Oh goodness I loved this book soooo much! It is 1657, and 24-year-old Marquis Jehan Beaudelaire - Avignon's most striking and sought-after bachelor - is in desperate need of a wife, an heir, and, most urgently, a new valet. Enter Jonathan Kryk, a vision of breath-taking beauty.……,
Very well written, with relatable characters and well-constructed dialogue resulting in a very disturbing — but also satisfying — storyline ⭐⭐⭐⭐ A rattling good tale so moving!

This is one of the most enjoyable and unique historical fiction books I’ve read for a long time.
The writing is immersive, fast paced and humorous, plunging the reader directly into the ridiculous world of 1657’s Avignon and Jehan Baudelaire. The amusingly hyperbolic Jehan is somewhat of an unreliable narrator, but we are also provided with the scribe who acts as a pleasant injecting presence to undercut the flamboyance of the narration. However, even without the scribe’s counterpoint, you cannot help but love the whimsical and earnest Jehan and his love story with Mister Kryk. Jehan is ridiculous but the novel provides revealing moments of such genuine emotion that you root for him and his grand, tragic love. The book’s progress is heartbreaking and beautiful, and a thoroughly good book.

Review posted on TikTok and Storygraph also.

A novel set in seventeenth century France, which is one of my favourite periods and places, so I requested it, and I am glad that I did. The attitudes of people generally towards masculine love, are well explained, and when a marquis falls in love with his servant, a valet, the consequences of discovery are brutal, especially for the servant.
The atmosphere in those days is portrayed very well, although there is little historical research compared to some novels, there is enough to describe what was a repressive society at that time. I enjoyed the novel and would recommend it for anyone wishing for a good read.

Good prose and high literary stakes. The characters could have been more entertaining but it was a pleasant book.