A review by everybookadoorway
Charming Young Man by Eliot Schrefer
3.0
Charming Young Man follows piano prodigy Léon Delafosse during his struggles to navigate high society Paris in 1890. I wanted to pick this one up mainly because I’d heard so many good things about Schrefer’s other novel ‘The Darkness Outside Us’ (which I am still yet to read), and also because I just love queer historical fiction!
Normally, I’m all for ‘no real plot, just vibes’, but I do think that this one could have benefitted from some deeper plot and character development as everything just seemed a little flat. It felt like a lot of things were quite brief which made it difficult for me to really engage with the story at certain points. I also wasn’t really invested in the characters, but I did enjoy the gentle romance, and I liked Felix a lot.
I don’t always read author notes, but I definitely recommend giving this one a read through as it explains the real life people that this book was loosely based on, and I feel like it left me with a better overall appreciation for the story.
Charming Young Man is quiet and bittersweet, and although I didn’t love it, I do still plan on reading ‘The Darkness Outside Us’. If you’re looking for some queer historical fiction, I’d definitely give this one a go.
Thank you to Harper360ya for sending me an ARC!
Normally, I’m all for ‘no real plot, just vibes’, but I do think that this one could have benefitted from some deeper plot and character development as everything just seemed a little flat. It felt like a lot of things were quite brief which made it difficult for me to really engage with the story at certain points. I also wasn’t really invested in the characters, but I did enjoy the gentle romance, and I liked Felix a lot.
I don’t always read author notes, but I definitely recommend giving this one a read through as it explains the real life people that this book was loosely based on, and I feel like it left me with a better overall appreciation for the story.
Charming Young Man is quiet and bittersweet, and although I didn’t love it, I do still plan on reading ‘The Darkness Outside Us’. If you’re looking for some queer historical fiction, I’d definitely give this one a go.
Thank you to Harper360ya for sending me an ARC!