Reviews with content warning for Drug use - Infamous

Alternative Title: What not to do when you meet your childhood hero.

(Shout-out to my girl Rose and Albert for being the only two sensible people in this entire story)

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humblebookdragon's review

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lighthearted tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Because both Eddie and Nash were so UNLIKABLE, especially for the entire duration of the novel, it was really a feat to finish this book. The only thing that kept me going was that Lex Croucher wrote Rose as the voice of reason, and perhaps the voice of the audience, so the self-awareness of how Eddie and Nash were was appreciated, but it was still a rough one.

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below_average_baker's review against another edition

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emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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internalnonsense's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

This story is more than a rote romance, taking its time to explore the complexity of our protagonist, Ed’s character and her ambitions outside of love, but will quickly lose its ground and take things too far, creating an overall unlikeable protagonist and contrived conflicts.

Ed’s a young woman in Regency society, needing to find her place in life but still holding on to her idyllic childhood with her best friend Rose. Rose, however, is ready to move forward, and begins seriously looking for a husband. Ed does not react well, but cannot deter Rose from her future. Ed, instead, finds herself acquainted to her favorite poet, Nash. When he expresses an interest in her, Ed’s previous fantasies of being a writer take on a reality, as Nash could open a whole new world for her. So as Rose becomes engaged, Ed does her best to get closer to Nash. Tensions rise, scandals threaten, and Ed has to confront exactly how she feels about Rose.

The central conflict of this story is ambition vs values (values being propriety, then self-respect and love). While spirited and funny, Ed’s very short-sighted and self-involved, which is perhaps appropriate for a sheltered, upper class Regency girl. It’s not a bad place to start a story, but Ed’s growth one step forward, two steps back. It reaches a point where you have to ask ‘what does Rose see in her?’. However, I appreciate a flawed protagonist more than a perfect one, and much of the time I understand Ed’s inconsistency. She’s been trapped her whole life and she sees a way out, so she ignores the red flags along the way.

Rose, the primary love interest, is a complete contrast to Ed. She’s figured herself out entirely, is steady, a good judge of character, and kind. Honestly, her biggest flaw is (her love for Ed) is lack of ambition; she starts the story giving up, settling into the easiest life available to her. I think the story would have improved with a Rose POV; a break from Ed’s stuttering character development and a better understanding of Rose’s own motivation. What drives her out except Ed being stupid? Rose also had known she was a lesbian at an early age, and was of Chinese descent, in Regency England. There was a lot of depth to her character we did not explore through Ed’s eyes.

Nash, the rival love/antagonist is initially a well-realized manipulator. Older and married, his interest in Ed is incredibly inappropriate, but we also sense the opportunity Ed does in him—the connections to creatives, editors, an alternative society, and he has just enough vulnerability and charm to see why his friends and Ed put up with him. His escalating poor behavior coinciding with his moves on Ed is the primary drive of the story. However, I feel the author doesn’t trust that we’ll see him as the villain, so continues to pile on his crimes, which in turn makes Ed’s judgement seem steadily worse and worse. The finale depends on Ed making a choice, effectively, between Nash and Rose, but the weights are so absurdly stacked against Nash it’s almost insulting to Rose that Ed would even consider him.

The prose is well-written with a consistent voice and a lot of humor. Sometimes, especially during banter, character’s would blend together, but, honestly, that sameness helped characterize Nash’s crowd. It’s not a plot-heavy story, which is fine, but when it decides to have a plot it’s kind of out of nowhere and discordant with the larger story. Obviously, there’s strong LGBTQ+ rep—Ed is probably bi, Rose is confidently a lesbian, and there are other characters across the rainbow. Ed herself I read as a little non-binary, as she found herself drawn to more masc ways of presenting herself and resisted a more feminine nickname, but I wouldn’t say that was clearly explored at all.

Overall, it was sometimes fun, often times frustration, and occasionally genuinely compelling moments.

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laurel616's review

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challenging emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Was the protagonist the densest, least observant person imaginable? Yes. Did I for some reason still love her? Also yes. I really liked this book, and I felt like the ending was very satisfying. There were some plot threads that completely dropped off, but nothing that overly bothered me.

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renwolf's review against another edition

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lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Didn’t really feel pulled into this. Eddie was too oblivious, didn’t particularly like a lot of the secondary characters.
The twist was obvious and it took a while to get there, then it was wrapped up in no time.
Henry’s subplot disappeared at the same time. I think it needed a better resolution.

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Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

Infamous by Lex Croucher

kelseaduguid's review against another edition

ell_n's review against another edition

eh1736's review against another edition

citymouse's review against another edition

vampire_burrito's review against another edition

humblebookdragon's review

below_average_baker's review against another edition

internalnonsense's review against another edition

laurel616's review

renwolf's review against another edition