Reviews with content warning for Classism - The Perks of Loving a Wallflower

Reviews tagging 'Classism'

The Perks of Loving a Wallflower by Erica Ridley

12 reviews

ptaradactyl's review against another edition

funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

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

3.0

It was fun and sweet and charming, but almost too sweet in places.

The characters were capable and honest, and they talked to each other when they needed to. Even better, they listened to each other.

Not particularly accurate, but more enjoyable for it. I want to read the others in the series because I like the characters, but I will space them out so they don’t get too treacley

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grace_b_3's review

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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

3.5

I thought this was a good sapphic Regency romance (not that there’s many of those floating around!).

I enjoyed the characters, including our two leads, Tommy and Philippa. I loved the development of their romance, including their ending. I didn’t expect this to end the way it did, but I really was happy that Ridley made that choice.

I thought this book would end with Tommy marrying Philippa as Baron Vanderbean, but I appreciated how Tommy stood up for herself and refused to live a lie. That was just an excellent conclusion to their romance.

I also thought it was interesting to see

a depiction of a non-binary lesbian in a period romance, as I haven’t seen that very much in contemporary romances, much less period romances. I like the way Tommy was able to describe their gender to Philippa and express it through her disguises throughout the book and how important it was for her to be seen as herself in all of her complexities.

Similarly to the first book, I enjoyed the little heist elements sprinkled throughout.

Overall, this is a fun romance series and I would recommend checking it out if you want to read a period romance that still has diverse characters.

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maddramaqueen's review

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adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.0

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buttermellow's review

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adventurous reflective fast-paced

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

5.0

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kshertz's review

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lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

It’s such a cute lesbian Bridgerton. I loved it. They are so sweet with each other and I love the family pushing them together. The ending wasn’t what I hoped for, but good nonetheless! It’s a good beach read/ easy reading.

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wilybooklover's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

3.5

This was such a lovely queer Regency romp. I adored both Philippa and Tommy, and how their relationship was full of communication and acceptance. For once, the meddling relatives didn't annoy me (well, the Wynchesters didn't — Philippa's mother did but she was actually supposed to). The manuscript/cipher plot kind of bored me and it takes up a lot of page-time. The fact that it was on behalf of a secondary character who appears in like, two or three scenes rather than one of the MCs just removed any sense of urgency and resulted in my lack of interest. I wasn't a big fan of the resolution of said plot either, nor the final confrontation with Philippa's parents.

There were some more modern phrases and vocabulary that I found quite jarring (e.g. ‘a cog in the machinery’ or 'lesbian'), but otherwise the language was fairly accurate. The cover is gorgeous but not representative of the MCs at all; Philippa is described as plump and curvy while Tommy is taller, skinnier, has short hair, and doesn’t like wearing dresses. I believe the cover photo was shot early during the pandemic though so I appreciate they had to work with what they had (I think the couple on the cover are an actual real-life couple).

Although the terms obviously did not exist at the time, to me Philippa read as demisexual and Tommy as non-binary or possibly genderfluid. Just to note since I've seen a lot of people label it as lesbian or F/F, which lacks the nuance of this particular book IMO.

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