In 1803, England declares war on France, staking the fates of two mighty empires against one another. Thousands of men serve in the British navy, hungry for distinction in the battle against Bonaparte.
One of them, Lieutenant Thomas Williams, thinks he knows what he wants out of life: prize money at sea, a career of decent note, and the means to maintain his independence when he leaves the navy. What he finds is service under Captain Christopher Knightly: a tactical genius, inveterate charmer, and the youngest son of a wealthy noble house.
Their unexpected and perilous love affair is a gamble against the odds, for in a time of war, nothing is sure to last. If the French don’t tear them apart, one slip in front of the wrong eyes or ears might. When the demands of Christopher’s family take him from Thomas’s side, he thinks it might be the best thing for his captain. Little does Tom realize just how far Christopher will go to return to him, and when life takes a turn for the worse, how much further he will go to save him.
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Shandra T (verified owner) –
Period pieces are often hit or miss for me. Cari Z’s Perilous blew the genre out of the water for me! I loved how it had the feel of the sea in the height of the Napoleonic War when Her Majesty’s Royal Navy was a fleet to fear. There’s a lot of care taken in the development of Tom and Christopher’s relationship which I absolutely loved as it felt authentic to me; the era of The Perilous was not kind to men who loved men and Cari Z beautifully captured the way ‘discretion is the better part of valor’ while showing the genuine feelings the men had for one another at the same time.
I wish I could go back in time to shake hands with these men. Their love is the kind which deserves a handshake to recognize the nobility involved in it. It doesn’t hurt Tom is exactly the kind of stoic hero who makes me glad writers share their work since that kind of man? Should always exist somewhere, even if it’s only in the pages of a book. Don’t get me wrong: Christopher is no slouch. He’s charming, smooth, and sweet for a man from a titled family. I wish this piece had been longer only because I’m selfish and didn’t want it to end, but, in all honesty, Cari Z could not have told a more complete story if she’d added another hundred pages to Perilous. It was a solid five stars for me.