Tag: LGBTQ+

Something Spectacular by Alexis Hall

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Title: Something Spectacular
Author: Alexis Hall
Format: ebook (ARC)
Genre(s): Romance, Historical
Rating: ★★★★☆

This delightful sequel to Something Fabulous tells Peggy Delancey’s story as she learns to let go of her longstanding love for Arabella Tarleton and falls (literally, at first!) for the opera singer Orfeo. Prepare yourself for anachronisms (explained in the opening author’s note), flamboyant humor, journeys of self-discovery, and a well-crafted (and sometimes steamy) romance as Alexis Hall delivers another whimsical yet touching romantic comedy.

It’s satisfying to watch Peggy define not just who she is and how she wants to show up in the world, but also what matters to her — including her struggle with whether it’s legitimate to make seemingly traditional life choices without accepting the entire framework that society insists comes with them. And although the narrative focuses on Peggy’s perspective, Orfeo has their own growth arc as they learn to ask for and embrace possibilities they haven’t previously let themself imagine for their life.

This is a lovely, funny romance but also an exploration of what it means to care for someone — whether a friend, a partner, or yourself.

(Addendum: I’m dying to know what happened to Sir Horley and can only hope that the next book will be about him!)

Thank you to NetGalley and Montlake for providing an advanced reader copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. Something Spectacular comes out on April 11, 2023.

The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle by Matt Cain

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Title: The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle
Author: Matt Cain
Format: ebook
Genre(s): Romance
Rating: ★★★★☆

This is a seriously sweet, heartwarming story about Albert Entwistle, a closeted postman on the verge of retirement who is pushed into reevaluating his solitary lifestyle and searching for the young love he lost many years before.

We see flashbacks to Albert’s past, and without dwelling on the trauma we’re given a very real glimpse of the fears and challenges of young gay men growing up in small town England at the time. This is juxtaposed with present-day Albert getting to know some of his coworkers and neighbors, including a young single mother, a lonely retired woman, and a gay couple who are new to town.

I loved the portrayal of the North, including a walk through Manchester’s Gay Village, and I enjoyed seeing Albert grow as he ventured farther out of his comfort zone both physically and emotionally. The way things ended felt a bit too perfect and easy, but it fit with the spirit of the story and left me with a lingering sense of joy and hope.

A Restless Truth by Freya Marske

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Title: A Restless Truth
Author: Freya Marske
Format: ebook
Genre(s): Romance, Historical, Fantasy
Rating: ★★★☆☆

This is the sequel to A Marvellous Light, following Maud Blythe as she tries to solve a magical murder mystery while traveling on a ship back to England from New York — it is, as Marske calls it, “a bubbly Wodehousian romp.”

Unfortunately, the first book didn’t set me up for this one to be a romp, and I found myself jarred by the change in tone as well as the lack of intimacy-building between Maud and Violet, a striking actress who Maud recognizes from Robin’s earlier visions about the journey. The romance storyline is mainly about Maud’s self-discovery as she is captivated by Violet, whereas Violet plays the fairly predictable part of the more worldly, guarded flirt, creating a frustratingly insurmountable emotional distance between the two (although that does come across as more realistic in the end than a whirlwind romance). The magic/mystery storyline also fell flat for me, not offering enough new substance about magic and magical society aside from the revelation about Maud, and exasperating me when they make an enormous and completely avoidable blunder as the crisis is coming to a head.

The word that most describes this book for me is claustrophobic: I felt stuck on the ship, wishing for the end of the journey and a change in cast or setting, and ultimately left hoping that the next installment (perhaps following Alan Ross and Lord Hawthorn, who I loved seeing more sides of, although I’d be thrilled to get more of Adelaide Morrissey) will bring a breath of fresh air and some added depth to the series.

Magic in Manhattan series by Allie Therin

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Title: Magic in Manhattan series: Spellbound, Starcrossed, and Wonderstruck
Author: Allie Therin
Format: ebook
Genre(s): Fantasy, Romance, Historical
Rating: ★★★★☆

This series took my favorite fiction genres and wrapped them up in a fast-paced, entertaining, touching story with a diverse cast of characters who are dealing with magical conundrums in New York. Although many interesting characters play a role, the books are definitely centered on Rory — a feisty young man who’s scraping by and trying to stay under the radar to hide his magic — and Arthur — a slightly older, rich congressman’s son who is mundane but wrapped up in the magical world — as they try to address the challenges both between them and around them.

There are so many things to enjoy in these books: witty dialogue, but not to the point of being outlandish; some characters who defy categorization as heroes or villains; many instances of people facing and working through issues of class, race, language, nationality, gender, and sexuality; the way prohibition, World War I, and other historical notes play a role in the plot; and a story that blends action and romance. It does have flaws here and there (like some pretty heavy exposition to get some of the backstory in the first book, a bit of a quick transition in the romance, and the use of some very fiendish, one-dimensional villains) but they didn’t get in the way of me gleefully devouring the series. It may not be the most sophisticated story I’ve read this year, but it was great fun!

Paris Daillencourt is About to Crumble by Alexis Hall

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Title: Paris Daillencourt is About to Crumble
Author: Alexis Hall
Format: ebook
Genre(s): Romance, Comedy
Rating: ★★★★☆

I was lucky enough to nab this book — the second in a series about a fictional baking competition — from the library almost immediately after it came out, and then (as I do with Alexis Hall’s novels) zipped right through it, cackling all the way.

Although ostensibly a rom-com about two of the competitors, Paris and Tariq, a huge part of the story is about Paris’s anxiety and his journey as he recognizes it, accepts it, and learns how to deal with it. So it’s not all fun and baked goods: I felt sucked into Paris’s anxiety and frustrated by the repetitive, negative cycles he went through, especially in moments where he lacked empathy for the people around him and sabotaged his relationships. But that meant his growth also felt fairly realistic, and it was well balanced with genuinely cute moments and lots of laughing about the competition.

If you like Hall’s style of humor, miss the early seasons of GBBO, don’t mind the open-endedness of an HFN ending (which is more about the main character’s ability to be in a relationship than about this particular relationship, per se), and enjoy when your romances come with a strong helping of Serious Issues, you might find this story as lovely as I did.

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

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Title: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
Author: V.E. Schwab
Format: eBook (library)
Genre(s): Fantasy
Rating: ★★★★☆

What does it mean to belong to someone else, and what kind of legacy do you want to leave behind? After making a deal with the darkness, Addie finds that her wish to be free makes her something of an outcast — and spends the rest of her unnaturally long life defying the limitations of the deal.

Although at times I got frustrated by the short chapters and shifting timeline of the story (which frequently flips between past and present), I enjoyed how this presented Addie’s many overlapping layers: her young naïve self, her longing for connection, her sense of wonder, her anger and frustration at her circumstances, and her stubborn insistence not to give up or give in. I also appreciated the juxtaposition of the other main characters, Luc and Henry, who are very different and yet very similar — in their looks but also in how Addie is drawn to them while she also struggles with her relationship with each of them.

I loved following Addie’s journey (both internal and external) over the years and found the ending gleefully satisfying while at the same time very open and unfinished, in the best way.

A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske

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Title: A Marvellous Light
Author: Freya Marske
Genre(s): Romance, Historical, Fantasy
Rating: ★★★★☆

I loved this story — on its surface, a historical fantasy romance involving the affable baronet Robin Blythe being shoved into a ministry position that introduces him to the magical world, via the stand-offish magician Edwin Courcey and a magical curse.

Robin and Edwin are captivating characters, both struggling with other people’s expectations for them as well as their desire for each other. But the story goes beyond that, including blatant examples of sexism and racism (hat tip to the fabulous Adelaide Morrissey and Kitty Kaur — all I can say is “woe.”) that cloud the judgment of not only the non-magical Edwardian society but the magical community as well. I enjoyed how these themes were woven together with the plot, how the main characters grew through the story, and the delightful (albeit a bit hand-wavy, pun intended) magical system based on Cat’s Cradle.

I’m definitely looking forward to the upcoming sequel focused on Robin’s sister Maud, A Restless Truth.

The Queer Principles of Kit Webb by Cat Sebastian

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Title: The Queer Principles of Kit Webb
Author: Cat Sebastian
Genre(s): Romance, Historical, LGBTQ+
Rating: ★★★☆☆

This is a highly enjoyable romance starring Percy, the foppish son of the (clearly evil) Duke of Clare, and Kit, a former highwayman who Percy tries to hire to steal (from the duke, of course) a book that belonged to his late mother. It has a fairly predictable series of events and I found myself identifying who was really who almost as soon as new characters appeared on the page. But despite that, I enjoyed watching Percy open his eyes to the damage the aristocracy can do and make his own choices based on that knowledge, without having a complete personality transplant. Kit was a charming highwayman-turned-coffeeshop-owner and I adored watching the two fall for each other. I wish we’d seen more of their backstory with their closest friends, Marian and Rob — I especially found it hard to like Marian, who was barely there for Percy — but perhaps the sequel will make them more likable or at least relatable characters.

Husband Material by Alexis Hall

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Title: Husband Material
Author: Alexis Hall
Genre(s): Romance
Rating: ★★★★☆

There are a few things I adore about Alexis Hall’s romance novels that are well represented in this book: his couples communicate and act like real people, and so don’t end up in conflicts that could be solved with a straightforward explanation, thus inspiring me to yell “just talk to each other already!” (but do still sometimes end up with communication problems because, well, people are complex and sometimes communication is hard); his stories are full of feelings that often are not just about the two main characters, but also portray the benefits and challenges of friendship; and he is interested in looking for satisfying endings that aren’t necessarily the simple marriage and heteronormative HEA or the simplified fall-in-love-and-done story. Luc and Oliver are such interesting characters to me because at this point (heads up if you didn’t know, this book is a sequel to Boyfriend Material!) they are dealing with the kinds of problems that come up when the New Relationship Energy has run out and you’re left with questions about long-term compatibility and values and identity and those conversations that you see turning into arguments but can’t quite stop because the disagreements are well-worn grooves that you just fall into. They feel like such real people in a caring, imperfect long-term relationship. I maybe wasn’t a huge fan of the “Four Weddings and a Funeral” structure, which felt a little too predictable once I realized what was going on (around the end of the second wedding). But I was sucked in to the story, from the serious and loving moments to the hilarious — including the continued failed jokes with Luc’s coworkers and the very satisfying jabs at Tories and religion and the middle/upper classes.