This is only the second Moone book I've read and I think they do a pretty good job with historical MM romance. However, not my favourite, and I think this book is too short to really showcase what Moone can do with their writing.
Note that I haven't read any other books from this series besides this one so far so it can definitely be read as a stand-alone - I didn't feel the details of the first book's couple really mattered enough to warrant reading that one first. This is one of those series' where every book is by a different author and I'm not into that so I probably won't bother with any of the others. I just picked this up because I enjoyed the other Moone book I'd read and the premise of Black & White was enticing, though it didn't quite live up to what was promised.
There's a big joke throughout the book of Alex White and Jasper Black getting together because of their last names - and that got pretty old fast - but the characters themselves were charming. One enticing part of the premise is that Jasper is part-owner of a gay club in Recency London that caters to more illicit acts (besides homosexuality in general) as well as a gambling hall (or gambling hell in the parlance of the time). Alex is there with some friends but then drunkenly stumbles into the back room/living quarters and right into Jasper's arms. Due to mutual attraction, they opt for a one-night-stand and that's when Jasper and the reader discover that Alex likes to wear frilly undergarments.
Now besides the few times we're told he's wearing different sets during their then and future couplings, we're not really given any reasoning or details concerning this. Nothing about if he's always been into this, if he was trying it out just for this club, who makes or where are these supposedly custom garments made and acquired, etc. It's a throwaway detail about Alex's character that wouldn't be detectable if removed, which was disappointing as it's the main draw I had to this book. It even made the cover!
There's also a lot of children in this book as Alex is the 2nd of 5 boys who are orphans. Their father left most of everything to their stepmother and oldest brother; the former abandoned them immediately and the latter is fighting on the continent as this is during the Napoleonic Wars. Alex has been gambling with his Very Smart brain (he can count cards, basically) to keep them afloat but this gets complicated about 3/4 way through the book when they learn why they haven't been hearing from their oldest brother in months. Jasper's fatherly instincts appear out of nowhere and he decides it's his new life mission to help these poor souls. The premise kind of devolves from what could have been a fun, sexy historical romance and into Full House territory which I didn't care for.
What kept the stars in my rating were the good characterization and historic details and also that I am kind of a sap for hurt/comfort tropes. If you could remove the children and death and also keep the story in Club Perdition (actual name here), it would have been so much better.