the story of Ivy and Freya is sweet, romantic and very enjoyable. And the Bridge is definitely a place I'd want to visit! While reading, I almost wished it wasn't set in a real time and place -- since it was divorced enough from reality to be believable, but not so far as to become fantasy -- it just disconnected in that middle ground for me. I almost wished it was set in a place I knew /less/ about. Others might not feel the same way tho and I very much enjoyed the story!

**Book Review: *Where There's Room for Us* by Hayley Kiyoko**
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (5/5)

If you’ve ever watched *Bridgerton* and wished it were queer—and just a little more emotionally grounded—Hayley Kiyoko’s *Where There’s Room for Us* delivers exactly that, and more. Set in a beautifully imagined, queer-norm Regency-era England, this sapphic romance is both heartwarming and deeply resonant, weaving love, identity, and societal pressure into a story that feels simultaneously timeless and fresh.

At the heart of the novel is Freya, a young woman in her third season of matchmaking whose future seems all but decided—until Ivy, the unapologetically bold and American sister of a newly arrived viscount, upends everything she thought she wanted. What begins as an unlikely friendship quickly blossoms into something more, and as the bond between Freya and Ivy deepens, so does Freya’s understanding of herself, her desires, and the life she truly wants to live.

The romance is tender and earnest—sometimes veering into "instalove," but in a way that feels forgivable thanks to the novel’s emotional honesty. There are moments of delightful tension, quiet longing, and mutual discovery that will resonate with anyone who’s ever fallen in love for the first time. Kiyoko skillfully balances romance with deeper themes of self-acceptance, familial duty, and the intersection of queerness and womanhood in a society that values neither.

Yes, the prose occasionally skews a bit youthful, and some readers may find certain scenes between the main characters to feel more like teenage crushes than early adulthood love—but that simplicity is also part of its charm. It feels real. These are young women still figuring themselves out, and their sometimes awkward, sometimes poetic dialogue reflects that beautifully.

Freya’s sisters, Ivy’s brother Prescott, and the surrounding queer community add depth and richness to the world. The novel celebrates found family and chosen support systems while still grappling with the limits imposed by tradition. And one particular scene—Angelica and Freya, three-quarters in—absolutely breaks and remakes your heart in the best way.

There are pacing issues, especially toward the end, where things wrap up a little too quickly and conveniently. But even those rushed moments don’t undercut the emotional impact of the story. The book manages to be hopeful without feeling saccharine, affirming without being preachy, and romantic without needing to be graphic.

**Bottom line:** *Where There’s Room for Us* is a touching, smart, and emotionally rich story about love, identity, and the freedom to be who you are—wrapped in the elegance and drama of Regency England, reimagined through a queer lens. Not just a romance, but a quiet revolution in how we tell historical love stories. A full-hearted 5/5 stars.

I was so excited to receive this arc because I love Hayley and Becca. I did have a good time and I liked the universe that it was somewhat acceptable for queer marriages. I struggled a little bit with the pacing some parts were too slow and then the ending was super rushed. I was really hoping to not have a miscommunication/3rd act breakup since I just hate those tropes. I'll still read whatever Hayley puts out next.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

thank you to netgalley for providing this E-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

i really enjoyed the essence of this book, the storyline, the characters, and the setting. however, i do think the word/sentence choice during certain scenes and/or dialogue between the two main characters seemed a bit toned down for young adults. sometimes it seemed like the two main characters were in a middle school relationship, which is off quite a bit considering we can assume freya is around 19-21.

i did enjoy this story though, and i will always support hayley kiyoko because she is Super Cool™.

A great read! I am always looking for sapphic stories with well-developed characters and realistic love stories and this was actually so well done! Kind of like an Edenbrooke, but queer! I related to and loved these characters and enjoyed this romantic and hopeful story. The end felt a little rushed to me, but maybe that’s just cause I was rushing through it, enjoying the story so much haha. I liked that the ending was happy, but not perfectly tied up—felt like life.

I would like to re-read this novel after it has officially been published to see if it has been cleaned up. I really wanted to like it (LGBTQ Victorian England Historical Romance = heck yeah), but I constantly had to stop and scroll back and reread sections. The overall premise is great, but the inconsistencies made the story difficult to enjoy. If you aren’t a historian this novel would probably be easier to read.

Thank you NetGalley and Wednesday books for the digital ARC.

Did you watch Bridgerton and think “this is great but it’d be better if it was gay?” If so, Where There’s Room for Us is for you.

Freya is on her third season and expected to marry by the end of it, with her father’s sights on a duke. But when Ivy moves with her brother Prescott, the new and very American Viscount next door, all of Freya’s life plans are thrown into chaos. Ivy and Freya bring out the best in one another as they become fast friends (and more 👀) but can Freya truly step out of the life that’s been planned for her?

Though I was at first hesitating given the present tense writing, I quickly fell head over heels for Freya, Ivy, and the unique queer-norm regency England Kiyoko has written. I was intrigued when I heard about the novel and how it would be a queer norm world, wondering what that would do to the structures of upper class regency life. Kiyoko manages to preserve the intricate politics of regency life while also creating space for queer couples to exist, something I found incredibly delightful.

I loved the characters in this story. Of course Freya and Ivy are darling, but each of Freya’s sisters has their own unique personality that makes them stand out, similarly with Prescott. The sisterhood depicted in this novel is so wholesome and even had a couple twists I didn’t expect that really brought nuance to the idea of family and community, especially when that intersects with queer family and community. The scene with Angelica and Freya 3/4 of the way through?? I was in TEARS!

I deeply appreciated that this was such a queer norm and wholesome story but still managed to convey a lot of depth around important topics, from the time period relevant—such a women’s rights—to the more modern day relatable—the ideas of self and how that may conflict with family.

All in all, a really lovely book perfect for the queer Bridgeton fans that really wanted Eloise and Penelope to kiss.

They didnt just fall in love with each other in this book, but they fell in love with themselves.
I want to say first and foremost, I loved this book so much. As somewhat of an anthropology/sociology nerd I spent a lot of this book admiring how it highlighted the juxtaposition of being a woman and being queer. I will put my little rant on how much I loved that at the end of this review, cause I know it probably isnt what most other readers are here for.

So, for other readers who are here for the romance, for the journey, for the drama, or for the era we all seem to love in English history... this book has all of that and it's sapphic! Therefore, ten times better in my opinion (but I am always happy for any sapphic content). I do think that this is not just a story about falling in love with someone, but a story about falling in love with yourself and realizing that there are people who make it easier to be that person.

I could literally give a 30 minute Ted talk on how appreciative I am that in a world where homosexual relationships are allowed but women are still treated as lesser members of society, Hayley wrote about queer women being treated terribly. And yes I know how awful that sounds, but it's a real issue. If you are a person who has two different 'identities' that are discriminated against, and we were to erase one of those discriminations from history, you would still be treated as a person with two different discriminated against identities.

OMG LOVE IT

I'm not a fan of romance books, but I admit this book was adorable! I read her first book and enjoyed it. Her second is even better!

If you're looking for a good romance, full of twists and turns, go for it.

Where There’s Room for Us was an enjoyable read with a fresh plot.

What I really enjoyed about this book were the characters and their relationships. Although it felt in the beginning like I would never be able to differentiate between Freya’s sisters, by the end of the book they, and their relationships with Freya, had been really well fleshed out. Each of the three lent something to the story and to Freya’s character, and they were just plain enjoyable to read.

Freya and Ivy’s relationship was absolutely perfect as well. They had such a compelling romance, and I felt that the pacing of their relationship was perfect. They had great chemistry and I loved both of them, together and separate. This book is worth reading for their relationship, and I feel it had exactly what I am always looking for in a romance.

What fell flat for me was the world building. The book was set in an alternate regency England, where same-sex marriage is legal and common. However, only men can inherit. I had a really difficult time wrapping my head around the combination of laws/social attitudes and the actuality of the time period. I love the idea of an idealized regency England, but I wish it had been an all or nothing situation, instead of picking which aspects of this time would fuel conflict and which would further the romance. I don’t think this is a deal breaker though, as I did really enjoy the book. It wasn’t necessarily poorly done either, just not to my preference.

I would highly recommend reading this book if you get the chance and thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is such an interesting concept for a historical romance book: that everyone in society is free to marry who they choose but that society still restricts women's rights. Overall, it was a decent book with an interesting plot. I thought the book ended a little quickly and that all the issues that had been building up over the book were resolved in a chapter, but otherwise it was nice.

I liked this, I thought it was cute and sweet but a little bit slow in places. I loved all of the side characters and would love to see more from them in the future.

I think there was a lot of character growth from Freya, finding yourself can be scary and I think she did a lovely job. As for our other man character I found that she didn't learn as much but maybe to think more about how she affects the people around her.

I enjoyed this novel a lot. It was an interesting alternate universe to experience, which is always something I enjoy. You get your regency era drama, yet without any of the homophobia (well kinda?) that usually is a bother for these sorts of stories; it was wonderful bit of variety to the genre. I loved the different details of the community they lived in; the travelling-floating-queer-community was a very fun touch. This novel was well written, the characters were well developed (mostly) and enjoyable.

I liked the romance, which of course was the bulk of the novel. It was a bit instalove-ish and somewhat felt like it was barreling down the relationship-development-train-tracks (it’s a phrase I swear, you just haven’t heard it), but I didn’t mind because it was heartwarming and there was enough other plot going on that the romance itself didn’t need to be too complicated. I liked these two together.

I am giving this novel a low-5-stars, rounding it up. I think it earned it (the 5 that is), although it wasn’t perfect. The ending was incredibly rushed and felt underwhelming to me, which was a disappointment. Some of the plot points didn’t quite make sense or work perfectly, but not bad enough to really harm the overall experience. I think overall there were some pacing issues too, throughout the novel, but particularly at the end.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a free ARC. This honest review was left voluntarily.

I don't know how to put in words how loved this book made me feel. I don't know to put into words how warm and trusting this book is because if I think too much about how soft this book is, I might just start crying. What a masterpiece.

When I got the email that I was approved for an e-arc of this I cheered. (Out loud, in a restaurant, heads turned.)

This is Hayley Kiyoko’s second book, and her writing style continues to mature at an impressive speed. I enjoyed this even more than I enjoyed Girls, Girls, Girls. I love a good period piece and this one firmly sits in the YA, sapphic cosy romance section. Sometimes in life you need something that's just good, sweet, fun and this book delivers.

If I had to find something to critique, it would be the third act break-up (because I don't love those) and the rush to the finish (also a romance trope that's not my favorite.) I'd also like to explore more of the political policy conflict story. (This is my petition to continue the series. I need more Dani antics! Maybe a Marigold & Ros pre-quel...)

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an eARC of this book!

Thank you, NetGalley, and the publisher for an eARC of this novel!

I will always devour anything that Hayley Kiyoko puts out. Every song, album and book! It’s not every day that your favorite artist comes out with a budding second novel that is a Lesbian version of Bridgerton. Hayley's first book was a wonderful story that was based off her hit song Girls Like Girls. I enjoyed the novel very much but one can tell it was written by someone who was new to writing. With this novel she brings an supremely excelled writing style and character development. She has came into her own as a writer and showcases she knows how to write a dang good story.

This was such a sweet romance story. I loved seeing this world where queer couples could be together and get married, because so often we see stories where discrimination is the central conflict, so this is just very refreshing and nice. I also do appreciate that the author acknowledges the realistic struggles that they would still face through gender inequality. The romance was great, Ivy and Freya were adorable. I will say though that the story did get a bit stagnant for a while, but that may just be due to my personal preferences of lots of drama in stories. This is a great story for people who love a simple cute romance!!

I think this book probably works better if you don't know much about Hayley and Becca, because I could not stop focusing on how much this is clearly just a Jane Austen-esq AU of their relationship. Otherwise my only real complaint is that the end of the book was super rushed - I don't think using time jumps to solve relationship hurdles is a satisfying way to complete an arc.

I loved this book. Hayley’s first book was good but this book was great. Very impressive for a sophomore book.

The characters were well developed and the story was enjoyable to read. I liked the time period that she’s writing about. And there was a nice balance between the past with some modern language sprinkled in.

A great novel by Hayley Kiyoko. Definitely worth the read.

An ARC was provided by St Martin’s Press - Wednesday Books and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I am not a big romance reader but I enjoyed this a lot. It very much gave bridgerton but sapphic and I ate it up