***I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.***
Named A Most Anticipated Romance of 2023 by Goodreads and Bookpage
"Croucher infuses this energetic Regency era friends-to-lovers sapphic romance with zany wit, joie de vivre, and a distinctive literary bent... Bookish readers who wish that Alcott’s Little Women were a bit more explicitly queer will lap this up." ––Publishers Weekly
Twenty-two-year-old aspiring writer Edith (“Eddie”) Miller and her best friend Rose have always done everything together—from climbing trees and sneaking bottles of wine, to extensive kissing practice. But Rose has started talking about marriage, and Eddie is horrified. Why can’t they continue as they always have?
Then Eddie meets charming, renowned poet Nash Nicholson––a rival of Lord Byron, if he does say so himself––and he welcomes her into his world of eccentric artists and boundary-breaking visionaries. When Eddie receives an invitation to Nash's crumbling Gothic estate in the countryside, promising inspiration (and time to finish her novel, a long-held dream), she eagerly agrees. But the pure hedonism and debauchery that ensues isn’t exactly what she had in mind, and Eddie soon finds herself torn between her complicated feelings for Rose and her equally complicated dynamic with Nash, whose increasingly bad behavior doesn’t match up to her vision for her literary hero.
Will Eddie be forced to choose between her friendship with Rose and her literary dreams––or will she be able to write her own happily ever after?
Infamous by Lex Croucher is a young adult, regency-era, queer love story that made me laugh and I enjoyed.
Story Recap:
Rose and Edith (Eddie) are best friends since childhood, they do everything together including practice kissing. Aspiring writer, Edith has never felt marriage was a priority and lives life in a very unconventional way. Rose has lived a more conventional life and when Rose and Eddie go to their debutant ball, Eddie is horrified to learn that Rose is considering marriage.
Eddie meets the charming renowned poet Nash Nicholson, who invites her to his crumbling old estate in the country, which houses a colony of artists and unconventional people.
My Thoughts:
I enjoyed the humor and banter of this book. The author has a writing style that took me a while to get used to, she writes historical fiction in a modern tone, and in her previous book, Reputation, this style threw me off a bit. But, now that I’m used to her style, I was able to enjoy the humor and banter in this book much more.
I liked the story, and the characters and I enjoyed seeing a less conventional side of Regency life. However, I did find the book slow at times, and the plot wasn’t as developed as I would have liked. I enjoyed Eddie very much, she’s an intelligent woman, so I thought she would figure things out a bit quicker than she did.
Overall this was a fun story that made me smile.
Recommendation:
I highly recommend Infamous to anyone who enjoys Historical romance. I received a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
About Lex Croucher
Lex 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. REPUTATION (Zaffre/St Martin’s Press, 2021) is Lex’s debut novel, and their debut YA novel GWEN AND ART ARE NOT IN LOVE (Bloomsbury UK/Wednesday Books) is coming in 2023.
A great review. Interesting about the writing style. In one of the Facebook groups that I follow there is a comment thread about words that are used that are not of the era of the story. I don’t know how I feel about it as sometimes the classics can be hard to read and I don’t like to think too hard when I am reading so “today’s” language is better for that, but then it takes away some of the charm of the story…
It can get ticklish whether I can do ‘modern’ in a historical. So, its a try it and see thing for me. Glad it worked for you even if it got slow in spots. Humor is always a plus.
This sounds so entertaining! I’m not a fan of historical fiction, so the modern tone of the book may actually help me feel more comfortable while reading. I might have to pick this up! 🙂
This sounds like a cute read! I tend to shy away from historical fiction written in a modern tone, too, but maybe this one is worth checking out. 🙂
Haven’t heard of this author before now. I love humorous banter in books. Great review, glad you liked it.
I really want to read this one! I love the UK cover too. Great review!
A great review. Interesting about the writing style. In one of the Facebook groups that I follow there is a comment thread about words that are used that are not of the era of the story. I don’t know how I feel about it as sometimes the classics can be hard to read and I don’t like to think too hard when I am reading so “today’s” language is better for that, but then it takes away some of the charm of the story…
Have a great week!
Sounds different, glad you found it a fun read, great review 😊
It can get ticklish whether I can do ‘modern’ in a historical. So, its a try it and see thing for me. Glad it worked for you even if it got slow in spots. Humor is always a plus.
Wonderful review. I’ve read a few authors who write in this style.
Nice to hear this had you laughing!
Yes! Thank you, Rachel
Another wonderful review Wendy! That does sounds like a unique writing style.
Thank you, Jodie
I haven’t read anything by this author yet. Seems you’re definitely warming up to the writing style. Hopefully you’ll enjoy the next book even more.
Thank you, Lucy
I’m glad you liked this.
Thank you, Kristi!
Glad you enjoyed this one! I love humor and banter in stories.
Thank you, Joanna
Good review, Wendy! I think I like the UK cover better on this one.
I think the UK cover is more cheerful looking
plot sounds interesting. i like the idea of contrasting characters. great review!
I hope you enjoy it! Thank you. Yesha
This sounds so entertaining! I’m not a fan of historical fiction, so the modern tone of the book may actually help me feel more comfortable while reading. I might have to pick this up! 🙂
I hope you enjoy it!
I struggled a bit with Reputation as well, so I’m on the fence about whether I want to pick this one up. Great review!
It’s very similar to Reputation in tone.
What a fun story! Excellent review Wendy!🤗📚☕💜
Thank you , Susan
Sounds like a fun read, although finding a book slow in places does impact on the pleasure.
It does impact the enjoyment. Thanks, Cathy!
I’m not really a fan of regency, but this sounds adorable. Lovely review!
This is an odd mix as it’s regency with a modern feel. It was interesting
I loved the witty banter too. That was definitely the best part for me. Excellent review!
Thank you, Tessa
I think that I might struggle with the modern tone of this book.
It’s tough to get used to.