of Simon Feximal 34680762 The Secret Casebook of Simon Feximal K.J. Charles https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1490459007s/34680762.jpg 44302287] but you don't need to read that book in order to understand this one, and the two books are not similar. The Simon Feximal stories all had a feeling of urgency, with exciting plots that got resolved within average short-story length. This book is long, with deep world-building, a number of interesting and well-developed characters, and (as always with her books) an intricately woven plot with an exciting and emotional climax. It's also the first of a series, and as in Sins of the Cities, while the ending wraps up the action of this book, there is a continuing plot as well, with enemies who remain unknown for now.I really felt immersed both in the story that the book tells and in the setting, England between the World Wars. But it's a haunted version of 1923, in which ancient myths are real. The world-building is excellent. The magic here, as in the Charm of Magpies universe, feels visceral and dangerous, requiring sacrifice, and sometimes physical pain. There are a lot of references to real-world legends, although I'm sure I only picked up on a few of them, like the way Randolph learned his powers, and the concept of executing someone in several different ways. I'm so excited that there will be more books in this series and more exploration of similar concepts.The main characters, Randolph and Saul, get dragged into investigating supernatural occurrences related to a long-dead nobleman and villain. Randolph is cut from the same cloth as Simon Feximal: a real pagan priest who takes his duties to protect England very seriously. Randolph is thoroughly aristocratic, and I get the impression that he does believe his family's magical powers and duties make him better than other people; he's generally pretty misanthropic, too. He uses both of those traits to hold everyone at arm's length. Partly because he keeps himself so remote, I found it really satisfying to see him slowly developing genuine affection for Saul. It was very believable, even more so because it surprised Randolph so much.Saul knows nothing about the magical world, and it's through his experience, for the most part, that we learn about how everything works. His path in this story has a lot in common with the archetypal hero's journey, and his first visit to Camlet Moat made me think of walking a sacred labyrinth. His backstory is very sad, and I love to see a character who has already been through so much turn into a hero. While KJ Charles never really makes suffering over identity the focal point of her historical m/m books, she also never avoids portraying the harsh side of queer life in a time when there were legal consequences for same-sex relationships. Saul is definitely the type of character that I want to reach into the book and do nice things for - in fact, more than one character in the book feels compelled to feed him a sumptuous meal. Both Saul and Randolph's experiences in World War I damaged them badly, but Saul is also all alone in the world, while Randolph has his comrades-in-arms. Rather than sexual tension building up, then, during all of Saul and Randolph's unplanned meetings, I just really wanted Randolph to listen to Saul and be his friend, which does happen, and felt (to me) as satisfying as a first kiss usually is in a romance. The romance moves very slowly, and the characters are drawn so well, that by the time they get together, I felt like I knew them both and understood why they had specific sexual needs or desires. The happy ending is completely perfect, both for their relationship and for Saul's well-being. Also, it was really nice to see both characters independently learning that Robert and Simon were an actual, committed couple, and both Saul and Randolph find it inspiring to learn that two men can build a life together. I remember having a similar experience when I was young, and it was great to see something like the surprise and hope I felt in that moment portrayed in this book.Minor spoiler/unimportant ramble: Although I am usually a big advocate for bisexual representation, I think it was the right choice to make Randolph gay - or rather, for his relationship with Theresa to be exactly what it is (best friends). If he had been in love with her, this would've been a much more painful book, and he would've needed to get over his grief before falling in love with Saul. I feel it's realistic that both Randolph and Saul are able to continue on with their lives; their grief and guilt over the events of the war will always be part of who they are, but the past doesn't define who they are now.I loved the side characters: Sam Caldwell, who was introduced in one of the Simon Feximal stories, and two new characters, Barney and Isaacs, who seem to have a bond along the lines of the Jaeger pilots in Pacific Rim. Jo Caldwell does not meet up with the characters in this book, although Jo is important to the story; I hope we'll see more of them in this series.There are a decent number of references to the Simon Feximal collection, but I also think that Randolph frequently telling everyone “chop chop!” was meant to be a reference to Crane's “kwai-kwai,” which really made me smile. Overall, I loved this, and I'm sure that it will find a wide audience. I will be enthusiastically recommending it to fans of mainstream fantasy as well as to queer romance readers.