The Great

Eddie and Rose’s relationship. Friends to lovers, slowly building. Rose Lee is in love with Edith “Eddie” Miller, obvious to just about everyone except Eddie. That’s something so very sapphic to me, being the last one to know what everyone else has already figured out. They “practice” how to kiss with each other and when Rose is trying to kiss Eddie for real, she thinks it’s just more platonic practicing. Eddie holds fast to a childhood promise that neither of them would marry, and for a long time can’t figure out why it’s so important to her, why she feels she is losing Rose.

Eddie’s family. Big and bustling, distinct characters, informal atmosphere. Eddie has four siblings and two parents, who all encourage her education and her writing.

Casual diversity. The real world regency era in England would not have been as square and homogenous as most movies make it out to be. There are gay, lesbian, and bi characters here, but of course they are not “out.” There still would have been private pockets of society for the alphabet mafia, especially with the literary or artistic crowd. One set of Rose’s grandparents are from China. We normally don’t see Asian or biracial with one of the races being Asian in historical fiction. But they definitely existed. One character from the literary scene is Black and an abolitionist. Sadly we don’t really see the rest of the crew actively engage in abolition, more of just general, bland encouragement for his writing.

Rose Lee. Rose knows exactly who she is and firmly sticks by what she wants out of life. She doesn’t hide her Asian heritage. She picks a marriage to a man that she thinks would give her the best life, under the circumstances. She knows she is only romantically interested in women and has chosen her homosexual soon-to-be husband so that they can make their home a haven to what would be termed today as LGBT+ people. She is far quicker to understand people’s character and predatory notions than Eddie. She lets Eddie know what she thinks of her decisions, she doesn’t tend to let things fester inside. It’s easy for the reader to fall in love with this character.

The Questionable

Eddie Miller. Most reviewers seem to hate how oblivious Eddie is about Rose, about Nash, about life in general. I think it’s realistic for Eddie to not realize she has feelings for women, Rose in particular. Especially with biphobia and bi-erasure. It took me until about her age to realize that I kept assuming I would have sexual attraction to a guy in real life because I had for fictional men. Yet I assumed I can’t be attracted at all to women because I hadn’t felt real-world attraction like I had felt for fictional women. Had to battle my own bi-erasure. So putting Eddie about 200 years back into regency England, it makes sense why she wouldn’t realize her feelings.

Eddie cont’d. I think Eddie not realizing how vile Nash is has more to do with her own ideals rather than examining the reality of the situation. She wants to be acknowledged by a literary idol, be taken into the London literary scene, and be deemed fit to be among them. She wants to be constructively critiqued then published then adored. It’s not uncommon for people to dismiss the idea that someone they deem a hero from an institution they love is capable of villainy, of moral and legal crimes. We see that with football stars, with politicians, with musicians. People do not want to believe that they could be duped or that their institutions need questioning. They sometimes mentally equate accusing a hero of theirs with accusing themselves and cling more as the logic against their devotion piles up. Eddie experiences a small version of that with Nash. At least that’s how I see it.

Also Rose literally has a maid named Jemima. My first thought was: how did that make it through? I’ll assume that there isn’t the same connotations in Britain.

The Bad

The crumbling waterlogged mansion scenes. Looking back, we definitely spend too much time here, making Nash too much the focus of the book. Especially since so many things get unresolved from this portion of the book. Did Nash kill that guy? That didn’t seem like it would be solely from Eddie’s delirious mushroom episode. Did Nash assault that servant; is that guy okay? It was never talked about again.

Also I could have used a romantic scene with Rose and Eddie once they had returned to their normal lives or years into the future. It does make sense how the use of documents was employed to show a realistic way their relationship would have gone on. But that’s a really subjective critique.

Also I personally would have liked more time with the recourse of the stolen manuscript, with Eddie exhausting her avenues of getting the truth out there before a big internal moment of despair, then getting back up to write another novel. This happens quickly at the end, and it doesn’t seem like she actually tried to get the truth out there. Again, a really subjective critique.

Overall

I enjoyed reading most of this book, and really enjoyed each of the characters. I think others’ enjoyment of this work will depend upon if they absolutely despise the main character being the last to figure out things or if they can allow some leeway for the main character to make these mistakes. Also depends on if they like the first person POV, romances with a small bit of spice, and historical fiction.

I’m giving it a 7/10 mostly worth the read. Recommending for others involved many asterisks.

A great audiobook narrator really helped this one.

Thank you Netgalley for this audiobook ARC.

I definitely think i wouldn’t have made it through this book had it not been an audiobook I could just pop on and do chores to. Ellie Kendrick is an excellent, engaging narrator and I enjoyed their delivery of this novel very greatly.
I didn’t like the overall pacing of the book - I saw the ending coming a mile away and felt that a lot of the content was prolonging the inevitable. Eddie is a very obtuse character and it was hard to like her sometimes. Her age felt more of a 16-17 year old’s instead of a 22 year old.
I think I would like to keep reading more of this author’s books, as I found the story engaging but perhaps this one was just not for me.

I enjoyed listening to Infamous. The narration I kept me entertained and hooked the whole time.
Thank you Netgalley for ARC in exchange of my honest feedback

This was my second Lex Croucher book, and pretty much my second chance for this author.

Her first book didn’t hit well, and I was hoping it was just because of the tropes. When I found from listening to this book is that her stories are more young adult/new adult and romance adjacent. Pretty much, her stories are geared towards a younger audience, and more towards learning life skills, and becoming a functioning adult/person, then finding romance and you’re happily ever after.

That said, I did enjoy this book a lot more than her first. The story focusses on Edith, and aspiring writer as she deals with a fan obsession, being mentored by her idol at the dealing with her best friend, moving on with life and planning a wedding.

I enjoyed the way the author included, alternate lifestyles and queer positive spaces in this story.

As for the audio narration, Elli Kendrick does a great job narrating this dual female MC story. Her delineation between the characters and their voices is clear and easy to follow. Her voice work tends to lean towards this younger age group, and fits in well with the story.

Overall, this is a solid audiobook, and a better showing for author, Lex Croucher.

I have mixed feelings here. The story was well crafted and there was good blend of diversity in the cast characters that lent well to the plot. The problem? I saw the twist coming from the moment certain characters were introduced. There were too many clues, I could just sense it and I didn’t want to be right. It actually would have been more of a twist had that not been the outcome.
I was almost unsatisfied until the nice little summation in the epilogue - retribution attained in the cleanest and most honest of ways. Which is nothing short of what we would expect from our heroine (and her best friend/lover).
I love a good regency tale of love and this book did not disappoint in that respect, despite the MC’s cluelessness throughout most of the book. She was lucky she had other redeeming qualities, otherwise I may have given up on her.
This is a tale of friends to lovers, fierce heroines, rogues, the arts and independence.
This is a 3.5-4 star read, for me. Rounded up to 4 because of how loveable that dog was and did like the mini-mystery hidden within… and Henry.
Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for and audio copy of the book. The opinions expressed are honest and my own.

I was very excited bout this work because I had recently read a lot of period romance pieces. However, something about the vibes in this book just felt off. I did think the writing was well done, but I genuinely hated many of the characters, one of which being a main character.

I feel like if a few of the romance elements had been changed, it plus have been a lot better for my vibes.

Even with that I think the narrator did an absolutely amazing job in the performance of the work. All of the voices were uniquely done, an the dramatization was superb.

In the end I gave this a 3 stars, and I would like to thank NetGalley n the publisher for this audio arc

Lex Croucher’s last book was a hit with me so when I saw her new book available I knew I had to have it! I love how she brings a different time period time life for me!

I really enjoyed reading Reputation last year after being intrigued and persuaded into Regency Romances after watching Bridgerton! Croucher certainly writes this one with the same level of wittiness that I relished in but I must admit that this one was just missing a little something for me that I can’t quite pinpoint.

The queer friends to lovers trope shines bright and Eddie and Rose have some great chemistry and make for quite a dynamic duo! I found the general angstiness of this one entertaining and it’s certainly a fun modern integration into the regency era.

I’ve seen a lot of bookstagrammers love this one so please don’t let my indifference make you hesitate from picking this one up!

Eddie is a boisterous aspiring writer. She and Rose have been close friends. When Rose tells Eddie about her intention to get married after their debutante ball. Eddie is shocked. When renowned poet Nash Nicholson invites Eddie to come stay at his Gothic mansion to focus on her novel, Eddie can't wait. Rose is there with her fiance in the travel party as well. But everything is not what it seems.

This was an interesting premise with interesting characters and plot. For some reason I was constantly distracted while consuming the book. I tried switching between the audio and the physical copy. I liked the mystery around the gothic estate. I think I may have liked this book better as a fiction without the Eddie/Rose angle, which didn't work as well for me.

Thank you @stmartinspress and @macmillanaudio for the ARC and complimentary audio book.

3.5 stars

Just as well written & funny as Reputation! I loved the setting in the creepy house on the creepy island. My main complaint is that the biggest plot “twist” was evident from very early in the story.

[What I liked:]

•Eddie and Rose are so sweet together! Their friendship & romance & sexual awakenings were well done.

•The group of weird artsy friends made for a great cast of characters. It was fun to see them interacting with the younger & more naïve Eddie.

•The creepy falling apart house on the island in the middle of nowhere was back absolutely wonderful setting! It added so much menace but also hilarity to the story!


[What I didn’t like as much:]

•It seemed positively obvious to me who would betray Eddie & how from the very very beginning, which just made her seem extra clueless & incompetent that she had no inkling of it at any point. I prefer competent heroines, is all.

CW: sexual harassment/assault, infidelity, queer phobia, sexism, racism

[I received an ARC ebook copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Thank you for the book!]

The cover drew me in, but the narrator is what kept me hooked. Through the story, even when my emotions were being tested by our leads, the narrator's voice and way of telling the story kept me engrossed in such a way that the rest of the world faded away.

Although I was given a copy of this audiobook in exchange for my review, all opinions remain my own. Thank you Netgalley and Macmillian audio for the opportunity to listen to this novel. My review: 3.5 out of 5 stars

This book isn't exactly what I thought it was at the beginning. It wasn't even what I thought it was at the middle, but by the end, it didn't matter what it was, I loved it. The only reason this book didn't get more stars from me is that it seemed a bit longer then necessary. I felt like there was quite a lot of "fluff" in the story that didn't add much to the actual plot. The characters were funny and relatable (as much as they could be for the time-period related to ours). By far my favorite part was the ending. I felt it wrapped all things up quite nicely.

The narrator was nice to listen to and didn't try to give too many "voices" to the different characters. I would definitely listen to another book with her narrating again.

Infamous follows main character, Eddie and her best friend, Rose, as they navigate the social world. After meeting her idol, Nash Nicholson, Eddie finds herself thrust into his world that is quite outside the norm. Along with this, she must figure out her life now that Rose has become engaged to a man that Eddie does not see with her friend.

Infamous is my first of Lex Croucher's novels and I will absolutely be reading Reputation after this. What a fun, heart-warning read. There is so much happening that you don't even realize you are reading (or in my case, listening). You are completely entranced in the book. Ellie Kendrick does a masterful job as narrator as well.

Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the ARL!

A misleading beginning that led to a decent story...

The first half of Infamous follows Eddie as she obsesses over her writing and her idol, Nash, largely in order to help herself get over her best friend's impending marriage.

However, the story doesn't really get going until the group ends up on Nash's private island, where the secrets come out and Eddie and Rose finally start to process their feelings. Even then, while the drama and atmosphere are great, the story is a bit slow.

Overall, I think the author had a great idea with this book, but needed to condense down to make it hit the way it should have.

It took me a little bit to get into this book. It started both slow and fast in some ways, giving you background on the friendship between Eddie and Rose leading up to where the story really begins with the debutante ball. I stopped listening for a few days and then picked it back up to try again and I am glad I did! There were a lot of fun and quirky characters in this book, lots of humor, and copious amounts of shenanigans!

The story is set in the Regency era and told from the perspective of Eddie, who is frustratingly oblivious and intolerable for a good portion of the story. If you’ve watched Bridgerton, think Eloise - but a bit more annoying and insufferable. There were several times throughout the story where I thought, “This is the moment!” But she had A LOT to learn. And some things she had to learn more than once. People driving next to me were probably wondering what was going on with how many times I was yelling at her throughout the story!

The story was much more about Eddie’s relationship and infatuation with her idol, author Nash Nicholson, than it is about her relationship with Rose. So it kind of felt like there were dual romantic plot lines to follow, but the main one is still Rose and Eddie. While they are clearly into each other and more than friends from the first chapter (with their kissing practice), Eddie is absolutely clueless to the fact that her feelings for Rose are more than friendly. No matter how many times they kiss. Or how much she wants her life to revolve around Rose, to the point of making a pact that they will never get married. Rose gave Eddie far more chances than I ever would have, or than she probably deserved. But…love, am I right? I do hope that Eddie became the person Rose deserves, though.

Ellie Kendrick did a great job with the narration! This was my first time listening to a book she narrated and I would definitely listen to her again. All in all this was a great book…but prepare to be frustrated and to yell at Eddie as you read/listen! Thank you @netgalley and @Macmillan.Audio for the audiobook ARC of Infamous!

⚠️TW: alcohol/drug use, extramarital affairs, manipulation, drug-facilitated sexual harassment/assault

4.5

🖋️Friends of to Lovers
🖋️Forbidden Love
🖋️Historical Romance
🖋️HEA
🖋️Sapphic
🖋️Coming of Age

There were times I wanted to yell at these characters, but what a beautiful ride. Love the ending for these two.

Am I the only one upset we never found out for certain about Henry?!!!?!? Nails on a chalkboard, seemed too random a part of the story to not see that storyline through.

The narration for this book was top notch.

Submitted review via Amazon waiting for approval, included link to my profile.

I’ll be perfectly honest (I mean, really, I should be. I promised I would be for this review.) I really didn’t enjoy Lex Croucher’s first book of this series. Reputation, despite being well written and intelligent, featured a heroine that I ended up feeling unable to garner much sympathy for. While she found redemption in the end as I’m sure was the point (given the Mean Girls-esque plot parallels) overall Georgiana was a largely unlikable and unrelatable protagonist. Which is typically not my preferred position to be in as a Romance reader.

So why did I read this next book? Largely because I really do enjoy the style and tone of Lex’s storytelling. The humor is very dry, and the premises lend themselves to being more thought-provoking than a lot of romances tend to be.

I’m very happy to report that Infamous was well worth giving this series a second chance. It kept the same brilliant comedy and gave a wonderfully unique take on regency romance. As you might assume, I found the protagonist here far more palatable (though I’ll admit Eddie can be quite frustrating at times) and really ended up liking more of the side characters as well. As with Reputation I also think the non-romantic plot lines were handled very well, even if I saw some of the twists coming. I genuinely found myself rooting for Eddie’s success, even while face palming how dense she could be in some ways. To read a historical romance that shines a spotlight on (what are still) modern issues in feminism, is a real treat!!

I love to read characters bucking the societal norms so this one was a lot of fun. Definitely not your average regency bodice ripper. The characters were fun and engaging.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!

I loved this book! I love the characters and the setting, the only reason it's not five stars is because I KNEW the ending was coming and I was on pins and needles waiting for it to happen the whole book! A treat ☺️

I'm sorry, I couldn't finish this. I gave it a good go by reading 31% of this book. My issues:

1. a third of the way in and I still have no freaking clue why I need to care about any of what's happening. and they just keep going round and round on the same point that Rose is moving on and getting married, while Eddie might be hanging out with the wrong crowd. CAN we move on, please?!
2. It feels vapid. And yes, I read Croucher's previous work and enjoyed it even though it, too, felt somewhat indulgent, in there the main lead felt way more relatable. I just don't think Eddie was properly set up to give the reader expectations or relatability.
3. not a romance. Rose feels like a goal rather than an actual person.