The Only Gold

Jonah is a stiff, by-the-book banker with a 14 year tenure and Reid is a would-be usurper that is hired, in the position Jonah was hoping for, but has a big secret. This is a classic friends-to-lovers with a HEA despite all the world stacked against them.
Like many reviewers mention, this starts out very slow and you expect a so-called slow burn romance. However, the jump from reluctant co-workers to lovers felt a bit sudden. Jonah doesn't seem like he has any sexual interest in Reid at all, just a couple blushing moments and fears borne out of inexperience, but they fall into bed after a very convenient series of events. Once the relationship is established it's a very sweet romance, but that disconnect is a bit difficult to get past.
This stays at 4 solid stars because the characters are well-written and the story overall reads very realistic in late 1800s/early 1900s east coast USA. If you have a particular interest in banking or class disparity, this will definitely keep you engaged as well.

Fantastic slow burn romance, but the action scenes were a little hard to follow, not to mention unrealistic in the end. Jonah going through all that without dying, then personally delivering the deposit back to the bank, only to sleep it off and show up to work not much later, was utterly bizarre. It's a shame because most of the book was so real, I was completely transported to a different time and place.

Reread in May 2020 and. you know what, this is the only review you get because, for some reason, I always thought that I had at least something of a review here on it. But I didn't.

Okay, so, I don't actually like the book as much the second time around as I did the first time. I'm going to leave the five star rating up, though the reread would have gotten a four star. So many of the reasons I love the book the first time are still there. Allen's writing is lush and warming - just plain comfortable - and I still like all the characters. Really, the only thing...there's a big reveal towards the end of the book that works perfectly the first time I read it. The second time... I already knew it was coming so I didn't get the same shock. I also definitely would have liked the book more if we'd gotten both guys pov - though that would have rendered the reveal somewhat less, I also think it would have increased re-readability enjoyment.