Review of Spectred Isle—A Romance of Green Men

Many of my friends have been singing the praises of British romance author K. J. Charles for some time now, but I’ve only just hopped on that bandwagon. K. J. Charles currently has over two dozen books to her name, ranging from straight up historical romance to series more tinged with horror and fantasy, most with queer love stories. I decided (or rather, the Romancing the Gothic book club decided) to start with one of her more fantastical works: Spectred Isle, Book One in the Green Men series, which came out in 2017.

After disgracing himself during the Great War, archaeologist Saul Lazenby finds himself in the humbled position of working for a wealthy eccentric man who believes in magic. While trotting all over London and the nearby countryside seeking out allegedly magical sites at the behest of his boss, Saul keeps running into a mysterious man named Randolph Glyde, who seems to appear wherever something supernatural or inexplicable is occurring. As Saul teeters on the brink of a world of arcane magic and extraordinary powers that he never could have imagined, Randolph pulls him in even deeper, past the point of no return. Together, the pair must embrace the powers of the Green Men to protect their beloved city from evil forces that have long been buried.

The magic system in this book is particularly interesting. K. J. Charles borrows from the myth of the Green Man, a nature spirit frequently depicted in the architecture of both secular and ecclesiastical buildings across Europe. The Green Man is most often represented as a man’s face either made out of foliage, or spewing vegetation from his mouth and other orifices. Randolph manifests his Green Man powers in a rather literal way: he can sling vines at his enemies and cause vegetation to fill their throats. Saul, on the other hand, develops a mental and spiritual connection with a particular plot of land and serves as its protector. The world-building also references other elements of British and Scandinavian folklore, from Norse mythology to Beowulf and Arthurian legend. It even incorporates more modern folklore like the Angel of Mons—a supernatural entity believed to have protected the British Army during the Battle of Mons in Belgium at the start of World War I. All of these elements come together to create a magical world that is distinctly British and spans several centuries.

As new and exciting as the world-building in Spectred Isle is, the romantic tropes are comforting and familiar. Saul and Randolph experience a fun journey from pseudo-enemies to lovers. As the two men repeatedly run into each other, they find themselves inexplicably annoyed—convinced that the other is up to something and ruining their plans. Their first few interactions are snarky and snappish as they allow themselves to be provoked by the other’s presence. However, this first aggressive reaction really covers up a deeper vulnerability in each of them. Saul’s self-worth has been so damaged by the betrayal he experienced in the war that opening himself to someone new seems not just frightening but potentially dangerous and immoral. Randolph carries the heavy burden of a magical legacy that he is reluctant to drag others into. But just as magic at first keeps them apart, it soon draws them together and their fiery angst is transformed into genuine passion.

If you’re looking for equal parts romance and action, Spectred Isle will definitely scratch that itch. So far it is the only book in the Green Men series, though at some point a sequel was in the works and The Secret Casebook of Simon Feximal books are set in the same world. I know I will absolutely be checking out more K. J. Charles books in the future! You can find Spectred Isle in your local bookstore, or buy it online and support The Gothic Library in the process using this Bookshop.org affiliate link. If you’ve read Spectred Isle, be sure to let me know what you think in the comments! Feel free to also suggest which of Charles’s other books I should read next.