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

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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wordsareworlds's review

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted 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? It's complicated

3.0

I enjoyed this book, with a few reservations that keep it from being a stellar read for me. I saw a review before I started that called it a good "beginners" queer book, and while I didn't get it at the time, they're right. There's a lot of telling, some showing, and then that showing is augmented with some more telling. The core messages were great and I loved the relationship, but there were definitely times I felt like I was reading the novel equivalent of an after school special (not because of content, but delivery). The writing felt repetitive at times - the word "bluestocking" was used 53 times in the book, including in the phrase "changing lives in their beautiful bluestocking way." Which seems fine by itself, but as the only personality descriptor for a group of women who appeared repeatedly throughout the book I was fed up.

I did adore the romantic relationship and the conflicts felt grounded. Both Tommy and Philippa recognized what what they needed to do to move forward together and did it, so I 100% believe in their HEA. I also loved reading about a heroine who is large but the only references to her size are positive ones. Tommy loves Philippa's curves, and thinks about them in an adoring, sexy way. I wish we got more of that in other books. That being said, the scene where Tommy is transforming into the old man costume and the later scene where Philippa dons a hasty "man" outfit were gender essentialist about physicality. The second scene isn't bad by itself, but after the first scene I couldn't overlook the way it was stated Philippa could never look like a man because of her body shape.

The last confrontation with Philippa's parents came very close to spoiling the whole end of the book for me.

After such strong language about their desires destroying her happiness, the extreme actions her mother took throughout the whole book, and the bitter feelings between her mother and father I didn't believe for a moment they would react the way it was written. And then Philippa's positive feelings towards them and promise to visit felt like an absolution they hadn't earned, and an opening for further emotional abuse in the future.

emotional abuse from parents, societal homophobia, grief, explicit sex

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the_vegan_bookworm's review against another edition

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lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

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

4.75

What a cute and adorable queer Regency read! It's a very fun imagining of the genre in a fresh and unique way. The core plot is very similar to the first book, The Duke Heist, but the book still reads as fresh and interesting. Highly recommend!

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jackie_recommends's review

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emotional hopeful reflective 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

4.0

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doll2021's review

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funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

4.0

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restlessreaderjay's review

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adventurous 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

4.0

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molliemoments's review

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adventurous 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? No

4.5

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decklededgess's review

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funny lighthearted relaxing fast-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? Yes

4.0

trigger warnings: homophobia, sexual content, emotional abuse

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I loved the premise of found family that does crime except this isn't fantasy at all which just makes it all the more fun because I don't have tedious world building to wade through. I loved the main characters and Priscilla's slow realization that she likes girls. I also loved Tommy's representation as a gender fluid/gender non conforming character. Super fun and can't wait to read the rest of the books!!

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