This was an incredible cozy, romantic historical romance between two young debutantes on the ton for their seasons. I love regency romance, although, I'll be a stickler to note this isn't regency, or at least the clothing they wear (huge hoop skirts!) indicates that this is later in to 19th century.

Beth is out for her first season in London with a grim prerogative--engage a husband of a certain wealth and standing, or doom herself and her mother to pennilessness, as they have been left nothing by her cruel father. Whereas Gwen is the carefree daughter of a wealthy single father who flirts with debauchery and scandal. Gwen befriends the wallflower Beth and her plan to help her snare a husband morphs into something new--a plan to match together their parents, former lovers who fate drew apart. The plot is kind of like a sapphic parent trap (except they're not siblings, ew), and a lot of scandal and hilarity ensues.

I like the tone and whimsical humor of this book, that still felt grounded in the regency setting. It's definitely a light read that I would think is appropriate to older YA audiences/new adult--it does have a little bit of sex, but I think thats becoming more accepted for teenage audiences nowadays.

Loved the vibes, very cute setting and concept! The ending was interesting, but I'm very excited to see what will come of the second book and how their story will progress as a subplot!

Thanks to Avon and Harper Voyager and Netgalley for this copy in exchange for my review.

Parent Trap meets Bridgerton are the four words that got my interest peaked with this story. Gwen and Beth, neither truly wanting to find husbands, decide to set up their widowed parents to wed one another. They find they have two problems: 1) Their parents hate one another and 2) Gwen and Beth begin to fall for one another.

Over all the story was good, the middle got a little slow and dragged on, but it was nice to read a queer historical romance. The ending hints at another story and I am curious to see where this goes.

This book was everything I didn’t know I needed. This is The Parent Trap meets Bridgerton but queer. I loved Beth & Gwen’s relationship as it went from friends to lovers.

I’m really excited to recommend this book to everyone I come across.

This was so good!! I loved the characters and found it so hard to put down. I really enjoyed the love story within this and cannot wait for the sequel. It was just so much fun to read, I am so happy I read this!

A sapphic Victorian romance with a very contemporary feel.

I loved the premise of this book so much, ‘Bridgerton meets Parent Trap’, and the prospect of the second chance romance between the parents was intriguing. Unfortunately the book didn't quite live up to my expectations, as I prefer historical romances to feel a little more grounded in their era.

However, this book will appeal to anyone who loves a good historical rom com and isn't too fussed with historical accuracy. Beth and Gwen’s friends to lovers romance is filled with sweeping balls and elegant picnics, wrapped up with modern touch.

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

Thank you to Avon for the opportunity to read this early.

Cute historical sapphic romance set in 1857 London season. Beth is debuting for the season in a desperate rush to find a husband, her father has passed away and she and her mother are about to be destitute. Gwen is on her third season and has absolutely no interest in marriage, but a chance meeting at a ball leads to Gwen and Beth form a fast friendship. But apparently their parents hate each other, or is there something else going on? And when that fast friendship starts something more, will everything work out?

I really enjoyed this story and love the fact that it wasn't another regency romance. I love historical romances, but regency can be overdone. Given that this is 1850's there are so many mentions of hoops and the large skirts that dominated the fashion scene for two decades. I did appreciate the attention to detail about the clothing and setting. There is quite a lot of drinking to the point of sick, which I think was over used, but it did point out how the characters used it to cover up their feelings and their spiraling when things went south.

Recommend if you liked the plot The Parent Trap (2 kids getting their parents together), and liked the clothing of Gone With the Wind, but make it queer.

AHHH!!! i loved this! I loved this! i loved this!!!! the fact that this is a sapphic historical romance. i die. its everything i've ever wanted.

This was such a fun unique premise. Beth and Gwen are two young debutantes who have zero interest in finding a husband. one night they meet at a ball and a friendship forms. they decide the best way to get their respective parents off their backs is to set up Beth's mom and Gwen's dad. except Beth and Gwen didn't plan to fall for each other instead.

everything about this was *chef's kiss*
- it's dual POV
- beth ang gwen relationship arc was swoony as hell
- the relationship between their parents!!! omfg i did not expect to cry but not gonna lie, a tear or two might have escaped.

ugh i'm obsessed and in love!

A sapphic historical romance about two girls who, instead of focusing on finding their own matches this season, decide to play matchmaker to their own parents. And the result? They fall for each other.

I was so so SO excited for this story. There's nothing I love more in my sapphic romances than friends to lovers. This one, however, left me feeling unsatisfied. I'd like to clarify there was nothing inherently wrong with the story. And that should tell you that I am extremely neutral regarding this book.

I wanted so badly to be sucked in, but I found the pacing to be a bit off, feeling rushed and extremely slow at times. And the chemistry was lacking so fucking much!! More than once, Gwen goes on and on about all these character traits and qualities about Beth that she loves that we don't see on page even once. They have all these off-page conversations that they refer to as the reason they love each other but I never saw that chemistry on page. I thought I was crazy for not seeing the chemistry but once I saw that love confession not even 50% of the way into the story, I knew something was off. Because there's no way this book starts with them as strangers and they're already in love by 50% in. Or at least... confessing that love so soon. Maybe I'm just a sucker for a slower burn, or maybe I wasn't paying enough attention but there was more on-page tension between the parents than between our two main characters. And that's so disappointing!!

I also found that the two main characters were practically indistinguishable from one another. I don't know if that's excessively harsh but I simply could not tell you much of a difference between them besides Gwen was bolder and Beth was more reserved. I think this was due to the lack of difference in tone across the character's POVs. It's third person but despite that the chapters were differentiated by each character's POV and they were practically the same to me.

And because I'm annoying.... why did this book read like a contemporary? The prose and the dialogue both felt very contemporary and anachronistic. I don't need super historically accurate dialogue, but I think this book could've been transplanted into a contemporary setting, and not that many changes would have to be made to the dialogue.

I think Alban has some serious promise here. And I just wish the chemistry had been there for me. I think I may give the next in this series a chance if I have the time because it might have just been this story that wasn't working out but I do think that's not necessarily a fault of Alban's writing just the pacing, structure, and plot of this specific book.

Didn't work for me but seems a lot of people loved it so definitely give it a chance if it sounds like a story you'd love!

There is a LOT to be said for books that are exactly what they are advertised as--in this case, a sapphic Bridgerton meets Parent Trap--and while the modern language and some of the writing could be awkward at times, this was a fun romp that delivered on its promises, and managed to be both heartfelt and hot while never taking itself unduly seriously. I'll be recommending to readers who enjoy historical queer romances by Olivia Waite, Cat Sebastian, Adriana Herrera, Freya Marske, Erica Ridley, and similar authors.

The sapphic historical romance of my dreams!

Gwen and Beth were DELIGHTFUL. I love how their story goes from being friends, to queer awakening after a secret wine cellar kiss, to falling deeply in love as they try to play matchmaker to their parents! It’s like getting two love stories in one. I think it would be great for readers who are new to historical romance and maybe haven't enjoyed them in the past. As a seasoned historical romance reader, this book has landed in my top 5 historical romances of all time, easily!

Ahhh this book was such a good new adult sapphic romance. The pining, the scheming, I loved these characters and all the side characters. So excited for book 2.

This was super fun! I loved the Parent Trap vibes and the swoony sapphic romance. A great historical f/f romance book, can't wait to see what the author does next!

Sing it with me 🎵only bought this hoop skirt so you could take it off 🎵this book had everything:
1. Taylor Swift Connection
2. Parent Trapping your parents
3. TWO PRECIOUS BABY LEADS

A truly exquisite sapphic romance, I was hooked from CHAPTER ONE. I loved the writing so so much. These characters were just addicting and to the surprise of no one if you know my taste I got very attached to them. Probably one of my favorite first kiss scenes ever and I couldn’t recommend this enough. I can’t wait to see what’s next for this historical series!

This was my first sapphic romance ever and it was a fun read. I really enjoyed the friendship to romance of these two characters. The 'Parent Trap' trope was so fun. I loved the sneaking around and planning by the two MCs.

Overall I enjoyed their romance and the obstacles they were faced with seemed realistic for a historical romance. I am not sure if the language was perfect for a historical romance but I had a fun time and it did not feel too modern. It ended on a bit of a cliffhanger which I assume means their story will be continuing.

I did feel like the book was a bit too long. It dragged a bit in the last half.

Another point I have for this one is that I felt like the realization that both of the main characters felt attracted to women instead of men was quite sudden. It was confusing why (at 20) this had never crossed their mind before. I also felt that because of this, there would have been more internal dialogue about their feelings. I think we got a bit of this from Gwen but not really from Beth. Additionally, I felt like at one point in Beth's POV she started to villainize her fiance in a way she didn't before she and Gwen had an intimate interaction. I felt like that was a bit unfair since we never saw any actions that would have us believe he was a villain rather than just not her type (which isn't his fault).

3.75 rating

I was so excited for this historical sapphic romance because that’s all I have ever wanted and I definitely was not disappointed. The romance was swoony and tender, and simply so lovely to read about. I don’t read any historical romances so it was great to hear about the setting and themes! My only complaint was that it was a little long, and could have been edited down. However, I still really enjoyed the book and will be checking out more from this author!

Anything "Parent Trap" will always hook me. So when I heard about this regency queer historical fiction that was "Parent Trap" meets "Bridgerton" I was flabbergasted. And it 100% delivers the vibes with perfection! If you love a story which balances regency era - balls and courting - with a queer romance story this is for you! I also love that Don't Want You Like a Best Friend explores the privilege and opportunities of marginalized and queer folks during the time. How a 'happy' ending isn't always possible for everyone.

I've been on something of a queer historical romance kick recently, so I was really excited about the premise of this book. Unfortunately, this one ended up being...not good.

My first issue was that I simply couldn't bring myself to care about the characters or their relationships. In trying to make both Gwen and Beth's relationship and Lord Havenfort and Lady Demeroven's relationship central to the plot, neither were as fully fleshed out as they could have been. It felt as though the book struggled to determine its focus and never quite settled on anything, which just left me feeling uninterested and bored. I do think this book might have benefited from being a bit shorter as it got fairly bogged down around the midway point and then seemed to drag on for a long time.

I also had a difficult time with the "historical" aspect of this book. While I am certainly not an expert on mid-1800s England, something about this just felt too anachronistic and modern. Had I been more invested in the characters and the plot, I probably could've overlooked this, but it ended up being a bit too noticeable.

Now, all of that being said, nothing outdoes the fact that the entire plot of this book revolves around Gwen and Beth trying to set up their parents so that they themselves can continue to be romantically involved. Okay, sure, stepsisters are not biologically related. It's not exactly the same as sleeping with your blood-related sister, but it's certainly adjacent to that, and that is weird. No one is going to convince me that that isn't weird. Why, at the point of realizing they were in love with one another, did Gwen and Beth not rethink their plan? This either needed to be about Gwen and Beth's relationship or about Gwen and Beth trying to The Parent Trap their parents. Not both. Please, God, not both.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

𝚁𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐: 4⭐️
𝙶𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎: historical romance 📚

𝙼𝚢 𝚃𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜:
A sweet and fun Victorian sapphic romance

𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎:
Victorian setting
Sapphic romance
Bridgeton meets Parent Trap
Friends to lovers
Second chance
Third person POV

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎𝚍:
The cover!

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗’𝚝 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛:
A little receptive and slow at times
I didnt really feel the chemistry

I enjoyed this book so much! Being able to witness Beth and Gwen fall in love and continue to fight for the life they wanted and deserved was wonderful. The characters were overall so loveable and it was a joy to see it all come together for Beth and Gwen as well as for their parents. That part was interesting but since it's the Regency Era, we won't question it further.