A Lord to Love

Between two and three stars.

Good:

- It's short and feels exactly the right length to me. It's an AU of historical England with no homophobia. There's very little worldbuilding, so the edges are fuzzy; I don't know what specific time period it's meant to evoke. But all of that works well enough for the story, which is really about John and Harrison's feelings.

- No real conflict between John and Harrison. They start out as enemies, sort of, but their issue is resolved quickly.

Neutral:

- Pretty sure this is adapted Johnlock, based on their personalities and physical descriptions.

- Overly flowery language for John's emotions and Harrison's beauty. I picked this up because it was described as “indulgent,” and that's definitely an accurate word for it.

- Written in first-person present tense, which I usually dislike, but it didn't bother me.

Not good:

- I have no problem with adapted fanfic, but Johnlock is not my favorite pairing, because Sherlock does not know how to care about a friend or lover. If the writer doesn't delve into that topic with sensitivity and understanding, the story doesn't work for me; unfortunately, I'd place this book in that category. Sex is a magic key to Harrison's emotions, and I've actually read versions of that exact Johnlock plot before. I don't like it as a concept, but I've seen it done more effectively than it's done here. At the end of this story, I don't really think Harrison is going to be a good husband. To me, that's a fatal flaw in a romance.

- There is a huge age and experience gap between the MCs, which I've liked or not minded in other books. Here, though, it feels like John decided he wanted Harrison, stalked him, and won him while Harrison was very vulnerable. Nothing about any of that is romantic to me.

- All the named characters are rich nobles. I really prefer historicals that are about ordinary people, or at least include them in some significant way.

- The only mentioned female characters are the MCs' dead mothers. With minor changes, this could easily be some kind of dystopian a/b/o setting where there aren't any women at all.

- Strict roles in the bedroom, and nothing surprising in the sex scenes.

- A couple throwaway lines about manliness or whatever that let me know I probably wouldn't enjoy this author's other books.