Reviews

Lots of gender in this one. I liked Orfeo and Peggy, and their relationship development and personal development was pretty satisfying. At the same time, the novel sometimes had abrupt tonal shifts from serious emotional moments to abruptly treating itself completely unseriously, like the time Peggy accidentally got a poetry club into an orgy. Which was admittedly hilarious, but kind of a shocking tonal shift nonetheless.

I was also annoyed, in a nitpicky sort of way, that Orfeo was never actually gendered in conversation, but somehow even people who had never heard of them used they/them pronouns correctly.

friend_of_sappho's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

bookishbay's review against another edition

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Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

2.0

cedardleland's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

beviltiska_romantike's review against another edition

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5.0

Of course, I loved it, since Alexis Hall is an auto-buy or, in this instance, auto-arc author to me. Loved to meet Valentine and Bonny again, and I loved even more that it was Peggy's story - after Something Fabulous I felt that she deserved her own story and her own happiness. And here we meet them - spectacular Orfeo and what a complicated character they were: dazzling, selfish, vulnerable, proud and dramatic, perfect fit to Peggy's reliability, down-to-earthiness, generosity and loving heart. The story itself is a bit lighter than Something Fabulous, though it retains this absurdly ridiculous (in a funny way) tone, and at the same time touches many sensitive topics. Yes, sometimes it gets messy, but then suddenly everything falls into place. I laughed and cried a bit, sometimes felt dazed and curious, bet mostly I had a smile on my face. 4.5/5

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange of honest review.

tofugal's review against another edition

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funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This was my first Alexis Hall book, but it certainly won’t be my last. Simply a delight from start to finish. I can’t remember the last time I laughed so hard at a novel. Imagine the humor of Douglas Adams, Christopher Moore, or Terry Pratchett, but applied to a fabulously queer regency romance. This was also the only book I’ve ever found where two non-binary people fall in love, and I’d love to see that pairing become more popular.

vezreads's review

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adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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