I loved the premise of this book – a Regency romance with a Sapphic twist, the story of two friends realising their feelings for each other and set against a literary background. This was my first Lex Croucher book, but I’d definitely read more.
The story centres on Edith (Eddie) Miller, an aspiring novelist, and her best friend, Rose Li. Both are of an age where society expects them to find husbands, something Rose is prepared to do while Eddie pushes back at expectations placed upon her. Instead, she’s seduced by an arty crowd, led by Byronic poet Nash Nicholson who offers to help getting her book published. When the whole group decamp to Nash’s decrepit and decaying family estate, hedonistic parties ensure – but is that really what Eddie wants?
The relationship between the main characters is managed with subtlety by Croucher – as you’d expect, there’s lots of misunderstandings between them as the path to true love is never smooth. Still, they seem well-rounded and believable characters, even as you wait for the penny to drop and for them to find each other.
Although I found Eddie a bit frustratingly naive, the strength of this novel for me was in the wider cast of characters. Nash might have his flaws (an understatement), but he was also witty and sharp. Other characters were presented much more warmly – I found that Albert, Kitty and Valentine grew on me as the novel progressed and I enjoyed the humorous repartee as the group navigated the crumbling country house falling down around them.
This is very much a modern take on a Regency romance so it was heartening to see LGBTQ+ and ethnic representation throughout. Readers in search of something traditional won’t find it here, although the period detail is also well done. As a history buff, I always want more historical accuracy, but the premise of removing the characters to a remote house where society’s rules didn’t apply skirted some of the more obvious transgressions against decency that occurred.
Although the central romance seemed destined from the beginning, I was pleased that there was plenty of surprises in the plot – and some obstacles that I really didn’t know how they were going to overcome. It’s well plotted, although a little long in places. I did find the final scenes on the island with Henry a little confusing, but it didn’t detract from the overall effect of the novel.
If you’re after a smart, funny and fresh take on a Regency romance novel, this is the book for you. There’s characters you’ll love, others you’ll love to hate, plenty of fun and bucket-loads of smashing Georgian society’s rather stifling conventions.
Thanks to NetGalley for my review copy – and apologies for the late posting of my review.
If you’d like a copy of this book, please use my affiliate link below – thanks for supporting my blog with any purchases.
Header photo by Faith Enck on Unsplash
