Something Fabulous

"I would cheat and ask if you’ve read any romances or what else you like to read! I’m a former bookseller, so I believe in tailoring recommendations to the person. The thing about Something Fabulous is that if you’ve ever read a Georgette Heyer book, then this would be the romance for you. It’s a classic Regency romp, but it’s extremely, extremely queer. There’s shenanigans, hijinks, a road trip. It basically takes that sinister, controlling, demanding duke who says, ‘Young woman, you will marry me,’ then completely unravels it in a very fun and queer kind of way. Rather than the Duke having all of this power, he loses it sort of step by step, and also begins to learn more about himself as a person. He realizes that he’s demisexual —of course, they don’t use that language in that time period, but it’s clear about what’s happening. He falls in love with his fiancé’s twin brother, who is a rolling ball of chaos. It’s fantastic! There’s family drama, dueling. It’s handled in a very tongue-in-cheek kind of way, and if you’ve ever read any Alexis Hall , you know how funny his books can be. The secondhand embarrassment did almost kill me at some parts, but it was really fun to see classic tropes broken down and played with in a way that I haven’t seen before. Alexis did write a very different kind of book, A Lady for a Duke , which is a Regency title with a trans heroine, but that one is a big ball of feelings. It’s a big pining, angsty, ‘they can never know my secret’ kind of romance, while Something Fabulous is more ‘Whoopsy, the Duke gets menaced by a bee!’ They’re very different, but both are wonderful. Ooh, well, we’ve got Freya Marske’s third book, the end of her trilogy, which is coming out soon. It’s called A Power Unbound . There’s Diana Biller’s Hotel of Secrets , which I’m starting and it comes out in March. Also, Felicia Grossman has another one coming out this year! She writes American historicals with Jewish protagonists, and her first two books— Appetites & Vices and Dalliances & Devotion —were spectacular. Her next book, Marry Me by Midnight, is the first in a series of fairytale retellings that will be set in the London Jewish Community during the Regency period. I’ve been reading quite a lot of historical romances and fantasies, that’s been my jam this year. There’s a new book in Erica Ridley’s Wild Wynchesters series that’s coming out later this year called My Rogue to Ruin . And from Harlequin Historical, Lydia San Andres is set to release Alliance with His Stolen Heiress , and she writes Caribbean-set Hispanic historical romances that are just plain lovely. She has a whole series set on a fictional Caribbean island and it’s all linen, and lagoons, and guava jam, and suffragettes. I’m like, ‘Yes, yes, to all of it!’ It’s already been a really good year for historicals, and I’m glad to see that people are branching out more. I also want to recommend Adriana Herrera because she had A Caribbean Heiress in Paris come out last year and the newest book in the series, An Island Princess Starts a Scandal , is out in May. Oh, and I can’t forget The Davenports by Krystal Marquis! The cover is just beautiful. I’ve been saving it and I am really looking forward to diving in."