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Infamous
22-year-old aspiring writer Edith 'Eddie' Miller and her best friend Rose have always done everything together-climbing trees, throwing grapes at boys, sneaking bottles of wine, practicing kissing . . .
But following their debutante ball Rose is suddenly talking about marriage, and Eddie is horrified.
When Eddie meets charming, renowned poet Nash Nicholson, he invites her to his crumbling Gothic estate in the countryside. The entourage of eccentric artists indulging in pure hedonism is exactly what Eddie needs in order to forget Rose and finish her novel.
But Eddie might discover the world of famous literary icons isn't all poems and pleasure . . .
But following their debutante ball Rose is suddenly talking about marriage, and Eddie is horrified.
When Eddie meets charming, renowned poet Nash Nicholson, he invites her to his crumbling Gothic estate in the countryside. The entourage of eccentric artists indulging in pure hedonism is exactly what Eddie needs in order to forget Rose and finish her novel.
But Eddie might discover the world of famous literary icons isn't all poems and pleasure . . .
336 pages, Paperback
First published July 21, 2022
About the author
Lex Croucher
7 books2,495 followersLex Croucher grew up in Surrey, reading a lot of books and making friends with strangers on the internet, and now lives in London with an elderly cat. With a background in social media for NGOs, Lex now writes historical-ish rom coms for adults (REPUTATION, INFAMOUS) and historical fantasy rom coms for teenagers. GWEN AND ART ARE NOT IN LOVE is their YA debut.
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November 28, 2022Source of book: NetGalley (thank you)
Relevant disclaimers: The author and I are social media moots; we have occasional bants.
Please note: This review may not be reproduced or quoted, in whole or in part, without explicit consent from the author.
And remember: I am not here to judge your drag, I mean your book. Books are art and art is subjective. These are just my personal thoughts. They are not meant to be taken as broader commentary on the general quality of the work. Believe me, I have not enjoyed many an excellent book, and my individual lack of enjoyment has not made any of those books less excellent or (more relevantly) less successful.
Further disclaimer: Readers, please stop accusing me of trying to take down “my competition” because I wrote a review you didn’t like. This is complete nonsense. Firstly, writing isn’t a competitive sport. Secondly, I only publish reviews of books in the subgenre where I’m best known (queer romcom) if they’re glowing. And finally: taking time out of my life to read an entire book, then write a detailed review about it that some people on GR will look at would be a profoundly inefficient and ineffective way to damage the careers of other authors. If you can’t credit me with simply being a person who loves books and likes talking about them, at least credit me with enough common sense to be a better villain.
*******************************************
I’ve written before about how … complicated it can get when you love one book in a series, or one particular work by an author. Thankfully, in the case of Infamous, it’s not complicated at all because I loved it EVEN MORE than I loved Reputation. With hindsight, I think I loved Reputation for its potential: I adored its exuberance, it’s defiance, it’s capacity for both darkness and light, even if sometimes, especially towards the end, it felt a bit tonally unbalanced. Infamous, though, is very much the realisation of Reputation’s potential. It has everything I loved about Reputation but … y’know BIGGER, HARDER, FASTER. Basically, Infamous is Fury Road to Reputation’s Mad Max. And I could not be more delighted or more impressed.
In my review of Reputation, I spoke a little of the ways it had the potential to be a little divisive among readers. I think it’s impossible, as an author or any creative professional, to completely insulate yourself from criticism, no matter how careful you are to avoid reader spaces. And, obviously, this too is complicated because if you refuse to accept criticism of any kind then that is ALSO a problem. It’s just public criticism comes at you with the randomness (and, occasionally, the brutality) of machine gun fire so it’s impossible to fully balance what is justified versus what is ill-intentioned, especially when aspects of the text will sometimes be perceived as flaws when they’re both fully intended and fully integral to what you’ve created.
I should emphasise, that I’m not saying it’s wrong not to like something about what someone is doing. But, to put it in the bluntest possible terms, if what you didn’t like about Reputation was its irreverence, its queerness, its diversity and its deliberate use of anachronism then you aren’t going to like Infamous either. Because it takes all those aspects from Reputation and it does them MORE. I don’t like to over-speculate, or indeed speculate at all, about what drives other authors: but, to me, this doubling down on aspects of Reputation that were controversial to some readers did not feel spiteful, defensive or resentful. It felt like a writer committed to their vision. And that, in turn, was a pleasure to experience as a reader.
(Although, speaking purely for myself, I do feel some kind of way about the general willingness to assert as just plain “wrong” books that use historical settings to explore marginalised experience, while texts that use historical settings to tell stories about straight white people are just assumed to be correct and appropriate, and never get called out on their biases.)
Anyway, the deal with Infamous is that our protagonist, Edith (Eddie) Miller, has been raised ‘unconventionally’ by her loving parents, alongside her siblings. Her best friend, Rose Li, is by nature and upbringing somewhat less unconventional, although the two young women have been devoted to each other since childhood. As they hover on the brink of adulthood, however, their priorities have begun to diverge: Eddie has always known she wanted to be a writer, and Rose seems to want nothing more than a conventional marriage. Then, frustrated with Rose (especially her engagement to a boring man in his thirties who breeds rabbits) and mainstream society in general, Eddie runs into one of her heroes: the romantic poet Nash Nicholson. He is immediately taken with her, encouraging her writerly ambitions, and ultimately invites her on a artist’s retreat to his family home. The family home turns out to be a decomposing wreck on an island but Eddie, and the other artists, do their best to work amidst Nash’s constant whims and dramas. Except this is barely the beginning of Eddie’s journey. Because, holy shit, does she have a lot to learn about life, love, art and—most of all—herself.
Much like Reputation, Infamous is a Bildungsroman and, while Eddie’s journey from innocence and ignorance to knowledge and understanding, doesn’t offer many surprises in its peaks and troughs, everything about it was, for me, pitch perfect. I should also take a moment to explain that I don’t mean “doesn’t offer many surprises” in a negative way: this is a story about growing up, it’s not a thriller, I wasn’t reading to be surprised, I was reading to be engaged. And engaged I was, deliciously and comprehensively. On top of which, Infamous’s adherence to the rhythms of its genre (a genre, by the way, was flourishing during the time the book is set) give the whole story a remarkable precision, both in terms of its arc and its pacing. Also, reading with my queer adult eyes, I got all the satisfaction of about a million fictional “I told you sos” and “I saw that coming” by the time Eddie figured her shit out.
Speaking of Eddie, I adored her. She is not the most sympathetic of heroines, nor I think is she intended to be, because she is relentlessly flawed, self-absorbed, and short-sighted when it comes to the people around her. But, to me at least, she was profoundly, wonderfully relatable, as much because of those flaws, rather than in spite of them. Her mistakes, her misjudgements, and her occasional straight detours into obnoxiousness always came across more understandable than condemnable: she is, after all, a confused seventeen year-old with big ambitions, who is more vulnerable than she realises, and feels somewhat alienated by her society. I think there will be readers to whom Eddie does not speak. But, frankly, you are wrong and I will fight you. Okay, I won’t. I do, actually, get any frustration with Eddie. But I think there’s something very … queer somehow, about her particular brand of obtuseness. That kind of helpless, thrashing ‘who I am, what does it mean, where I do fit’ bewilderment that some of us, ahem, don’t figure out until their late twenties at least.
The supporting cast is equally delightful. From Eddie’s lovingly rambunctious family (please give me a whole book about Beatrice, who became my instant favourite after this description: “a small girl with her dark hair gathered up on top of her head so that she resembled a very angry pineapple”) to Nash Nicholson’s circle of artists and radicals, there isn’t a single character who doesn’t fucking shine. Your mileage may vary, of course, but I personally really appreciated the fact that the world of Infamous feels very much a world where people have their own shit going on, shit that Eddie learns to be less oblivious to as the book progresses. I think this felt particularly true, and important, for Rose. Obviously it’s not for me to make judgements about whether Rose is a successful portrait of a Asian woman in the Regency. While Croucher never elides issues of social injustice (one of the supporting characters, Oluwadayo Akerele, is an abolitionist) or pretends micro-aggressions don’t exist, this isn’t a book that constantly subjects its marginalised characters to cruelty and aggression in the name of the sort of “historical accuracy” I’ve already noted I personally find messed up and, to be blunt, actively inaccurate.
On the surface, Rose seems a much more conventional character than Eddie. She wants to get married, she wants to be accepted by society, she cares about her reputation and, indeed, about being kind to other people, in ways Eddie just doesn’t. But we are also seeing Rose from Eddie’s exceptionally unreliable perspective. We learn, almost incidentally, that Rose’s father is deeply involved in helping Chinese immigrants find homes and jobs in England, and there’s a degree to which, I think, we are expected, as readers, to understand that Eddie can buck against her society precisely because there is no question that she belongs within it. Rose, by contrast, cannot take that for granted. I did not personally see this as Rose rejecting her Asian heritage so much as growing up with an understanding of the world that Eddie lacks. They are both in their way rebellious people, it’s just that Rose has learned to rebel in useful ways, to make compromises around her identity that create spaces for her to be safe and happy, whereas Eddie—at least at the beginning of the book—is just loud in her discontents.
There’s no getting away from the fact that Eddie does less to ‘deserve’ Rose than perhaps she should or could. In terms of wake up calls, Eddie figuratively sleeps through about three different alarms over the course of the book. But, again, the book is a Bildungsroman: there’s romance in it (and a gorgeous HEA that made me literally hug my kindle), but learning is the key to the story. Reading between the lines of Eddie’s self-absorption, it’s pretty clear that Rose is doing plenty of learning of her own: it’s just she’s already knowing herself and knowing in the world, her journey looks very different to Eddie’s. Once again, your mileage may vary, but I was very much rooting for both of them. Eddie may have spent about half of the book clueless, but the connection between her and Rose is undeniable, with the sharply perceptive Rose perfectly able to hold her own against Eddie’s haphazard charisma, and their mutual chemistry … well *fans self historically accurately*.
Since I’m talking characters, I should also spare a few lines for Nash Nicholson, little though he deserves them. Basically, with Nash, I think Croucher pulls off an almost impossible feat—which is to say, he’s a genuinely charming piece of shit, and writing genuinely charming pieces of shit is actually really hard. Mostly when you read about a piece of shit who is supposed to be charming, he’s not charming at all, and you suspend belief on behalf of the character being taken-in because otherwise they just look way too credulous. In the case of Nash Nicholson, while he’s clearly bad news from the outset, red flags flying high from every parapet (I mean, he insists on calling Eddie, Edie, not Eddie, and claims to see that she’s a talented writer without ever looking at a single thing she’s written), he’s also … he’s just annoyingly entertaining.
I still resent the amount of times he made me laugh out loud—despite being a terrible person. It’s telling, I think, that even Nash’s dark backstory is ultimately a tragedy that belongs to other people.
The only character I wished there’d been a little more to was Valentine, Nash’s nonbinary friend. They get, to be fair, some wonderfully funny lines and some rather heartbreaking ones, but mostly they just lounge around, providing exposition about Nash and his wife. Given, as I mentioned earlier, that the book seems to go out of its way to create a sense that its supporting cast, especially the most marginalised members of it, have their own thing going on, I couldn’t quite understand why Valentine seems to have nothing better to do with their life than follow Nash around, even knowing Nash is a complete cockweasel, who cheats on his wife, and exploits seventeen-year-olds. I mean, I’m not saying nonbinary people are morally bound to make sensible choices about their friends—and Valentine does admit to Eddie that they feel lost within their life in general—but there was never any explanation for their loyalty to Nash and they felt like the only character without a context of their own. And I’m well-aware how … awkward it is for me to be reflecting on this, given the author is themself nonbinary. I should make it clear that I’m not saying they did nonbinary wrong (that is not a judgement anybody gets to make about anything, regardless of identity): I just felt, in terms of their place in the narrative, that Valentine, for all they were delightful, seemed to have no life that wasn’t Nash. And while that could well have been a deliberate choice, it left me sad for them in ways I didn’t want to be sad, and in ways the book hadn’t prepared me to be sad.
And, omg, I’m writing an essay here. The final thing I wanted to mention is that Infamous is, amongst its other themes, a book about art, and writing in particular. Being a writer who writes about writing is … complicated (and one of the reasons, I think, why I tend to write writers who are absolute hacks) because it can feel kind of crass to be exalting the thing you are yourself doing. Like everything else on the planet, how you feel about Infamous’s exploration of art is going to be subjective. Me? I really loved it. I think it helps that, while Eddie is talented and dedicated, she is never shown to be a extraordinary or particular genius. Most relevantly, writing is shown to be something she has to, y’know, *do*: it requires thought and commitment and, above all else, time, which reflects my own approach to writing and my experiences “as a writer” (whatever that means). It may, of course, not reflect yours. Even fucking Nash has his moments, like this annoyingly realistic little gem as he discusses trying to construct one of his poems:
I mean yes. That moment when you’re trying to say a thing that should be simple and so you research it half to death and then it ends up just completely sucking? That’s such a fucking mood.
The other thing I really appreciated about Eddie’s writing was the role Rose plays in it. While others are only too willing to exploit Eddie or manipulate her relationship with her art, Rose—while not mindlessly uncritical (What on earth does this mean?? she had written next to a line that described somebody’s personality as ‘foaming’. ‘You know,’ Eddie said indignantly later. ‘Sparkling! Effervescent!’ ‘Eddie, if you write that she’s foaming, everybody is going to think the poor thing’s gone rabid.’)—is unfailingly supportive, encouraging, and honest. Basically, the best writing friend any writer could wish for, and I love that the book celebrates the value of that relationship. Because writing, in my experience, needs a Rose as much as it needs an Eddie.
I need to wrap this up or I’ll break Goodreads. Basically, this book felt for me in so many ways. It made me laugh and clutch at it. I cringed and swooned and absolutely gloried in its wit, its compassion, its beauty, and its wicked sense of the absurd. In other words, I LOVED IT WITH MY WHOLE SOUL IT HAS MY WHOLE HEART which is the sort of thing I’ve always sworn I’d never write in a review. But I’m saying it now to show just how fucking serious I am about this book. If it was a person, I’d break up with my current partner to be with it.
It also contains a scene in which a duck defecates on the head of small child.
10/10
Relevant disclaimers: The author and I are social media moots; we have occasional bants.
Please note: This review may not be reproduced or quoted, in whole or in part, without explicit consent from the author.
And remember: I am not here to judge your drag, I mean your book. Books are art and art is subjective. These are just my personal thoughts. They are not meant to be taken as broader commentary on the general quality of the work. Believe me, I have not enjoyed many an excellent book, and my individual lack of enjoyment has not made any of those books less excellent or (more relevantly) less successful.
Further disclaimer: Readers, please stop accusing me of trying to take down “my competition” because I wrote a review you didn’t like. This is complete nonsense. Firstly, writing isn’t a competitive sport. Secondly, I only publish reviews of books in the subgenre where I’m best known (queer romcom) if they’re glowing. And finally: taking time out of my life to read an entire book, then write a detailed review about it that some people on GR will look at would be a profoundly inefficient and ineffective way to damage the careers of other authors. If you can’t credit me with simply being a person who loves books and likes talking about them, at least credit me with enough common sense to be a better villain.
*******************************************
I’ve written before about how … complicated it can get when you love one book in a series, or one particular work by an author. Thankfully, in the case of Infamous, it’s not complicated at all because I loved it EVEN MORE than I loved Reputation. With hindsight, I think I loved Reputation for its potential: I adored its exuberance, it’s defiance, it’s capacity for both darkness and light, even if sometimes, especially towards the end, it felt a bit tonally unbalanced. Infamous, though, is very much the realisation of Reputation’s potential. It has everything I loved about Reputation but … y’know BIGGER, HARDER, FASTER. Basically, Infamous is Fury Road to Reputation’s Mad Max. And I could not be more delighted or more impressed.
In my review of Reputation, I spoke a little of the ways it had the potential to be a little divisive among readers. I think it’s impossible, as an author or any creative professional, to completely insulate yourself from criticism, no matter how careful you are to avoid reader spaces. And, obviously, this too is complicated because if you refuse to accept criticism of any kind then that is ALSO a problem. It’s just public criticism comes at you with the randomness (and, occasionally, the brutality) of machine gun fire so it’s impossible to fully balance what is justified versus what is ill-intentioned, especially when aspects of the text will sometimes be perceived as flaws when they’re both fully intended and fully integral to what you’ve created.
I should emphasise, that I’m not saying it’s wrong not to like something about what someone is doing. But, to put it in the bluntest possible terms, if what you didn’t like about Reputation was its irreverence, its queerness, its diversity and its deliberate use of anachronism then you aren’t going to like Infamous either. Because it takes all those aspects from Reputation and it does them MORE. I don’t like to over-speculate, or indeed speculate at all, about what drives other authors: but, to me, this doubling down on aspects of Reputation that were controversial to some readers did not feel spiteful, defensive or resentful. It felt like a writer committed to their vision. And that, in turn, was a pleasure to experience as a reader.
(Although, speaking purely for myself, I do feel some kind of way about the general willingness to assert as just plain “wrong” books that use historical settings to explore marginalised experience, while texts that use historical settings to tell stories about straight white people are just assumed to be correct and appropriate, and never get called out on their biases.)
Anyway, the deal with Infamous is that our protagonist, Edith (Eddie) Miller, has been raised ‘unconventionally’ by her loving parents, alongside her siblings. Her best friend, Rose Li, is by nature and upbringing somewhat less unconventional, although the two young women have been devoted to each other since childhood. As they hover on the brink of adulthood, however, their priorities have begun to diverge: Eddie has always known she wanted to be a writer, and Rose seems to want nothing more than a conventional marriage. Then, frustrated with Rose (especially her engagement to a boring man in his thirties who breeds rabbits) and mainstream society in general, Eddie runs into one of her heroes: the romantic poet Nash Nicholson. He is immediately taken with her, encouraging her writerly ambitions, and ultimately invites her on a artist’s retreat to his family home. The family home turns out to be a decomposing wreck on an island but Eddie, and the other artists, do their best to work amidst Nash’s constant whims and dramas. Except this is barely the beginning of Eddie’s journey. Because, holy shit, does she have a lot to learn about life, love, art and—most of all—herself.
Much like Reputation, Infamous is a Bildungsroman and, while Eddie’s journey from innocence and ignorance to knowledge and understanding, doesn’t offer many surprises in its peaks and troughs, everything about it was, for me, pitch perfect. I should also take a moment to explain that I don’t mean “doesn’t offer many surprises” in a negative way: this is a story about growing up, it’s not a thriller, I wasn’t reading to be surprised, I was reading to be engaged. And engaged I was, deliciously and comprehensively. On top of which, Infamous’s adherence to the rhythms of its genre (a genre, by the way, was flourishing during the time the book is set) give the whole story a remarkable precision, both in terms of its arc and its pacing. Also, reading with my queer adult eyes, I got all the satisfaction of about a million fictional “I told you sos” and “I saw that coming” by the time Eddie figured her shit out.
Speaking of Eddie, I adored her. She is not the most sympathetic of heroines, nor I think is she intended to be, because she is relentlessly flawed, self-absorbed, and short-sighted when it comes to the people around her. But, to me at least, she was profoundly, wonderfully relatable, as much because of those flaws, rather than in spite of them. Her mistakes, her misjudgements, and her occasional straight detours into obnoxiousness always came across more understandable than condemnable: she is, after all, a confused seventeen year-old with big ambitions, who is more vulnerable than she realises, and feels somewhat alienated by her society. I think there will be readers to whom Eddie does not speak. But, frankly, you are wrong and I will fight you. Okay, I won’t. I do, actually, get any frustration with Eddie. But I think there’s something very … queer somehow, about her particular brand of obtuseness. That kind of helpless, thrashing ‘who I am, what does it mean, where I do fit’ bewilderment that some of us, ahem, don’t figure out until their late twenties at least.
The supporting cast is equally delightful. From Eddie’s lovingly rambunctious family (please give me a whole book about Beatrice, who became my instant favourite after this description: “a small girl with her dark hair gathered up on top of her head so that she resembled a very angry pineapple”) to Nash Nicholson’s circle of artists and radicals, there isn’t a single character who doesn’t fucking shine. Your mileage may vary, of course, but I personally really appreciated the fact that the world of Infamous feels very much a world where people have their own shit going on, shit that Eddie learns to be less oblivious to as the book progresses. I think this felt particularly true, and important, for Rose. Obviously it’s not for me to make judgements about whether Rose is a successful portrait of a Asian woman in the Regency. While Croucher never elides issues of social injustice (one of the supporting characters, Oluwadayo Akerele, is an abolitionist) or pretends micro-aggressions don’t exist, this isn’t a book that constantly subjects its marginalised characters to cruelty and aggression in the name of the sort of “historical accuracy” I’ve already noted I personally find messed up and, to be blunt, actively inaccurate.
On the surface, Rose seems a much more conventional character than Eddie. She wants to get married, she wants to be accepted by society, she cares about her reputation and, indeed, about being kind to other people, in ways Eddie just doesn’t. But we are also seeing Rose from Eddie’s exceptionally unreliable perspective. We learn, almost incidentally, that Rose’s father is deeply involved in helping Chinese immigrants find homes and jobs in England, and there’s a degree to which, I think, we are expected, as readers, to understand that Eddie can buck against her society precisely because there is no question that she belongs within it. Rose, by contrast, cannot take that for granted. I did not personally see this as Rose rejecting her Asian heritage so much as growing up with an understanding of the world that Eddie lacks. They are both in their way rebellious people, it’s just that Rose has learned to rebel in useful ways, to make compromises around her identity that create spaces for her to be safe and happy, whereas Eddie—at least at the beginning of the book—is just loud in her discontents.
There’s no getting away from the fact that Eddie does less to ‘deserve’ Rose than perhaps she should or could. In terms of wake up calls, Eddie figuratively sleeps through about three different alarms over the course of the book. But, again, the book is a Bildungsroman: there’s romance in it (and a gorgeous HEA that made me literally hug my kindle), but learning is the key to the story. Reading between the lines of Eddie’s self-absorption, it’s pretty clear that Rose is doing plenty of learning of her own: it’s just she’s already knowing herself and knowing in the world, her journey looks very different to Eddie’s. Once again, your mileage may vary, but I was very much rooting for both of them. Eddie may have spent about half of the book clueless, but the connection between her and Rose is undeniable, with the sharply perceptive Rose perfectly able to hold her own against Eddie’s haphazard charisma, and their mutual chemistry … well *fans self historically accurately*.
Since I’m talking characters, I should also spare a few lines for Nash Nicholson, little though he deserves them. Basically, with Nash, I think Croucher pulls off an almost impossible feat—which is to say, he’s a genuinely charming piece of shit, and writing genuinely charming pieces of shit is actually really hard. Mostly when you read about a piece of shit who is supposed to be charming, he’s not charming at all, and you suspend belief on behalf of the character being taken-in because otherwise they just look way too credulous. In the case of Nash Nicholson, while he’s clearly bad news from the outset, red flags flying high from every parapet (I mean, he insists on calling Eddie, Edie, not Eddie, and claims to see that she’s a talented writer without ever looking at a single thing she’s written), he’s also … he’s just annoyingly entertaining.
“The library was enormous […] It had the air of a cathedral, something venerated and quietly holy - until Nash sneezed very loudly and then said, “For fuck’s sake.”
“This is amazing.”
“Apparently it is where we store all of the dust.”
I still resent the amount of times he made me laugh out loud—despite being a terrible person. It’s telling, I think, that even Nash’s dark backstory is ultimately a tragedy that belongs to other people.
The only character I wished there’d been a little more to was Valentine, Nash’s nonbinary friend. They get, to be fair, some wonderfully funny lines and some rather heartbreaking ones, but mostly they just lounge around, providing exposition about Nash and his wife. Given, as I mentioned earlier, that the book seems to go out of its way to create a sense that its supporting cast, especially the most marginalised members of it, have their own thing going on, I couldn’t quite understand why Valentine seems to have nothing better to do with their life than follow Nash around, even knowing Nash is a complete cockweasel, who cheats on his wife, and exploits seventeen-year-olds. I mean, I’m not saying nonbinary people are morally bound to make sensible choices about their friends—and Valentine does admit to Eddie that they feel lost within their life in general—but there was never any explanation for their loyalty to Nash and they felt like the only character without a context of their own. And I’m well-aware how … awkward it is for me to be reflecting on this, given the author is themself nonbinary. I should make it clear that I’m not saying they did nonbinary wrong (that is not a judgement anybody gets to make about anything, regardless of identity): I just felt, in terms of their place in the narrative, that Valentine, for all they were delightful, seemed to have no life that wasn’t Nash. And while that could well have been a deliberate choice, it left me sad for them in ways I didn’t want to be sad, and in ways the book hadn’t prepared me to be sad.
And, omg, I’m writing an essay here. The final thing I wanted to mention is that Infamous is, amongst its other themes, a book about art, and writing in particular. Being a writer who writes about writing is … complicated (and one of the reasons, I think, why I tend to write writers who are absolute hacks) because it can feel kind of crass to be exalting the thing you are yourself doing. Like everything else on the planet, how you feel about Infamous’s exploration of art is going to be subjective. Me? I really loved it. I think it helps that, while Eddie is talented and dedicated, she is never shown to be a extraordinary or particular genius. Most relevantly, writing is shown to be something she has to, y’know, *do*: it requires thought and commitment and, above all else, time, which reflects my own approach to writing and my experiences “as a writer” (whatever that means). It may, of course, not reflect yours. Even fucking Nash has his moments, like this annoyingly realistic little gem as he discusses trying to construct one of his poems:
“Love, sex, Aphrodite, Eros, death . . . It might as well be an instruction manual about how to build a ship, I spent enough time studying vessel plans to eke out horrible little metaphors and turns of phrase that made me want to vomit.”
I mean yes. That moment when you’re trying to say a thing that should be simple and so you research it half to death and then it ends up just completely sucking? That’s such a fucking mood.
The other thing I really appreciated about Eddie’s writing was the role Rose plays in it. While others are only too willing to exploit Eddie or manipulate her relationship with her art, Rose—while not mindlessly uncritical (What on earth does this mean?? she had written next to a line that described somebody’s personality as ‘foaming’. ‘You know,’ Eddie said indignantly later. ‘Sparkling! Effervescent!’ ‘Eddie, if you write that she’s foaming, everybody is going to think the poor thing’s gone rabid.’)—is unfailingly supportive, encouraging, and honest. Basically, the best writing friend any writer could wish for, and I love that the book celebrates the value of that relationship. Because writing, in my experience, needs a Rose as much as it needs an Eddie.
I need to wrap this up or I’ll break Goodreads. Basically, this book felt for me in so many ways. It made me laugh and clutch at it. I cringed and swooned and absolutely gloried in its wit, its compassion, its beauty, and its wicked sense of the absurd. In other words, I LOVED IT WITH MY WHOLE SOUL IT HAS MY WHOLE HEART which is the sort of thing I’ve always sworn I’d never write in a review. But I’m saying it now to show just how fucking serious I am about this book. If it was a person, I’d break up with my current partner to be with it.
It also contains a scene in which a duck defecates on the head of small child.
10/10
February 12, 2023
Infamous is a bright queer romance set in the Regency era.
Best friends since their childhood, Edith “Eddie” and Rose promised each other that they would never marry. Eddie took that as a solemn vow, but Rose assumed it wasn’t that serious.
A rift forms between the two when Rose begins seeing someone and soon talks about marriage.
At a dinner party, Eddie meets her favourite poet, the charming and talented Nash Nicholson. An aspiring writer herself, Eddie accepts Nash’s offer to finish her book at his crumbling estate. With Rose and Nash’s entourage in tow, Eddie gets caught up in this chaotic and free lifestyle but eventually learns some hard truths.
This romance follows Eddie’s perspective.
I really enjoyed the author’s romcom debut Reputation, so I thought I would like this one just as much. But I could never get fully invested in the story. The writing wasn’t as engaging this time around.
It took Eddie quite a while to understand everyone’s motivations. I get that she’s young, but even so, it took too long to get there.
I did like that this novel discussed negative racial stereotypes. It didn’t go that deep, but it briefly touched on it.
Still, I will definitely try the author’s next release, which is their YA rom-com debut.
Thank you to St. Martin’s Griffin for providing an arc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
https://booksandwheels.com
Best friends since their childhood, Edith “Eddie” and Rose promised each other that they would never marry. Eddie took that as a solemn vow, but Rose assumed it wasn’t that serious.
A rift forms between the two when Rose begins seeing someone and soon talks about marriage.
At a dinner party, Eddie meets her favourite poet, the charming and talented Nash Nicholson. An aspiring writer herself, Eddie accepts Nash’s offer to finish her book at his crumbling estate. With Rose and Nash’s entourage in tow, Eddie gets caught up in this chaotic and free lifestyle but eventually learns some hard truths.
This romance follows Eddie’s perspective.
I really enjoyed the author’s romcom debut Reputation, so I thought I would like this one just as much. But I could never get fully invested in the story. The writing wasn’t as engaging this time around.
It took Eddie quite a while to understand everyone’s motivations. I get that she’s young, but even so, it took too long to get there.
I did like that this novel discussed negative racial stereotypes. It didn’t go that deep, but it briefly touched on it.
Still, I will definitely try the author’s next release, which is their YA rom-com debut.
Thank you to St. Martin’s Griffin for providing an arc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
https://booksandwheels.com
June 29, 2023
Nash is the worst sort of manic pixie art boi, so it sucks that our main character is obsessed with him. I hated every second he was on the page…and it was many seconds, minutes, hours. I’ve never wanted a character to meet a COMPLETELY TIMELY ending so fucking bad.
I also hate just about every character ?? It took Eddie so fucking long to get a fucking clue!! By the last few chapters she still wasn’t angry/scared/disgusted by Nash and frankly I’ve never understood a character less. By the time she realized she’d been played, I was over it about 5 times over. Albert is the only real one.
I’m never more stressed than when the main character/narrator is on drugs and I’m in their head, so the last few chapters went from bad to worse. Everything that happened was contrived and wholly predictable. What a stressful yet boring time. The romance could’ve been cute but it was like 1% romance and 99% BAD DECISIONS.
Genuinely why does this book exist ?? It’s not really a romance and it’s not a thriller and literally the villain wins* so idk why it is the way it is. All I know is that I want no part of it.
*maybe you’re saying “yes Hannah but he never truly won bc he never got critical acclaim” but actually to that I say PATTOOTIE (!). He definitely got away with crimes and probably scammed/harmed more people with zero repercussions!! He was still writing poetry!!
Unless the poem was
I’m an ugly boi
In jail for eternity
Stuck H8ing my life
then no I won’t accept it!! I’m not here for the long con; I’m here for swift justice and a punch in the face.
Spoilers:
Also this guy has covered up murder and assaulted people (including her) but Eddie only cared when he fucked with her manuscript lmao.
Also you’re looking me in the eyes and telling me that SHE JUST GAVE HIM THE MANUSCRIPT????? WHAT THE FUCK!!!! She was working on that fucking thing the entire book and yet the wettest blanket of a man can just HAVE IT??? He’s literally getting success from that fucking book and she got NOTHING. NO MONEY NO CREDIT NOTHING. I don’t care that critical acclaim continued to elude him!! If murder is also eluding him then I don’t care!! I simply cannot handle anything I learned in the last two chapters hence the 1 star.
I’ll admit idk what the fuck happened to Henry…is that man dead? Idk
I also hate just about every character ?? It took Eddie so fucking long to get a fucking clue!! By the last few chapters she still wasn’t angry/scared/disgusted by Nash and frankly I’ve never understood a character less. By the time she realized she’d been played, I was over it about 5 times over. Albert is the only real one.
I’m never more stressed than when the main character/narrator is on drugs and I’m in their head, so the last few chapters went from bad to worse. Everything that happened was contrived and wholly predictable. What a stressful yet boring time. The romance could’ve been cute but it was like 1% romance and 99% BAD DECISIONS.
Genuinely why does this book exist ?? It’s not really a romance and it’s not a thriller and literally the villain wins* so idk why it is the way it is. All I know is that I want no part of it.
*maybe you’re saying “yes Hannah but he never truly won bc he never got critical acclaim” but actually to that I say PATTOOTIE (!). He definitely got away with crimes and probably scammed/harmed more people with zero repercussions!! He was still writing poetry!!
Unless the poem was
I’m an ugly boi
In jail for eternity
Stuck H8ing my life
then no I won’t accept it!! I’m not here for the long con; I’m here for swift justice and a punch in the face.
Spoilers:
Also this guy has covered up murder and assaulted people (including her) but Eddie only cared when he fucked with her manuscript lmao.
Also you’re looking me in the eyes and telling me that SHE JUST GAVE HIM THE MANUSCRIPT????? WHAT THE FUCK!!!! She was working on that fucking thing the entire book and yet the wettest blanket of a man can just HAVE IT??? He’s literally getting success from that fucking book and she got NOTHING. NO MONEY NO CREDIT NOTHING. I don’t care that critical acclaim continued to elude him!! If murder is also eluding him then I don’t care!! I simply cannot handle anything I learned in the last two chapters hence the 1 star.
I’ll admit idk what the fuck happened to Henry…is that man dead? Idk
July 31, 2022
Clever, fun, hilarious. As funny as Jane Austen and I do not say that lightly.
July 23, 2022
This book has earned the dubious honour of making me angry enough to post a review. Particular lowlights:
- yet another example of a romance novel with a white MC and an Asian love interest who is conveniently alienated from her own culture.
- of course, said Asian love interest instantly forgives the MC for all the terrible, hurtful and selfish things that MC has done and not made up for over the course of the novel.
- the complete refusal to engage with the realities and preoccupations of middle-class women's lives during the Regency period. Yes, the MC's family is unorthodox, but even then there should be SOME more concern for how she is going to live post her father's retirement/death if she doesn't get married, especially since she obviously hasn't been trained in any profession.
- the complete refusal to engage with era-appropriate language. One character, at one point, says of another character 'you're on your last strike'. I was not previously aware that baseball was popular enough in the Regency era to have given rise to a widespread metaphor.
- the woeful lack of copy-editing. At one point, the MC (who is named Edith Miller), imagines seeing her 'nom de plume' on the cover of her first novel. The 'nom de plume' in question is... 'E. Miller'. At another point, a famous writer is described thus: 'His first and only novel, The Gentleman, was considered his last great published work... Although he later published two further novels...' So did he publish one novel or three? Enquiring minds want to know.
- yet another example of a romance novel with a white MC and an Asian love interest who is conveniently alienated from her own culture.
- of course, said Asian love interest instantly forgives the MC for all the terrible, hurtful and selfish things that MC has done and not made up for over the course of the novel.
- the complete refusal to engage with the realities and preoccupations of middle-class women's lives during the Regency period. Yes, the MC's family is unorthodox, but even then there should be SOME more concern for how she is going to live post her father's retirement/death if she doesn't get married, especially since she obviously hasn't been trained in any profession.
- the complete refusal to engage with era-appropriate language. One character, at one point, says of another character 'you're on your last strike'. I was not previously aware that baseball was popular enough in the Regency era to have given rise to a widespread metaphor.
- the woeful lack of copy-editing. At one point, the MC (who is named Edith Miller), imagines seeing her 'nom de plume' on the cover of her first novel. The 'nom de plume' in question is... 'E. Miller'. At another point, a famous writer is described thus: 'His first and only novel, The Gentleman, was considered his last great published work... Although he later published two further novels...' So did he publish one novel or three? Enquiring minds want to know.
June 13, 2022
Sometimes I worry I hype myself up to read a book so much before it comes out that I’ll be disappointed.
Lex did not disappoint me.
If I could bottle these characters and have them as my friends I would do it.
Lex did not disappoint me.
If I could bottle these characters and have them as my friends I would do it.
March 20, 2023
Very funny and romantic, with lovable characters whom you also want to wack over the head on occasion. All around very good and very gay! Full review on autostraddle dot com: https://www.autostraddle.com/new-hist...
July 26, 2022
On my blog.
Rep: bi mc, British Chinese lesbian li, Black side character, gay side character, agender side character
Galley provided by publisher
Ever since I read Reputation last year, I’ve been eagerly anticipating what Lex Croucher has to offer next. And Infamous didn’t disappoint in the slightest.
The story follows Eddie, an aspiring writer, and her friend Rose, who, in Eddie’s point of view, betrays their friendship by allowing herself to be courted by a man. At the same time, Eddie makes the acquaintance of Nash Nicholson, a poet, who invites her (and Rose and Rose’s fiance) to his house party.
Infamous is a historical romcom distilled into book form. Yes, it has the usual beats of a romance, but it’s also laugh-out-loud funny at times. It’s a compulsive read, one you won’t want to put down for even the slightest of moments.
Most of this is due to the characters. They’re charismatic and vibrant and carry the story along at a riveting pace. You’re rooting for Eddie and Rose from page one, not only for their romance but also for their growth (in particular Eddie). And when that growth comes, it feels like it’s been earned too.
If one of the main strengths of the book is the characters, that extends to the relationships too. In the best way possible, Eddie and Rose’s relationship frustrates you with its obliviousness. You the reader can tell from the start that Eddie is in love with Rose, but she is so singularly blind to her own feelings that it makes the progression of it simultaneously one of the best and most annoying things I’ve read this year.
All of which to say: if this isn’t a book that’s already on your radar, please rectify that as soon as possible. You’re not going to want to miss out.
Rep: bi mc, British Chinese lesbian li, Black side character, gay side character, agender side character
Galley provided by publisher
Ever since I read Reputation last year, I’ve been eagerly anticipating what Lex Croucher has to offer next. And Infamous didn’t disappoint in the slightest.
The story follows Eddie, an aspiring writer, and her friend Rose, who, in Eddie’s point of view, betrays their friendship by allowing herself to be courted by a man. At the same time, Eddie makes the acquaintance of Nash Nicholson, a poet, who invites her (and Rose and Rose’s fiance) to his house party.
Infamous is a historical romcom distilled into book form. Yes, it has the usual beats of a romance, but it’s also laugh-out-loud funny at times. It’s a compulsive read, one you won’t want to put down for even the slightest of moments.
Most of this is due to the characters. They’re charismatic and vibrant and carry the story along at a riveting pace. You’re rooting for Eddie and Rose from page one, not only for their romance but also for their growth (in particular Eddie). And when that growth comes, it feels like it’s been earned too.
If one of the main strengths of the book is the characters, that extends to the relationships too. In the best way possible, Eddie and Rose’s relationship frustrates you with its obliviousness. You the reader can tell from the start that Eddie is in love with Rose, but she is so singularly blind to her own feelings that it makes the progression of it simultaneously one of the best and most annoying things I’ve read this year.
All of which to say: if this isn’t a book that’s already on your radar, please rectify that as soon as possible. You’re not going to want to miss out.
July 25, 2022
Short review: If your favourite Bridgerton siblings are Benedict and Eloise, you are going to love this book. It is about finding a family and finding yourself. Funny and un-putdownable. I adored it.
Long review:
Lex Croucher has done it again, even better than Reputation! Infamous follows Eddie and Rose, best friends, as they navigate becoming grown ups. Eddie rejects everything society expects of her - she doesn't want to use her manners, curl her hair prettily or marry. She wants to be a writer. Her and Rose have always been on the same page, so when Rose gets engaged, Eddie is shocked, and determined to convince her that there is so much more in the world than marriage.
Infamous is an absolute romp. Laugh-out-loud funny, heart-warming and addictive. It is chaotic, and although I guessed the ending, I was surprised by the path taken to get there. Honestly, if you loved Reputation, bring this up. But also if you didn't, pick this up! I am on a reading high now. God, I loved this so much.
Thanks to NetGalley, Lex Croucher and Bonnier Books UK for the e-arc. I did however leave reading this arc really late, so I have bought my own version as well.
Long review:
Lex Croucher has done it again, even better than Reputation! Infamous follows Eddie and Rose, best friends, as they navigate becoming grown ups. Eddie rejects everything society expects of her - she doesn't want to use her manners, curl her hair prettily or marry. She wants to be a writer. Her and Rose have always been on the same page, so when Rose gets engaged, Eddie is shocked, and determined to convince her that there is so much more in the world than marriage.
Infamous is an absolute romp. Laugh-out-loud funny, heart-warming and addictive. It is chaotic, and although I guessed the ending, I was surprised by the path taken to get there. Honestly, if you loved Reputation, bring this up. But also if you didn't, pick this up! I am on a reading high now. God, I loved this so much.
Thanks to NetGalley, Lex Croucher and Bonnier Books UK for the e-arc. I did however leave reading this arc really late, so I have bought my own version as well.
October 7, 2022
well, this was certainly a book.
i am going to be honest here, i was bored throughout and as a result i did not connect with any of the characters or plots. i couldn’t even tell you their names if you asked. i have no idea if this was an issue with the novel or an issue with me, but regardless i was disappointed in this after loving reputation written by the same author.
i felt as if the chapters went on and on about nothing, the words blending together as my boredom increased. got through it because i hate leaving a book unfinished but my god was it difficult. here’s hoping croucher’s next book is a better one.
- 1.5 stars rounded down to 1.
i am going to be honest here, i was bored throughout and as a result i did not connect with any of the characters or plots. i couldn’t even tell you their names if you asked. i have no idea if this was an issue with the novel or an issue with me, but regardless i was disappointed in this after loving reputation written by the same author.
i felt as if the chapters went on and on about nothing, the words blending together as my boredom increased. got through it because i hate leaving a book unfinished but my god was it difficult. here’s hoping croucher’s next book is a better one.
- 1.5 stars rounded down to 1.
June 28, 2023
it isn't love, it isn't hate, it's just indifference
July 17, 2022
This was an insanely fun read and I loved every second of it (because Eddie is an actual LEGEND). I’m not overly obsessed with the whole Bridgestone/Pride and Prejudice inspired books because I’m in the minority of people who don’t actually like them (I know, i know.. how? Why? Am i okay?) but I occasionally find books inspired by them/set in the same era and I ADORE them. And that, friends, is this series. Lex Croucher can write all the hitlit regency romance books they want and I will happily read them all. The more I think about it, the more I can pinpoint that it’s the humour of the author that comes across in the book that sets these apart from the competition. Definitely give these a read, regardless of whether or not you like regency romances.
Thank you to Pride Book Tours for sending me a copy and having me on the tour.
Thank you to Pride Book Tours for sending me a copy and having me on the tour.
November 5, 2022
uuurrghhhhhhhh im disappointed...
considering the fact that "reputation" is one of my favorite books of all time i truly believed that this one will AT THE VERY LEAST satisfy me. as you can probably see from the rating i gave, it did not.
this was soooooo hard for me to read? i mean, it took me OVER A MONTH to finish and its not even that long.
i didnt connect with the characters (literally everyone made me mad at one point or another lmao) and i lost my interest quite a lot. in the end i just started kinda skimming it just so i could finish it sooner.
considering the fact that "reputation" is one of my favorite books of all time i truly believed that this one will AT THE VERY LEAST satisfy me. as you can probably see from the rating i gave, it did not.
this was soooooo hard for me to read? i mean, it took me OVER A MONTH to finish and its not even that long.
i didnt connect with the characters (literally everyone made me mad at one point or another lmao) and i lost my interest quite a lot. in the end i just started kinda skimming it just so i could finish it sooner.
March 21, 2023
✨𝐏𝐔𝐁 𝐃𝐀𝐘 𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐖✨
Happy Pub Day @lexcanroar 🎉
I'm back with another historical romance recommendation! But this one is queer! 🌈 Also, if you get a chance, check out Alexis Hall's beautiful review of Infamous on Goodreads! His reviews are just as enjoyable as his books. ☺️
Thank you #partners @stmartinspress @smpromance and @macmillan.audio for gifted copies.
𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗼𝘂𝘀
𝗕𝘆 𝗟𝗲𝘅 𝗖𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿 (𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆/𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺)
𝟯𝟯𝟲 𝗽𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀
𝗨𝗦 𝗣𝘂𝗯: 𝟯/𝟮𝟭/𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟯 - 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆!
*Out in 2022 in the UK
🎧𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸:
𝟭𝟬 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀 𝟱𝟱 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗲𝘀
𝗡𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗘𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗲 𝗞𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗸
📖 𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁: Edith "Eddie" Miller and her best friend Rose have been inseparable their whole lives, and they've promised one another that they'd never marry. That is, until Rose meets an older man and decides she wants a more traditional (and socially acceptable) life. Feeling put out, Eddie accepts an invitation to join renowned writer Nash Nicholson on his estate to work on her own writing. While there, Eddie learns more than a thing or two about life and love.
•Regency era
•Historical romantic comedy
•Sapphic MCs
•Queer side characters
•BIPOC characters
•Fabulous audio narration
•Forbidden love
•Friends-to-lovers
💭 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀: This was an absolute delight! It's the perfect mix of laugh-out-loud funny, with the exploration of some deeper themes as well. I love the character growth and the romance (even if it took ages to actualize). Infamous is the perfect example of a book that is elevated by the audio narration. Ellie Kendrick nails it. Outstanding performance from start to finish!
👉🏼 𝗤𝗢𝗧𝗗: 𝗗𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗵𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲? 𝗢𝗿 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘁𝘆?
I think there are times when accuracy is important, but other times when it's more than OK to have fun with it and create a work of fiction that doesn't necessarily align with the reality of the era -- especially when it allows for more diversity and representation. 💕
.
.
.
.
Happy Pub Day @lexcanroar 🎉
I'm back with another historical romance recommendation! But this one is queer! 🌈 Also, if you get a chance, check out Alexis Hall's beautiful review of Infamous on Goodreads! His reviews are just as enjoyable as his books. ☺️
Thank you #partners @stmartinspress @smpromance and @macmillan.audio for gifted copies.
𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗼𝘂𝘀
𝗕𝘆 𝗟𝗲𝘅 𝗖𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿 (𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆/𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺)
𝟯𝟯𝟲 𝗽𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀
𝗨𝗦 𝗣𝘂𝗯: 𝟯/𝟮𝟭/𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟯 - 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆!
*Out in 2022 in the UK
🎧𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸:
𝟭𝟬 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀 𝟱𝟱 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗲𝘀
𝗡𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗘𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗲 𝗞𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗸
📖 𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁: Edith "Eddie" Miller and her best friend Rose have been inseparable their whole lives, and they've promised one another that they'd never marry. That is, until Rose meets an older man and decides she wants a more traditional (and socially acceptable) life. Feeling put out, Eddie accepts an invitation to join renowned writer Nash Nicholson on his estate to work on her own writing. While there, Eddie learns more than a thing or two about life and love.
•Regency era
•Historical romantic comedy
•Sapphic MCs
•Queer side characters
•BIPOC characters
•Fabulous audio narration
•Forbidden love
•Friends-to-lovers
💭 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀: This was an absolute delight! It's the perfect mix of laugh-out-loud funny, with the exploration of some deeper themes as well. I love the character growth and the romance (even if it took ages to actualize). Infamous is the perfect example of a book that is elevated by the audio narration. Ellie Kendrick nails it. Outstanding performance from start to finish!
👉🏼 𝗤𝗢𝗧𝗗: 𝗗𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗵𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲? 𝗢𝗿 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘁𝘆?
I think there are times when accuracy is important, but other times when it's more than OK to have fun with it and create a work of fiction that doesn't necessarily align with the reality of the era -- especially when it allows for more diversity and representation. 💕
.
.
.
.
November 4, 2022
*Revelations*
**4.5 Stars**
This book is set in Regency times where everyone has to be proper, but going to a remote gothic estate anything goes!!!
The main star of this book is Edith aka Eddie. She is 22 and an aspiring writer. Her best friend and constant companion is Rose and they grew up doing everything together.
As youths they experimented with kissing and it was quite funny to read. One of them finds it more meaningful. Eddie wants their relationship to stay the same but as they grow up things change when Rose meets a man and to Eddie’s horror there is talk of marriage.
Eddie is feeling left out due to Rose’s relationship then she meets a famous poet Nash Nicholson and is charmed by him. She discusses her wish to write and when she gets an invite to go to his rundown Gothic estate she takes Rose with her and Rose’s soon to be husband who has a penchant for rabbits
Nash, his wife and a few other artsy types make the journey and Rose completely gets the measure of him but Eddie is blinkered seeing him as her connection to the world of writing. When he promises to speak to his editor/agent as long as he can read what she has written Eddie is over the moon and hankers down. He makes her feel her writing is not good enough and says he will make the necessary edits, really!!!
Over time Eddie eyes begin to open to what and who Nash is and all at once Eddie realises where her heart lies and what and who is important to her as things slot into place and a secret is revealed re Rose’s upcoming nuptials.
**4.5 Stars**
This book is set in Regency times where everyone has to be proper, but going to a remote gothic estate anything goes!!!
The main star of this book is Edith aka Eddie. She is 22 and an aspiring writer. Her best friend and constant companion is Rose and they grew up doing everything together.
As youths they experimented with kissing and it was quite funny to read. One of them finds it more meaningful. Eddie wants their relationship to stay the same but as they grow up things change when Rose meets a man and to Eddie’s horror there is talk of marriage.
Eddie is feeling left out due to Rose’s relationship then she meets a famous poet Nash Nicholson and is charmed by him. She discusses her wish to write and when she gets an invite to go to his rundown Gothic estate she takes Rose with her and Rose’s soon to be husband who has a penchant for rabbits
Nash, his wife and a few other artsy types make the journey and Rose completely gets the measure of him but Eddie is blinkered seeing him as her connection to the world of writing. When he promises to speak to his editor/agent as long as he can read what she has written Eddie is over the moon and hankers down. He makes her feel her writing is not good enough and says he will make the necessary edits, really!!!
Over time Eddie eyes begin to open to what and who Nash is and all at once Eddie realises where her heart lies and what and who is important to her as things slot into place and a secret is revealed re Rose’s upcoming nuptials.
March 21, 2023
2023 reads: 91/350
another banger from lex croucher
eddie and rose have done everything together their whole lives. but suddenly, rose is talking about marriage, which makes eddie feel really weird. when the opportunity arises to work on her novel and forget her complications with rose through staying with her favorite poet, eddie is quick to take it. however, she soon realizes that meeting your idol isn’t always as great as it seems.
i’ve read lex croucher’s ya book, gwen & art are not in love, so i went into this expecting a couple things: a slowburn sapphic novel with some comedy. luckily, i got that and so much more! with the comedic parts, though, there were serious parts, as well. there was actually a quote about this in the book that i really wish i had written down, but basically eddie was saying that stories can be both funny and important, which i loved because it’s how i feel about croucher’s books. i loved the exploration of eddie’s sexuality and her relationship development with rose. this is a book i can definitely see myself rereading in the future.
another banger from lex croucher
eddie and rose have done everything together their whole lives. but suddenly, rose is talking about marriage, which makes eddie feel really weird. when the opportunity arises to work on her novel and forget her complications with rose through staying with her favorite poet, eddie is quick to take it. however, she soon realizes that meeting your idol isn’t always as great as it seems.
i’ve read lex croucher’s ya book, gwen & art are not in love, so i went into this expecting a couple things: a slowburn sapphic novel with some comedy. luckily, i got that and so much more! with the comedic parts, though, there were serious parts, as well. there was actually a quote about this in the book that i really wish i had written down, but basically eddie was saying that stories can be both funny and important, which i loved because it’s how i feel about croucher’s books. i loved the exploration of eddie’s sexuality and her relationship development with rose. this is a book i can definitely see myself rereading in the future.
July 6, 2022
I really wanted to love this one. I had high expectations which made the fact that I hated this, so much worse. I could not stand Eddie. I just... couldn't. She seems trite and intolerable and her interactions with all of the other characters were painful to read.
This book has promise, just to me, it didn't live up to it. The setting is fun and there are aspects that were intriguing but as a whole, this felt disjointed and lackluster and I couldn't make myself care about the plot. There was some nice descriptive language (particularly about the settings) but that's about the best thing I could say about this.
I think I was just expecting something from this, that just wasn't there. I wanted a delightful, queer Regency romp, and this wasn't that for me.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an arc of this in exchange for an honest review.
This book has promise, just to me, it didn't live up to it. The setting is fun and there are aspects that were intriguing but as a whole, this felt disjointed and lackluster and I couldn't make myself care about the plot. There was some nice descriptive language (particularly about the settings) but that's about the best thing I could say about this.
I think I was just expecting something from this, that just wasn't there. I wanted a delightful, queer Regency romp, and this wasn't that for me.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an arc of this in exchange for an honest review.
April 24, 2023
Infamous is set in the Regency period and is a story about emotional growth, learning some very hard lessons, and discovering what (and finally who!) is truly important in life. There’s some treachery and mystery afoot and an ever-present thread of romance.
Eddie (Edith) and Rose met when they were 8 and have been the best of friends and perhaps a little more for 14 years. At 16 Eddie coerces Rose into making a pact that they would not bow to the expectations of London society and agree to never, ever marry. Rose agrees but she has reservations because her family is not nearly as unconventional or as well-to-do as Eddie’s and back in ye olden times women like Rose didn’t have much of a choice.
Anyhow, now they’re both 22 and Rose has decided to betray Eddie by marrying a boring (perfectly nice), 30ish man (or maybe he was 29, I can’t keep up) who raises rabbits. Eddie is mortified and deeply injured and really pissed off about rabbit man interfering in their lives. She hates on him, she hates on his bunnies, she rages at Rose and this causes a major rift in their friendship. Nash Nicholson, a handsome, charming, narcissistic MARRIED poet causes the other one. Nash is a friend (acquaintance?) of Rose’s fiancé and meeting him opens Eddie up to a whole new world.
Eddie idolizes Nash. Who wouldn’t? He showers her with attention, praises her writing, and promises to introduce her work to his editor. He invites the three of them to join him at his secluded crumbling old mansion for a few months with some other friends to work on their creative endeavors and off they go. Tensions, sexual and otherwise, soon run hot and wild and things get weird and I don’t really want to say anything more than that.
This book started out as an amusing romp with some sweet romantic tension between Eddie and Rose. The reader gets to meet Eddie’s delightfully cute family and I loved it all. I thought it might be a 4 ½ or 5 star story for me but then it takes a decidedly darker turn as Nash whisks them away to his home filled with booze, drugs, and debauchery and it became something else entirely. It was full of strange turns and I did like that because I never felt quite sure where it was going or what was going to happen next. But the tone change was a bit jarring, not gonna lie. It’s an odd mix of humor, and emotional stress with a mystery tossed in that didn’t work for me and felt entirely unnecessary. And something happens at the end that leaves me wondering what happened to one of the characters. Dead? Alive? Ghostie? I don’t think I’ll ever know and it’s going to bug me forever.
I need to mention that there is some really dubious consent going on here with the Nash character who is MARRIED and reading about Eddie’s endless crush on him was disturbing. Her ability to ignore all the 🚩’s was quite something. Quite a talent actually. It made me feel gross for Eddie and for poor Rose and I wasn’t a fan of that storyline even if it did eventually cause Eddie to figure her shit out. In my opinion, it took way too long but I’m not a 20-something and I’m probably impatient for that nonsense.
I did adore the end and the way things wrapped up romance-wise. I adored the sweeter moments Rose and Eddie shared in their room at the moldy mansion. I wish we (me) could’ve had more of the sweet and the lovely but I’m probably being greedy.
3 ½ Stars
Eddie (Edith) and Rose met when they were 8 and have been the best of friends and perhaps a little more for 14 years. At 16 Eddie coerces Rose into making a pact that they would not bow to the expectations of London society and agree to never, ever marry. Rose agrees but she has reservations because her family is not nearly as unconventional or as well-to-do as Eddie’s and back in ye olden times women like Rose didn’t have much of a choice.
Anyhow, now they’re both 22 and Rose has decided to betray Eddie by marrying a boring (perfectly nice), 30ish man (or maybe he was 29, I can’t keep up) who raises rabbits. Eddie is mortified and deeply injured and really pissed off about rabbit man interfering in their lives. She hates on him, she hates on his bunnies, she rages at Rose and this causes a major rift in their friendship. Nash Nicholson, a handsome, charming, narcissistic MARRIED poet causes the other one. Nash is a friend (acquaintance?) of Rose’s fiancé and meeting him opens Eddie up to a whole new world.
Eddie idolizes Nash. Who wouldn’t? He showers her with attention, praises her writing, and promises to introduce her work to his editor. He invites the three of them to join him at his secluded crumbling old mansion for a few months with some other friends to work on their creative endeavors and off they go. Tensions, sexual and otherwise, soon run hot and wild and things get weird and I don’t really want to say anything more than that.
This book started out as an amusing romp with some sweet romantic tension between Eddie and Rose. The reader gets to meet Eddie’s delightfully cute family and I loved it all. I thought it might be a 4 ½ or 5 star story for me but then it takes a decidedly darker turn as Nash whisks them away to his home filled with booze, drugs, and debauchery and it became something else entirely. It was full of strange turns and I did like that because I never felt quite sure where it was going or what was going to happen next. But the tone change was a bit jarring, not gonna lie. It’s an odd mix of humor, and emotional stress with a mystery tossed in that didn’t work for me and felt entirely unnecessary. And something happens at the end that leaves me wondering what happened to one of the characters. Dead? Alive? Ghostie? I don’t think I’ll ever know and it’s going to bug me forever.
I need to mention that there is some really dubious consent going on here with the Nash character who is MARRIED and reading about Eddie’s endless crush on him was disturbing. Her ability to ignore all the 🚩’s was quite something. Quite a talent actually. It made me feel gross for Eddie and for poor Rose and I wasn’t a fan of that storyline even if it did eventually cause Eddie to figure her shit out. In my opinion, it took way too long but I’m not a 20-something and I’m probably impatient for that nonsense.
I did adore the end and the way things wrapped up romance-wise. I adored the sweeter moments Rose and Eddie shared in their room at the moldy mansion. I wish we (me) could’ve had more of the sweet and the lovely but I’m probably being greedy.
3 ½ Stars
August 3, 2022
I really wanted to love this book after reputation but it was painful to read. I kept waiting for eddie to have a redemption arc which never came. Everything that happened with nash was really predictable and the worst part of the book, which ended up being most of it. The small part of romance was lovely and wish there were more. Rose deserved better. Overall it just made me sad because I had so much hope for this book.
November 28, 2022
Infamous is a delightfully diverse and queer rom-com. It’s got a historical setting with a contemporary sensibility that will really resonate with a lot of readers (myself included). Plus, it’s funny! Pick it up if you’re in the mood for a young, fun read with corsets and covert desire.
My full review of Infamous is up now on Keeping Up With The Penguins.
My full review of Infamous is up now on Keeping Up With The Penguins.
January 1, 2023
Utterly brilliant, full of fantastic characters and deliciously witty lines, and so full of painfully accurate emotional realism that, if you have ever been a young would-be writer/artist/composer/musician in desperate search of validation, this story may just scald you with its resonance. I ended up having to skim-read some chunks of the story with my hand in front of my eyes, the first time through, because it all just felt too raw and resonant for me to cope with. (From the moment charming older writer Nash Nicholson offers to "help" Eddie by reading her novel, I was inwardly screaming NO NO NO NO NO! But of course I knew she would leap at it, because I would have, too, at that age and in those circumstances.)
The fact that I found it so painful, though, is not a criticism of the novel AT ALL - it's a tribute to just how real it all felt (and how godawful that same toxic emotional dynamic has been throughout history, again and again - just read up on the women writers and artists in the Bloomsbury group or what poor Mary Shelley went through with her husband to get a taste of how it cycles round and round and keeps on going even now).
The slowburn romance in the background of Eddie's painful artistic coming-of-age, though, is incredibly sweet and adorable, and the ending is lovely - really, really satisfying.
I admired every moment of it.
The fact that I found it so painful, though, is not a criticism of the novel AT ALL - it's a tribute to just how real it all felt (and how godawful that same toxic emotional dynamic has been throughout history, again and again - just read up on the women writers and artists in the Bloomsbury group or what poor Mary Shelley went through with her husband to get a taste of how it cycles round and round and keeps on going even now).
The slowburn romance in the background of Eddie's painful artistic coming-of-age, though, is incredibly sweet and adorable, and the ending is lovely - really, really satisfying.
I admired every moment of it.
December 2, 2022
TW: alcohol and drugs, questionable consent?
Eddie is the most clueless MC ever and I loved her! 😂
Eddie is a writer and when meeting her idol at a party she is absolutely flabbergasted. When said idol seems to be interesting in her and her writing, her dreams of becoming a published author as well seems to be in reach.
Nash is absolutely chaotic, unreliable and flighty. He is also married and takes a little too much interest in Eddie. I was immediately suspicious and did not trust that man one bit!
But he is fun and different and also very handsome. When he promises Eddie to help her with her writing and contact his editor Eddie is in literal heaven.
Eddie is so extremely focussed on her dream, being blinded by Nashes shining personality and also so very naive, that she doesn’t really stop to think about anything else than her novel when he asks her to leave for a vacation.
Blessedly her best friend Rose is there to save the day. Over and over again. 😅
While Rose is set on getting married and taking care of her own household, Eddie doesn’t get that decision one bit.
But she also doesn’t like the idea of Rose getting married to anyone at all. (Yeah Eddie, why is that?)
While there is a whole new world of artists and possibilities opening up to Eddie, her and Roses ideas of life diverge more and more.
There is friendship drama, there is Nash drama, there is weird parties, ghost summoning and lots of alcohol.
All while Eddie is trying to figure out her weird feelings for Rose. (It takes..a while. 😅)
I love Lexes style of writing. It’s so fresh and hilarious while still fitting the regency era vibe!
I loved the haunted house setting, the little secrets and Eddie getting pulled more and more into the depth of Nashes life without even realising it.
I got the most aspec vibes from Eddie, she is just so absolutely oblivious to any sexual advances and attempts! She is so out of her body and feelings, it sometimes seemed that she is so focussed on her novel writing she doesn’t even think about romance or sex at all! Any physical touch/kissing seemed so technical, without inducing any feelings from her part!
I absolutely knew what was going to happen in the end, that time was not a great time to be a woman. I was furious and wanted to punch someone.
I loved how it was solved in the end tho and was glad we got a kind of happy ending.
I wished Eddie wasn’t so SUPER clueless about everything and she would have been a little more firm with Nashes advances, especially after she realised how she feels about Rose. She really wasn’t a great friend.
Also I really wanted to know what happened to Henry? It was just kinda glossed over in the end what really happened that night.
All in all I really had a lot of fun with this! It’s a great story and I love Lexes humour a lot. I’m looking forward to any of her books!!!
Eddie is the most clueless MC ever and I loved her! 😂
Eddie is a writer and when meeting her idol at a party she is absolutely flabbergasted. When said idol seems to be interesting in her and her writing, her dreams of becoming a published author as well seems to be in reach.
Nash is absolutely chaotic, unreliable and flighty. He is also married and takes a little too much interest in Eddie. I was immediately suspicious and did not trust that man one bit!
But he is fun and different and also very handsome. When he promises Eddie to help her with her writing and contact his editor Eddie is in literal heaven.
Eddie is so extremely focussed on her dream, being blinded by Nashes shining personality and also so very naive, that she doesn’t really stop to think about anything else than her novel when he asks her to leave for a vacation.
Blessedly her best friend Rose is there to save the day. Over and over again. 😅
While Rose is set on getting married and taking care of her own household, Eddie doesn’t get that decision one bit.
But she also doesn’t like the idea of Rose getting married to anyone at all. (Yeah Eddie, why is that?)
While there is a whole new world of artists and possibilities opening up to Eddie, her and Roses ideas of life diverge more and more.
There is friendship drama, there is Nash drama, there is weird parties, ghost summoning and lots of alcohol.
All while Eddie is trying to figure out her weird feelings for Rose. (It takes..a while. 😅)
I love Lexes style of writing. It’s so fresh and hilarious while still fitting the regency era vibe!
I loved the haunted house setting, the little secrets and Eddie getting pulled more and more into the depth of Nashes life without even realising it.
I got the most aspec vibes from Eddie, she is just so absolutely oblivious to any sexual advances and attempts! She is so out of her body and feelings, it sometimes seemed that she is so focussed on her novel writing she doesn’t even think about romance or sex at all! Any physical touch/kissing seemed so technical, without inducing any feelings from her part!
I absolutely knew what was going to happen in the end, that time was not a great time to be a woman. I was furious and wanted to punch someone.
I loved how it was solved in the end tho and was glad we got a kind of happy ending.
I wished Eddie wasn’t so SUPER clueless about everything and she would have been a little more firm with Nashes advances, especially after she realised how she feels about Rose. She really wasn’t a great friend.
Also I really wanted to know what happened to Henry? It was just kinda glossed over in the end what really happened that night.
All in all I really had a lot of fun with this! It’s a great story and I love Lexes humour a lot. I’m looking forward to any of her books!!!
Shelved as 'dnf'
June 10, 2023dnf at page 166/396
i've given this book so many chances because i SO wanted to love it but unfortunately it just hasn't hooked me at all and honestly? i'm a bit bored.
what really made me decide to put it down for good though is actually eddie, the main character. i really just can't stand reading from her perspective and do not enjoy her as a character. it is very rare i'll complain about this in a book because i love some good character development and watching the characters learn and grow, but eddie is just too frustrating. she's immature and selfish, and i really dislike the way she's treating rose, who will become her love interest. if i can't even root for their friendship almost halfway through the book, then how can i root for a romance?
ultimately, there are other books i would rather be reading right now so i'm going to do that. however, i am still very much looking forward to reading the author's ya debut, gwen and art are not in love!
i've given this book so many chances because i SO wanted to love it but unfortunately it just hasn't hooked me at all and honestly? i'm a bit bored.
what really made me decide to put it down for good though is actually eddie, the main character. i really just can't stand reading from her perspective and do not enjoy her as a character. it is very rare i'll complain about this in a book because i love some good character development and watching the characters learn and grow, but eddie is just too frustrating. she's immature and selfish, and i really dislike the way she's treating rose, who will become her love interest. if i can't even root for their friendship almost halfway through the book, then how can i root for a romance?
ultimately, there are other books i would rather be reading right now so i'm going to do that. however, i am still very much looking forward to reading the author's ya debut, gwen and art are not in love!
July 14, 2023
cuteee
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the girl with the black hair on the cover is giving the same vibes as eloise bridgerton which means I have to read this!!
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the girl with the black hair on the cover is giving the same vibes as eloise bridgerton which means I have to read this!!
February 28, 2023
This one was just okay for me. It wasn’t particularly exciting up until the almost end and even then I didn’t love it. Eddie and Rose clearly love each other far before they admit it to each other. Then even when they figure it out Rose is still going to get married? Plus the whole part about the murder seemed over the top. I don’t know, just seemed exaggerated and not realistic.
🌀Synopsis
Eddie and Rose are best friends. They’ve done everything together for as long as they can remember. When Rose starts talking about getting married Eddie is both hurt and terrified. She’s going to lose her best friend.
Then Eddie meets Nash and her opinion changes. He fills her with ideas and encourages her writing. He seems so perfect and charming, Eddie is infatuated but he’s married.
They decide to take a trip for the summer- Rose & her fiancé, Nash & his wife, and Eddie. When Nash starts coming on to Eddie she resists his charm but when his wife suddenly leaves the island, he turns it up a notch. Eddie starts to see his true colors and Rose is adamant they leave.
The house is falling apart and cold so Rose and Eddie often share a bed. As the time goes on, their secrets start to come out during those nights. They find out they love each other as more than friends, but then Rose leaves and Eddie is left with Nash.
When she is finally ready to leave she finds out he stole her book idea. Although angry, when Rose shows up to take her away she willingly leaves him with the book and never sees Nash again.
🌀Synopsis
Eddie and Rose are best friends. They’ve done everything together for as long as they can remember. When Rose starts talking about getting married Eddie is both hurt and terrified. She’s going to lose her best friend.
Then Eddie meets Nash and her opinion changes. He fills her with ideas and encourages her writing. He seems so perfect and charming, Eddie is infatuated but he’s married.
They decide to take a trip for the summer- Rose & her fiancé, Nash & his wife, and Eddie. When Nash starts coming on to Eddie she resists his charm but when his wife suddenly leaves the island, he turns it up a notch. Eddie starts to see his true colors and Rose is adamant they leave.
The house is falling apart and cold so Rose and Eddie often share a bed. As the time goes on, their secrets start to come out during those nights. They find out they love each other as more than friends, but then Rose leaves and Eddie is left with Nash.
When she is finally ready to leave she finds out he stole her book idea. Although angry, when Rose shows up to take her away she willingly leaves him with the book and never sees Nash again.
April 24, 2023
My second read from Croucher and one I suspect cements me as a lifelong fan. There's so much to admire and enjoy in their work. Messy main characters who make lots of mistakes and have to learn from them. Amazing friendships. Quirky families. Central casts that are well fleshed out with each member having their own goals and problems outside of simply bolstering the main character's storyline. Themes about art and belonging. Insightful commentary on the challenges of wanting things we're not sure we should want, or we're not sure we can have. Settings that embed themselves in a reader's imagination. And incredible dialogue and prose, full of wit and imagination. Also, of course, a resonant, charming, funny love story between two people who are so clearly meant to be together, but who have a journey to go through to get there. I loved that Eddie and Rose felt so whole and well-rounded as characters, each coming into their sense of self in unique ways. I also adored Nash. He's so obviously bad news from his first introduction, but Croucher does a brilliant job at making us see him through Eddie's eyes, with so much charm, we understand why she's taken in, even while we know she's not seeing what we're seeing. A fabulous cast. A brilliant setting. A layered look at art making and ambition. A love story that unfolds with nuance, humour, and no shortage of emotional resonance. Even the rabbits warmed my heart. I had an absolute blast with this one.
April 10, 2023
Unfortunately, I was a bit disappointed with this book. The first half was cute and funny. I loved Eddie's siblings and their antics so much. I really would have loved if more of the book had featured them.
Eddie was very difficult to like, and I honestly don't understand why Rose gave her so many chances.
After they left for the house party everything just went in such a strange direction. For much of the second half, Eddie was completely insufferable, and her infatuation with Nash was annoying.
I was obvious where the story with Nash was headed from the beginning, and I would have much preferred more of Eddie and Rose together.
Also, seriously, what happened to Henry?
I'm giving this 2.5 stars rounded up to 3 mainly because I liked Eddie's siblings, and there were some tender moments between Eddie and Rose that I enjoyed.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Eddie was very difficult to like, and I honestly don't understand why Rose gave her so many chances.
After they left for the house party everything just went in such a strange direction. For much of the second half, Eddie was completely insufferable, and her infatuation with Nash was annoying.
I was obvious where the story with Nash was headed from the beginning, and I would have much preferred more of Eddie and Rose together.
Also, seriously, what happened to Henry?
I'm giving this 2.5 stars rounded up to 3 mainly because I liked Eddie's siblings, and there were some tender moments between Eddie and Rose that I enjoyed.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
August 15, 2023
Fuck Nash Nicholson! All my homies hate Nash Nicholson!
anyway 4.25, this was so much fun and Rose and Eddie are so lovely together, the ending was just a little too all over the place for me. But the very last page had me tearing up, so still highly highly recommend if you're in the need for some regency era silliness and a sweet sapphic romance!
anyway 4.25, this was so much fun and Rose and Eddie are so lovely together, the ending was just a little too all over the place for me. But the very last page had me tearing up, so still highly highly recommend if you're in the need for some regency era silliness and a sweet sapphic romance!
January 19, 2024
I could NOT connect with Eddie and her constant bad decisions. Everyone was telling her but she was to stubborn to listen. She didn’t deserve Rose and should have groveled more. I was disappointed by Liza at the end of this book as well.
August 7, 2024
eddie is so jarring i couldn't
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