What a delightful book. I have loved this series so much and was very excited for Tommy’s story, and it did not disappoint. Seeing Philippa emerge from her golden cage and embrace who she is—while not negating Tommy’s identity—was wonderful. I loved that no matter how much Tommy loved Philippa, she loved herself more and would not live a lie. The epilogue was perfect. One of the best books I read in 2021.

Source of book: NetGalley (thank you)
Relevant disclaimers: I share a publisher with this author but have no direct contact
Please note: This review may not be reproduced or quoted, in whole or in part, without explicit consent from the author.

I’m conflicted about this book in very complicated ways that I kind of wish I’d seen more discussion of.

But first let me say what’s what: this is a fairly light queer rom between a bluestocking and a … actually I don’t quite know what. I’m missing a little context because this is the second book in a series but as far as I could work out Thomasina ‘Tommy’ Wynchester was basically plucked out of an orphanage by that dude from The Umbrella Academy and trained to right wrongs and fight to justice alongside her chosen siblings. Only less psychotic and with fewer talking monkeys? The book is mostly a sweet slow burn romance, alongside a “bringing a bad man to justice for stealing his niece’s work ps there were lesbians in history” arc. The main conflict is Philippa’s mother (Philippa is the bluestocking) being determined she marry well in order to advance the family, and Philippa—despite having not previously experienced attraction towards men at all—feeling unable to defy either society or her parent’s expectations to be with Tommy.

It’s genuinely a charming read, with likeable characters, solid bants, and believable chemistry between the leads. Philippa, in particular, I enjoyed a lot: her internal (and sometimes her external) voice is very sardonic, which makes her a pleasure to spend time with. Tommy, in all honesty, feels somewhat less successfully articulated: the plot mostly centres on her “master/mistress of disguise” deal, which is super entertaining, but by the time we got the end of the book and Tommy was insisting on her right to be loved for herself, not the people she temporarily pretends to be, I found I didn’t actually have much sense who the “real” Tommy was. I mean, beyond the crush on Philippa that initially rendered her too tongue-tied to talk to her.

I also struggled a bit with what felt like tonal inconsistencies, especially as regards Philippa’s parents. Her mum and dad are basically the Bennets, with her mother obsessively focused on Philippa’s marital prospects, and her father an emotionally absent figure behind a newspaper. I think the book wanted us to view both of them with a nuanced eye—for example, there’s a scene where Philippa’s mother actually explains why she’s pushing Philippa towards a particular man, and it is very embedded in a commitment to Phillipa’s wellbeing—but they’re also kind of. Um. Borderline abusive? Like Philippa’s mother denies her access to books and cuts her off from her support group until she’s engaged which, um. That’s a genuine relationship red flag regardless of who it’s coming from. And her father refuses to intervene until the very end where he puts down his newspaper for two seconds to be on Philippa’s side, making me wonder why the living fuck he didn’t do that earlier, and leading Philippa to reflect that “he did not have time for her, but he cared about her […] loved her.” And, like, no? The man has been passively complicit in his wife’s abusive treatment of his daughter, and I don’t know how you can claim to care about someone while having no time for them.

Oddly enough, this little segment made me think of a line from a Scarlet Peckham I read semi-recently which is: “love is a system of behaviours.” So, yeah, I don’t really buy the “I love you but I don’t actually give two shits about the way your life might be hurting you” angle here. And while you can’t drink tepid lemonade in a Regency without running into an abusive parent or two, I think what made it difficult here was the fact the book and I seemed to have very different takes on what was going on with Philippa’s parents. This made the sections were the text invited us to view them more sympathetically feel like apologia. And it was honestly just hard to process this quite horrible family dynamic in general given the overall lightness of the book, and the fact many of these scenes are played for comedy.

But to return to the original source of my conflicted feelings. Basically, my understanding from the marketing and the cover art and the way people have spoken to me about this book … I. Um. Like, it’s been described to me variously as sapphic, wlw, and/or f/f. All of which are honestly complicated labels to apply to this particular book and raise equally complicated questions about how we define ourselves in relation to both gender identity and sexuality, and how we talk about those things in respect to fictional characters.

Obviously, this is set in the Regency so useful 21st century terms are not available to any of the characters in order to define themselves but:

1. Philippa speaks of experiencing no attraction to men but she also speaks of experiencing no attraction to women, despite being aware that sapphic women do and can exist (for example she wonders explicitly if Tommy is a lesbian at one point, and let's skate past the fact that 'lesbian' wasn't used as a descriptor for wlw until the 1890s). She only starts to become attracted to Tommy when they develop a flirtatious, friendly relationship and she learns the truth about Tommy’s gender identity (although this she couches this in terms of Tommy’s honesty, rather than being like “oh yay, you are female-bodied”): this to me strongly implies Philippa is demisexual, and potentially bi-romantic (although, in practice, she only feels romantically attracted to Tommy).
2. Tommy speaks exclusively of sexual attraction to women: so she’s gay/lesbian/exclusively homosexual.
3. Philippa is a cis woman
4. Tommy is … well. Tommy uses she/her pronouns (which is fine, btw, even fictional people can use whatever pronouns they damn well please), uses multiple disguises across different gender and age categories, but describes herself thusly: “She might not feel like a woman, but she was one, physically” and “Sometimes I’m more like a man, and sometimes I’m more like a woman, but mostly I feel like … both. And neither” and later in the same scene “I’ve always been more comfortable in men’s attire.” So she’s … somewhere along the nonbinary spectrum then?

I should also say before I continue that I don’t really have standing to talk about the representation itself here: I don’t get to judge, but it seemed fine to me? I liked both Tommy and Philippa, and believed in who they were, and their love for each other. But I do come a little unstuck around the presentation of Tommy’s gender identity. Now, don’t get me wrong, there isn’t a right and wrong when it comes to being nonbinary, it’s a spectrum for a reason, and actually I do know some nonbinary people who (regardless of the gender assigned to them at birth) identity strongly with femininity and womanhood. And that’s, y’know, that’s coolbeans. None of my business. But I think what comes through quite clearly from Tommy is that that she *doesn’t* particularly identify with womanhood or femininity: she’s described as preferring men’s attire and as not “feeling” like a woman. Again, this is fine. It’s Tommy’s identity. She can shape it however she wishes.

But this is precisely why it’s worth thinking about how we talk about and market books with characters like Tommy. Because while I’m sure there plenty of nonbinary people for whom categorising The Perks of Loving of Wallflower as wlw, sapphic or f/f would feel inclusive and reflective of their experiences, there are certainly others for whom it might come across as erasing. Particularly when we consider the ways Tommy articulates her nonbinary identity within the book itself.

Some of this, I think, also comes down to a certain amount of wooliness in the discourse around what ‘sapphic’ encompasses. The most widely accepted meaning, I think, is something like: women experiencing attraction towards other women. But I’ve also seen it applied to nonbinary frameworks: i.e. used to describe those who are attracted to what is sometimes called women(+), meaning women and women-aligned identities, or for a way for nonbinary people to describe their attraction to women or women(+). And I am definitely not here to criticise the discourse: I think language should, ideally, be inclusive rather than exclusive. But while I think it might be reasonable for Tommy to identify her desire for Philippa as “sapphic” (on the grounds that she is a nonbinary person who primarily experiences attraction to women) there may be, for some people, something a little uncomfortable in Philippa categorising her desire for Tommy in such terms, because it has the potential to feel like she’s treating Tommy’s nonbinary identity as if she’s a woman or more closely aligned to woman(+) when Tommy specifically doesn’t see herself this way.

All of contributes to what may very well have been an entirely unintentional implication that Philippa, the book, and the packaging of the book see Tommy’s nonbinary identity as some sort of sub-category of being a woman. And don’t get me wrong, this may well be true for *some* nonbinary people, but for others it may be deeply problematic and it definitely doesn’t seem true for Tommy. And I honestly can’t tell—and maybe it’s for the best that I can’t tell—if this was some unresolved issue at the heart of the book or a miscommunication around its packaging. Or even something more abstract still like the sales team not being sure how to talk about nonbinary identity to booksellers and finding wlw a more marketable alternative.

I mean, in this context even that gorgeous cover is kind of heart-breaking. Because, holy shit, is it time for queer histroms to have proper photoshoots instead of half-arsed photoshop jobs that turn queer intimacy into some kind of Frankenstein’s monster of misplaced hands and swapped-over heads. I love this cover with all my heart. It’s just … not the cover for *this* book. That is a cover for a book about two conventionally attractive cis lesbians. The Perks of Loving A Wallflower is a book about a curvaceous bluestocking and a nonbinary person with short hair who prefers to dress in male attire. And it kind of sucks that’s a pairing we still feel a need to disguise rather than celebrate.

After reading and enjoying The Duke Heist earlier this year, I was excited to read more about the Wynchesters, and even more excited to realize the second book would be Tommy’s and it would be an f/f romance.

The themes of family, belonging, and home that I loved so much in The Duke Heist carried into The Perks of Loving a Wallflower, and there were so many touching moments that made me really feel for both Tommy and Philippa. I enjoyed their interactions and the build-up of their relationship, plus they had great chemistry. There were also lots of laugh-out-loud moments, and the Wynchesters wouldn’t be the Wynchesters without plenty of highly entertaining shenanigans. I did find the pacing a bit off at times, but otherwise, I thoroughly enjoyed The Perks of Loving a Wallflower, and I can’t wait to be reunited with the Wynchesters in the next installment of the series.

ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! I adored this book and could not get enough of Tommy and Philippa. I loved how Tommy was smitten with Philippa and was so nervous to even talk to her. Tommy meets her as the Baron and I loved their adorable conversations! Tommy doesn't keep her identity from Philippa for long, which I really appreciated. Philippa, though, is constantly being pressured by her mother to find a good match, even though she's never been attracted to any of the men who have courted her. I loved Tommy and Philippa's conversation and how they grew closer. Then, Philippa found a family with Tommy's family and it was so adorable. I seriously cannot gush about this book enough! Everything was perfect. The discussion at the end of how they could be together was so heartbreaking and real and I just loved how they really talked and listened to one another. I already can't wait for the next book!!

Ridley is one of my favorite historical romance authors, because she goes all in to tell her stories. Of course, one of the things I love the most about her novels is that her heroines are slightly anachronistic, and they are always feminists.
In The Perks of Loving a Wallflower, I got to know a character that had intrigued me in the prior novel of this series, and I just loved Tommy so much! I especially enjoyed that she was non-binary, but preferred the pronoun she. Tommy was able to explain how she felt like neither a man or a women, but that sometimes, she felt like she was both.
The love story here was beautiful, especially because the lady of Tommy’s heart didn’t even realize she was into women - because she was possibly only into Tommy. However, she had never felt her heart flutter until she started spending more time with Tommy, and I was definitely here for it.

I LOVED this book, it's the type of historical I love - with people going against what society determines as normal and doing just what they want. Tommy stole my heart and I haven't stopped recommending this to everyone I know.

If you haven't met the Wynchester's yet, what are you doing?? I'm absolutely in love with this family. Their shenanigans certainly continue in this book and I am all for it.

Tommy! My sweet baby Tommy. I just love her so much. She's so self assured in some ways, but in others, she's so insecure. She's in love with Philippa and is willing to approach her any way she can (and in any disguise she can), but all she really wants is for Philippa to love her for her.

I loved watching Tommy open up to Philippa and watching Philippa also show a vulnerability and show a desire for companionship and family. They balance each other so well and I just adored them and their adventures.

The story we’ve all been eagerly awaiting! I was thrilled when I found out that this next book in the Wild Wynchester series was about Tommy and Philippa!

Erica Ridley knows how to write family dynamics and friendships and relationships so well! The progression from strangers to friends to lovers between Tommy and Philippa was incredible and made their journey feel so real and beautiful— I loved every second!

I adore Tommy as a character. All of the talk regarding gender really connected with me. She’s a master at disguises but at the end of the day— she wants to be loved for who she is, not her characters and I deeply admired that.

And Philippa! Her dedication to helping women and children and her love of reading— also just hit me right in the heart. Her journey was a tough one but worth every second I’d say! Her discovering why she never felt any flutterings for men until she meets Tommy and realizes she likes women— Erica just packed this book full of queer and gender experiences that made me feel so seen! I truly hope more queer people get their hands on this book.

And that revenge plot! The heist aspects of this novel were so much fun and I hope we get to see that incorporated more in future Wynchester novels.

This was just such an excellent read— full of romance and passion, family love and action, heists and book stealing! A joyous, thrilling, romantic read that everyone who enjoys historical romance should read.

4/5⭐️

I love the banter, the intrigue, and the characters are all so colorful and captivating.

Tommy Winchester loves putting on a costume and playing a role, but she is also looking for someone who will accept and love her for who she is, not who she is pretending to be. In her latest subterfuge, she takes on the persona of Baron Vanderbean to get closer to Lady Philippa.

Philippa is tired of her mother’s attempts to marry her off. All she wants to do is talk books with her reading circle friends and discover the secrets hidden in a set of manuscripts. She isn’t interested in any of the men her mother throws her way, until she comes face-to-face with Baron Vanderbean. There was just something about him that drew her.

The Wild Winchesters series started of spectacularly with The Duke Heist and I was so looking forward to reading more about this crazy family. I was not disappointed. Tommy and Philippa’s story has the same humor, playfulness, and excitement that I’ve come to expect.

The budding relationship between Tommy and Philippa unfurled beautifully. Everything happened at a realistic pace, and I so wanted things to work out for them. The ending, though happy, is tinged with some sadness, as it’s impossible for two women in that time to find the same HEA as a heterosexual couple. The plot surrounding the decoding of the manuscripts was gripping and I loved seeing the Winchester siblings show off their skills.

I can definitely recommend this series and this author if you like historical romances with a little bit of action and suspense thrown in.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Winchesters are a wild and crazy bunch. Every book with them has been an adventure. A group of poor off the street and out of the work house orphans were adopted by a wealthy Baron and their lives were turned around. They are now a close family with many different talents working together to right the wrongs of society. Tommy is a master of disguise and can successfully transform herself into an old woman or a handsome young Baron, as his Father’s son. As such, she is able to spend time with the lovely Philippa, whom she has admired from afar for over a year. The relationship is handled beautifully in the storyline, with the importance of belonging and being valued for who you are being strongly emphasized.

I listened to an early ALC and it was absolutely everything. Sheer perfection. Maybe my favorite historical romance of 2021??? I need to re-read so I can form more coherent thoughts.

I have so many good feelings about The Perks of Loving a Wallflower, and it's surprisingly hard to put them into words, but I will certainly try. First things first, I loved this book so much. Like so much that I put off reading it longer than I wanted just because I needed to give it my full attention. Tommy and Philippa's story is so sweet and funny, and I really loved all the members of the Wynchester family. This is a sapphic romance, and I think it's the first sapphic historical I've ever read. I absolutely need more queer historical romances in my life.

The one thing that really hit me right in the heart and soul was Tommy's unwillingness to try and hide behind a male persona, and instead was always pushing to be themselves in all aspects of their life. I'm not sure if Erica Ridley wrote Tommy to be nonbinary or gender queer, but that's definitely how I read it. Tommy always said that they didn't want to be seen as a man or a woman, but instead just wanted to be seen as Tommy. I love that so much. This may be me projecting, but getting to see something that feels really relatable in a book you love feels really amazing.

So if you're into queer romances, and love books with action, mysteries, and a bit of steam, then please go pick up this book right now.

Thank you Forever Romance for the ARC and finished copy.

This is a continuation of The Wild Wynchesters series. I do believe this is Erica Ridley's first venture into LGBTQ writing. I'm not usually read LGBTQ stories but I love this series. Its between Tommy and Philippa (f/f). I find them both very cute. Two people trying to have an relationship during regency times. All this while trying pull of an heist. its an enjoyable read.

This book is one of my favorite books I've read all year. I absolutely loved Tommy and Phillipa so much. And I really liked how Tommy being non binary was handled within the story and that it wasnt just another heorine cross dresses here are the big bad reveals of true gender! Their is none of that and its great. I also loved that its a queer historical romance a queer cis heroine that doesnt center on a must stop the big terrible men. The focus is on the relationship and sure their a men that suck but they arent front center plot being shoved down your throat

This is a very sweet book and I adored the audio and will absolutely be recommending this to friends.

The second book in the Wild Wynchesters series a well written story that kept me turning pages. I enjoyed reading Thomasina Wynchester and Bluestocking Miss Philippa York's story. I received a copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Not entirely ~my jam~ but I did enjoy it a lot! It's well-written and a beautiful story, and I just loved the characters. It just felt a bit slow for my taste, but much of historical fic feels that way to me.

Six orphans were adopted by Baron Vanderbean. They loved each other very much. He enjoyed that each had their own specialty. Graham could get into anywhere and he was constantly reading anything. Tommy could be anyone, while Marjorie was a forger, Elizabeth was great with a sword and loved to fight. Chloe was married to a duke and no one remembers her. Jacob can train animals to do anything. Like a kitten who is like a homing Pidgeon. The animals seem to really like him. The siblings are so uniquely themselves.

Miss Philipa York was a lady who followed all the rules or at least tried to. She will be in her fifth or is it her sixth season. She has not met a man yet who gives her fluttering feelings. Her mom wants her married to a title. She nags, yells, and does whatever else she can do to force Philippa to select a man her mom approves of. Tommy has been infatuated with her for over a year. But she can't seem to talk to her. She gets so flustered and then runs away.

This is a funny story but also sad. When Tommy finally speaks to Philippa she is Baron Vanderbean's son, the new heir. There are some mysteries coming their way and some twists and turns. Of course, her mother does all kinds of awful things. I loved the mood of the book and it was so well written, it kept your attention. I was rooting for Tommy and hoping that she got the girl. A very sweet and entertaining novel.

I received this ARC from Net Galley and voluntarily reviewed it.

Okay, so admittedly Regency romance is Not My Thing, but oh my. Oh my oh my oh my, was this so delightful to read. So, Tommy is a Wynchester, who are a family of scrappy orphan cinnamon rolls who right wrongs and triumph over evil. Phillipa is a bluestocking embodiment of a Disney princess "I want MORE" song. Together, they are ridiculously charming and adorable.

Hats off to Erica Ridley for penning her first LGBT novel! It is wonderful that romance writers are diversifying into all the things. Erica did an outstanding job.

I really loved Tommy and her genderfluid- master-of-disguises-ness. Philipa was a smart and curvy girl and really I felt maybe was a bit on the asexual- demisexual spectrum. But the two really blended together into such a beautiful couple. Gah. All the gushing.

If you have read the Governess Gambit and The Duke Heist you are familiar with the Winchester's. They are a group of wild and diverse orphans that were adopted by their late parent Baron Vanderbean or Bean as they used to call him. Tommy kind of stole the show for me a bit in the Duke Heist with her ability to create and become such diverse characters. Tommy best falls under the nonbinary terminology as she (yes, she used she/her pronouns) neither felt truly female or male and sometimes felt best one way or neither. We also met Philipa in the last book as she was set to be betrothed to the Duke of Faircliffe, to whit Chloe (Tommy's sister) ended up marrying. (While this can absolutely be a stand-alone novel, you might miss some of the crossover significance and back story if you don't read The Duke Heist first.). When one of Philipa's best friends and book club members discovers her uncle not only stole a book cipher she created but is also passing it off as if he created it and was also greeting a title from the Prince Regent. As this is disclosed as a book club meeting the Winchester's (also members-ish of the book club) get tapped to help set rights to things. And it's wildly entertaining.

I really love the whole Winchester family. They are so eclectic and diverse in their talents, it just makes for a seriously fun read. Tommy has always stood out to me. I cannot gush enough about my love for her. She was so strong and had such a sense of self even though she was always acting like someone else. She never compromised on who she was or what she wanted. I also loved how open with herself and her family about her sexuality. It was, of course, scandalous but also quietly indulged in those times, as referenced by the private sapphic house parties. Her not so secret (in her family) crush on Philipa was supported and encouraged by her family. Philipa was smart and had a hidden mischievous streak that really was a wonderful complement to Tommy.

Perks is completely a slow-burn romance. As mentioned before, Philipa probably best fits on the demisexual spectrum (meaning she needs an emotional connection first before she can develop any sort of sexual desire) and thus the slow burn was absolutely necessary to fully develop the friendship and emotional connection. Tommy and Philipa really had to work through some issues and, again, they just were such a beautiful compliment to the other.

I honestly cannot say enough good things about Perks. Erica Ridley did such a wonderful job, I hope she continues with a few more queer romances. Maybe another Winchester? Maybe another series? IDK, I'm here for all of it. I am as always on board for more.

*ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

When picking out queer romance I prefer sapphic, that's just my preference. When I found out one of my favorite historical romance authors was writing one I flipped, in a good way. I was so excited and it was well deserved. This was a great read. I loved the characters (especially Tommy) the situation they found themselves in was complicated with no clear conclusion in sight it seemed like a no win situation, but somehow Ridley did it. A sweet and spicy read.