John Hartley

A King Awakened John Hartley

A tale of forbidden love between a king and his male concubine.



In a Victorian world where gentlemen openly court other noblemen, the threat of scandal still lurks behind every velvet drape.



Years ago, King Arend Tollemach broke off a youthful engagement to a neighboring prince - his first love - and married a woman. All in service of the crown. Now, after his queen's untimely death, Arend undertakes a forbidden risk. He decides to claim a concubine, his first male lover, and bring him into his bed for one year. So, he turns to the one establishment renowned for the most sensual courtesans in the realm: the mysterious, discreet Temple Sapphor.



Arend's only stipulation? There must be no emotion involved in the transaction; he won't ever fall in love with another man, not after losing his prince years ago.



Julian never imagined he'd spend 10 years on his temple shelf, repeatedly passed over. But just when he fears never finding placement in a nobleman's bed - never falling in love - King Arend Tollemach walks into the temple. The monarch is a tempestuous, sensual man, and Julian instantly realizes he might fall in love. But can Julian help the gorgeous monarch risk his long-shuttered heart? Especially when a dangerous threat arises, forcing Arend to choose between his own happiness - and his throne - yet again.



The first in The Noble Pleasures series by New York Times best-selling author Deidre Knight, writing as Cooper Davis. A King Undone is a gay, m/m historical romance, set in an alternative Victorian world, with a HEA for now. The novel is sensual but not erotic and highly romantic in the tradition of m/f historical authors like Lisa Kleypas and Kathleen Woodiwiss. The Noble Pleasures series is very much for fans of C. S. Pacat's Captive Prince trilogy.