Review: Fabulously Written M/M Historical
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 10 23, 2012
This book is one of my favourites of 2012. It has two wonderful main characters in Pres and Ben. A lovely period setting, including references to the Napoleonic Wars.For Men Like Us is originally centred around London, and a local male bordello, where Pres Meacham makes his living. He has come back emotionally scarred after having lost his partner in battle. Also, after an inital advance towards his previous empolyer went badly, he has to find a different line of work. He meets Ben Wilmot in an alley where he asks Pres to come back to his place for a night together. This inital 'encounter' turns into something more, and the story develops from there. After a time, Pres and Ben spend time at Ben's country estate, in Cambridge. In the mean time Ben investigates Pres, for reasons you learn as the book progresses, which is at a nice clip.There is an investigative mystery, wonderful characters, that make you think about how it must have been for 'men like them,' gay men, in the early 1800's. A wonderful cast of secondary characters, that are none too intrusive, yet fill their time beautifully on the page. There is a build to the end, and some soul searching, as much is learned about Pres and Ben, how their lives are intertwined, which Ben knows but Pres doesn't.For Men Like Us is a beautifully crafted book with wonderful writing by Brita Addams, but that does not surpise me at all. I have read and loved other books of Ms Addams as well. However, this is up there as a favourite of mine.