I adored this! seeing that this book is also advertised for fans of Cat Sebastian was what made me want to read it since I loved we could be so good (which is also set in NYC and about journalists) and was craving something even remotely similar.
I was hooked from page one, from the writing, the setting to the immediate tension between the two main characters; I was hoping it would maintain the good impression and it did. I was honestly very impressed with the writing and characterisation most of all, Everything came to life beautifully and clearly, like we were carefully placed in the middle of the story but without feeling utterly lost. The choice of also starting off the book with deception and letting the reader figure out what exactly the deception was further along was very fun. One thing i have to say is that I am very grateful to my fellow reviewers who said they also struggled with the book at certain points because it got too confusing. I fully thought that was my bad because I can be a distracted reader sometimes but it is just part of how the writing was sometimes and how abrupt a few conclusions were, It wasn't anything that bothered me too much however, because as i said aside from that it was wonderful, but I did feel kind of lost at times and that can make for a frustrating reading experience.
Having a mystery like this paired up with our main characters was the absolute perfect blend. I loved Laurie and Chary like they were my own, Laurie was so charming and his dialogue is probably my favorite I've read this year. Chary felt a bit like a skittish cat sometimes which is exactly my type of character and also very relatable, I loved their interactions and I spent so much of the book having the time of my life with their scenes. The mystery as well was so engaging! My absolute favorite thing and what contributed to me loving this story - and not getting bored as I often do with mysteries - were the twists and turns. none of them felt out of left field or put out here just for the sake of having a twist, I was genuinely shocked reading some passages which made my reading experience a thousand times better. This aspect was done very well and I loved how we got too see so many of Laurie's traits and smarts acquired doing his job as a journalist. Every scene felt purposeful and geared towards moving the characters forward and understanding them. Adored the romance as well, I was so invested and holding my breath constantly. the tension was so present you could've cut through it with a knife and I was there for it. I was a bit nervous for the ending because I thought there might not be enough time to wrap things up but I enjoyed it and felt like it was very satisfying character and story wise, nothing was rushed to quickly conclude the story.
Safe to say I had the time of my life with this book and I will be recommending it to anyone who listens. Thank you NetGalley for providing me with this arc as well.

Rating: Me and a socialist journalist have apparently both been successfully enchanted by a capitalist heir who is far too neurodivergent to be doing capitalism successfully. (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ + stained glass romance, berry farm, and jam jar drama)

Honestly, this book surprised me by how genuinely good it was. I came for the industrial gothic murder mystery vibes and stayed because suddenly I was deeply invested in queer men navigating class politics, family trauma, labor exploitation, murder, identity confusion, and artisanal ✨glass✨. There is a berry farm and jam jars too.

What fascinated me most is that despite centering a wealthy industrialist, the story somehow still manages to preserve its intersectional and anti-capitalist lens without undermining its own values. The narrative never feels interested in absolving systemic harm just because one rich man is personally traumatized, socially awkward, and built like a tragic adorable queer baby.

And Chary himself is SUCH a fascinating character because beneath the “wealthy industrialist” label is essentially a man who desperately wants to disappear into anonymity, make glass, avoid inheriting capitalism AGAIN, and process approximately fourteen layers of inherited psychological devastation in peace.

Meanwhile Laurie is out here trying to investigate labor exploitation for his socialist newspaper and instead finds himself emotionally entangled in whatever the hell is happening inside this rich victorian people telenovela.

Also, the mystery genuinely hooked me from start to finish. Every time I thought I understood what was happening, the story revealed another layer of family secrets, social performance, trauma, murder conspiracy, or a new plot twist.

There were definitely moments where I had absolutely no clue what was going on because my understanding of era-specific slang is held together by vibes, context clues, and divine intervention, but I persevered by the power of needing know what happens next.

I also cannot speak to the historical accuracy, but as a historical mystery and romance? This absolutely worked for me.

Anyway, this book has the energy of:
“what if a socialist journalist accidentally adopted the world’s saddest capitalist?”

Consumed this in a day. I may genuinely be too emotionally entertained to register flaws at this point 🤌

As a compulsive consumer of anything and everything that KJ. Charles blesses us with, the premise of this book was an automatic ‘yes please!!’ And it did not disappoint at all.
‘By Any Means’ is set in NYC in 1905, the story revolves around two main characters; Laurie a journalist investigating labour exploitation, and ‘Chary’ the wealthy capitalist who’s inherited a glass factory and a random blueberry farm, after his brother, August dies.
The book chips away at every preconceived notion that both these characters, and the reader, have. Chary is frankly useless at being a capitalist, and Laurie’s investigation in to labour laws turns in to an investigation of anything but that. There’s murder, police corruption, fraud, bribery, secrets upon secrets, a false beard, jam jars (so many jam jars!) and a surprise appearance from…. well I can’t possibly say because *spoilers!!*
I adored both main characters, Chary was perfectly depicted and made me want to reach in and hug away all that inherited trauma, and then hide him away from the world. Just glorious!!
The dual narrative worked perfectly, as a reader I felt I was actually discovering things at the same time as the characters. I was left as confused as them - the moment I thought I had figured it all out there was another revelation. The twists were seamless and everything came together perfectly- rather like Chary and Laurie!!
The supporting characters, save for Tjo (boo, hiss!!) were perfectly written.
I haven’t consumed a book with quite so much fervour in a while. Super excited to see what else this author has written.

An early 1900s queer romance set in industrial NYC, with a strong labor-rights plot. This felt, again, tailor-made. Romance novels are getting wildly specific and I, for one, could not be more pleased.
I really enjoyed the immersion of the places and language, and the the subtleties of unspoken and spoken desire in a fraught and fragile time for queer men. The world felt so real-- I could almost hear the city as Caro made it come alive again.

Everyone's lying, a little bit, and everyone's got something they're guarding. Caro makes sure that the truths are earned, through blood, sweat, and tears. It rules.

Properly horny, too, god bless, with a real look at how men sought sex and companionship, with a focus on how class affects the way queer men are seen and avoid being seen. God, it was such a good book.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the free arc!