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Bridgerton meets The Goldfinch in How to Fake It in Society, a stunning queer romance by rising genre star KJ Charles.

Spice rating: 3/5 open door.

It is 1821 and Nicolas-Marc, Comte de Valois de La Motte is making a splash in London Society. The son of Jeanne de Valois de La Motte, infamous for stealing a priceless diamond necklace meant for Marie Antoinette, Nico hopes to restore his wronged mother’s reputation, if only he can raise the funds. But he must operate with great secrecy, because the Bourbon dynasty murdered his mother, and he fears for his life.

At least, that’s what he tells Titus Pilcrow. Titus was a simple shopkeeper, making and selling artists’ paints, when he found himself suddenly married to an immensely wealthy woman who wanted to disinherit her nephew on her deathbed. As word spreads of his fortune, Titus finds himself a target of every scammer and beggar in London…including one Nicolas-Marc, Comte de Valois de La Motte.

Nico is on his last legs, out of money, and on the run from some terrifying gangsters. When Titus offers Nico a space in his household, it’s the perfect chance for him to exploit London’s newest golden purse–until he falls in love with the man he needs to cheat. Still, Nico is sure they can have a happy ending together. If he can just find his way out of his own web of lies…

Don't just take our word for it...

“Charles combines a rollicking tale of murder, mayhem, and vengeance with a gorgeous romance about an adorably awkward hero and the rogue who sweeps him off his feet. A five-star read, as always.”
– Talia Hibbert, USA Today bestselling author

“KJ Charles has an unmatched talent for putting uniquely lovable characters into uniquely riveting situations and in How to Fake it in Society, this talent is on full display. Charles takes a delightfully madcap premise and turns it into a tender, charming, and often hilarious love story. Come for the romance, stay for the conversations about what makes the perfect green pigment (hint: poison). I’m already looking forward to reading it again.”
– Emma Törzs, Sunday Times bestselling author of Ink Blood Sister Scribe

“How to Fake it in Society contains the usual KJ Charles charms: a smart, snappy voice; total yet easy immersion in another place and time; and irresistible characters who fall in love by truly seeing each other. But the real catnip for me was that this novel is also a treatise on the power of art, art being one of the consolations of the particular timeline we modern people find ourselves in.”
– Jenny Holiday, USA Today bestselling author of Canadian Boyfriend

Taste the very first page

Titus Pilcrow read the note with disbelief. Then he read it a second time in the hope he had misunderstood. It still said the same thing.

“You’re throwing me out?”

“I’m not throwing you out,” Mr. Henry Morris said. “I am giving you notice that I have found someone who will pay a higher rent for the shop, and it is all of a piece that you must make me the villain for it. Have I not kept the rent absurdly low for years?
Am I not entitled to earn my bread as well as you?”

“How much more?” Titus demanded. “That is, can I not match it?” The words gave him an instant qualm. His rent was not in fact low at all, and his work had never been greatly profitable. The raw materials were costly, and though people loved the quality of his products, they were less keen to pay for them.

“An extra three shillings a week.”

“A week?”

“If you have not the funds, there’s really nothing I can do.”

Titus wasn’t a shouter, and the thought of another argument with Henry made him feel sick, but he would have liked to shout and argue all the same. His throat was closing. “I have paid my rent in full, on time, for six years, and you’re giving me a month’s notice?”

May 2026