The Gentleman and His Vowsmith by Rebecca Ide is such a masterpiece! Such a lovely book... i couldn't put it down for a second.

I loved it so much! Once I started to understand the setting and world we were thrown into I had a hard time putting the book down which I had to because of stuff like work and sleep but I was trying to figure out who was behind everything every moment I could xD

I didn't know what to expect but I love a good murder mystery and it being queer was just the icing on the cake!

As a fellow ace person I really loved Leaf and could relate to her a lot. Nic and Dash have my heart and I will definitely pick up the book once it's published!

Gothic, mystery and queer romance? What else can you ask for? Ah, yes, a bit of magic. Not the an overly showy and present kind of magic, more of a background one, guiding the society like laws do. In fact, law and magic are interwoven in this story, in an interesting way. It is at the centrer of the plot, since our main character is supposed to get married, an act requiring a vowsmith to craft the contract with magic.

I greatly enjoyed this book. It very much a book about family, the past and the choice you have to make despite the weight of duty and societal net. There are a few great twist, a world were the details have been thought through without being overly new. The characters are great. A bit caricatural at times, but they do have layers in the end.

Nic is a good main character, trapped into an estate and a heritage he doesn't want, torn between acting to fight for his joy and staying put to avoid the repercussions. He is lonely and quickly loses one of the only person who cared for him as a person, something that had me seething about the injustice. Nic's relationship with Dashiell is full of tension and unspoken words. They are drawn to each other, despite the circumstances, past and present, and have to navigate their desire, surrounded by the constraints of a society built on aristocratic standing.
I must say I loved Leaf. Sure, she is a bride to be who doesn't want to be married and has no interest in romance or sex, a type of character I have encountered quite a few time with such stories. It's convenient, let's be honest. So even though Leaf isn't that creative as a character (nor are the others), she still carries the story well, making for great entertainment. Her relationship with Nic builds quickly, in a best friend kind of way, scurrying the Monterris manor for clues about what is happening while their marriage contract is negotiated.

The writing is great, fitting for the time period (alternate regency period). Funnily enough, while I struggle with the author's writing under he other pen name, in this case it worked very well.

All in all, a great twisty mystery, full of past and present secrets, great second chance romance with a gothic background. Very enjoyable !

I thoroughly enjoyed this book - a queer regency second-chance romance with magic, which is also a locked-room murder mystery. The romance is a delight - anger for the past, yearning for what might be, chemistry and sexual tension. But I also loved the celebration of friendship - that relationship gets similar page time as the romance and that was such a good choice. The murder mystery is suitably creepy, the magic element is well done - clearly well thought through, with effortless world-building. There are twists and turns galore, and it kept me guessing - and turning pages - through to the end. I hope there are more books to come in this universe.

A cosy, fun Regency romance with a murder mystery at its heart.
I loved the characters, the word building, the sweet love story. The Gentleman and His Vowsmith is a fantastic read. I hope there’s more from this series.
Thank you so much to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read this.

This was an utterly delightful read, if a book filled with murder, hauntings, and the deep oppressive weight of high society can be called delightful. I went in with some trepidation, having not enjoyed the author's previous books as Devin Madson, but I found myself completely drawn into this vivid, horrible world and these truly enjoyable characters. To say too much would be spoilery, as this is something of a mystery plot, but if you like Gothic stories with true magic twists, complex characters and the chains that bind them, and enough yearning to power a small nation, then this is a must read. For fans of A Marvellous Light, A Strange and Stubborn Endurance, and The Bone Orchard.

It’s been a while since there’s been a book that made my mouth literally drop open in shock multiple times in one chapter, but here we are. I’ll keep this review spoiler free as the book isn’t due out until the end of April, but hopefully this will give you enough of a taste to convince you to pre-order!

The Gentleman and his Vowsmith centres around Nicholas Monterris, heir to a family that is desperately trying to hide their financial disasters and keep their political connections. In order to buoy their struggling savings, Nicholas is to be married to the daughter of a wealthy family, Lady Leaf Serral. In order to marry, a magical contract needs to be woven, and doing so requires a ‘lock-in’, a period in which the families of the betrothed are trapped inside the crumbling Monterris pile so the paperwork can be smithed with enchanted lettering, binding the two together.

And it just so happens that the vowsmith assigned to the couple is Dashiell sa Vare – dashing by name and nature, and an old flame of Nic’s he has spent years pining after.

What could go wrong?

Well, people could start mysteriously dying, for one…

When haunted automatons (very Clockwork Angel!) start chasing Nic, and the lock-in is plagued by one unexplainable murder after another, it’s starting to feel like something – or someone – doesn’t want the marriage to go ahead.

This book combines a locked-room mystery with a rich historical romance, all wrapped up in a magic system that feels novel and unique for the setting. Pan MacMillan knew what they were doing reaching out to me for review for this (and I love them for it).

I adore a locked-room mystery. Not only does it feel particularly tense due to the claustrophobia of the sealed location, but it’s a perfect way of delving deep into characterisation without feeling like it’s at the expense of wider development of the world beyond. As more murders are committed, it becomes increasingly obvious that, with a fixed number of people present, there’s only so long before one of our main characters becomes a target. That tension is done marvellously in this book, balancing out the political intrigue and romance in a way that avoids many of the cliches of the arranged-marriage-but-in-love-with-another stories.

“Sometimes the strongest love is like a poison, and the more you drink the more monstrous you become, until you are standing in a wasteland of your own making. Sometimes the very strongest love is only hate by another name.”

One thing I did love about this book was Leaf. So often, particularly in MM romance stories with plots like this, the intended bride is seen as an obstacle or interference, which I always hate to see authors do. That’s why I was so thrilled by Leaf. Not only is she utterly disinterested in a romance with Nic – or anyone for that matter – it’s immediately obvious that she is not a side character. A cunning, intelligent woman, Leaf is a fast friend to Nic, a lover of detective fiction, and keen to solve the murders. She’s a fantastic balance to Nic, and complements his relationship with Dash so well. I love that author, Rebecca Ide, clearly wrote her as someone impossible to dismiss, both by the other characters and the reader.

“He wanted to hold onto her for the rest of his life, but marriage was the wrong shape in his mind.”

But onto the romance (I know that’s what you’re all here for, you filthy beasts):

4 words:

On

A

Window

Seat

The combination of forbidden romance, a limited amount of time to be together, forced proximity, and the fact there’s every chance they’ll be caught at any moment makes the relationship between Nic and Dash feel like a powder keg that could explode with even the slightest spark. However, the fact that they have a history means that – despite the short period of time that the story takes place over – nothing feels rushed. Rather it feels like we’re witnessing them falling back into something that was sculpted to fit them, natural and meant to be. Nic’s betrayal at being left without a goodbye all those years ago combined with the inevitability of them parting ways as soon as the contract is signed makes every scene between them feel elevated, steeped in emotion that feels real and raw.

“whatever Dashiell wanted to call it, after nine years such a moment was no closure. It was a resurrection.”

It also means that the spicy scenes are particularly spicy.

On a window seat, under a table, these bastards will take what they can get and make it work. And they make it work.

I absolutely adored this book, and I can tell you how I know: I made 98 annotations on my Kindle as I read. The language is stunning, the characterisation is rich, and the plot is tense as all hell while still having time for some luscious romance.

I foresee Rebecca Ide becoming a staple of the genre alongside Freya Marske and cannot wait to see what he writes next.

THE GENTLEMAN AND HIS VOWSMITH is due for release 24th April 2025 from Pan Macmillan and Tor.

I can confirm that this book is made for fans of Freya Marske. Her books were the last time I’ve felt such queer yearning in a regency England setting.

The writing was very smooth and while the happening of this book were only over a few days, so much was going on that it was both very quick and very long.

I absolutely adored the characters, Nic is an absolute sweetheart and witty and his quick dynamic with Leaf was amazingly written. I was scared it was going to be a cheating romance but the fact that Leaf and Nic got so well along with no hints of a romance ever developing giving their sexuality I was excited to read more and more of their friendship.

And Nic finding Dashiel again was so exciting to see, it got my giggling in the dark of the night, and I actually kind of enjoyed the 🌶️.

And let’s not forget the murder mystery pushing the plot, all the twists and turns and the amazing magic system and world building even if just in one house. I must admit for more than half the book I barely understood anything about how the magic system and world worked but the writing was so good it was not even needed. A lot of smile and nod and sure I’m gonna take your world for it, I don’t know what’s going on but I love it.

Definitely recommend!

4.5/5 stars

The Gentleman and His Vowsmith is a queer Regency romantasy/murder mystery. Lord Nicholas Monterris is the heir to a declining dukedom whose father has arranged a marriage of convenience to Lady Leaf Serral for the dowry. To negotiate the marriage contract, the Serral party hires master vowsmith Dashiell sa Vare as their head negotiator, a younger Nic’s once lover who abandoned him. Once all are locked in at the dilapidated Monterris Court until the contract is agreed upon and signed, members of both parties start ending up dead in mysterious circumstances, and Nic must work with his ex-lover and future bride to find the murderer before it’s too late.

This book gave me exactly what I wanted—a gay Regency romance, a historical fantasy, and a murder mystery—and I was the exact target audence that would eat it up. It’s Freya Marske’s A Marvellous Light meets Frances White’s Voyage of the Damned. The romance was just so full of angst and longing and yearning; it had me on a chokehold. The sigil/contract-based magic system “Brilliance” was interesting, sets to limit the scope of the story, and slots right into the period unobtrusively. I thought the locked room mystery was very well done, engagingly twisty, and believably investigable by our characters. While the big reveal doesn’t quite stick the landing in a Knives Out kind of way, that was more on the book’s desire to tie it in to its generational trauma message.

I liked Nic and saw a lot of myself in him. He may be a bit too passive and bends over so easily, but I understand that about him. He has just been ground down by his father, his status, and his isolation. I liked Dash too and his conflicting desire for Nic even knowing their difference in status means they can never be together. Giving him his own perspective chapters would really have rounded him out as a character. Their second chance romance was angsty fun and the spice was appreciated, but I could have used without that totally unnecessary third act break up. Certainly not the least of the central trio, Lady Leaf shined as an aroace young woman who knows what she wants as she channels her inner Nancy Drew, driving forward much of the murder mystery aspect while the other two are too busy being hot and cold with each other.

The Gentleman and His Vowsmith was perfectly to my taste and delivers an angsty gay romantasy and a twisty locked room mystery.

*Thank you Pan Macmillan for the eARC via NetGalleyI

There is nothing I did not love about this book.

I described it to someone as "Arranged marriage but the groom is "gay as a spoon" and the bride is ace/aro. But! The vowsmith for the bride's family who negotiates their contract is the groom's ex from years ago. And the bride is like "You should jump back on that. He is undressing you with his eyes. I don't understand why people want this, but you go, bestie!" And then there is a bunch of murders as well." and I feel like even that was underselling the whole experience.

I am not a huge gothic novel reader, I'm also terrible at riddles and puzzles so I'm not a huge murder mystery reader. However, I am now confident I could pick up anything with Rebecca Ide on the cover and fall in love with what I'm about to experience.