Reviews with content warning for Alcohol - Infamous

a brilliant romp, feeling new and fresh even when treading on well worn paths, and with emotional depth.

pros:
- the writing flows well, is light and amusing and plows along with all Eddie' eagerness. I liked the banter and the dialogue, the descriptions were visual and conjured up vivid scenes, especially Saint Bede's island in the dark, Rose's appearance, the clothing, the crumbling house, etc.
- I really liked Eddie and Rose as main characters, and all the side characters are fleshed out and real, with all their depths and foibles.

Eddie is very much an unreliable narrator and its through her eyes we get to realise that Albert is a decent guy and Nash is the worst. Though the signs for the reader are all there, it's still gripping to see how itll unfold and satisfying when Eddie realises.

- the characters of Kitty, Valentine, Dayo, Liza, Albert, etc. all had their own motivations and quirks, and their own relationship with the other characters, including Nash. Dayo's campaign to bring about abolition was a good inclusion, and we got to hear about Kitty's passion for painting, Albert's rabbits (a reoccurring joke that I nonetheless thought wholesome). Juno the dog was even a fun character in herself, though I rather expected her to dig up some ominous bone or get stuck or find a ghost in the forest.
- I liked the setting and the Regency time period, with the contrasts of different levels of proprietary and the dropping in of real historical people, like Shelley and Byron.
-

Even though I feel most twists were fairly evident: that Nash only wanted to have sex with Eddie, that she and rose were in love, that Nash had stolen the manuscript, the maid being murdered by Nash's father, etc.. I still managed to be surprised by others, like Albert being gay (which I really should have seen coming), the murdered maid being Henry's mother, Nash publishing Eddie's manuscript, etc. which were fun to discover.

- I liked Eddie and Rose's different journeys and how they found themselves at different times. their friendship/budding romance was so well written, i loved the ebb and flow and the depiction of their tension, quarrels, intimacy, sexual attraction, forgiveness, etc. That was so well done.

cons:
- the start felt slow and a bit shallow. I didnt much like Eddie at all and it was all too Brigerton at that point. it really picked up for me as Eddie got drawn in and the stakes went up, with more dark edges to Nash and debauchery.
- I thought there was a real lack of resolution with Henry and Nash both. I wish Henry could have challenged Nate about the locket, his mother, and the assault. I felt it was glossed over that Nash sexually assaulted Henry, though that threat lingers in the latter half of the book against Eddie. It was left unclear whether anyone got shot with the pistol and I'm not sure Eddie got to see Henry after that. that was a bit of hanging loose end unless we're meant to think that Nash murdered Henry and just cleared him away, which doesn't seem likely, but if it was then....
- it's frustrating that Nash never got any more severe punishment for stealing Eddie's manuscript, lying, cheating on Liza, verbally abusing Eddie, nonconsensually kissing her, and force feeding her drugs... she should have slapped him at least, and then got him denounced in the papers. instead we get a lacklustre end note. guess I'm more vengeful but I definitely didnt feel he got taught any lesson!

but overall, this was a thrilling and gripping ride with great writing and I enjoyed it :)

Content Warnings

booksandteatime's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Content Warnings

amyinorbit's review against another edition

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emotional funny medium-paced

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

4.0

Content Warnings

vaguely_pink's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.0

Content Warnings

thebankofbooks's review against another edition

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funny inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

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

4.0

Content Warnings

bunterobstkorb's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.5

Content Warnings

amyjoy's review against another edition

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medium-paced

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

3.0

I really love a queer historical romance, and I like that Croucher showed us a diverse London society. It took me about half of the book to really get sucked into the story and the characters, and I almost quit early on because it was almost reading like a straight romance.

Eddie is SO dense throughout the whole book, and it was kind of frustrating to read! She willfully ignored her feelings and her friend/love interest's feelings and put so much faith in someone who was clearly a conman. She's young and sheltered, but still, I wanted her to have a TINY amount of self-awareness.

Also, Nash doesn't really face any consequences for his behavior. I was FURIOUS when Eddie gave him the second half of her manuscript. I really wanted her to throw it in the lake and let him suffer when he couldn't finish the book. And that still would have been the mildest consequence for his serial sexual assault! I was really disappointed that not a single person had a conversation with Eddie about how, even though it may have felt like her fault and she did have an obvious crush on him, the power dynamics between her and Nash meant that he was taking advantage of her, NEVER MIND that she was intoxicated when he first kissed her! Everyone was just like "yeah, you should have known better, Eddie, you knew he was married!" It was so flipping frustrating because he was taking advantage of his position of power as a published author, her obvious crush, her youth and naïveté, and got her drunk before the first time he kissed her! All of that really put me off the end of the book; even Rose, who loved and supported Eddie blamed her. Also, I knew from the second they arrived at his estate that he was going to steal her book. He's the worst.

I did really love the relationship between Eddie and Rose, though.

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