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faithd's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.75
lunarchfey's review
5.0
4.5/5 stars
I want there to be a thousand more books like this, and I want an entire series with these three. That said, despite it being short (I was disappointed to see the book resolve at the 50% mark on Kindle) it really said all it wanted to, and was a surprisingly deep and thoughtful take on love, freedom, and finding your own truth. Despite being stylistic and over-the-top, Alexis Hall makes the balance work, and the result is satisfying. Very steamy and honestly pretty cute.
I want there to be a thousand more books like this, and I want an entire series with these three. That said, despite it being short (I was disappointed to see the book resolve at the 50% mark on Kindle) it really said all it wanted to, and was a surprisingly deep and thoughtful take on love, freedom, and finding your own truth. Despite being stylistic and over-the-top, Alexis Hall makes the balance work, and the result is satisfying. Very steamy and honestly pretty cute.
lezreadalot's review
4.0
A quick, fun, delightful read that I loved for all its characters and the way I helplessly over-identified with them.
3.5
3.5
nenya_kanadka's review
5.0
I LOVED this book. It has so many things I want out of romance in it, while managing to avoid many of the tropes I often stumble over in the genre. And it was super hot and really sweet.
Three people--a straight woman, a bisexual man, and a gay man--fall in love in a steampunk city. The woman is a debutante trapped by her life, the bi man is a rich but base-born adventurer who made his money "in the sky" (I'm not sure what this is, but the author has more books in that setting), and the gay man is an titled noble fallen on hard times. It's a classic tale of finding yourself and telling society to fuck off, but I really liked how it was done.
Rosamond's conflicts are not specifically with the man she's supposed to marry (he does not even get a name, that's how tangential to the story he is) but with her own internalized sense of who she's supposed to be and how she's meant to act. And she's very, very good at the role society has placed her in. She has many skills that go into keeping up the mask and I like that the story shows that being a high-born socialite is a job that takes effort (and some of those skills are transferable). She's not the sort of rebellious heroine who knows all along that she wants a different life and chafes against her chains: part of her character development is even realizing that she's unhappy. And she's not always a very nice person, partly because she is so unhappy, and has learned to be unkind to others in order to survive. And yet Jones, the uncouth commoner, meets her and honestly likes her, and treats her better than all the proper, "decent" people around her. All without a single word of the "he claims her, she submits" thing that usually drives me nuts. Though Jones is certainly the strong, masculine "unsuitable" lover whose frank sexuality sparks her self-actualization.
Arkady is gay as hell and deeply conflicted about it. So his plotline is about him allowing himself to love Jones, to give in to his true feelings, and to stop hating himself. Jones adores both of them and is more of a gentleman--in his honest, socially unpolished way--than any lord or lady they know. My favourite thing about him is how well he draws boundaries: he says what he means and means what he says, and when he's asked to do something he's uncomfortable with, he says no. Even if it would get him what he wants in the short term. On one level he's a catalyst for both Rosamond and Arkady discovering themselves, but the book makes me believe in him as a real character with his own needs, too.
The ending was lovely and my only regret was that I didn't have another 200 pages of their adventures together. (I thought the story was longer than it was, because the back half of the ebook is taken up with previews for other books by the same author.) I wasn't sure how Rosamond and Arkady were going to work together, but I was pretty satisfied with how that turned out. All in all, I really love Alexis Hall's view of the world. It's a very kind, sexy, queer, and funny one, and I may have to chase down more of the gaslight/steampunk romances.
A+ would read again.
Three people--a straight woman, a bisexual man, and a gay man--fall in love in a steampunk city. The woman is a debutante trapped by her life, the bi man is a rich but base-born adventurer who made his money "in the sky" (I'm not sure what this is, but the author has more books in that setting), and the gay man is an titled noble fallen on hard times. It's a classic tale of finding yourself and telling society to fuck off, but I really liked how it was done.
Rosamond's conflicts are not specifically with the man she's supposed to marry (he does not even get a name, that's how tangential to the story he is) but with her own internalized sense of who she's supposed to be and how she's meant to act. And she's very, very good at the role society has placed her in. She has many skills that go into keeping up the mask and I like that the story shows that being a high-born socialite is a job that takes effort (and some of those skills are transferable). She's not the sort of rebellious heroine who knows all along that she wants a different life and chafes against her chains: part of her character development is even realizing that she's unhappy. And she's not always a very nice person, partly because she is so unhappy, and has learned to be unkind to others in order to survive. And yet Jones, the uncouth commoner, meets her and honestly likes her, and treats her better than all the proper, "decent" people around her. All without a single word of the "he claims her, she submits" thing that usually drives me nuts. Though Jones is certainly the strong, masculine "unsuitable" lover whose frank sexuality sparks her self-actualization.
Arkady is gay as hell and deeply conflicted about it. So his plotline is about him allowing himself to love Jones, to give in to his true feelings, and to stop hating himself. Jones adores both of them and is more of a gentleman--in his honest, socially unpolished way--than any lord or lady they know. My favourite thing about him is how well he draws boundaries: he says what he means and means what he says, and when he's asked to do something he's uncomfortable with, he says no. Even if it would get him what he wants in the short term. On one level he's a catalyst for both Rosamond and Arkady discovering themselves, but the book makes me believe in him as a real character with his own needs, too.
The ending was lovely and my only regret was that I didn't have another 200 pages of their adventures together. (I thought the story was longer than it was, because the back half of the ebook is taken up with previews for other books by the same author.) I wasn't sure how Rosamond and Arkady were going to work together, but I was pretty satisfied with how that turned out. All in all, I really love Alexis Hall's view of the world. It's a very kind, sexy, queer, and funny one, and I may have to chase down more of the gaslight/steampunk romances.
A+ would read again.
blandrea_reads's review
5.0
So this is like a secret little gem hidden in the back catalogue. If you want to sound like the "before it was cool" people, reference this book.
But seriously, the BEST part about Hall's writing is how UNformulaic it is... the diversity of couples, the constellations of relationships, the valuing of platonic relationships as equal to romantic, and the lack of labelling of people or identities.
But seriously, the BEST part about Hall's writing is how UNformulaic it is... the diversity of couples, the constellations of relationships, the valuing of platonic relationships as equal to romantic, and the lack of labelling of people or identities.
chirson's review
3.0
A strange little book - what is there is really good at times, but so much of the story seems to gloss over shifts, assume facts not in evidence, take attraction and surface for depth of feeling. I think this may have needed to be longer, or perhaps more consistent in tone (at times comedy and angst really didn't mesh) to work for me. In particular, the love interest felt incredibly sketched in. But some passages were so good I can almost forgive it.
katieanne4's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.25
That might be my favorite sex scene... Ever. Rosamund's perspective as an observer is just an amazing way to show their reconciliation without resorting to cliche.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Homophobia
thelittledeath's review
emotional
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
4.0
thegrimbookworm's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
marmy's review against another edition
3.0
The more I chase the high of For Real the more I'm disappointed.