Skip to content

Closed Door Romance

  • Authors Database Preview
  • Book Database Preview
  • Unlock Filters
  • Shop
  • For Authors
  • About Us
  • FAQ
  • Contact
  • Login
  • Authors Database Preview
  • Book Database Preview
  • Unlock Filters
  • Shop
  • For Authors
  • About Us
  • FAQ
  • Contact
  • Login

Town of Shadows

By Jessica Scarlett
KINDLE UNLIMITED
AUDIOBOOK
Level 2 Intimacy
Mild Innuendo
Zero Swearing
Moderate Violence
Adult
No LGBTQ Content

Trigger Warnings

Blood, Kidnapping, Magic

Book Details

Genre

Fantasy Romance, Historical Romance

Publisher

Oliver Heber Books

Series

Slanted London

Book #

1

Point of View

Multi First Person POV

Length

Novel
dangerfish out of waterhidden identityhidden pasthistorical settingkidnappingmorally graymysteryscarred herosecret identityslow burnStrangers to loversvictorian

Found a trope you love? → Tap it to explore more ❤️

Audiobook Details

Narrators

Lauren Baldwin, Will M. Watt

Narration Type

Dual

Synopsis

In Victorian London, magic earns you a noose.

Eighteen-year-old Dorothy St. James can’t control her magic. To avoid arrest, she locks herself at home and buries her nose in her experiments. But a kidnapper called the Rook is on the loose, and his victims keep turning up insane. When Dorothy’s father is taken, she must exchange her beakers for bravery and find the Rook’s trail—the problem is, only one person ever has: a mysterious masked hero.

Ashley Gardner unabashedly casts illusions, using his charm to flit between the upper ton and the magical underbelly below. When Dorothy accuses him of knowing the masked hero’s identity, he flatly denies it. Until the clever beauty intercepts a communique he desperately needs.

They strike a bargain: she’ll give him the message in exchange for three clues to point her in the right direction. But Ashley won’t make them easy. In fact, he’ll make them impossible, because he has his own dangerous reasons for keeping Dorothy away—and Ashley always gets what he wants.

Through dazzling ballets, wild carnivals, and death-defying train rides, Dorothy must use her wits and magic to solve Ashley’s riddles and unravel her budding feelings for the illusionist mastermind behind them. The masked hero isn’t who she believes, and the Rook is closer than she suspects. While the game was always rigged against her, returning her father—mind intact—might just cheat her out of a heart too.

Where to Read

Amazon

*Affiliate link — I may earn a commission*

Audible
Barnes and Noble

Reader Reviews

Have you read this book? Help other readers by leaving a review.

No reader reviews yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!

Leave a Review

Reviews help other readers know what to expect from a book.
Please avoid spoilers and be respectful in your review.

More Books to Explore

Smoke in the Mirrors

Featured Author Picks

Waves of Redemption
A Dream of Magic
Mind Reader
Anchor Cove
Malformation
Bigger Than Versace
The Mysterious Case of the Missing Motive
Finding Jonah
To Be a Lady
The Doctor’s Devotion
A Dragon Inside
Line of Fire

Find Your Next Closed Door Romance

Stop guessing — find books that actually match your preferences
Filter by intimacy level, tropes, and more in seconds

Find books you'll love

2,700+ books • Filter by exact content levels • Built for closed door readers

KINDLE UNLIMITED
AUDIOBOOK
Amazon

*Affiliate link — I may earn a commission*

Audible
Barnes and Noble

Town of Shadows

By Jessica Scarlett

Genre

Fantasy Romance, Historical Romance

Publisher

Oliver Heber Books

Series

Slanted London

Book #

1

Point of View

Multi First Person POV

Length

Novel

Narrator(s)

Lauren Baldwin, Will M. Watt

Narration Type

Dual
dangerfish out of waterhidden identityhidden pasthistorical settingkidnappingmorally graymysteryscarred herosecret identityslow burnStrangers to loversvictorian

Found a trope you love? → Tap it to explore more ❤️

Content Guide

This guide helps readers understand the content of this book.
Click the ⓘ icons to see how each level is defined.

Level 2 Intimacy
Mild Innuendo
Zero Swearing
Moderate Violence
Adult
No LGBTQ Content

Trigger Warnings

Blood, Kidnapping, Magic

Synopsis

In Victorian London, magic earns you a noose.

Eighteen-year-old Dorothy St. James can’t control her magic. To avoid arrest, she locks herself at home and buries her nose in her experiments. But a kidnapper called the Rook is on the loose, and his victims keep turning up insane. When Dorothy’s father is taken, she must exchange her beakers for bravery and find the Rook’s trail—the problem is, only one person ever has: a mysterious masked hero.

Ashley Gardner unabashedly casts illusions, using his charm to flit between the upper ton and the magical underbelly below. When Dorothy accuses him of knowing the masked hero’s identity, he flatly denies it. Until the clever beauty intercepts a communique he desperately needs.

They strike a bargain: she’ll give him the message in exchange for three clues to point her in the right direction. But Ashley won’t make them easy. In fact, he’ll make them impossible, because he has his own dangerous reasons for keeping Dorothy away—and Ashley always gets what he wants.

Through dazzling ballets, wild carnivals, and death-defying train rides, Dorothy must use her wits and magic to solve Ashley’s riddles and unravel her budding feelings for the illusionist mastermind behind them. The masked hero isn’t who she believes, and the Rook is closer than she suspects. While the game was always rigged against her, returning her father—mind intact—might just cheat her out of a heart too.

Reader Reviews

Have you read this book? Help other readers by leaving a review.

No reader reviews yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!

Leave a Review

Reviews help other readers know what to expect from a book.
Please avoid spoilers and be respectful in your review.

More Books to Explore

Smoke in the Mirrors

Featured Author Picks

Meet Me in the Keys
Bigger Than Versace
Crushing On My Grumpy Billionaire Boss
Leather and Lies
Rhyme, Riddle, and Romance
The Doctor’s Devotion
A Dream of Magic
Malformation
Anchor Cove
The Tale of Capri
The Thornwyck Rose
Finding Jonah

Find Your Next Closed Door Romance

Stop guessing — find books that actually match your preferences
Filter by intimacy level, tropes, and more in seconds

Find books you'll love

2700+ books • Filter by exact content levels • Built for closed door readers

Facebook Instagram
  • Authors Database Preview
  • Book Database Preview
  • Unlock Filters
  • Shop
  • For Authors
  • About Us
  • FAQ
  • Contact
  • Login
  • Authors Database Preview
  • Book Database Preview
  • Unlock Filters
  • Shop
  • For Authors
  • About Us
  • FAQ
  • Contact
  • Login
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Affiliate Disclosure
  • Cookie Policy

Site design by Peak Creative Design

  • Authors Database Preview
  • Book Database Preview
  • Unlock Filters
  • Shop
  • For Authors
  • About Us
  • FAQ
  • Contact
  • Login
  • Authors Database Preview
  • Book Database Preview
  • Unlock Filters
  • Shop
  • For Authors
  • About Us
  • FAQ
  • Contact
  • Login
Facebook Twitter Youtube

Physical Intimacy Levels

Level 1

  • Holding hands or affectionate touching
  • Compliments or confessing love
  • Low-description kissing
  • Tender embraces or cuddling
  • Blushing and sighing
  • Non-descriptive discussions of sex
  • Established relationships
  • Fade to black if married
  • Any sexual encounters are only referred to from the past, not described or shown on page
 

Level 2

  • Touch that signals attraction
  • No touching in the underwear zone
  • Long kisses, lightly descriptive
  • Deeper kisses, tongue implied but not described
  • Feeling warm or flushed
  • Gasping, deep sighs, light growls or groans
  • Thinking or speaking about desire in a non-descriptive way
  • Fade to black for established relationships after a scene that matches this level, though this may be unpopular if they are not married
 

Level 3

 

  • Hands moving, still not in the underwear zone
  • French kissing with tongue described
  • Make-out sessions that still follow these guidelines
  • Feeling hot or sweaty
  • Heavier gasping, groaning, deep growls, or panting
  • More frantic moments and some loss of control
  • Male shirt may come off, but nothing else
  • Leg may straddle waist, but no mention of arousal
  • If characters lie down together, there should be little description of contact or movement
  • May happen in a bedroom or on a bed, but should be interrupted or end with a fade to black scene
  • Focus stays on the emotion
  • Fade to black should still happen between married couples or at the end of the book between engaged or committed couples

Innuendo Levels

Level 0 — None

  • No sexual innuendo
  • No suggestive humor
  • No crude or sexual jokes

Level 1 — Minimal

  • Minimal innuendo or double meanings
  • Light teasing
  • Mild crude or dad humor
  • Not frequent or strong

Level 2 — Moderate

  • Moderate suggestive humor
  • Double meanings
  • Sexual tension
  • May include crude or sexual jokes

Level 3 — Heavy

  • Heavy innuendo
  • Strong suggestive dialogue
  • Frequent crude or sexual humor

Swearing Levels

Zero

  • No swearing

Mild

  • Up to 10 uses of “hel*” or “dam*”

Moderate

  • 10+ uses of “hel*” or “dam*”
  • And/or use of bodily swear words like “shi*,” “as*,” etc.

Severe

  • 30+ swear words
  • And/or any use of the F-word one or more times

Violence Levels

Zero

  • No on-page violence

Mild

  • Violence is present without detail or only referenced vaguely
  • May briefly mention blood or injuries
  • Comparable to a G-rated movie

Moderate

  • Violence is more frequent and/or more detailed
  • Can be more intense
  • Injuries may be lightly described
  • Comparable to a PG-rated movie

Severe

  • Violence is more detailed and frequent
  • Blood may be mentioned and injuries may be described in detail
  • Comparable to a PG-13-rated movie

Intimacy Levels

Level 1

  • Holding hands/Affectionate touching
  • Compliments/confessing love
  • Low-description kissing
  • Tender embraces/cuddling
  • Blushing and sighing
  • Non-descriptive discussions of sex
  • Established relationships
  • Fade to black if married
  • Any sexual encounters from past only referred to, not described or on-screen

Level 2

  • Touch that signals attraction
  • No touching in underwear zone
  • Long kisses, lightly descriptive
  • Deeper kisses, tongue implied not described
  • Feel warm/flushed
  • Gasping, deep sighs, light growls and groans
  • Thinking/speaking about desire non-descriptive
  • Fade to black for established relationships after a scene that matches this level – but may be unpopular if not married

Level 3

  • Hands moving, still not in underwear zone
  • French kiss with tongue described
  • Make-out sessions still follow guidelines
  • Feel hot, sweating
  • Heavier gasping, groaning, deep growls, panting
  • More frantic and lose some control
  • Male shirt may come off, but nothing else
  • Leg may straddle waist, but no mention of arousal
  • If they lay down together anywhere, use little description of contact/moving
  • May happen in a bedroom or on a bed, but should be interrupted or end with fade to black scene. Keep focus on the emotion.
  • Fade to black should still happen between married couples or at the end of the book between engaged/committed couples.