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bellasok's review against another edition
3.0
A historical sapphic romance that lacked sapphic romance and was mainly hetero romance wasn't on my bingo card, so this was a bland read to me. I wish it was less focused on the MC, Nash, who I didn't like from start. Of course, the FMC, was head over heels for him although his crappy personality and weird behaviors. I did like the descriptive settings, the historical/regency era but wished for more. It might've been my expectations that were pretty high before reading, but I read so many good reviews I truly thought I'd love Infamous.
I still want to read Lex Crouchers other books and will hopefully love them more!
I still want to read Lex Crouchers other books and will hopefully love them more!
ellianderjoy's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Death of parent
Minor: Child abuse, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Lesbophobia
krakow54's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
moonsmistress's review against another edition
2.0
i wanted to like this book so much bc it was a gay period piece but it moved very slow with minimal bright points. and the main character was not one i could find myself rooting for
closetpirate's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
AB/EB/PB|🇬🇧
Delightful
Delightful
restless's review against another edition
3.0
I am not on board with the way that Croucher's work is marketed.
I feel like she is a stand-out comedic writer, who is really good with queer themes, but that the "historical fiction" and "romance" tags really don't fit her work.
As a result, Lex's books are always showing up in my queue when I am not in the mood for them.
What it's about: the blurb suggests that this book is a sapphic historical rom-com between two best friends. While that may be true in the strictest sense of the word, it is a lie in every way that matters.
What it's actually about: this is a queer, bisexual coming-of-age-novel within an alt-historical Regency setting. It follows Eddie (ourmain protagonist) as she spends 90% of her time falling for the wrong guy, only to eventually see that the right person was right there, all along.
[RANT]
I had a similar complaint with the sapphics in Gwen & Art Are Not in Love - they felt totally underdone compared to the male MCs. But given the ratings on that book, perhaps it's just me.
[/RANT]
What I thought: despite my complaints, Croucher is an excellent writer and that really shone through here as well. In my mind, she's the Pratchett of queer alt-historical fiction - I just wish that her work was marketed better.
As mentioned, Nash's character dominates the book, and Eddie's character is refreshingly obtuse. Alexis Hall describes Nash as a "a genuinely charming piece of shit" and that's about 500% accurate. If you were looking to read about Bridgerton's Eloise and Benedict screwing things up, then this is definitely your book.
Unfortunately, the author's obsession with Nash is also the book's downfall, because Rose - our MC's Asian love interest - barely gets to feature at all. This meant that I put down the book:
1. knowing almost nothing about Rose
2. feeling like Eddie didn't deserve her
3. feeling like she's actually second-choice over Nash
4. being annoyed with Eddie for having zero character development, whatsoever
Yeah, it ended queer... I guess... but it's the kind of ending where they have Korra and hold hands 5 minutes before curtains-down and then pat themselves on the back because of the 'cannon sapphic rep'.
Hurray.
TL;DR: +1 for the bisexual rep, -100 for the sapphic romance.
I feel like she is a stand-out comedic writer, who is really good with queer themes, but that the "historical fiction" and "romance" tags really don't fit her work.
As a result, Lex's books are always showing up in my queue when I am not in the mood for them.
What it's about: the blurb suggests that this book is a sapphic historical rom-com between two best friends. While that may be true in the strictest sense of the word, it is a lie in every way that matters.
What it's actually about: this is a queer, bisexual coming-of-age-novel within an alt-historical Regency setting. It follows Eddie (our
[RANT]
Spoiler
In fact, I would venture that this novel is barely about Eddie and Rose at all - the author seems far more enamoured with Nash than either of the proverbial MCs??I had a similar complaint with the sapphics in Gwen & Art Are Not in Love - they felt totally underdone compared to the male MCs. But given the ratings on that book, perhaps it's just me.
Spoiler
Honestly, just thinking about this issue makes me want to channel this video, right here on GR, but I won't bore you all.[/RANT]
What I thought: despite my complaints, Croucher is an excellent writer and that really shone through here as well. In my mind, she's the Pratchett of queer alt-historical fiction - I just wish that her work was marketed better.
As mentioned, Nash's character dominates the book, and Eddie's character is refreshingly obtuse. Alexis Hall describes Nash as a "a genuinely charming piece of shit" and that's about 500% accurate. If you were looking to read about Bridgerton's Eloise and Benedict screwing things up, then this is definitely your book.
Unfortunately, the author's obsession with Nash is also the book's downfall, because Rose - our MC's Asian love interest - barely gets to feature at all. This meant that I put down the book:
1. knowing almost nothing about Rose
2. feeling like Eddie didn't deserve her
3. feeling like she's actually second-choice over Nash
4. being annoyed with Eddie for having zero character development, whatsoever
Yeah, it ended queer... I guess... but it's the kind of ending where they have Korra and
Spoiler
AsamiHurray.
TL;DR: +1 for the bisexual rep, -100 for the sapphic romance.
nickianderson1's review against another edition
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
vadouglas's review against another edition
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? No
4.0
bojanus's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Fun and accessible introduction to regency sapphic romance!
This book captures a delicate balance of being historical fiction that plays to modern tastes while not feeling glaringly anachronistic to the time period it's depicting. The choice to have most the story take place in art salons and other such places where inhibitions and the rules of society are lowered helped give the story the freedom to explore diverse topics, people, and interactions in a casual way. I'm not a stickler for historical accuracy (I suck at history) but I've read historical romance novels where the attitudes and characters feel SO much like a modern characters with modern ideas transported to the past that I have been jarred. In contrast, though this is written in a style and explores topics that fit the modern age, I felt as though the characters and their situations were believably in their contexts.
If you like dense characters, you'll LOVE Eddie. She's blind to people's intentions, including her love interest, in a way that'll have you banging your head against a wall. I love when a reader knows something that the main character doesn't, so although I quite literally facepalmed a few times (a certain part in the middle especially...) it truly did entertain me just how much she could misunderstand and assume what others (and herself!) are thinking. She behaves childishly, especially in the first half, but as she learns more and starts to see a real place where she could fit into the world as an adult she starts to make more solid decisions.
The story and characters are generally straightforward for the reader--I would not go into this looking for many layers or deep depth, but I think that makes the work accessible to many kinds of readers. And where it does grapple with more complex topics, it approaches them in a grounded and considerate way. I thought that Eddie and Nash's relationship (which is a predatory one) in particular was handled in a way that really sold why/how she ended up vulnerable to him and why she struggled for awhile with both positive/admiring and disturbed feelings towards him.
The plot was fun and had me invested, especially once a bunch of characters went to an island house together. There's multiple balanced plot threads that weave nicely with each other. I ended up devouring the book in under a week because I kept wanting to know what would happen next! Both when it comes to Eddie knowing her own feelings, and some other plot points with strong stakes. Though I was a bit shocked by a certain choice Eddie made at the end, when reading the epilogue I felt satisfied and like it was the right choice.
If you're someone who's usually intimidated or bored by historical/regency romance, I think this book would make a fantastic introduction to the genre, especially if you're also interested in sapphic or diverse stories. Since the historical parts here are not dense, if you're the type who's scared of or easily bored by long historical descriptions, you don't have anything to fear. This may also be a good story for artistic-types in general--Eddie is desperate to make something of herself as a novelist, and it drives her into some dangerous situations which make for an engaging read. Overall I found this book just such a lovely and solid time that I'll be keeping it as a solid rec in my pocket.
This book captures a delicate balance of being historical fiction that plays to modern tastes while not feeling glaringly anachronistic to the time period it's depicting. The choice to have most the story take place in art salons and other such places where inhibitions and the rules of society are lowered helped give the story the freedom to explore diverse topics, people, and interactions in a casual way. I'm not a stickler for historical accuracy (I suck at history) but I've read historical romance novels where the attitudes and characters feel SO much like a modern characters with modern ideas transported to the past that I have been jarred. In contrast, though this is written in a style and explores topics that fit the modern age, I felt as though the characters and their situations were believably in their contexts.
If you like dense characters, you'll LOVE Eddie. She's blind to people's intentions, including her love interest, in a way that'll have you banging your head against a wall. I love when a reader knows something that the main character doesn't, so although I quite literally facepalmed a few times (a certain part in the middle especially...) it truly did entertain me just how much she could misunderstand and assume what others (and herself!) are thinking. She behaves childishly, especially in the first half, but as she learns more and starts to see a real place where she could fit into the world as an adult she starts to make more solid decisions.
The story and characters are generally straightforward for the reader--I would not go into this looking for many layers or deep depth, but I think that makes the work accessible to many kinds of readers. And where it does grapple with more complex topics, it approaches them in a grounded and considerate way. I thought that Eddie and Nash's relationship (which is a predatory one) in particular was handled in a way that really sold why/how she ended up vulnerable to him and why she struggled for awhile with both positive/admiring and disturbed feelings towards him.
The plot was fun and had me invested, especially once a bunch of characters went to an island house together. There's multiple balanced plot threads that weave nicely with each other. I ended up devouring the book in under a week because I kept wanting to know what would happen next! Both when it comes to Eddie knowing her own feelings, and some other plot points with strong stakes. Though I was a bit shocked by a certain choice Eddie made at the end, when reading the epilogue I felt satisfied and like it was the right choice.
If you're someone who's usually intimidated or bored by historical/regency romance, I think this book would make a fantastic introduction to the genre, especially if you're also interested in sapphic or diverse stories. Since the historical parts here are not dense, if you're the type who's scared of or easily bored by long historical descriptions, you don't have anything to fear. This may also be a good story for artistic-types in general--Eddie is desperate to make something of herself as a novelist, and it drives her into some dangerous situations which make for an engaging read. Overall I found this book just such a lovely and solid time that I'll be keeping it as a solid rec in my pocket.