Thank you to NetGalley and Stephanie Cowell for the advanced reader copy!

This book really took me by surprise, and in the best way. The writing was beautiful and immersive from the first pages, and I felt completely pulled into Robbie and Anton’s world. Their relationship is emotional, complicated, and so deeply felt. I loved how the story explored love, identity, and art in such a thoughtful way, all while showing the very real risks they faced just for being together. It’s heartbreaking at times, but also incredibly moving. Definitely a story that has stayed with me long after reading, and will continue to stay with me in the coming years.

A sweet read that was emotional and melancholy for me at times, but hopeful nonethless. A sweet silver lining of a book.

A story of two lovers fighting against the era, attitudes, society, and their own desires to try and stay together. Imperfect characters, drama, and sadness.

This was a beautifully written story. I’m not a huge fan of stories set in this time period so it was a bit of a slow read for me, but I loved the main characters and the setting.

This could have been a 5 star re-read, go-to cozy. But no. Allow me to be petty. But that ending was horrid. I dont care thats “how it was”. I don"t care. I don"t read romance to be sad and depressed by the end. Do not recommend. Would not trust author again. The characters are well written and it was lovely to read, until it wasn’t.

Liked but didn’t love. Enjoyed the English perspective but was disappointed in how it ended. Multiple parts felt a little far reaching too

I really liked Stephanie Cowell's writing style. It was my first time reading a book by her and I feel confident that I will continue to read anything else she puts out. The love story between Robbie and Anton was beautiful, but also incredibly devastating. I loved their dynamic, but they were messy and the ending was interesting.

The social upheaval happening during Edwardian era Britain is certainly interesting, and the story of these two men who try to love each other within that had its compelling moments. However, I hated the ending, as it negated so much of the characters' emotional progress. Why go through all that just to repeat some of the same mistakes? If you are trying to write about the futility of circumstances, then it needs to be earned like any other ending. This book did not pull it off.

This book was devastating, but very worth the read. I took my time with this as well, and I think that made me feel like I loved multiple lives with these characters.

A nuanced story of the love between two men in Edwardian England as they work their way through politics, art, law, religion, and so many more things. It's a fascinating historical romance but its pace can be a bit lackluster and I did find the repetitive description of their age gap annoying after a while. It took me a bit longer than normal to finish as the pacing and sometimes prose threw up verbal roadblocks for me where I had to set it down and pick it up after a while. The description drew me in but the book wasn't as captivating as I'd hoped.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher for an honest review.

I got about 50% in and then DNF. I think I was not in the right frame of mind for this book when I was reading it and it’s a me problem, not the book.

This book was really well written, and very sad. A historical fiction story of two men who fall in love, but cannot be together.

The relationship starts pretty quickly in the beginning, and it’s a lot of them struggling with the relationship and having to keep it in secret because being together was illegal at the time and could have gotten them arrested.

The whole novel is the two main characters leaving each other and eventually finding their way back. If you’re hoping for a happy ending with this novel, you won’t get one. I felt unsatisfied by the ending, though I guess with the time frame what other outcome could we expect? I was just reading hoping for the best.

Overall, like I said this was a well written, heartbreaking story. If you’re in a mood for a sad love story, pick this one up.

Thank you @regal_house_publishing and @netgalley for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

This is a gorgeously detailed literary historical fiction novel set in the Midlands and London during the early years of the 20th century. We know the end of the affair before we know how it started. The journey to get there describes the happiness and heartbreak in the relationship between two men, Anton and Robbie. Politics, art, writing, and beloved friends fill the story, the story itself told with honest, unflinching prose. The rural Midlands take on a character of its own, as does the art world in London, reflecting both the torments and the triumph of these two men. Not a romance, no HEA here, but a starkly detailed, complicated journey of finding oneself, coming of age, and maturing.
I loved it, had me in tears in places; it’s the kind of novel that follows you around long after you’ve finished it. I can see the house, the beloved vicar, the art gallery still. Highly recommended for literary historical (especially LGBTQ history) fiction lovers.
Thank you NetGalley for a copy of this book to read and review.

thank you Netgalley and Regal House Publishing for the e-review copy.

after finishing The Boy in the Rain as part of my line-up of LGBTQ+ books for Pride, it once again reminds me why i can't help going back to historical fiction.

Beautiful and flawed characters who I couldn’t help but root for. Complex and emotional almost romance that I think many will love.

Cowell’s descriptions of art, settings, and longing are all excellent. You can clearly see Cowell’s done her historical homework in crafting the novel. For the first two sections of the novel, I was enjoying reading the internal struggles of main characters Robbie and Anton, not just with their budding relationship, but with their different forms of baggage (e.g., Robbie’s poor relationship with his uncle, Anton’s disinterest in banking and his attempts to remain in his marriage). I also really liked the minor characters in the novel, particularly the Vicar and Annie.

However, the longer the book went, the more I became disinterested. The on-again-off-again relationship between Robbie and Anton, however accurate to the time period and the characters, became tiring. I also struggled at times with keeping up with shifting scenes. Once in a scene, I could get engrossed, but things moved quickly and without much clear telegraphing. Even the sections clearly labeled by year didn’t help much in keeping track of events. There were many jumps in emotion, location, and time, so this ended up being a large weakness.

Special thanks to Netgalley and Regal House Publishing for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I love this book, it's messy, flawed, and the characters are so real. Their dynamic was well thought out and executed.

The Boy in the Rain is an artfully written story of the love of two men in England in the early 1900s. There is a wonderful interplay between the artistic community and the political community that each character comes from. It is written almost like a portrait of each main character, all supporting characters are the vivid details in the background as the lovers try to work their way past religion, law, politics, age, and art. A tender rendering of the lives of the two lovers as they work through themselves, their love, and a society that would rather they didn’t exist. A wonderful gay historical romance for lovers of art and the politics that keep people apart.

Very middle of the road book. Did I absolutely love it? No. Did I hate it with every fiber of my being? No.

I absolutely devoured this book. I am amazed this novel has not taken off. I really hope people give this heartbreaking prose a chance. It’s truly breathtaking work from a new voice (at least to me.) I will say this is an exhausting read in some ways. But well worth it!