I enjoyed this m/m historical romance with all of the characters. The two main were Hector Somerville and Viscount Wentworth.

Hector Somerville is the third son of a Baron with no real prospect. With two older brothers he will not inherit. He also has had a hard life because of his father. He also discovered that he like men than women.

Viscount Wentworth has gave up on love because his childhood friend broke his heart at a young age. Ever since then he can not trust to love another male. But there is something about Hector that he like.

This was enjoyable story to read. I like that both men could come to an understanding of their feelings. This story had quite a bit of different types of emotion throughout it.

I received a complimentary copy via Netgalley. This is my honest unbiased opinions.

This is the first book I’ve read by this author and I liked it. Historical MM fiction is one of my favorite romance genres. I have to admit that I had a bit of trouble following the timeline at a few points. The shifts were clearly marked in the book but my brain just didn’t absorb them for some reason so I had to flip back through to reorient myself.

Wentworth was really a jerk and Hector was pretty sweet (at least at first). They definitely went through some rough patches but Wentworth came through in a spectacular way before the end of the story.

I enjoyed these characters and I would read more books from Stephanie Lake.

A review copy was provided by the publisher via NetGalley but this did not influence my opinion or rating of the book.

***Reviewed for Xtreme-Delusions dot com***

If you are looking for a penny dreadful type of read then this is a good choice. More porn than plot. There is a bit of a complicated backstory but it's presented in a semi-confusing way. If you want regency smut, this has that. If you want character growth and deep plot, maybe less so.

I enjoyed this a lot. The plot was interestting, and the characters were realistic and I could sympathize with them. I didn't always like the things they did but I definitely felt for them.

The plot itself caused some conflicting emotions(brother's best friend, but also, brother's first lover) but the thing that confused me was the writing style. I'm not against flashbacks in my books, and it was an interesting idea, but the entire story and their past is extremely complicated(which I liked), and it was even more difficult to follow through flashbacks. Another issue I had with the writing style were the multiple POVs, whick can work sometimes, but made it difficult for me to follow.

That said, it's a very enjoyable story, I thought the prose was really good. I thought the characters were fully fleshed -out, and had lots of chemistry. Ultimately it was just the way the story was told that made it difficult for me to finish.

I have received an ARC from Netgalley and I am voluntarily leaving an honest and unbiased review.

I should have expected what I was getting myself into when I requested for this book because the cover itself says a lot already but clearly my lack of brain cells did not see it coming. Overall, this is a fun, light and chill read filled with angst, extreme horniness and personal issues. I enjoyed seeing the characters’ development in coming to the terms and understanding of things that they want and how they try their best to work towards the goal.

I get that this book is very gay plus it’s set in the regency era and gay regency romances are extremely gay and obviously, sex plays a huge role in the plot but I feel the book could tone down on the sex part. Some of them were very cringey and a bit overwhelming.

But overall, I enjoyed reading the book and I would like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for sending me an e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

Stephanie Lake delivers an enjoyable read in this m/m Regency romance. If you enjoy flashbacks, this book could be for you.

I absolutely loved this MM romance.

Such a great book with a solid storyline and great characters.

I eagerly look forward to reading more from this author.

A definite recommend!

His Brother’s Viscount by Stephanie Lake is a m/m Regency romance. Hector Sommerville, a third son and unlikely to inherit, has been smitten with his brother’s friend, Viscount Captain Tyler Wentworth, since he he realized he preferred the company of men. Wentworth is still in love with William, Hector’s brother, and is still harboring some jealousy over William marrying a woman. Wentworth isn’t sure if what he’s feeling for Hector isn’t just his way of reliving his time with William.

The story plot is intriguing, but the execution is confusing. With flashbacks, we learn the relationship history of the different gentlemen, but I almost felt the need to take notes to make sure I didn’t miss anything. The characters are standard: Hector is the smitten ingenue, Wentworth, the jaded older man, and William, the protective older brother. But that’s about it. They’re fine, but nothing about them stands out. In just about every book, I have a favorite character, but I couldn’t pick one out of these gents. The seemed so meh. Fine for the story, but not thrilling, which was disappointing.

Overall, I was entertained, but I don’t know if I’m going to revisit this book, or if I’m interested enough in reading else from this author. I thought the book was fine, but not thrilling.

3.5 of 5 stars. (rounded up to 4 stars)

3.5 Stars

Hector Sommerville is the third son of an entailed estate in England. He’s no hope of inheriting, and he has little interest in being a burden. Hector has known his whole life that he has unnatural tastes, loving men, and one in particular: Viscount Captain Tyler Wentworth, who is nearly ten years his senior. Tyler grew up on the neighboring estate to the Somervilles and he was the best friend to William, Hector’s next-eldest brother. Tyler seemed a dashing young man all Hector’s life, and a savior of sorts from the abusive hands of Hector’s drunkard father.

Hector has grown up to be fully enamored of the celebrated Captain and thrives on his visits. He does not know that William and Tyler shared their first love with one another. Nor does Hector know that Tyler’s jealousy over William choosing to marry a woman caused Tyler to act in an unconscionable manner, which severed their once close bonds of friendship. Hector planned to lose his virginity to Tyler, and is happily doing so before family drama sets in.

His Brother’s Viscount is a Regency romance loosely connected to His Second Chance by means of some character connections, but fully enjoyable on its own. Through flashback, the whole and sordid stories of their pasts are unraveled. From the beginning, we know that Hector has made it his mission to spend a fortnight with Tyler to win his affection once and for all, several years after his first time with Tyler, still unknowing all the history between William and Tyler.

Hector is sweet and giving and Tyler is old and jaded. Afraid to upset William again, and unsure if his mad affection growing for Hector is simply a reflection of the love he once held for William, Tyler spurns Hector’s plans for a life together. Add to this, William fears that Tyler’s sodomite predilections are ruining his brother’s chances. And, angst. There’s lots of angst. Tyler hides his misery in drink, and he does ruin Hector, in a way, by breaking his poor tender heart. For a time.

As a Regency, this one has a far less decorum and hiding for the main characters than I have seen before. It was different, and didn’t feel authentic. Admitting to what amounts to criminal sexual behavior seems to happen with little care, being a rather open secret even between brothers and husband/wife. There are many changes in POV, as well as time, with flashbacks taking us back years in Tyler’s history that were at times confusing and certainly halted the growing action in favor of explaining. I’m not a huge fan of flashback, and it became problematic for me as a reader. I did eventually understand that Tyler’s struggles with his memories and himself, as well as his love for Hector, were difficult to engage with and to acknowledge, but the level of angst was almost melodramatic. The late plot of a spurned lover taking Hector in his confidence added to the “too much” crisis I was having as a reader. I adored Hector—and I liked Tyler eventually, but I think the plot meandered a bit for me to really have loved it. I was glad that Tyler and William reconciled their friendship, and that Tyler’s growth as a character eventually allowed him to see his true worth and save Hector from both bitter loneliness and a bizarre and dangerous revenge plot.

Expect some dashed hopes and uncomfortable sexytimes followed by separation, emotional abuse, and lots of soul searching before Tyler finally gets to the core of his feelings. He has some intense groveling to do, and he will—if Hector lives long enough to hear him out. In the end, it was a happy resolution, and Hector and Tyler find a way to make a loving life together.

I got really excited when I found a new M/M regency romance book. I loved regency books when I was younger and have been loving all the new M/M ones that have been showing up lately. I had high hopes for this book but sadly it fell a bit flat for me. I had a hard time with all the flash backs and had a hard time connecting with the characters. This was one of those books that I struggled to finish.

3.5/5 stars

🐻 Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this e-arc!


✨This some gay shit

I love gay Regency, but this book just didn't work for me. The quality of the writing is fine. I didn't bond with the characters, the pace is slow, and the violence got to be too much for me. DNF.

I received a free advanced copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

So, Bridgerton got me hooked on regency romance novels, a genre I never expected to take interest in, but it’s 2021, the world is still in shambles, and here we are.

So when I saw this title pop up on NetGalley, I was like... gay regency romance? Hell yeah, let’s do it.


Having only read like 8 regency romances to date (all this year, most by the same author), I feel at least somewhat qualified to say this book is typical of the genre. Pros: I instantly liked all the characters involved and was rooting for the main couple from the first pages. It contained pretty much everything one comes to a regency expecting to get. Intimate scenes were well-written. There was acknowledgement of the struggles two gay men would face as members of society in regency-era England, but it wasn’t an overarching or overbearing part of the book. Unrealistic? Perhaps, but in my opinion, that’s what this genre is for.

Cons: the plot got hella confusing at points. There were an almost repetitive number of flashbacks, which I learned from the author’s note was an intentional choice in an attempt to portray a character dealing with traumatic memory loss. The problem was, this led me to dizzy myself trying to fit together various random events to understand what happened in the past that was so evidently traumatic. By the end of the book, having been given all the pieces of the puzzle, I feel like what was constructed was a piece of abstract art. It all kind of fit sensibly together if you tilt your head and squint. I’m still not sure I fully understand what supposedly happened, but I got enough gist for the rest of the story to come together just fine. The only other con in my opinion was that Wentworth’s post-heartbreak moping and whining got a little tedious after awhile, as did his constant self-flagellation and guilt for his errors. Even still, I wanted him to succeed, and I appreciated reading a character who owned his mistakes and understood that he was responsible for putting in the effort to win back his lover.

People may wish to be aware that that are a few scenes with violence, including a scene of attempted (but thwarted) child abuse, a flashback fight scene, and a scene where someone dies, but none of it is explicitly described.

Overall, a relatively enjoyable regency romp if you can get over Wentworth’s moodiness and the occasional plot confusion.

I enjoyed my reading experience, but there were too many points of view. This is an understandable choice, but it made it a bit tricky to keep up with the various connections. Furthermore, it’s a bit messy for the titular viscount to have been involved with two different brothers, and it is also messy for the married brother to show up at the viscount’s house to object to the viscount—a thousand apologies for the anachronism—hooking up with the second brother. But if I’m being honest, messy drama like that is part of what made this book so appealing. The time skips were a bit tricky to keep up with, but I was able to get the gist of the history between the characters. This book is soap opera levels of melodrama to the nth degree, and I did enjoy this book.

This M/M regency begins with a very sexually charged fortnight between Wentworth and Hector, the youngest brother of William, Wentworth's boyhood friend and first lover. Hector is a sweet-natured young man, totally enamored with Wentworth, while Wentworth realizes:

"When they were first together, he liked the fact that Hector looked like William. Loved the fact that Hector smelled like William. Adored the fact that Hector tasted like William."

The first third of this book is full of very steamy interactions between the two men and while there is little in the way of character development, Wentworth and Hector have sexual compatability in spades. However, I was not aware until this point in the book that "His Brother's Viscount" is part of a larger series (there is nothing that indicates this in the description or cover) and what follows is fairly incomprehensible because numerous past events are never fully explained.

From what I've gathered, there may have been a kidnapping and rescue, some adventures at sea, lost and found loves, huge family conflicts .... but I'm not entirely sure and most of these events are lightly mentioned in passing.

But beyond this, the plot has a very confusing chronology as it goes back and forth between time periods, between numerous points of view (it seems we get POV from just about every character) as well as dialogue where it isn't always apparent whom is speaking, and on top of this Wentworth is apparently suffering from memory loss due to traumatic events in the past.

However, events that occur completely within the confines of this book are still not crystal clear, such as the nature of the relationship between Hector and Jonathan, who is very quickly designated our villain without more than a line or two of character development. At times I found myself reading and re-reading passages to try to make sense of what had just happened.

Finally, some language and phrases don't fit into the time period, as well as attitudes unlikely to be the mindset of someone living in the Regency period. For example, William readily shares that his wife Mary is aware of his past relationship with Wentworth and it doesn't bother her at all. There is talk of "committed relationships" and fostering of children that seems unlikely for the time period.

Overall, this book just did not work for me for many reasons outlined above. I cannot recommend it and give 2.5 stars to "His Brother's Viscount."

Enjoyed the story of Hector and Wentworth’s relationship and all of the ups and downs that they went through before they discover the HEA they both deserve. There is a lot happening in this story that makes for a good read.
I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley and are voluntarily leaving a review.

His Brother’s Viscount by Stephanie Lake.

Entertaining debut read by this new author. It’s a scandalous story about Viscount Wentworth and his lover Hector Somerville. Hector is a sweet and sunny third son who has always been in love with Tyler Wentworth. Wentworth is a sophisticated viscount, and navy captain, that has been in love with Hector’s older brother William his whole life. Hector and Wentworth for a complicated relationship and originally I didn’t think they had much chemistry but it builds over the course of the story. I liked the angst and struggle Wentworth had to go through to finally realizing he was in love with Hector. I wish Hector made him grovel a little more because Wentworth deserved it. The only thing I struggled with was the flashbacks, timeline and point of view change. I was occasionally confused but still enjoyed it throughly. I devoured it in two sittings. I will definitely keep my eye out for more Stephanie Lake books in the future!

There is a reason romance novels tend to stick to two PoVs. It signals who the romance is between, and allows the reader to explore both sides of the romance. More than two and it can get confusing as well as diluting all the pathos. Unfortunately this story falls into the trap of trying to showoff the PoV of everyone involved in the story.

The basic premise has a lot going for it and the characters on their own have a lot of merit, but the pacing was off, the language fell on the awkward side of purple prose, and the above >2 PoV made this something of a slog to get through.

Such a lovely story with a good pace. Although, sometimes Hector sounded a bit childish and I found it a bit creepy Wentworth constantly calling Hector as "boy". Besides that, it was a good reading.