I was drawn in by the regency slat for this sapphic romance, but over all struggled to stay engaged. I didn’t love Nash - he’ was aggressively unlikeable for me and detracted from the sweet moments. A appreciated the tension between Eddie and Rose, and loved Eddie’s family! Overall a good read, but not my favorite.

Just FUN. It's queer, funny, anachronistic (on purpose), kind of like Bridgerton but even better because we don't have to deal with so much annoying convention. This book is a dang delight. Please go read it. I think it is good for readers of Gentlemen of Vice and Virtue (that's the one book I kept thinking of) and Casey McQuiston.

i will read anything Lex Croucher publishes tbh. i will always read nearly any book with a queer MC. in the wise words of Laynie Rose, all i need to know about a book is that it’s gay and it slaps. and Infamous fits the bill!! i was enraptured the entire time, i loved the dynamic between Eddie and truly every one she encounters, and im here for a regency era fuckboy antagonist. Eddie and Rose stole my heart. i love the way Croucher writes and like i said, i would and do read everything they put out but this one in particular was such a romp. 4.5⭐️ rounding up to 5 since i just love it so much!

Infamous is a queer, period tale of friends navigating love, expectations, and the disappointment that is handed to us via our ideals.

Lex Croucher's books are always funny and modern, but in historical settings. This is one of my favorite series.

Historical romance is not my preferred genre, but I actually ended up very much enjoying this book. I liked Eddie. Her voice was very strong, and other than the fact that she was the last to realize she was in love with her best friend. I really enjoyed reading her story. I did think the ending was a bit obvious, but I liked the craziness, parties, and general bucking of authority. If this author wrote another romance novel, that was not historical, I would definitely read it.

Don't get me wrong, I love a morally grey/unlikable character as much as the next girl, but basically every character in this book felt unlikable. Which is a bummer, because I liked a lot of other things about this book!

I really enjoyed this fun, unconventional story of love, coming of age, and raucous literary parties in the country. I'll be recommending widely!

Infamous is a quirky story of friendship becoming something else. It is a sapphic story of discovery within a Regency setting. We are introduced to Eddie (Edith) and Rose, best friends who do everything together, including kissing practice. Eddie dreams of being a writer, and Rose is becoming more and more involved in society, which causes ripples when she declares her intention to marry. The rest of the story involves a chaotic group of artists and eccentrics, and Eddies favourite author inviting the whole group to his run down country house.

I loved the author’s previous work, Reputation, but this one fell a bit flat for me.

First of all I love the cover. Second of all this was a great historical fiction! Rose and Eddie have different ideas what they want out of their lives but what if what they really want is each other ?

Thank you #StMartinsPress and #NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

turns out historical romances just are not for me… i’ve tried a few and was hopeful this would be different but it just doesn’t work for me.
i looooove the women in this book, but the rest of the story fell flat for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book, as this book has already been published, I will not share my review on Netgalley at this time.

Thank you NetGalley, publishers, and Lex Croucher for gifting me a copy of Infamous in return for my honest opinion.

2/5 stars
22-year-old aspiring writer Edith 'Eddie' Miller and her best friend Rose have always done everything together-climbing trees, throwing grapes at boys, sneaking bottles of wine, practicing kissing . . . But following their debutante ball Rose is suddenly talking about marriage, and Eddie is horrified.

When Eddie meets charming, renowned poet Nash Nicholson, he invites her to his crumbling Gothic estate in the countryside. The entourage of eccentric artists indulging in pure hedonism is exactly what Eddie needs in order to forget Rose and finish her novel. But Eddie might discover the world of famous literary icons isn't all poems and pleasure . . .

I wanted to love this book but I could not get over how annoying the MC was. This was extremely hard to get through just due to how annoying and rude she was. I did not find anything likable about Eddie from when she was bullying her best friend to her being infatuated with Dushy Nash. Every time Nash came on the page I would skim over those passages just to get them over quicker!

The only redeeming quality of this book was Rose. I actually enjoyed her character up until the point where she became a push over and forgave Eddie for everything that she did to her. But she was at least partially sain and an interesting character. I cant say the same about anyone else in this book.

I really wanted to like this one due to the LGBTQIA+ Aspect of the book but it was a major let down for me.

This was a fun and entertaining read even if the main character was a bit frustrating! Her character growth throughout the book is wonderfully balanced and complex. I was expecting a fun, historical romp and while those elements where there, so much more was going on! There were so many emotional elements pulled throughout the book that made it an amazingly well rounded story.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

I wanted to love this one because I love regency romance already and was intrigued by the supposed feminist take. But it was just okay.
The character of Nash and how the MC reacts to him didn’t fit with my idea of how a feminist take should work.

I had mixed feelings about the first book in this series, Reputation, but liked what it was attempting to do in its modern, feminist slant on regency romance enough that I wanted to give the series another shot. I decided to listen to it on audio in the interest of saving time as I try to chip away at my overdue NetGalley ARCs instead of reading my digital copy, and though I'm sure that impacted my ability to enjoy and absorb the story to a degree, I have read and heard enough now to know that this isn't the series or genre for me.

Edith "Eddie" Miller is an aspiring writer, and is inseparable from her best friend, Rose. As they grow up, Rose is quick to embrace society, while Eddie shuns it's norms. Horrified when Rose accepts a marriage proposal, Eddie accepts the invitation of infamous poet and scoundrel Nash Nicholson to stay at his isolated island estate. Eager to enter the inner circle of the artistic elite, Eddie travels alongside Rose and her new fiancé, and soon falls prey to the married Nash's advances. While there, Eddie and Rose also come to terms with their latent feelings for each other, and Eddie accepts the true nature of Rose's upcoming marriage of convenience. Nash proves himself to be a cad in all the ways, keeping Eddie around to stroke his ego and take her ideas as his own. Touching on LBGTQ themes through a modern lens, I don't think the outcome of this particular story would have been realistic in its own time. I liked the quick witticisms and banter between Eddie and Rose and even Eddie and Nashand, but it never progressed much more past surface level, so it didn't have that big payoff that usually comes at the end of an extended back and forth between romantic interests.

I wanted to like this more than I did, but in the end, I just couldn't. Eddie was too much of a whiny main character for me. I feel like this story should have been centered around Rose. Also, like Valentine, many auxiliary characters should have gotten more page time. Nash was a horrible character, and if, in the end, I was supposed to despise him, that was accomplished. What I don't understand is how such a strong character like Eddie could have been so blind to Nash and his tricks.

I am looking forward to more from this author, this book was just not for me.

Thank you to @netgalley for the eARC of this book.

Unfortunately, this was a DNF for me. I just couldn’t get into this story long enough to make it to the good stuff.

"Infamous" by Lex Croucher is an eagerly anticipated romance novel that offers a fresh take on Regency-era charm and complex emotions. With endorsements from acclaimed authors like Casey McQuiston and praise from Publishers Weekly, Croucher's storytelling promises a blend of humor and depth. Following the journey of Edith and her friend Rose, the story navigates the choices between love, friendship, and literary aspirations. Croucher's writing style and exploration of personal dilemmas make "Infamous" a compelling addition to the romance genre, destined to captivate readers seeking a thoughtful and delightful read.

I read this book right after Reputation to be in the historical mindset, and I’m glad that I did! I had some characterization difficulties with Reputation, but I enjoyed the characters in Infamous much more. It seems like Lex Croucher includes an extremely insufferable character in each of these books, and it can take me out of the story as a whole. However, the relationship between Eddie and Rose really saved the story for me.

how the main character was just blindly taking the advice of this manic pixie dream man over the person who is literally her best friend and knows everything about her is beyond me.

i like lex croucher's style of historical romance. it feels inclusive and diverse while also maintaining the integrity of the time period. but i found the characters in this book to be endlessly frustrating. nash was straight up the worst person ever. i actively avoid books with the manie pixie dream girl/boy trope so if i'd known that was present in this, i probably would've skipped it. and eddie was supposed to be an incredibly intelligent person but she couldn't see what was obviously happening right in front of her. the only redeeming character in this book was rose. also it's queer so that's a huge plus.

i'll continue to read lex croucher's books because like i said, i do really enjoy their style. this just wasn't the absolute smash i thought it would be unfortunately.