Slippery Creatures
- Downloads：9253
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-05-05 11:53:43
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：K.J. Charles
- ISBN：1912688166
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
- Download
Summary
Will Darling came back from the Great War with a few scars， a lot of medals， and no idea what to do next。 Inheriting his uncle’s chaotic second-hand bookshop is a blessing。。。until strange visitors start making threats。 First a criminal gang， then the War Office， both telling Will to give them the information they want， or else。
Will has no idea what that information is， and nobody to turn to， until Kim Secretan—charming， cultured， oddly attractive—steps in to offer help。 As Kim and Will try to find answers and outrun trouble， mutual desire grows along with the danger。
And then Will discovers the truth about Kim。 His identity， his past， his real intentions。 Enraged and betrayed， Will never wants to see him again。
But Will possesses knowledge that could cost thousands of lives。 Enemies are closing in on him from all sides—and Kim is the only man who can help。
A 1920s m/m romance trilogy in the spirit of Golden Age pulp fiction。
Will has no idea what that information is， and nobody to turn to， until Kim Secretan—charming， cultured， oddly attractive—steps in to offer help。 As Kim and Will try to find answers and outrun trouble， mutual desire grows along with the danger。
And then Will discovers the truth about Kim。 His identity， his past， his real intentions。 Enraged and betrayed， Will never wants to see him again。
But Will possesses knowledge that could cost thousands of lives。 Enemies are closing in on him from all sides—and Kim is the only man who can help。
A 1920s m/m romance trilogy in the spirit of Golden Age pulp fiction。
Reviews
DL
，
Wonderful in every way。 I've been reading a lot of 1920s murder mysteries and this one didn't let me down。 The MCs were very real and their attraction felt real as well。 I listened to the audio version and enjoyed it for the most part。 Maisie's voice was so reminiscent of Mrs。 Doughtfire， it put me right off！ Wonderful in every way。 I've been reading a lot of 1920s murder mysteries and this one didn't let me down。 The MCs were very real and their attraction felt real as well。 I listened to the audio version and enjoyed it for the most part。 Maisie's voice was so reminiscent of Mrs。 Doughtfire， it put me right off！ 。。。more
Michelle
，
This was so fun！ Loved the twists and turns of the story and the hot chemistry between Will and Kim。 A delightful read。
Beth
，
KJ Charles has a knack for writing the wittiest dialogue and her characters are truly a delight。 Great first entry into a new series - I love Will， Kim， Maisie， and Phoebe and can’t wait to see what’s next！
Akiva
，
Nice！ A 3。5/5 probably。 Satisfying twisty plot。
Daria
，
im not in love w the characters （i do like them） but the plot was well executed and the writing is lovely
Megan
，
This was my introduction to KJ Charles' work; I've had a few of her books on my wishlist for some time but this is where I decided to start and it was a great entry point。 I really liked this book and yet I keep not knowing what to say in my review。 So， I'm going with: I really liked this book， totally worth picking up and I'm definitely interested in Book 2 and in others by Charles as a result。 This was my introduction to KJ Charles' work; I've had a few of her books on my wishlist for some time but this is where I decided to start and it was a great entry point。 I really liked this book and yet I keep not knowing what to say in my review。 So， I'm going with: I really liked this book， totally worth picking up and I'm definitely interested in Book 2 and in others by Charles as a result。 。。。more
Sammi
，
This was really cute！ The two main characters were messy and complicated and kind of terrible and I loved them。 The mcguffin plot was really nothing to speak of and Will especially vacillated between "I trust him no he betrayed me no I completely trust him oh no not again" just maybe ONE too many times to be believable， but I guess Kim had some--ahem--qualities that maybe scrambled Will's brain a little too much。Anyway， this was short and sweet and cute and I'll probably pick up the rest of them This was really cute！ The two main characters were messy and complicated and kind of terrible and I loved them。 The mcguffin plot was really nothing to speak of and Will especially vacillated between "I trust him no he betrayed me no I completely trust him oh no not again" just maybe ONE too many times to be believable， but I guess Kim had some--ahem--qualities that maybe scrambled Will's brain a little too much。Anyway， this was short and sweet and cute and I'll probably pick up the rest of them。 The supporting characters were great too， Phoebe especially。 Oh and as a bookseller I have a few tips to make Will's bookshop a little more successful--maybe don't close the store every time a friend comes over to visit so you can nip over to the pub。 And maybe hire a helper， so they can run the shop the next time you get kidnapped。 You know。 Business 101。 。。。more
Dylan
，
And he owned a lot of books， although just now and then， when it got dark and the shelves loomed over him， he got the feeling that they owned him。Set shortly after the end of WWI， Will Darling has returned from the trenches to manage the bookshop left to him by his late uncle， also named Will Darling。 The bookshop comes with thousands of poorly organized books， but it also comes with some information that turns out to be rather important to the War Office and a rather unpleasant group known as Z And he owned a lot of books， although just now and then， when it got dark and the shelves loomed over him， he got the feeling that they owned him。Set shortly after the end of WWI， Will Darling has returned from the trenches to manage the bookshop left to him by his late uncle， also named Will Darling。 The bookshop comes with thousands of poorly organized books， but it also comes with some information that turns out to be rather important to the War Office and a rather unpleasant group known as Zodiac。 When a patron of the shop， Kim， offers to help Will find the information and deal with it， things get rather steamy and a lot more complicated to boot！What a fun， romp of a novel！ This was my first KJ Charles book and now I'm excited to read the other （currently released） novel in this series as well as some of her other m/m romance novels。 I went into this wanting to read a good m/m romance which this definitely delivered on， but I also really enjoyed the pulpy adventure/thriller aspect of this novel as well。 It did take me a little while to buy into the plot， but once it grabbed me this novel held on to me and I haven't done much reading outside of this novel since I started it。 Will and Kim make for compelling romantic leads and there are also some great side characters here。 The sex scenes were well written and while they were a little more graphic than I expected （not in a bad way） I think the author did a good job of matching the tone of the rest of the novel。I didn't have any real issues with the novel， but one weird thing I noticed was that there's a movie mentioned in this called Smilin' Through。 Now， I thought that this book was set a year or two after WWI， but that movie didn't come out until 1932。 Weirder still， Harrison Ford is named as the lead actor in the movie in the book。 He wasn't even alive yet！ Very odd。But yeah， definitely a very enjoyable read both for the Romance aspects and the pulpy thriller stuff。 Highly recommended！ 。。。more
Paige A
，
This book was so much fun！ Fantastic writing， witty banter， crime and intrigue and badassery， oh my！ Will is a hardcore BAMF with a soft side， and Kim is just a mess but very， very wiley。 The plot was enticing and kept me on my toes。 The characters were believable and perfectly flawed。 And the romance？ Smokin’ hot 👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻 I absolutely adored this story from start to finish。
Kristina
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 i liked will darling quite a lot - he's a fun protagonist and his stubborn bluntness， especially in the face of assholes， was very endearing。 overall the plot was a fun romp and the various twists and turns were engaging。 my problem was that I didn't much care for the romantic partner of the novel， kim。 i don't mind amoral characters or characters that do nefarious stuff， but it was hard for me to really believe forgiving him for lying not once， not twice， but several times throughout the course i liked will darling quite a lot - he's a fun protagonist and his stubborn bluntness， especially in the face of assholes， was very endearing。 overall the plot was a fun romp and the various twists and turns were engaging。 my problem was that I didn't much care for the romantic partner of the novel， kim。 i don't mind amoral characters or characters that do nefarious stuff， but it was hard for me to really believe forgiving him for lying not once， not twice， but several times throughout the course of the novel。 especially since his apologies never seemed that sincere。 overall， it was a fun read and I enjoyed the side ladies （especially phoebe） very much， but I kept getting tripped up on how little I found kim engaging and how baffled i was by will's constant interest in him。 。。。more
Alina
，
This was an quick read for me and I thought it was pretty good but not great in any way。 I don't have a lot to say about this one。 I liked but didn't love almost every aspect of this book: the characters， the romance， the sex scenes， the plot。 It was very average on almost every level。 The one outstanding part of this book was the female characters。 Maisie is wonderful and I love her and Phoebe was surprisingly fun and sincere。 I wish I liked this book a little more， but the characters were just This was an quick read for me and I thought it was pretty good but not great in any way。 I don't have a lot to say about this one。 I liked but didn't love almost every aspect of this book: the characters， the romance， the sex scenes， the plot。 It was very average on almost every level。 The one outstanding part of this book was the female characters。 Maisie is wonderful and I love her and Phoebe was surprisingly fun and sincere。 I wish I liked this book a little more， but the characters were just fine and the plot was just slightly too predictable。 。。。more
M。 Arbon
，
Once again K。J。 Charles manages to write a compulsively readable romance/political intrigue about two complete messes falling for each other while trying not to get themselves killed。 Intriguing setting， twisty plot。 I can't wait to see how this series unfolds。 Once again K。J。 Charles manages to write a compulsively readable romance/political intrigue about two complete messes falling for each other while trying not to get themselves killed。 Intriguing setting， twisty plot。 I can't wait to see how this series unfolds。 。。。more
Izzy
，
like a solid 3。5！ maybe a 4 if i change my mind。 i LOVED how complicated the relationship was and i loved the christie-esque setting。 just smart and cool and romantic and kind of fucked-up？？
nick （the infinite limits of love）
，
3。5/5Enjoyed this！ Will is a hoot and I liked the secondary cast a lot。 Kim， I had trouble with because he is so secretive。
Terence
，
Thoroughly enjoyed this book。 The plotting was really strong， the banter was great， and I enjoyed how messy the relationship got。
Margaux
，
Slow burn romance， mystery， intrigue， British men， and KJ Charles。 That is a recipe that equals a book totally worth an Audible credit。 As always， Charles tells a fantastic story， creates really wonderful characters， and leaves me wishing there was more。 Oh， wait！ There is more！！ Off to buy the next one。 ✔️
Gailann Overholt
，
This is my first review written with the "new" （Beta） Goodreads format。 I don't like it。 Sure， the new book page is neat and clean and pretty， but it seems to have eliminated a few things I've grown to rely upon。 Specifically: Where's the link to my Kindle notes？ How can I write a review when I don't have my notes to remind me what I liked or didn't like about this book？ It doesn't help that I went directly from Slippery Creatures to Rag and Bone without stopping to capture my thoughts。 [Aha This is my first review written with the "new" （Beta） Goodreads format。 I don't like it。 Sure， the new book page is neat and clean and pretty， but it seems to have eliminated a few things I've grown to rely upon。 Specifically: Where's the link to my Kindle notes？ How can I write a review when I don't have my notes to remind me what I liked or didn't like about this book？ It doesn't help that I went directly from Slippery Creatures to Rag and Bone without stopping to capture my thoughts。 [Aha！ There it is！ I have to "leave Beta。" （Which means I need to leave feedback about Beta—if I can even get back to Beta。） No， I do not handle change well。]Well， now that that diatribe is over， let's continue。K。J。 Charles gave chuckles and chills with this one。 The chuckles came from names like "Elizabeth Ponsonby and Bubby Fanshawe，" and the glib MCs debating over who was the wimpier man， as well as providing us with witty quips。 Unlike several reviewers， I rather liked both MCs。 Sure， they had their flaws， but that made them interesting。 Will was stubborn， but it gave him the strength to withstand all the trials he was put through。 Yes， Kim was a devious SOB， but I think he made himself out to be more of an SOB than he really was。Did I mention the author is a freakin' genius？ Or maybe a fortune teller？ The plans everyone wants to get their hands on （view spoiler）[， a biological weapon of mass destruction， （hide spoiler）] is reminiscent of more modern warfare， with the fallout being terrible—and terribly similar to what we've all been dealing with this past year。 （Although the book was published in May 2020， it had to have been written prior to the pandemic and enforced quarantine。）To give me even more goose-pimples， the bad guys are summed up: Zodiac are rich， secretive， and powerful。 They’re clever， too， using people they despise as cover for their own schemes。 If someone gets caught， the blame goes to ->insert your least favorite fanatical group here<-- And they are ruthless。 They are driven by staggering greed at the top and fanatic idealism below， and between greed and fanaticism people can justify anything。 Yeah， that hits way too close to home， given the 45th prez and his maga-followers （my personal least favorite fanatical group）。To end on a positive note， I think I know where Charles is going with Phoebe and Maisie， and I wholeheartedly approve！ 。。。more
Laks
，
Fantastic series。 Loved this book; especially Will Darling。 He is something indeed！ And I still have my doubts about the secretive Kim Secretan。Recommended historical series。
Hannah C。
，
One trope I don’t really like is friends-enemies-maybe lovers。 So， I guess this just didn’t really jive with me （who uses the word ‘jive’ anymore？）。 Don’t get me wrong though， the characters were very endearing。 I loved Maisie and the very bohemian Phoebe。 Will Darling is the sort of earnest gentleman you’d have drinks with on a Friday night。 And Kim Secretan is absolutely charming， despite his sneakiness。 Maybe I just didn’t enjoy the type of trope involved， but the authors writing is always en One trope I don’t really like is friends-enemies-maybe lovers。 So， I guess this just didn’t really jive with me （who uses the word ‘jive’ anymore？）。 Don’t get me wrong though， the characters were very endearing。 I loved Maisie and the very bohemian Phoebe。 Will Darling is the sort of earnest gentleman you’d have drinks with on a Friday night。 And Kim Secretan is absolutely charming， despite his sneakiness。 Maybe I just didn’t enjoy the type of trope involved， but the authors writing is always enjoyable to read！ 。。。more
Heidi
，
The chemistry！ The wit！ The suspense！ I absolutely loved every single second of this 😍 😍 😍
Shaz
，
I've always maintained that I don't like historical romances， lol。 And I still stand by that， unless it's been written by K。J。 Charles apparently。。。I loved the way this unfolded。 It's billed as written in a pulp fiction style， and while I'm not completely sure what that means， I'm a fan *grin*。 I love the characters in this story。 All the main players at least。 I wouldn't call it a "romance" as such， but then again， in 1920 m/m romance wasn't something to be bandied about as it was still illegal I've always maintained that I don't like historical romances， lol。 And I still stand by that， unless it's been written by K。J。 Charles apparently。。。I loved the way this unfolded。 It's billed as written in a pulp fiction style， and while I'm not completely sure what that means， I'm a fan *grin*。 I love the characters in this story。 All the main players at least。 I wouldn't call it a "romance" as such， but then again， in 1920 m/m romance wasn't something to be bandied about as it was still illegal。 So while it wasn't necessarily romance， there was a definite relationship building between Will and Kim。 There's no HEA （nor a HFN really）， but the story continues in the next book。 So things could change in that aspect。 I'll have to wait and see， lol。Being historical （and not a paranormal one） I just can't bring myself to give it 5 stars。 But if you're after something a little different， with a good mystery aspect， not too heavy， but still with plenty of substance， don't pass this one by！ 。。。more
Mandi
，
Starts out super cute。 Overall I liked it but - I don’t want to spoil but there were times I wanted to strangle Kim。 And Will。 :-）
Lina
，
Well， that was just fantastic！ Clever， engaging， and so much fun。 I loved Will and Kim。 Now off to read everything KJ Charles has ever written！
Justreadingit
，
The book has everything going for it。。 suspense， drama， action and a very complex relationship between the main characters。 You will not be bored！
Daria
，
This story is really nice adventure with romantic plot line I really enjoy。 Characters are really adorable and I like how author writes relationships between characters， respectful and with just right amount of drama。 Also， plot is engaging， this book has really nice plot。
Sheoak
，
Loved the characters， the story line， the romance， the era。 Highly recommend。
Gabriel
，
Item One: This book has a really similar plot to the movie Mission Impossible: Fallout。 Item Two: KJ Charles is the most readable writer in the romance genre。 Item Three: Slippery Creatures is genuinely hilarious。 There were things about it that let me down or got on my nerves， but none of them were how funny it was。It still has a really similar plot to Mission Impossible: Fallout， just generally at a running-around-on-foot kind of pace。 This is not a criticism， just a note about spy action thin Item One: This book has a really similar plot to the movie Mission Impossible: Fallout。 Item Two: KJ Charles is the most readable writer in the romance genre。 Item Three: Slippery Creatures is genuinely hilarious。 There were things about it that let me down or got on my nerves， but none of them were how funny it was。It still has a really similar plot to Mission Impossible: Fallout， just generally at a running-around-on-foot kind of pace。 This is not a criticism， just a note about spy action things and how they should never feel too big for their britches。Okay， complaints and spoilers time though:（view spoiler）[- I really wish KJ Charles would knock it off with the "awkward forced historical gay sex ed" element of sex scenes， I feel like this is a terrible consequence of when you can feel the， er， earnest responsibility of the author through the page。 I'm not so much talking the desire for explicit， erotic consent and negotiation on the page - that's great， with the qualifier that there exist slightly more erotic ways to do that than depicted here - and more like this like very po-faced historical fiction thing where they spend like two pages discussing what penetrative sex is and how it's possible to fail at it in a first attempt and also this whole eyerolly anvil of a thing where the social value of whether it's shameful to enjoy bottoming is discussed mid-hookup。 Where like an author awkwardly speedruns what they believe to be their research。People did also just fuck。 You can let them fuck。 Suffice to say I do not think repressed interwar British spies need to express all their hangups out loud the first time they fuck so the reader can be aware that you take hangups seriously but also are sex-positive。 Please。 Please， just let them fuck。- While we're talking about slash fandom inheritances。。。 does every woman on the planet really need to be bubbly and supportive and nonthreatening？ What happens to the women in this world who feel unsupportive or have other things to do with their lives that directly conflict in a not helpful way？ I was like， sure with the first friend （Maisie）， getting really burnt out on the chintzy lavender beard fiancee （Phoebe）， but I really lost it when it got to the loyal salt of the earth nanny who loved Kim。 Really？ Really？？？ Does the m/m slash tertiary woman really need to do a combo attack with the loyal Downton Abbey employee？- Absolutely no one did the sensible thing at any point。 This actually didn't bother me much and I think sensible actions are overrated and lead to terrible books when writers get really smugly hung up on them， but it was worth noting。 This really came to a screwball head when it was Kim， Libra， War Office Guy， War Office Mole， and Will and it became infinitely obvious that this was like a bunch of cats playing angry volleyball with a balloon。- I got kind of attached to Libra， even though I could tell he was a victim of "romance novel insecurity syndrome" when it came to being an antag， which is actually one of my least favorite things about romance novels - the obvious need for antags （real antags， not fake antags that are really boyfriends！） to be pathetic， a bit weaselly and petulant， and defanged and one-dimensional so they do not threaten the sexiness of the main love interests。 Cowards。 I do not want your upstanding man， let me fuck an anarchist zealot spy dude。- I say that， but I actually was incredibly fond of Will by the end。 I sort of think he has the sexual appeal of a piece of toast （to my personal preferences） and if I were primarily invested in the sex I'd wish Kim went toe-to-toe with someone with a little more force of personality to throw around， but that honestly stopped mattering to me very quickly because， let me not be misleading about the toast thing， I genuinely liked Will Darling the person a lot。 His bitchy internal narrative， but also his generally emotional internal narrative that broke down from the early-on KJC too-manly internal reasonableness into basically being hangry all the time。- I will certainly read the other two books， though I dread it devolving into some sort of maudlin dragged-out slightly suspiciously gendered Captive Prince thing where one person marvels mystifiedly about the truly untouchable interiority of the other。 Aside from that just sucking， it would be deeply silly about Kim because nothing about Kim Secretan's emotional life strikes me as particularly mysterious。 He is just unusually shameless about lying。**Which， by the way， is what is great about him。****This book went from a 3 to a 4 star book for me when he just double-crossed Will so many flagrant times and specifically the whole thing with Maisie's rose message and Kim just fucking finding it while Will is crying in joy in his stinky trauma cell， and Will like "KIM is a MANIPULATIVE， LYING TOE RAG >:[ FRIENDSHIP ENDED WITH KIM AGAIN"Fundamentally I think I will enjoy book 2 a lot if it leans into and has fun with Kim's shameless lyingness and a lot less if it tries to make a sob story out of Kim's like， gay wealthy Tory life， because who cares， he's preposterously loaded and works to obtain weapons of mass destruction for the British。I just want like six more "FRIENDSHIP ENDED WITH KIM AGAIN" things。 They are too beautiful to leave in just book 1。 （hide spoiler）] 。。。more
LaughterByNight
，
I had fun with this one。 I went in completely blind so I was caught off guard at first， to put it lightly。 Overall I think if you don’t take it too seriously and you’re just along for a light ride， it’s a good time。 3。7
Jacques
，
I am enamoured with Kim and Will。 The espionage and detective elements of the story pleases me greatly。
Taffy
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Whooo there is emotional weight to this one， a KJ Charles specialty。 Charles does a good job of portraying the aftermath of the Great War on individuals and society。 The stuff about booksellers was funny and seemed accurate。 The romance was the kind of gut-wrenching you'd expect from a betrayal/hidden identity/spy scenario。 Mystery was fine。 Characterization and historical setting were absolutely the strengths of this book。 Interwar/Golden Age m/m romance with a thriller/mystery plot， set in and Whooo there is emotional weight to this one， a KJ Charles specialty。 Charles does a good job of portraying the aftermath of the Great War on individuals and society。 The stuff about booksellers was funny and seemed accurate。 The romance was the kind of gut-wrenching you'd expect from a betrayal/hidden identity/spy scenario。 Mystery was fine。 Characterization and historical setting were absolutely the strengths of this book。 Interwar/Golden Age m/m romance with a thriller/mystery plot， set in and around London。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Slippery Creatures
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Slippery Creatures&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Slippery Creatures&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0