"Something fabulous" is not just the title - this entire novel is something fabulous. It took me a chapter or two to get used to the rather old language, but once you are entirely in the setting it's just so much fun to read. You can't help but fall in love with the both powerful and strangely naive duke and his lively companion. Watching them get to know each other - and themselves for that matter - was just amazing and I wish there would have been more pages for it - or maybe a sequel. Just like Valentine I got a bit annoyed by Belle once in a while, but that is just a tiny complaint.
I loved the book and I hope it will be translated into german, so I can share it with a lot more people!

Something Fabulous is, well, fabulous. Alexis Hall takes readers on a queer romp through the regency countryside and I enjoyed every minute of it.

Valentine, Duke of Malvern, has decided he needs to honor his dead father’s wish and marry his neighbor Annabella Tarleton. She, however, thinks it is a terrible idea and runs away. At her twin brother Bonny’s demand, Valentine and Bonny follow her across the English countryside for the historical road trip you didn’t know you needed. While riding along in their curricle, Valentine begins to realize that instead of pining after Arabella, he has romantic feelings for a different twin entirely.

Bonny is a delight. He is hilarious, and makes every scene he’s in more fun. But, he also manages to see below the surface of people, which is how he can find the good in Valentine. I found Valentine very hard to like at first, but it quickly becomes evident that he has no clue how to deal with people.

This book is outright silly at points, which I mean as high praise. I don’t think it is meant to be taken seriously. The historical-like names are hilarious, and I couldn’t stop laughing through the scene that leads to the duel. Because every good historical romance should have a duel.

I haven’t see this much queer representation in a historical in a while, and I’m here for it. If you are a fan of Cat Sebastian or KJ Charles, but want more humor and lighthearted characters in your story, Something Fabulous is the historical romance for you.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

After finishing this book, I'm still a little torn on how I feel about it. On one hand, it's adorable. Hall's signature wit and memorable characters are here in spades, and I love me a good regency romance. I would die for Bonny.

On the other hand.... I don't know. Something just felt off about the book. There's a lot going on in this book. A lot. And sometimes, at least for me, it stretched my willing suspension of disbelief just a little too far. I don't want to go into too much because of spoilers, but, after a while, I was just done. I was ready for Bonny and Valentine to get their HEA (because we all knew it was coming) and was tired of random ass plot points jumping out of nowhere and preventing it from happening.

Honestly, it's a good, quick read. Don't go in expecting a normal regency romance and you'll probably end up liking it.

Valentine feels it’s time to fulfill his father’s wishes and proposes to Belle, a childhood friend. He comes to find out that not only does he not really want that, but neither does she when she flees town. Valentine and Bonny, Belle’s twin brother, go searching for her but they go through a whole lot along the way.

This book is hilarious! It was so over the top but in the absolute best way. It has love that will warm your heart and give you butterflies, and it can be so silly that it’ll have you laughing out loud. I loved Boyfriend Material so when I saw this by Alexis Hall I knew I had to get my hands on it, and it did not disappoint.

If you’re looking for a queer romance and a good laugh, look no further! This book will take you on a journey that you won’t want to end.

This was the first M/M historical romance that I've read and I was really excited to dive into it because it's by Alexis Hall! This book featured some really smart dialogue. I loved the witty and sarcastic banter between Bonny and Valentine. The first chapter had me laughing out loud! I liked how easily Valentine's heteronormative perspective changed when he realized that men could be in love with men. It seemed to click for him, as soon as he made that realization. And the sex scenes in this book were HOT!!!

Some things that I didn't love about this book...
Belle was a little too obnoxious for me. In the prologue, she had me laughing out loud and I thought "Oh I am going to love this girl because she's extra!" But as the story progressed and she became very very very extra, I was a bit turned off by her. The two men chasing her around got a little old and I was ready for them to move on to the next part of the storyline.

Overall, an enjoyable book especially because it's a perspective in historical romance that isn't featured enough. I am definitely interested in reading the next book in the series.

Steam level: 🔥🔥🔥

“You make me feel in ways I have never felt before. You are your own adventure and you are… beautiful. So beautiful that my throat clenches and my stomach flips when I as much as glance at you, and I wonder how the world turns when such wanting exists within it.”

This story… I honestly don’t know how to explain it. It reads like an over the top fairy tale. There is neuro divergence and inclusivity in *every* sense of the word, all wrapped up in the most delightful fairy tale of two men on an adventure. The humor is dry and surprising, I found myself laughing aloud again and again.

This is my very first historical romance novel (I know, I know!) and in the beginning I struggled with the old fashioned language and also distinctly British dialect and tone that Author Alexis Hall is known for. I felt like I needed to look up words frequently, but the feeling calmed as the novel went on and I became completely immersed in this fantastical world. Having not read the genre before- I couldn’t decide if “Something Fabulous” was more satire of historical romance or just an entirely unique and sarcastic romance in and of itself. It is rare that I struggle to set a book down for a proper bedtime, but this book kept me enthralled well beyond my normal hour.

“Love is not supposed to be convenient, my flower. It is supposed to be transcendent.”

“All he wanted was for Bonny to smile. To smile forever. To smile for Him.”

The villainous Miss Tarleton was absolutely exhausting and over the top ridiculous, yet I enjoyed the fact that while expecting the conflict to be solely internal, external circumstance also reared its head.

I think my favorite little tidbits, aside from the sweet and swoony romance, was the unending ode to novels weaved throughout. Again and again- the necessity for books whether for escape or comfort or desire or what have you, was extolled and waxed poetic about and I just fell in love with these characters who love books.

“If we lived life as though it were a novel, we’d spend all our time becoming embroiled in improbable adventures and spouting nonsense about filling our vast and empty souls with joyful aches.”

This story was unique. It was unlike anything I’ve read before, and I find myself very curious if the author is going to continue on in this direction. There are a couple side characters that I would be delighted to read about. I look forward to whatever comes next from Alexis Hall.

Thank you to netgalley and Montlake for an early copy of Something Fabulous, all opinions are my own. Will post to amazon and Bookbub upon release.

I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for an e-arc of this fabulousness.
Something Fabulous is a very queer Regency romance about Valentine (the Duke of Malvern) and the Tarleton twins - Bonny and Belle. Valentine is engaged to Belle, but to put it lightly, she doesn’t really want to get married to him. She runs away, and Bonny and Valentine spend the whole book chasing her and trying to bring her home. It’s truly an adventure because they are not only complete opposites, but Valentine can’t even dress (and undress, for that matter) himself without his valet. Bonny, on the other hand, is… let’s say, more experienced in many, many ways. This book has everything you might be looking for: it’s warmhearted, enjoyable, sexy, and funny.
I LOVED this book. It was such a delightful experience. This is the kind of book you’ll want to read in little bits to savour it. At least, that was my case.
I usually prefer books in ich form, so I was a little unsure if I would like it when I saw it was in er form, but I enjoyed it nevertheless. The writing is as brilliant as in other Alexis Hall’s books, and it was so beautiful; I had tears in my eyes during some parts. Mr Hall certainly likes to spoil us with his magnificent writing, and I’m just worried I soon won’t be able to read any other author’s books because nobody compares. Luckily, Alexis Hall has written many books, and there’s still a lot to come.
The characters… Well, for starters, I will say I adore Valentine and Bonny. Their chemistry was so good from the first few pages until the very end. As for Belle, I get why she behaved the way she behaved, but ugh, she’s such a drama queen, and I just wasn’t there for it, sorry.
I have to point out Valentine’s storyline because he’s 28 without any romantic experience whatsoever, and I stand by this representation because it’s so rare to see adult characters who haven’t had sex or at least a first kiss. Thank you for this, Alexis.
I will undoubtedly buy a physical copy once it comes out because I need this gem in my library.

Ridiculously fabulous. This story was so much fun. I loved Valentine and Bonny’s story and seeing their relationship develop over the course of the book

i really loved this book in a way i didn't expect to love it. it's a very fun and very silly queer regency romance, in which the grumpy, closed-off duke, valentine, has to chase after his runaway fiancée, along with her sweet, charming, and unabashedly sunshine-y twin brother. AJH pokes fun at gothic and regency fiction in the most caring way, and it's hard not to feel happy good feelings when reading!
more unexpectantly, i may have WEPT while reading. i don't think that was meant to happen, but i genuinely felt every single feeling that valentine felt. AJH has a way of creating characters that get at my soul in a way that i haven't experienced before, but it hit especially hard with valentine.
there were elements that didn't hit as close to home for me. there was one character, in particular, that was... exceedingly frustrating, and the ending felt a little too rushed, in that i didn't get the chance to warm up to her before the book's end. however, i loved reading this book, and i can't wait for it to come out, and everyone else can get to read it too! i'm looking forward to reading a physical copy!

I have never read a regency romance before. Never really thought it would be my thing. But then Alexis Hall wrote one so clearly I had to check it out when I saw it on NetGalley. I was not disappointed. This was such a wonderful book. The characters were all so ridiculous in the best way.
The Duke of Malvern, Valentine, Flower, what a sweet grumpy little rain cloud of a man. Bonny is just a goofy cocky ray of sunshine. The chaos of this book is just so good. This book is precious and funny.
I went and preordered my paperback copy at about the 30% mark because I clearly need to own this!
Something Fabulous will be released on 1/25/22, check it out!

This book is funny, lighthearted, sweet, unputdownnable and definitely one of my favorite reads of 2021. I got to read an ARC of Something Fabulous and devoured it in no time at all. It made me laugh, made me emotional, frustrated at times and very hopeful too. I love the way Alexis wrote Bonny and Valentine, they're so well constructed and their chemistry is undeniable, it's there in every page.

This book has a lot of dialogue and i admire the author immensely for his ability to make them sound so natural, funny when the moment allows and also very true when it needs to.

I also appreciate the demisexual representation and the way the story manages to talk about sexuality, and more specifically lgbtqia+ sexuality in such a real and thoughtful way while being set in regency england, which is something i don't often see in historical stories.

I highly recommend this book to everyone, it was very special to me and i think a lot of people will find as much joy in it as i did.

Well friends. Alexis Hall wrote an m/m historical and it was exactly as delightful as you’d think it would be. The only word I can find to describe this is a “romp.” It's a regency road trip with all of the hilarious twists, turns, and mishaps you could ever want featuring a starchy demi duke, an impoverished hopeless romantic,"but I'm engaged to your sister," childhood friends to estranged to lovers, and some truly astoundingly charming sapphic and genderqueer side characters.

Alexis Hall’s prose is so profoundly entertaining and the book is so steeped in a love of stories and storytelling that was just a joy to read as a reader.

It is told in single POV from Valentine's perspective and is very much his story. Bonny feels very solid and self-actualized form the outside in contrast to Valentine's arc of growth and self-understanding. In this way, it did feel a little imbalanced, but I think I just prefer a dual-perspective narrative.

Read this if you love Alexis Hall and Talia Hibbert but also dukes!

Thanks to NetGalley and Montlake for the ARC!

CW: gun on page, gun violence

I was up for something fabulous. I got something hilarious, marvelous, glorious, frivolous, virtuous, ridiculous, languorous, amorous and of course Something Fabulous.

Something Fabulous is a queer Regency fairytale and it’s witty, fluffy, dramatic, and soo addictive. It’s also slightly over the top. The humor, the old-fashioned language, the emotions, think big and it’s probably even bigger. Discussing if an ache can be vast and empty? Check. Saying things like histrionic chit? Check. Crying because of a bee? Check.

Bonny is adorable. A butterfly, light as a feather and bright and charming and sweet. Valentine is grumpy at first but beneath that prickly surface is a beautiful flower and I loved watching Valentine grow and to fully bloom.

I smiled and I grinned and I laughed out loud while reading this fantastic and absurd and fabulous book. Sometimes it was like I was looking at a slapstick, overly dramatic and hysterical, and completely over the top. At these moments, I thought: it’s getting cringe-inducing. But immediately after those moments, Bonny and Valentine were so sweet, and my heart melted. And more importantly, Valentine’s heart melted as well, finally allowing his feelings to come up to surface. I adored Bonny and Valentine, and finished this book with another huge smile on my face.

Sadly, this book was just too much for me. I enjoyed the author's humour but the plot was just too silly...

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC.

This was a delight. A hilarious, adorable delight.

It’s probably an indication of how much I enjoyed this that I read this in a matter of hours. It would have been one sitting if silly things like sleep and work hadn’t got in the way. Spent a lot of time adoring Bonny, a lot cursing Val, and a lot laughing.

Having read and loved Alexis Hall’s Boyfriend Material, I knew I was in for an enjoyable, fun read – and given that I’m strictly speaking more a fan of historical settings than modern ones, I had a very good feeling about this one – and I was rightfully rewarded. While being very different from Boyfriend Material in a lot of ways, it had the same charm and humour, and the same hopeless idiots refusing to talk out their problems like normal people.

In short, it was just what I needed.

Our characters, are Val and Bonny. Now, Bonny is a ray of sunshine who deserves everything good in the world and I loved him from the off – even if he is a little ridiculous and over-dramatic. (A little?) Val, on the other hand, is a grump. We’re in his head, so you get to see a lot more of his inner workings and misery, and it’s like you know how lovely he could be, but he just keeps disappointing you. He’s not always easy to like, and he makes some very bad decisions and deserves a lot of the trouble that comes his way and yet, it’s difficult not to root for him – because he is coming from a good place.

The problem is that Val is engaged to Bonny’s twin sister, Belle – a situation no one is all that happy about, especially when Belle runs away from him and leaves them on a chase across the country. Belle is even more dramatic than Val, and honestly annoyed me quite a lot with her melodramas and outright lies, though by the end I had mellowed towards her and could sympathise with her. Her plight is understandable, even if she goes about escaping from it in an increasingly frustrating way.

As with Hall’s other books, the collection of side characters are just as wonderful. I’ve a soft spot for Emily and Angharad, and can Peggy please have her own story?

Despite the setting, the world is very queer friendly. While a lot of the language we use today isn’t available to these characters, the way Val talks about his feels very much paints him as demisexual, Peggy is very much genderqueer. Almost every character we meet falls somewhere under the LBGTQA+ umbrella – and it’s delightful. There’s not really any talk of the social or legal implications of being in a homosexual relationship in regency Britain, it’s as if the book takes place in a small bubble – and I liked that. I don’t always need the reminder that these characters can’t have the entirely happy carefree life that I’d like them to have.

In short, I loved this. It was fun. It was romantic. It was faintly ridiculous. And it was exactly what I needed right now.

Alexis Hall is simply the best. This was the pinnacle of sunshine/grump - I loved every moment of this. Can't WAIT for more adventures in this series - Peggy's book is next!!! Thanks Netgalley!!

‘Something Fabulous’ was exactly a book I needed this weekend. Despite being in some ways a little bit ridiculous or overtop and without focusing too much on historical accuracy, this regency queer romance was… just fabulous.

In ‘Something Fabulous’, Valentine, Duke of Malvern, hoping to fulfil his departed father’s wishes, proposes to Miss Arabella Tarleton. Only it doesn’t go exactly to plan when his fiancé-to-be flees, and Valentine is woken up in the middle of the night by her brother, Bonny. Together, they chase after Bella, encountering many interesting characters along the way and having many (mis)adventures. Along the way, Valentince also discovers many things about himself.

Bonny was a charming character and I loved him so much, and it was quite funny to see how initially Valentine found him so annoying, but grew to care a lot about him along the way.

‘Something Fabulous’ is a short and quick read, but if you’re looking for a nice weekend read, full of charming characters, I’d definitely give this one a read.

Reading “Something Fabulous”, by Alexis Hall, had me wondering if I was perhaps a dramatic, grumpy, demisexual duke in a past life. Basically, I am Valentine and Valentine is me.

This queer regency romance, due out in January 2022, is splendid fun and exactly what I’d hoped for from Alexis Hall. The story follows the grumpy duke, Valentine: the man who cares not for love or lust and relies heavily on his valet—and the human embodiment of sunshine, the bright and bonny, Bonny Tarleton, who’s been dreaming of his own storybook HEA since early childhood, across the English countryside in pursuit of Valentine’s runaway fiancé, Arabella Tarleton. 

Their stumbling adventure comes with a heavy dose of witty banter and undeniable chemistry, a handful of misunderstandings, realizations, and a surprising amount of unlikely friends—and it left me gasping, giggling, and grinning the entire time.

If you’re a lover and a dreamer, I’d whole-heartedly recommend this feel-good regency romp as your first read of 2022. 



Something Fabulous by Alexis Hall will be available January 25, 2022.

Something Fabulous was Something Fabulous indeed! No plot, just vibes. It's basically one big shit post of a book with a very adorable romance. I'm pretty sure I laughed at almost every page. Our main character, grumpy demisexual duke Valentine, and I have more in common than I'd like to admit. I'm always very happy to find a new comfort read!

my thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

I have been eagerly awaiting this book and I have been well rewarded! The title is spot on--this book IS something fabulous! It was so engaging and witty, heartbreaking and uplifting. And so very funny, in Hall's inimitable way.

This is the story of the Valentine--the Duke of Malvern (and don't you forget it)--and the Tarleton twins: Bonaventure (Bonny) and Arabella (Bella).
This book drops you into their world, with all its manners and propriety and societal conventions, and then proceeds to give you a spectacular romp through a series of classic tropes, while inverting them in the best way.

I became so invested in the characters. Valentine is such stiff, proper gentlemen who somehow can't help making a hash of things as he tries to soldier through his staid life and ducal responsibilities. The Tarleton twins, long ago friends of his, barrel back into his life and shake the very foundations of it. In all manner of ways.

Valentine is such an engaging character. I love that the book unfolds from his perspective,; he is such an inadvertently funny but also wistful, naive, and profoundly lonely man. He has such character growth as the book progresses and he is so deserving of a Happily Ever After.

Bonny explodes onto the scene and you can never look away--he is brilliant and bright, with an infectious joyful spirit.

This is such a lovely reluctant allies to lovers slow burn story. The romance in this is exceptional but also so much fun to read. The connection between Val and Bonny and the way they see each other is exceedingly well written.

Bella is a whirlwind of her own, forging a path of confusion and mayhem in her wake but she also made me laugh.

Hall is so gifted at creating characters that are relatable and real and complex. This is true for his main characters but also for his side characters, who are riveting on their own merits. I would gladly read more about every secondary character in this book--he could write books centering on each of them and i would eagerly buy them up. They are interspersed in the narrative but they are fleshed out, three dimensional even in their few moments of exposition. I don't know if I could choose a favorite–they are all so entertaining.
(Peggy, it's probably Peggy.)

This is a book of action, adventure, romance, and love, with such a whimsical whiff of farce that the whole is simply a stunning story that you will not soon forget. Val and Bonny have a place in my heart.
(Especially Val–I would wrap him a blanket and bring him tea, he is such a dear.)

I can't wait for its release so I can talk about it with more people! All the literally allusions interspersed are splendid!!
Highly recommended! Five stars!