I am not usually a fan of historical romance but this was a nice and easy read and the romance was sweet too. I liked the characters; Jackie knew her own mind and was not going to let the rules of society drag her down. Nora knew what she wanted but at first struggled with her feelings and what it would mean for her in society if she went through with them. I liked how the relationship progressed, it was realistic if not a little tad dramatic but expected for the time period and although the end drama was a bit silly it was still a lovely ending to an overall good book.

While I'm a fan of historical romances, this one missed the mark for me... I couldn't feel the chemistry between them, and I felt like the book was dragged to the point of it being dull... Granted, it didn't help that Nora character wasn't very likable to me. 2.5 - 3 stars from me.

“When I am around her, I feel so alive. And I can’t turn away from truly living, can I?”

Historical f/f romance is my absolute favourite thing! This debut centres on two ladies determined to make the most of their season in London. Honora is fresh from the country, and determined to catch a husband to secure her future. Jacqueline is in her sixth season, and has no interest in marriage, only in having fun and getting over the heartache that her last lover left her with. The two, opposites in every way, are thrown together, and soon find themselves developing a relationship that becomes more than friendship and convenience.

Like I said, I eat up almost anything that has to do with queer people in historical settings, so I enjoyed this for those reasons. The author did a great job of building the setting, and maybe it's because I haven't read a book like this in a while, but I was really drawn in to all the drama and excitement around balls and dances and making connections. I REALLY loved all the queerness in the little cast of characters, and all the different perspectives we got on being queer in this time. It wasn't a focus of the plot, but I loved the little glimpses we got into different people's lives and experiences.

Sadly the romance, while cute, wasn't my favourite thing. I didn't dislike anything about it; I just didn't feel the chemistry as much as I'd have liked to. I felt like it was really strong in the beginning, maybe the first 50%. It was slow-burny and delicious. But as soon as they embarked on a relationship I started losing interest a bit. Some of the historical aspects felt off as well, mostly just with regard to how one of our heroines talked about being into women. Nowhere near as careful as I might have expected her to be, even taking into consideration that women had it far easier than men. Not a huge thing, but it pulled me out of the story a lot. I was pretty disinterested in the conflict, and the ending came together very very fast. I didn't exactly dislike either of our heroines, but neither did I find them very memorable.

I still mostly enjoyed this; the general ambiance, setting and writing made up for where it stumbled in other places. I'd still recommend it for people who want more historical f/f romance.

The premise of these story sounds right up my street: a historical f/f romance is my idea of escapist bliss. Unfortunately, it didn't really meet my expectations and ended up a DNF for me... I must stress that the story is light hearted and I think would be popular with many, but it just wasn't for me. It didn't highlight reality for me, such as the flippancy with which Beatrice pronounces her best friends heartbreak. It felt a little bit too much admittance too soon, and the building of the characters, I think, should have had more grounding there. It's most certainly worth a shot if this is your area of interest but it wasn't for me.

Well I’m sorry to say but at 62% I just can’t read anymore. This book was unfortunately dull and completely non-engaging. The romance was flat and there just seemed to be no anticipation for the next page.

4.5 stars. Fair warning, my bias is so heavy that other reviewers will probably be wondering where my rating is coming from, but I have a huge soft spot for LGBTQ historical romance, and there's so little of it!
Sure, Jacquie and Nora have their flaws. Nora can come across as a little wooden, although she's just introverted and reserved. Jacquie often fails to make the right decision, and can be abrasive, but you have to admire how unabashedly she goes about, staying true to herself. I liked Nora more of the two, but I don't know if that's because I felt like I related to her better. The contrasting personalities work well, because they do each learn from the other.
The storyline was fine. Predictable, yes, but you don't exactly expect surprises from a book like this. I liked the way that the conflict was set up. (minor spoilers...) What seems like an insurmountable problem boils down to whether Nora cares about what others think. Jacquie doesn't outright mention it, but she seems to not care from the start of the book, while Nora has a decision to make. When the revelation comes, she redeems herself for all the spine she was lacking before. They're both very fortunate to be in their shoes, having some financial freedom, and no laws bearing down on women the same way there would be for sodomy. Yet it's nice to think that more women-loving-women managed to make things work in their time than we know of.
My last bias comes from the knowledge that this was a debut. I'll be waiting for more from Jane Walsh to see how she improves from here.

THIS MISSED THE MARK FOR ME

I was so excited for this. It was going to be my first FF historical romance and I had such high hopes. But Walsh didn't deliver on my expectations. I didn't connect with the story or the characters and that made this a difficult book to get through...

👍 What I Liked 👍

Inclusion and community: Even though most of this book didn't work for me, I really appreciated the inclusion of different queer identities. And I also appreciated how the queer community was portrayed as.. well, as a wholesome, supportive community!

👎 What I Disliked 👎

Nora: I cannot stress how much I disliked Nora. She was a terrible character and an even worse MC. She was jealous, possessive and selfish. She makes demands of Jacquie without doing anything in return for her. And she doesn't care that her demands hurt Jacquie, because Nora only cares about herself.

Romance: I felt no chemistry between Nora and Jacquie, their relationship was so strange, because I couldn't feel them clicking as a couple and it took so long for them to find each other. And then they were suddenly in love. Completely out of the blue. It didn't work for me at all.

Story and plot: The plot was so thin, there was nothing to drive the story onward. There was no hook (aside from the FF romance) that made this book stand out amongst the millions of other historical romances.

I don't know how to say "I really enjoy perfectly average romance novels" without it sounding insulting? Sometimes you don't need anything that reinvents the wheel or blows your mind and you just want to settle in for a nice little read and that's what this was for me. Self-described wallflower Honora Banfield searches for husband, meets Jacqueline Lockhart who is the spirited centre of attention at every ball her relatively lower status gets her into. They agree that Nora will get Jacquie access to better places and Jacquie will help Nora with men. It's quite cute, quite predictable, a generally fun and worthwhile F/F historical romance novel. Most of my dislikes come down to personal preference, which is a good sign, probably.

There's a supporting cast of queer characters, and while I'm not entirely sure about some of them - George(gina) in particular seemed very there to help the protagonists and then disappear - I did like their presence and the community they built. There were a few plot threads which I felt were raised once or twice and then never really mentioned again, but if the author is planning to write a series this may well be a feature and not a bug. I appreciated that both Nora and Jacquie came into the relationship having had previous lovers and both perfectly aware and unashamed of what they want; I less appreciated the ending. and found myself agreeing with the Duchess of Hawthorne a lot more than I think the book wanted me to, but again, it's a horses for courses thing. If the thing I am most annoyed about is "disagree with diegetic actions" then I don't think the book has much to worry about. It's a light, easy read, and it has historical lesbians to recommend it, which is always a powerful bonus. Thank you to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I'm so disappointedI didn't enjoy this book. The premise sounded SO appealing - we don't get that may lesbian historical fiction books - but the pace was just too slow for me and I couldn't get into the story at all. I unfortunately had to DNF it about 20% in.

There is much to like in "Her Lady to Love". This is my first f/f period romance. Jacquie is in her sixth season and activity tries to avoid marriage. She is a flirt with men and her dance card is always full. Her parents see her beauty as a way to a title. But she is also jaded and has had many affairs with willing women including her longtime friend Beatrice. Lady Honora (Nora) is a country girl and not adept at attracting the attention of men. Her aunt is sponsoring her season and she has some title connections to help her launch. Nora makes a pack with Jacquie. Nora wants to be married, preferably to the catch of the season, the Earl of Sinclair. In exchange she will get Jacquie invited to higher level ton parties where she would normally not be welcomed.

Women needed to marry for financial and society status. But same-sex relations exist in the Regency period. Is a touch of a hand or a gift an overture or invitation? I like that there were supporting homosexual characters that help watch out for one another. I really liked Nora and her character. She wanted to marry and have children and then perhaps have companionship on the side. I understood her. Jacquie and Bea came off as mean girls. Their first interactions with Nora are not kind even when they have an agreement. And Jacquie didn't seem to have a plan for her life. Her seemingly practiced fling with Nora turning to love seemed sudden and not fully shown.

I enjoyed the overall story but wished I like the main characters more. Thank you to NetGalley and Gold Strokes Books for an ARC ebook in exchange for an honest review.

Sort of lesbian Georgette Heyer. Fairly descriptive of balls etc. attended by MCs but felt it was lacking in some way. Hard to put my finger on what It was exactly. Just felt something was missing. I think somehow GHs main character(s) seemed to be quite dominant whereas the MCs here were just like all the others in the story apart from being lesbian. It was a decent enough read.

A perpetual wallflower Lady Honora Banfield arrives in London with one mission: to catch a husband. Miss Jacqueline Lockhart, on the other hand, is having too much fun in her sixth season to ever consider settling down, even though she’s been unsuccessful at mingling with the upper echelons of London society. When Lady Honora agrees to exchange invitations to the most exclusive events in return for Jacqueline’s introductions to eligible gentlemen, neither expect their friendship to ignite passion.

This was the first queer historical romance I’ve ever read and probably won’t be the last. The romance was cute and I’m a sucker for mutual pining which was happening in the first half of the book. Jane Walsh created an immersive world taking us to Regency London. It has a diverse cast of character including lesbian, gay and non-binary characters. Sadly, not all of them were very likeable… From our two main characters, I much preferred Nora, who, although was quiet and often indecisive, stood by her morals and was not afraid to explore new things and find her true self. Where Jacquie got on my nerves because of how horrible she was to the people closest to her and rarely took a moment to consider how her actions impact them. In fact, I believe side characters Lady Georgina, Phin and Hawthorne to be more exciting to read about (perfect opportunity for a companion novel). The ending also felt sort of rushed and quite random. However, it was a fun read I yearned to picked up and continue to read whenever I had time. A fine debut novel from Jane Walsh.

‘Her Lady to Love’ is a historical, opposites-attract romance set in the Regency London time period.
Lady Honora (Nora) and Jacqueline (Jacquie) are opposites in every way. Jacquie’s black hair to Nora’s blonde, Jacquie’s belle of the ball personality to Nora’s self-described wallflower persona. Jacquie loves city life and Nora speaks of wanting to get back to her country home as quickly as possible. It was difficult to see how they could ever meet in the middle with all of their differences. The only thing they seem to have in common is a preference for the fairer sex.
Honestly, I found it a little difficult to like Jacquie for most of the book. I found her and her best friend Bea, to be both conceited, spoiled and selfish. She states early on and often that she has no interest in finding a husband. She’s only interested in having a good time in whatever fashion that may be. For the time period, I had trouble reconciling with the fact she has that choice as I wonder how she would support herself? What I did like about her is that she knows what and who she is and is honest with herself about it. She doesn’t care much about others and their opinions of her.
Nora, on the other hand, is only in town to find a husband. She’s 25 and realizes she only has this one chance to find a husband to finance her country home living. Being shy and introverted, she has trouble getting the attention of the right people. She makes a trade with Jacquie that she will get Jacquie the best invitations that her title affords her in exchange for being introduced to the wealthy, titled men she’s interested in dating.
Walsh wrote a great cast of characters here. The ladies are surrounded by a pretty large group of likeminded people. I truly enjoyed the scenes with Phin and Gina and wouldn’t mind seeing this being a first in a series so we can see their happy endings as well.
I wanted to love this book and only ended up liking it instead. I found the pacing to be a little annoying as the beginning seems to drag and the ending feels rushed and abrupt. My other issue was that Nora and Jacquie only have a couple of in-depth conversations. It was very hard to believe they could be so in love after spending most of their time talking about finding Nora a husband. I would’ve liked less party scenes and more of them getting to know each other.
I recommend this to anyone who is a fan of historical romances and I look forward to reading more from Walsh in the future.
I received an ARC from NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for the ARC of this book.
3.75 stars. I enjoyed this debut from Jane Walsh. What stood out to me the most was Walsh’s ability to immerse the reader in the Regency England setting. The writing was Austen-esque in terms of word choice and sentence structure, but it thankfully lacked the clunkiness. Marriage and social climbing were huge themes in this book, which makes sense given the period. I think I would have rather had more <i>feels</i> than all that society talk (yes, I’m thinking about <i>The Lady’s Guide to Celestial Mechanics</i>, which probably isn’t fair, since they’re totally different novels), but I appreciate that this novel helped me learn a great deal about the Regency period.
Our two leads, 25-year-old Honora and 26-year-old Jacqueline, are both nearing the end of the “prime” marriage period. Honora is a subdued wallflower, while Jacqueline is much more extroverted. I enjoyed their interactions and think that, for the most part, they make a lovely opposites-attract couple. Unfortunately, while I loved Nora, I was on the fence about Jacquie. Half the time, I thought she was sweet and genuine, while the rest of the time, I thought she was shallow and conceited (along with her friend, Beatrice, who egged her on). I think this is most prominent in the dismissive way she often treats her maid, Sally, who always bends over backwards to treat Jacquie well. In general, I would have liked for the “lowest-ranking” characters to shine more. (Again, this all might be completely accurate for the time period, but…I don’t know…) I was happy, however, that Walsh included so many queer secondary characters. They’re all delightful, especially Mr. Smith!
I think that this story really shines during the last 30%. Often, I’m not a huge fan of the tension/breakup that happens around the 80% mark of most romance novels, but the tension in this novel actually worked well for me. While I knew that, as a romance novel, this would be a HEA, it was never obvious how the HEA would work out. So yeah, more points for the ending!
Overall, I enjoyed this and will be looking forward to more books from Jane Walsh.

This was my first lesbian historical romance set my favorite time period, Regency London. This is the author's first book, and with the cast of characters I can foresee a series coming together. The author did a great job setting the scene and descriptively describing everything from the glittering ballroom to the dancing shoes. I loved the descriptions within the book and feel like the author did a great job of discussing LGBTQ issues for the time period.

The main character is Jacquie, who would be the Hero in a traditional historical romance. This character is vivacious and lively, and makes no apology for who she is. Honora, is cast as the "heroine": the girl from the country enthralled with Jacquie and her lifestyle. I found Honora a little dull and did not see much character growth over the course of the novel.

The book had a slow start to it, as it was really setting the stage for the backdrop of the story, but there were two "open door" love scenes between Jacquie and Honora that I felt were very tastefully written.

I am interested to see what this author comes out with in the future and would be interested in reading the stories of the secondary cast in this book, particularly the Duke and Phin's story. The cover is really what first got my attention as it is vibrant and gorgeous. It's one of the most gorgeous book covers I have ever seen and will be hard to forget.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book. This is an honest review, which is freely given. I would give this 3.5 stars out of 5 just because I didn't feel the sexual tension until almost a third of the way through the book which I feel detracted from the overall experience of a historical romance novel..

I always love a lesbian romance set in the past and as I saw this book I had really high hopes. Maybe too high. I got a litle bit disappointed. The conflict was of course coming from the beginning and that wasn't even the problem. I don't knwo I kind of expected more which maybe isn't fair but still... I liked it but I didn't love it as I could have.... Still would recommend if you like historical lesbian fiction!

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I was excited for Her Lady to Love, as f/f historicals remain rare in traditional publishing. This book is fairly charming read, filling the void fairly well. Jane Walsh clearly knows her stuff, capturing the minute period details fairly well, and while I’m familiar with most of them from having read many a Regency, I admire her ability to sweep me away for a few hours, which was something I considered essential for my Election Day reading.

Of the two heroines, Jacquie is the more compelling, taking on the “rogue” role, resisting attempts at matchmaking and being happily unwed after six seasons. While the rake archetype has long bored me, I continue to love the way gender subversion alters the dynamic.

However, I didn’t feel as invested in Nora as a character, and the story feels uneven, leaving the relationship development a little neglected, although there are some fabulous flirty and intimate scenes.

I did like the way it set up the potential for more stories down the road with such a diverse supporting cast representing various parts of the LGBTQ+ community. And I liked that, while Nora and Jacquie’s birth families were judgy, these supporting characters formed a loving surrogate family to an extent that I’d love to see more of.

While I didn’t love this book as much as I hoped, I would love to see where all these characters end up next. If you’ve been looking for more f/f historical romance, I think it’s worth giving this a try.

Her Lady to Love is an impressive debut by Jane Walsh and a positive addition to the ever growing representation of LBGTQ+ stories in the historical romance genre.

This author did a beautiful job of building the world. Lots of time taken to transport the reader to Regency era London. Plenty of descriptions of clothing, of sights and sounds, little details about Gunter's Ices and Vauxhall Gardens really give the reader a sense of time and place. More importantly, interesting details about the queer community of this period. I liked that this wasn't just a romance that focused on the two leads, Nora and Jacquie, but also brought in society at the time and the hardships (and places of finding joy) of the LGBTQ+ community.

Now, though I appreciated the world building and details, this book definitely took a while to get going and was a bit slow for me the first quarter, while the ending seemed a bit rushed.

This book is really the story of Jacquie. She is the most sympathetic character and goes through the most dynamic changes. She's cast in the "rogue" role, who wants to be able to love freely, but can't due to the constraints of society. She loves hard and completely. She vivacious and interesting. She falls for Lady Honora, who just wasn't as interesting a character (even in the book she's described as dull). Nora never quite impressed me as much as Jacquie, and maybe that's because we spent a bit too much time in Nora's thoughts. Are Nora and Jacquie really a good fit? I'm not sure. I think Jacquie loves the idea of being in love, and though there was chemistry between the two, Jacquie was such a vivaciously written character, she had chemistry with everyone. Along with the LGBTQ+ issues, there are a lot of social class differences dealt with.

There were many side characters that I hope this author writes about. Gina, Phin and the Duke, the Duchess, even Bea (who was a hard one to like at the beginning, but definitely has an interesting story to tell.)

This book had a fair amount of steam, two "open door" scenes that were sexy and tastefully written.

I really look forward to more from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book. The thoughts and opinions are my own and are freely given.

2.5

my first sapphic historical romance and unfortunately I wasn't blown away. there just didn't seem to be any chemistry at all between the main characters, just attraction that they keep telling us about. I also found the conflict somewhat ridiculous (not in concept! its a great concept. the execution was the problem).

Was it terrible? No. Would I read more from this author if she publishes more romances? Yeah. It just wasn't great.

I have never read a lesbian romance, so I was excited to have this ARC. Overall, Her Lady to Love was an enjoyable read, if not a little predictable. There was never a time I wasn’t certain about how it would end, but I still read on because I liked the optimistic tone of the writing and the endearing characters. It was also quite funny.
A definite strength of this novel is the language. As a historical romance, I adore how the language used perfectly reflects the period without going overboard. It is still readable, which is the most important thing, but the extra attention to the vernacular just gives it this genuine pleasantness which made it hard to put down.
However, being as the language so perfectly reflected the characters’ speech, I wanted this novel to be in a first person perspective, either switching between Nora and Jaquie as the narrators, or focusing on one. I think had that been the case, it would have made the narrative more dynamic and helped to balance out the slow burn of the romance element.