Review: A Gentleman Never Keeps Score (Cat Sebastian)

This is the second in a trilogy, and I noted that the previous book was my favourite Cat Sebastian yet. 'A Gentleman Never Keeps Score' absolutely keeps up with its predecessor. There was a lot I liked about both of them, in terms of engaging characters, wit, and interesting premises - this they share with her earlier work. I do feel like this series is a more mature stage in her writing. Where I found the Turner Series a engaging in character but flat in world-building, and oddly shallow in its plotting / engagement with historical issues given the attention to class differentials and mental/physical health issues, I don't have that complaint about the Sedgwicks books at all. There's both light-hearted wit here, and real if gentle engagement with social issues.

In this book, Hartley Sedgwick, who inherited his property and social standing from his godfather as a sort of pay-off for Hartley's participation in a power-abusive affair as a young man, begins the narrative as a social recluse. The nature of his relations with his patron has been outed, and he has lost his footing in society, but lacks a purpose or direction. Sam Fox, a retired boxer turned publican, provides that when he turns up in Hartley's house, seeking information. What he provides to Hartley is a path to revenge - and terribly distracting source of sexual attraction. What Hartley provides to Sam is less clear, and the crux of the romantic plot rests on finding ways to negotiate the social imbalances of their disparate wealth and racial status.

One of Sebastian's strengths has always been her handling of mental illness and anxiety, and here she turns that strength to characterising Hartley's trauma and its impact on his sexuality. I can't describe it without giving away key plot points, but I'm very impressed with the execution, the ways forward for the characters, and Sebastian's skillful working of Issues (TM) into effective erotica that doesn't feel exploitative of the Issues (TM) in question. It draws on some of the appeal and dynamics of bdsm, without going into accessories or serious consent play - which is kind of especially my jam.

The racial differentials are, I think, well handled, although I believe this is Cat Sebastian's first foray into writing a racially diverse cast. The black MC is not the /only/ non-white character, and his community and history are fleshed out as much as Phillip Dacre's were in the previous book.

I am particularly pleased - because I have Vested Interests - with this book for its investment in opposite-sex friendship (the same could be said of Two to Tumble). Sam Fox begins the narrative with a close female friend, and Hartley soon acquires one, and the two women's sub-plots intersect. I was extremely touched by Hartley's foray into surrogate fatherhood, and delighted by the found-family style ending.