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3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
"How dare you," she said, in stifled accents. "You buy me like a cut of meat or... of... a carrot..."
"Why, Miss Tarleton," he drawled, "you sell yourself too cheap with such similes."
Now she was too irritated even to head toss. "Then, like a rare and exquisite Sevres Snuffbox."
It turns out that the reason why I don't read Alexis Hall's books more often is simply because when I do, I can't stop and then I don't sleep and then I am sleepy all day. Yes, this happened when I was reading Lady for a Duke and now it happened again with Something Fabulous. And really this book couldn't be much more different from Lady for a Duke! This is a completely insane campy romp with both crazy and delightful characters and honesty how am I even supposed to talk about this?!
I guess when in doubt, talk about characters...
"Oh, flower, you are plenty winsome. But you're engaged to my sister and don't think about other men the way I do."
"Nobody told me it was a possibility." Valentine suddenly discovered he was quite aggrieved.
I think I might have identified with our protagonist Valentine "Flower" the duke of Malvern a bit too much. He is... an arse, but I really do love him, because he's an arse. (Also, this book kind of makes a point that calling someone arse might not actually be insult.) He is a guarded character who tries very hard to keep emotional distance from people because he doesn't want to get hurt and that makes him a bit prickly. He is also demisexual and I suspect somewhere on the spectrum, because he does take certain societal rules very seriously and seems to think those can't be changed, to certain extent this is clearly for comedic purposes, but toward the end it really stretched my suspension of disbelief so I guess this might be an explanation? Idk, the reality is that he really struggles with social situations and I felt that so hard and at times I got a bit angry at the other characters for not giving him time to breathe and think things through.
The mistake I will be holding him accountable for though is
Spoiler
leaving Tarletons all those years ago, that wasn't cool.The cottage was small and - it was impossible not to notice - somewhat shabby, but meticulously neat. An everyday kind of tragedy: two spinsters doomed to spent the rest of their days in a state of genteel poverty. Still, Valentine admired their commitment to making the best of their situation.
To be fair, he is pressuring Bella/Arabella/Belladona/Miss Tarleton, depending on who is speaking, into marrying him and under normal circumstances it would be impossible for me to side with character like that, but knowing he actually never wanted to marry her and that the idea of marrying anyone was terrifying to him, I actually felt like they should have just sat him down and have a proper conversation with him. Probably wouldn't work at the beginning, but might have later if some characters didn't keep running at every opportunity. Not that I disrespect Bella for running, I absolutely do admire that choice.
"You are aware," Valentine told him, "that there exists a midpoint between forever and never, everything and nothing?"
"Moderation, Valentine, should be taken only in moderation.
Then there is our love interest Bonaventura "Bonny" Tarleton who is a hopeless romantic and honestly a delight. Both he and his sister are completely ridiculous in the way they treat reality, but there is also something magnetic about Bonny. I guess I didn't have such a strong reaction to Bonny as I had to Valentine which is why I have a bit trouble finding words. I guess this man is both a saint and a bit crazy for wanting to be with Valentine, but I won't take if from them!
The one slight issue that I had with this book is that it starts completely bonkers and doesn't take itself seriously at all - which I loved. Slowly though, more serious themes start to seep in, which again... good BUT my brain had a bit of an issue with switching? In the rompy ridiculous parts there often happen things that I would normally taken more seriously, but here I didn't because it was so far removed from reality and I honestly loved it about this book (it's so hard to make me stop being overly sensitive and nitpicky about some things), but then later characters started to address some of these things and take them seriously and apologize for them and that... surprisingly didn't work that well for me, because then I started analyzing, which was nearly impossible task and kind of dispersed some of the fun. So I guess, either even more ridiculous, or less - but this wasn't a perfect balance for me.
After absolutely adoring Lady for a Duke, I was really hesitant about picking another Alexis Hall, because... I guess I was a bit worried that I might not like the next book I read. That absolutely didn't happen, Something Fabulous was SO different from Lady for a Duke, but I did absolutely fell for it as well. Would recommend, although this absolutely isn't going to be a book for everyone - give it about three pages though and I think you will be sure about whether it's working for you or not.
Edit: After almost a year, I have to say that this book didn't age that well in my head. What I wrote is still absolutely true, but I'm also finding myself less forgiving about some of the stuff Tarletons pulled on Valentine. It's turning into a bit of thorny mess in my mind, but I do love the style of this series...
Hilarious and fun! Highly recommend the read. This book will put you in a good mood! Love the author's writing style and the way he wrote imperfect characters. C'mon. A duke scared of a bee? Refreshing!
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
Well, the first third of this book is very painful and infuriating. The twins are the most dramatic characters I've ever read, and I still do not like Arabella. No one held her even slightly accountable for all the mayhem she caused. And yes, I realize that she wasn't in a good situation, but she never stopped to try and talk things out, she just ran and continued to purposefully make life harder for everyone for her own amusement. Bonny... I'm not even sure what to say. He did grow on me! In the end I had to accept that I was going to be irritated most of the time, but the rest of the time I was charmed (Valentine, I relate too much to you!). I did really like the romance between Bonny and Valentine, which is why this gets 4 stars instead of 3.
Hilarious romp in the vein of The Hangover-- Poor Valentine gets put through the wringer! Hall's working title for this was Dude Where's My Curricle, which is exactly right. It's a wild cross-country chase. Yes, there is a lot of suspension of disbelief, there are some things that don't make sense, but it's totally worthwhile. I adore Bonny, he is just a precious softie and self-actualized. Excellent audio. Spicier than Boyfriend Material!
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes