I received a digital advance reader’s copy (ARC) of A Gentleman’s Gentleman by TJ Alexander. Since this version is just a proof and not the final version, I won’t quote directly and will keep my comments general.

In A Gentleman’s Gentleman by TJ Alexander, Christopher is a landed lord with a tragic backstory… and a secret that could destroy his entire life. Moreover, his father’s will stipulates that if he doesn’t marry before age twenty-five, he’ll lose his right to his family home and his inheritance. So Christopher resigns himself to a season in London to seek a bride, and so hires a valet to make him appear more respectable and conventional. But this new valet, James Harding, is startling: he’s a stickler for customs and distractingly handsome, which is a frustrating combination. Still, he and Christopher become friends, though that is threatened by Christopher’s own plans to marry while circumventing revealing his secret, and by the secret that Harding himself is hiding.

This is definitely a book for fans of A Lady for a Duke! Also for fans of stories with Bridgerton-esque melodrama, but queer instead. In other words, I liked this (certainly more than Bridgerton).

Christopher is a fun character, a fancy dresser with a lot of sass, but also with significant trauma and insecurities that make him sympathetic. I also love how natural his rapport with Harding felt, how their chemistry was apparent from the beginning and then allowed to develop further throughout the story. Harding is also a good character, his tendency to adhere to tradition complicated by his own unusual self. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

As for the other characters, they didn’t really make much of an impression on me. Christopher is friends with his two servants, and there are a couple of ladies in their social circle who have their roles to play in the story, but none of them were too memorable to me. The exception to this is Etienne, the flamboyantly delightful man who is Christopher’s friend and tailor. He’s got a loud personality, but Alexander doesn’t overdo it with him, and I really enjoyed every scene he was in.

Regarding the plot, I found it pretty predictable. It’s clear from the start that Harding is Christopher’s love interest, and a couple of things that are revealed later in the story were, to me, extremely obvious. Especially anything to do with Harding’s past—I had that figured out really quickly, though to be fair to Christopher, he didn’t get to read this book’s summary to know that that man had a secret. Still, I was surprised the protagonist was so slow on the uptake. Not that it lessened my enjoyment of the story.

It’s also quite moving to see examples of how transgender people like Christopher managed to live their lives as they wished, even in a society where such things were not only frowned upon, they were barely heard of. To watch Christopher assert himself as who he truly is was a powerful thing, and Alexander handles the entire concept so well, with such respect and reverence for the trans people who have come before—whether we knew them as trans or not. They were there, and they matter.

In the end, A Gentleman’s Gentleman is a charming story. Its plot and love story may be predictable, but it’s still enjoyable. The two lead characters are great, and the Austen-like setting is entertaining. The representation of trans people is fantastic, and while this wasn’t the most mind-blowing story I’ve ever read, it’s still important and lovely.

A Gentleman’s Gentleman will be published on March 11th, 2025!