Emma R. Alban

I didn't love this as much as the first book, but I think that's because I don't love the enemies-to-lovers trope. I did love the characters -- Bobby and James and the whole extended family (the good ones), and I love love love queer characters succeeding at found family and setting up safety for themselves. Very satisfying on that front. The one note that really felt off was the wedding scene -- is this supposed to be Victorian? Somehow I thought it was meant to be earlier, and the costumes described were really off for me. Especially given that there's a photographer? Eh, ok, I think it works as late Victorian. Anyway -- it is exactly as advertised, and that's sweet and infuriating and full of people fighting to care for each other.

Advanced Reader's Copy provided by Edelweiss.… (mere)

It's the mid 1850s London and Beth and Gwen are each attending coming out balls in order to find a suitable match. It's Gwen's fourth and Beth's first. Beth is in dire need of finding a rich husband as she and her mother will be kicked out of their house at the end of the 'season'

The girls meet at the first ball and become fast friends. They soon realize that Beth's widowed mother and Gwen's widowed father were once a 'thing' and it seems that the spark, though tamped down, is still there. Their marriage would also eliminate the need for Beth to find a husband.

As the two girls scheme to get their parents together, they find that their friendship is blooming into something more...a relationship that is not tolerated in Victorian times. Could their parents' marriage be the answer to their prayers as well?

A fun read.… (mere)