DNF @ 4 percent

I just don't think I'm a regency romance person. I try because I love the idea and love queer rep but I'm just not pulled into the genre. But so many people do love this genre and it's amazing to have. sapphic rep in it! Love that this is compared to Mean Girls which many of us love & so many like the Bridgerton series too. I appreciate this book but the genre is just not for me. Cute cover too! I do think it will find it's audience and many will love it!

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me an arc for a honest review.

Sapphic regency novels are a favorite of mine and "Like in Love with You" did not disappoint. The banter between Catherine and Rosalie as they went from adversaries to lovers sucked me in and had me kicking my feet. I love the way Emma writes supportive and loving families, albeit likely historically inaccurate, that just make your heart melt. It was also nice to not see this end in a lavender marriage. 5/5 for me.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!!!

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book!! I’m not usually one for period novels. I heard a lot of readers describe this as a mean girls like situation and I figured why not.

These two girls end up at each others throats all because Mr Dean, oh and both of their moms are enemies as well. The chemistry between Catherine and Rosalie is off the charts and when you add in just the right amount of spice you get one of my favorite reads this month!!!

What Emma R. Alban accomplishes with Like in Love With You gagged me as someone who really enjoyed her previous two books. Rosalie and Catherine’s story is a rivals to lovers romance that incorporates the insecurity of being queer and “coming out” in a way that the two books in the Mischief & Matchmaking series didn’t fully dive into. First off, Rosalie and Catherine’s yearning? Overwhelming! The found family aspect? Heartwarming! The anticipation of learning if the people that truly mattered accepted who the girls truly were? Nerve wracking! This is by far Alban’s best story both in writing and content. I HIGHLY recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC! I loved the first two books by this author so I went in with high expectations and was absolutely satisfied. I love a good sapphic regency romance and Alban makes hers unique with more modern dialogue. (Also, her characters are hilarious.) The characters are fun and the romance is perfectly spicy. I particularly enjoy the hijinks.

Amazing book loved the characters and plot. I couldn't stop reading I stayed up all night. I loved the book so much thank you for the arc.

Catherine's family is relocating to Bath from the country for her father's health, but her mother is intent on using her entrance into society to get revenge on her former best friend by sabotaging said woman's daughter's courtship. Rosalie is tired of the man she is courting barely paying attention to her, and competing with Catherine causes her to realize she feels more for her competition than for the man she's supposed to be with.

I enjoyed this book, and I thought it did a fairly realistic job of portraying the difficulties sapphic women experienced historically. Catherine and Rosalie are interesting characters, although I don't really see the Mean Girls comp title — it's only very loosely like Mean Girls. There were some places in the novel where it didn't feel like the author did very much research on how things like titles worked in Regency England, and times where there were words that were anachronistic. Someone in Regency England would not use the word "dissing", for example. It was still a fun read, but there were some errors in historical accuracy that brought me out of the immersion.

The side characters were fun to read about, and I rooted for the relationship between Amalie, Rosalie's friend, and Rosalie's brother. Although not all of the characters were perfectly accepting of Catherine and Rosalie's relationship, that's certainly realistic, and the way they sorted everything out in the end worked out nicely. Mr. Dean, the man that Rosalie and Catherine are both pursuing, is infuriating, which I think was rather the intention. He's a "love to hate" type of character.

I love a sapphic romance but honestly this one wasn’t my favorite. I can’t put my finger on why, the writing was great and the story was fun I just did not feel connected to the characters,

Honestly, the two stars are for the promising premise and not much else. Historical romance is easily my favorite genre, so when I saw this title available to request I JUMPED at the chance. Queer, rivals-to-lovers historical? Count me in, every single time.

Unfortunately, this really fell flat for me. The pacing of this book dragged on and I found myself bored much of the time. The important information that was presented felt very much like it was being told to the reader bluntly, rather than shown on page through the actions of the characters. Much of the language, and especially the dialogue, throughout the book read as very modern and anachronistic to the setting of the story. The conflict of how these two young women would manage to make a place for themselves in a world that didn’t have space for their relationship seemed to resolve far too easily. Although I loved the kind and supportive families and friends, it just felt too tidy that everyone was ready to be immediately supportive—especially in a time when propriety and living within social norms was paramount.


Now, I did love Rosalie and Catherine’s characters. They were so relatable and genuine. Rosalie’s brother and two friends were also very endearing. Aunt Genevieve and her keen, sassy intelligence were another hit for me. Generally, the characters throughout were very easy to like. I think the framework of the story and the characters are really great and could be something fantastic in the right hands—but it would need a major edit in order for me to consider recommending this book to anyone else.

I loved this! I read from like the 40% mark until the end, staying up way too late, because I needed to know how it ended. Catherine and Rosalie are the typical regency era rivals to lovers. The chemistry, then tension, and then the yearning… it’s just so good. Of course they’re competing for the hand of the dullest man ever. I tend to only read historical romance when it’s sapphic, due to the inherent misogyny of the plot and time period. I think it’s handled well here and we don’t have to wait the majority of the book for them to discover their feelings. If you’re an HR, regency era, or Jane Austen fan, you’re going to enjoy this one!

Thank you to the author and the publisher for the opportunity to review this ARC!

Emma R. Alban has done it again! An absolute master of the historical queer romance! I think at this point we should get her some kind of crown!

Much like Jane Austen's characters, and Jane Austen herself, everyone's coming and going from Bath in Like in Love with You. Lady Rosalie's been here a minute, and she's got a Regina Georgie-level stranglehold on courting society, including her beau, who she really cannot stand. When Catherine Pine moves to town, eager to please and desperate to help heal the hurt her mother experienced in a social scandal in her youth, she immediately catches both Rosalie's attention, and her dumb beau's. Both women soon realize that those sapphic sparks they felt for other girls in their youth weren't fleeting flights of fancy; they're queer, and they REALLY hate/like each other.

Alban's writing is funny and swoony and just the right amount of self-aware winking at the audience. Rosalie and Catherine's chemistry sparkles and sizzles. And, like her last two books, the supporting cast of characters is full of real gems. I was really, really moved by the way both women's families reacted to the match, once they finally found out about it. I saw someone compare it to Northanger Abbey, but it's actually way more Emma, in a good way!

Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager + NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book and provide an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for another ARC! Thank you to the author as well for this book.

First of all, we know that history has been incredibly unkind towards the LGBTQIA+ community. Even today, this continues to be an issue. My belief is that the only way to change history is to be the point in the history books where things change and hopefully for the better.

We know that the regency era afforded no kindness towards those who were queer- particularly toward gay men. Lesbians, naturally, went without acknowledgment. Queer relationships between women were written off as friendships.
Emma Alban gets some brownie points from me as I cannot imagine this situation was easy to write about. Secondly, the ending of this book is in line with what historical information has for lesbians of the time. Wonderful job for this.

That aside, let's address some of the things I found enjoyable. Our main ladies are rivals to lovers. They're incredibly well written rivals with ample reason to be at odds. The plot has a frustratingly excellent pace. Overall, it was a good read.

There were a few issues I felt were worth addressing. I wish our cast outside of our main crew had been given more attention. I wish they had been more consistently involved. That's just a personal wish. The other thing was the family's reaction during the big reveal. I love a good happy ending, and I'm okay with forgoing realism for the sake of the reader, but I was still expecting better, more realistic takes on the situation. We almost nailed it, in my opinion.

The book is getting a 4 star from me, but it's about a 3.6. It's still worthy of a read if you ask me!

First let me say my rating will probably change after I reread this book, but for now 3.5 stars. However, there were several parts of this book that I felt could be better. I couldn't connect with the characters at times and things felt out of place. The mean girls meets the regency era was an interesting mix that I enjoyed (even when it got a little confusing hence the things that felt out of place). Enemies to lovers is one of my favorite tropes and I love how the author did it here with this storyline. I can't wait to read this again just because I feel like I missed stuff the first time and would most likely enjoy it more this time. Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for this ARC.

I deeply enjoyed the plot of Like in Love with You (sapphic “enemies” aka miscommunication to lovers). Both FMC’s are so likable and I was really rooting for both of them. I didn’t love the “fighting over a man” trope but luckily this book was so much more. The love story and side characters were amazing. I did find the pacing of this book to be super slow- it took me forever to get through the first 2/3’s where I flew through the ending. Highly recommend if you like regency era sapphic love stories. 3.5 stars rounded to 4 for the queer representation.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read Like in Love with You.

3.75 stars. Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books for the eARC!

This was funny, charming, and had the kind of banter you want in a slow-burn romance. Catherine and Rosalie start off at odds, sniping across ballrooms and teas in Regency Bath, but the chemistry builds in a way that kept me hooked. I liked how the humor balanced the slower pacing, and the friend group made the whole world feel warmer and more alive. The middle dragged a bit, but the payoff in the final chapters was sweet, satisfying, and exactly what I wanted.

This book was just painful to read. The prose was odd. It was as if it was written in first then just changed to third person limited last minute. I was bored and just never cared about the plot or the characters.

This book definitely delivered on the description of Bridgerton meets Mean Girls. It's witty and filled with banter and teasing, and even though some of it does feel a little modern for the setting, it's still a very fun read if you love an enemies-to-lovers story. I'm always thrilled to see sapphic regency romance in the world!

Really enjoyed the first book, so was very excited to see another one in this series. Again, this is a sharp, sparkling sapphic Regency romance that blends witty social hi-jinks with emotional depth. Catherine Pine is a clever gal plotting revenge, when she is suddenly caught off guard by developing feelings. What ensues is a slow-burn tension that’s equal parts enemies-to-lovers and forbidden longing. Really enjoyed the humor sprinkled in and excited for more books to come!

Sincere thanks to NetGalley and Avon for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book was everything I had hoped it would be. Emma Alban’s books feel like a warm hug, and I went in with high expectations. They were definitely met. The character banter, the tension and spice. This book was absolutely perfect.

I enjoyed reading Emma R. Alban's "Don't Want You Like A Best Friend", so I was glad to receive this ARC for her latest novel. I am happy to note it is my new favorite book of hers! This story is incredibly romantic and sweet.The flirting and pining between our two main characters is so intense, and the Mean Girls inspiration comes through at several points. Not only did I love both Rosalie and Catherine, but their families and friends were wonderful as well. The plotline was well executed and although the book is a little angsty at times, the confidence, hope, and love the characters feel makes you sure everything will work out. This was a delightful read that will be perfect for fans of sapphic romance, Mean Girls, HEA's, or all of the above. 4.7/5 stars rounded up!