Book Review: A Minor Inconvenience by Sarah Granger

Title: A Minor Inconvenience
Author: Sarah Granger
Genre: Historical Romance, M/M Romance
Sensuality Rating: Erotic
Source: review copy provided via NetGalley
Published: January 14, 2014 by Samhain Publishing

Duty, honor, propriety…all fall in the face of love.

Captain Hugh Fanshawe returned from the Peninsular War with a leg that no longer works properly, thanks to a French musket ball. Now his fight against Napoleon is reduced to quiet, lonely days compiling paperwork at Horse Guards headquarters.

His evenings are spent dutifully escorting his mother and sister to stifling social engagements, where his lameness renders him an object of pity and distaste. But his orderly, restricted life is thrown into sudden disarray with the arrival of Colonel Theo Lindsay.

Theo is everything Hugh is not—a man of physical perfection and easy yet distinguished address. Surprisingly to Hugh, Theo appears to be interested in making his acquaintance. Lindsay turns out to be a most convivial companion, and Hugh finds great pleasure in his company. Their friendship deepens when they become lovers.

In spite of himself, Hugh falls desperately in love. But when a French spy is suspected at Horse Guards, Hugh discovers nothing is as it seems…and the paper he shuffles from day to day could be the instrument of his lover’s death.

amazon | goodreads

Reviewed by: J9

In a Nutshell: Good historical gay romance, even with its less-than-erotic romance.

Why I Read This Book: I love historical gay romance and with it being so rare I grab it when I see it.

What I Liked: I really liked the characters, Hugh and Theo. Hugh  sees himself as boring and Theo as glamorous. It was wonderful to see Hugh bask in Theo’s attention. Theo is more mysterious than Hugh, which was a good counter-balance, and I could see why Theo would be attracted to stalwart Hugh. My favorite scene isn’t one I can share because it’ll spoil the plot but in it Hugh is willing to throw caution to the wind and runaway with Theo. This showed so much about the relationship but also about how much Hugh had changed from novel’s beginning.

What I Also Liked: This is clearly a well-researched historical romance. The language was big (for lack of a better word) with a few words that even I had to look up. The parties, the social structure, the clothes, food, war and everything else created a very strong setting that I enjoyed.

What I Didn’t Like: The romance between Hugh and Theo was good on an emotional level. Theo’s chase and Hugh’s emotional capitulation were wonderful to read, for example the scene where they agree to be monogamous. BUT, the sexual intimacy is very PG-13. The actual act of sex is alluded to but not really on page. This may not bother some readers but I’m a dirty girl and what a freakin’ play by play!

IMO: Historical gay romance readers will likely enjoy this story.

J9’s Rating: