Reviews

A Lady's Finder by Edie Cay

prettycloud's review

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

Ok so here's the thing. This book needs editing. Its central pairing don't really get a chance to work together (the author doesn't seem to understand how to solve problems?), the subplot is nothing, two of the (minor) characters change names? But the vibes of this book are so good. Read the first couple of chapters, or whatever free sample they give you, and see if it speaks to you. It's hard to find good nonbinary rep in queer historical fiction, and this delivers that sweet rep with some believable character interactions and a fun setting. It could definitely use a bit of work, but it's not cringey or overly silly. I'd read other works by this author if the vibes are this good, and I'd recommend this to anyone who wants that historical nb/f fix and can stand the cobbled-together plot.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Alcohol, Outing, Deadnaming, Sexual content, Transphobia, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Dysphoria, Pedophilia, Body shaming, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Stalking, and Incest

Minor: Miscarriage, Vomit, Fatphobia, Infertility, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, and Toxic relationship

A major character (not one of the two mains) was sexually abused as a child by an uncle (there isn't a flashback, but there is some description) and still experiences trauma as an adult, including related to her recent pregnancy/new baby, which she also had physical complications with.

One of the two leads gets outed as trans in front of extended family, but his close family accept him.

There's the background historical homophobia/transphobia/sexism that you would expect, but the characters tend to have more modern attitudes (except for one horrible guy). One of the MCs is mixed-race and that contributes a bit to some family drama, but otherwise it doesn't come up.

gonturans's review

5.0

Phenomenal book which proves Edie Cay is doing some of the most interesting work in historical romance– our hero is non-binary with he/him pronouns and our heroine is primarily attracted to women (I hesitate to definitively say bi considering she rejects the idea of marriage and sex with cis men, and spends the book mourning a prior relationship with another woman, but she also falls for Jack when he is male-presenting as well as female-presenting), and the spark between them is electric. It’s a sweet, charged romance of being Seen.

Cay treats her characters with warmth and love, even when she shows the complicated but ultimately deeply loving relationship between Lydia and Agnes. While the HEA is predicated on families being accepting and open– isn’t that the fantasy? That your families will do whatever it takes to make you happy and accept you as you are? And given the way the historical record works, it’s possible something similar could have happened. Cay cites her research, and it shows. I don’t want to speak for non-binary and trans folks, but I loved seeing the queer culture of regency London filled of people living happy, full lives. There’s several potential future plots unraveled here, and I will be reading them if Edie Cay decides to write them.

I particularly liked the little subversion of “heroine who doesn’t fit in must want to wear and feel comfortable in men’s clothing/do masculine things to be Strong”, and neither the plot nor Jack invalidate Agnes when she is clearly uncomfortable! There is also some subtle exploration of racial and class assimilation during Jack’s plot with his brother Roland.

The underlying “Jack was hired to steal from Agnes’s cousin” plot takes the back burner, but is resolved satisfactorily if within the last 40 pages.