They had me at Moulin Rouge & Greatest Showman and Alice Murphy delivered!

What a fun and surprisingly emotional romp of a novel.

Phoebe Blair is a New York historian who is surprised and delighted to get a phone call from Armitage Gallier, billionaire heir to the Gallier Entertainment and Telecommunications Company. He has found some interesting personal papers from the desk of the founder of his family's company, 'The Emperor' Thomas Gallier, and wants Phoebe to help him go through them and write a report on their significance.

All signs point to a gorgeous love affair between Thomas and Evelyn Cross, the woman he hired to be the star of his show at his new hotel and entertainment Empire. But despite the love letters and other clues Phoebe uncovers, it is clear from the family history that Evelyn and Thomas' relationship ended and he went on to marry his wife Constance, furthering his business in the process.

As Phoebe keeps digging she develops her own romantic entanglement with Armitage, and can't help but notice the parallels between their relationship and Thomas and Evelyn's. Evelyn gives her the courage to ask for more from Armitage, even though it seems like his familial obligations will stand in the way of them being together for real, in public.

The way this was told as a book being written with the interspersed commentary and modern day musings from Phoebe was so unique and brilliant. Truly if you are a fan of the theatre, you'll love this one.

Oh boy, do I have THOUGHTS.

Let's get the obvious out of the way first, shall we? The cover art is absolutely *stunning* and 100% the reason this book caught my attention, so kudos to Decue Wu.

Evelyn is a firecracker of a character and, like Thomas, I loved her immediately. She felt complex and real (and a lot of that has to do with Murphy's wonderful writing. I can't tell you how many times I said to myself, "Oh man, what a LINE.) Evelyn's beauty, brains, and talent are - yes - undeniable, and it is so refreshing to see fatness be *celebrated*. As for the romance? Evelyn and Thomas...my silly, scared beloveds. Their falling in love and the slow burn of figuring out just what their mysterious pasts entailed was engaging throughout. I loved their quips back and forth as much as I loved their chemistry.

But Thomas and Evelyn's love story is also set against the backdrop of the nearly forgotten, and now more than ever I appreciate that. I want historical romance books that color outside of the lines and expand on the truth: that queer folks, people of color, immigrants, people with disabilities, etc. built so much of what's good in our country. Just because they're not in the history books doesn't mean they weren't there. By giving us Evelyn's theatre friends as side characters, Murphy paints such a loving homage to the people and places conveniently forgotten across time.

The ending wasn't conventional and I had FEELINGS. [Spoiler alert!] As soon as Phoebe tells us she's going to give Evelyn the fairy tale ending she didn't get irl, I was hoping I could fully enjoy it. But I wanted so badly, even though I suspected they wouldn't, for them to somehow still end up together. Despite that, I did love the editor's addendum and the hope that Phoebe and Armitage's story may not have ended the same way. I think I'm just so used to the conventional 'happy ever after', but this was different and I admire the author for taking that chance.

I wasn't initially sure if the dual timeline/historian retelling angle was going to work for me, but it was fascinating with the parallels -- and as a history nerd myself, I was absolutely living through Phoebe getting to explore all of the amazing treasures! It's clearly evident how much love, dedication and research went into this. (I also checked out Murphy's Instagram and one of the inspos being 'Ball of Fire'? LOVE THAT.)

I am absolutely looking forward to more from Alice Murphy. Thank you to NetGalley and the author for providing me with a free eARC in exchange for an honest review.