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

Wynchesters) help people. Philippa is a 23 year old Bluestocking who has never experienced any sort of sexual attraction to anyone... until she meets the dashing Baron Vanderbean (surprise it's Tommy!)

I loved the hijinks in this and the relatively bananapants plot. I loved the exploration of gender identity and attraction and the absolutely lovely found family.

Ridley gave us some great intimate scenes with excellent consent. (Audio is narrated by Moira Quirk - highly recommended!!)

Content Warnings

jess_justmaybeperfect's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

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

4.25

Tommy has been in love with Phillipa since the moment she laid eyes on her. Encouraged by her siblings, Tommy finally gets the courage to approach her, but in character. When Phillipa realizes how delighted her mother is by Tommy’s character’s attentions, they come to an agreement. They also tell each other (most of) the truth early on which leaves room for getting to know each other, teaching and learning about gender identity, exploring sex, falling in love, and eventually get a very satisfying HEA. Also this book is a bit bonkers which makes is even more fun. Finally, hats off to Ridley for use of anatomically correct terms and enthusiastic consent.

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lunarecliptica's review

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adventurous emotional 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

4.0

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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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mcstressy's review

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funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.0

I struggle with historicals, but this one was just good fun. I enjoyed their chemistry and the archetypes of both characters. There was just enough plot with Philippa's investigation, but I wish we got a bit more plot with Tommy, tbh, and I normally don't care about plot. Maybe that plot was implied from the first book, but oh well.

There is a facet to this book being mass market size that I think hurt some of its character development (by just having less time). But that's not to say that Erica Ridley didn't succeed with the time she had. Honestly, she's earned my trust as a pretty non-historical minded person.

This is definitely one of the better sapphic books I've read in the last year or so.

Oh also - why are the people on the cover just...wrong? Tommy isn't supposed to have long hair? Can publishers s t o p with people on the cover not matching descriptions omg

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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

Content Warnings

amanda_mh's review

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

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

5.0

Loved this! Such a sweet f/nb sapphic regency romance. Tommy’s family was very reminiscent of the camaraderie the Bridgerton family had and I loved the sibling support! Phillipa and Tommy have my heart 💜

Content Warnings

daryn's review

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hopeful inspiring 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

4.0

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