Unfit to Print
by K.J. Charles
3.5*. This was A HISTORY LESSON and also FUN and SWEET. I love when queer historical fic is well-researched, and not dependent on our inevitably-distorted ideas of what (f'rex) 1875 London was like for queer men of color. The characters are affected by their milieu and the bigger political issues of the day, but they're also hot and I believe they are into each other, yanno?
This works well as a novella, which is not something I say often --- it's not common for a short piece to have the exact right amount of plot and character development, without feeling stretched or squashed. Still, I'd happily read three times as much. More Lawless & Pandey Investigations, please?