🏳️‍🌈Rep: Gay Trans Masc, T4T, Queer SCs

📝Tropes/Themes: Regency Romance, Secrets, London Season, Bridgerton Vibes, Slow Burn, Starting Over, Eccentric Characters, Witty & Charming

TJ Alexander is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. Every book I’ve read by them so far has been different, but all equally wonderful. A Gentleman’s Gentleman was no exception to that. I love queer regency romances and the fact that this was a T4T (trans for trans) romance made it even better. I loved that Christopher’s transness, while central to the story line, was just one small piece of what made him who he was - the “man of unusual make.” This story explored what it meant to be both trans and queer in that era in a way that felt authentic to the time with a touch of fictional liberties mixed in for the sake of the story. Alexander transports the reader to early 19th century London, while also infusing the time with an unexpected sense of trans joy, acceptance, and celebration.

Christopher was a man who loved to wear pastel colors and lived a mostly solitary life on his estate with the only two staff he deemed necessary, but who were more like family than anything else. But life, aka his father’s will, threw a huge wrench in his plans and popped the idyllic bubble he had built his world in. He needed to marry by his next birthday or lose his title, the estate…everything. Already turned off to the idea of love and romance this was not something he was thrilled to learn. But add into that the hidden part of his identity, and finding a wife becomes a bit trickier. 

Cue James Harding, the handsome valet that Christopher must hire and take with to London so that he appears a bit more “normal” to the other high society folk. The two could not be more opposite and things are a bit rocky at times, but in the midst of it all you can begin to see little glimpses of something brewing between them - subtle but sure. Charged moments, unspoken words, stolen glances. And when Christopher’s search for a wife takes an unexpected turn, those discreet moments no longer feel like enough. But for either of them to pursue anything beyond the relationship of Lord and valet means life will forever change in big ways for one or both of them. I don’t want to say much more than though because I don’t want to share any spoilers - you’ll just have to read it to find out more! 🥰

We need more historical romances with trans leads and I’m grateful to Vintage Books for inviting me to be an early reader of this story!