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3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
I really really wanted to like this book having utterly adored Boyfriend Material and given that I have somewhat of an obsession with M/M period romance novels. I was therefore really disappointed when about a quarter of the way in I just started to really hate it.
This dissatisfaction was in large part due to the fact that I utterly and completely despised Belle as a character. She was hysterical, childish, and so utterly dislikeable that every time she appeared in the book my enjoyment nose dived. I don't know if the reader is meant to find her theatrics funny but they irritated me no end, and all of the other characters enabling her and making out that Valentine was the villain for his, in my opinion, utterly normal responses to her behaviour just grew really frustrating.
Equally, as the book continued, Valentine's obtuse inability to recognise subtleties and relationships between other characters became less endearing and more of a tool to support the seemingly pointless miscommunications between Bonny and himself. Ultimately this led to me being less than convinced by or invested in their romance.
Having said all that, if you, unlike me, can get past the issues with Belle then you might enjoy this. There are places where it is genuinely funny and I laughed out loud (Mr. Whelpington-Byng, Esquire remains a favourite character) but this book just really wasn't for me.
This dissatisfaction was in large part due to the fact that I utterly and completely despised Belle as a character. She was hysterical, childish, and so utterly dislikeable that every time she appeared in the book my enjoyment nose dived. I don't know if the reader is meant to find her theatrics funny but they irritated me no end, and all of the other characters enabling her and making out that Valentine was the villain for his, in my opinion, utterly normal responses to her behaviour just grew really frustrating.
Equally, as the book continued, Valentine's obtuse inability to recognise subtleties and relationships between other characters became less endearing and more of a tool to support the seemingly pointless miscommunications between Bonny and himself. Ultimately this led to me being less than convinced by or invested in their romance.
Having said all that, if you, unlike me, can get past the issues with Belle then you might enjoy this. There are places where it is genuinely funny and I laughed out loud (Mr. Whelpington-Byng, Esquire remains a favourite character) but this book just really wasn't for me.
adventurous
emotional
funny
medium-paced
This book was incredibly frustrating. On one hand, I basically read it in one sitting, because I really like Alexis Hall's writing and the way he does dialogue. On the other hand, it almost made me throw my Kindle across the room no fewer than a dozen times.
First of all, I hated Arabella. Literally could not care less if she ruins her reputation or gets kidnapped by pirates. What an immature, self-centred character. Maybe that was the point, but the fact that her selfishness and unwillingness to have one God Damn conversation was the driving force behind the entire plot, I was not off to a great start.
Second; the number of times that Valentine has to apologise in this book for things that were blown out of proportion because people won't let him just SAY THINGS, or things that weren't even his fault in the first place... astounding. Did he do and say some harmful things? Sure. But the fact that he has trouble regulating his emotions and outbursts and how everyone keeps telling him how big and scary he is... doesn't have the same impact when the story is from his point of view. I felt angry at most of the other characters on his behalf for most of the story, and that also did not lend me to feel good while reading it.
Thirdly- for the love of God, the part in the cottage dragged on and was ridiculous and Bonny deliberately not helping Valentine and letting him be tied ot a chair and held captive for literally no reason made me want to scream. Same with the duel on thje side of the road. Could a character in a book just one time BLURT OUT THE TRUTH AND END THE MISUNDERSTANDING? VALENTINE WAS SHOT FOR NO CONCEIVABLE REASON BECAUSE HE DIDN'T JUST SIMPLY SAY "GIRL, I AM IN LOVE WITH YOUR BROTHER, JUST THOUGHT YOU SHOULD KNOW."
This continues directly on into my fourth and final point- death to the third act breakup. Death to the miscommunication trope. You're telling me that Valentine had to be a complete bastard, go home, talk to his mom and have her be like "lol no it's fine marry who you want your dead dad can eat dirt" for him to accept himself? All of this happening after the climax of the book? God, just get to the happy ending already.
I went into this book excited, wanting to like it so much, but I just ended up frustrated. There are, unbelievably, even more things I could complain about, but no one is going to read this anyway. I'm tired.
First of all, I hated Arabella. Literally could not care less if she ruins her reputation or gets kidnapped by pirates. What an immature, self-centred character. Maybe that was the point, but the fact that her selfishness and unwillingness to have one God Damn conversation was the driving force behind the entire plot, I was not off to a great start.
Second; the number of times that Valentine has to apologise in this book for things that were blown out of proportion because people won't let him just SAY THINGS, or things that weren't even his fault in the first place... astounding. Did he do and say some harmful things? Sure. But the fact that he has trouble regulating his emotions and outbursts and how everyone keeps telling him how big and scary he is... doesn't have the same impact when the story is from his point of view. I felt angry at most of the other characters on his behalf for most of the story, and that also did not lend me to feel good while reading it.
Thirdly- for the love of God, the part in the cottage dragged on and was ridiculous and Bonny deliberately not helping Valentine and letting him be tied ot a chair and held captive for literally no reason made me want to scream. Same with the duel on thje side of the road. Could a character in a book just one time BLURT OUT THE TRUTH AND END THE MISUNDERSTANDING? VALENTINE WAS SHOT FOR NO CONCEIVABLE REASON BECAUSE HE DIDN'T JUST SIMPLY SAY "GIRL, I AM IN LOVE WITH YOUR BROTHER, JUST THOUGHT YOU SHOULD KNOW."
This continues directly on into my fourth and final point- death to the third act breakup. Death to the miscommunication trope. You're telling me that Valentine had to be a complete bastard, go home, talk to his mom and have her be like "lol no it's fine marry who you want your dead dad can eat dirt" for him to accept himself? All of this happening after the climax of the book? God, just get to the happy ending already.
I went into this book excited, wanting to like it so much, but I just ended up frustrated. There are, unbelievably, even more things I could complain about, but no one is going to read this anyway. I'm tired.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
This could have been a fun read but it infuriated me more times than I can count.
One, Valentine might be a flawed character that could use some polishing in his demeanor, but he is treated like a monster throughout the book; not only by the other characters and himself, but by the narrative itself. For the life of me, I could not understand why everyone hates him so much. He was trying to do the right thing all along. It's been a while since I've seen a character I despised more than Belle. She blames Valentine for things completely appropriate with the time the book is set on, is actively rooting for his ACTUAL DEATH, and will not hesitate to embarrass, assault, defame, lie about, and maul him, just because she feels hurt by him. She's a dangerous brat that pissed me off more than I can explain, and for the life of me I don't understand why everyone treats her as if she's in the right. Bonny is slightly better, even though he often seems condescending and fond of shaming Valentine for a myriad of things that were not necessarily under his control. This entire thing reads as a main character with severely low self-esteem and deeply rooted issues being bullied into becoming someone entirely different by people who don't know how to process emotions, be adults, or have a proper fucking conversation, and who will absolutely not hesitate to keep berating and abusing him if he ever steps out of like of what they think is appropriate in the future.
Two, and this one is weird, because I'm writing it not only as a queer person but as a creator whose works have been blamed in the past for only featuring queer characters:
Not everyone can be gay.
I mean, this made no sense. How can everyone that Valentine meets be gay? And on top of that, he doesn't know that gay people exist. Is he stupid? How can it be so common and normalised AND he's so entirely clueless about it being a thing? Bonny is out there banging dudes left and right, dudes that are entirely open about being queer, women are out there living together and fucking randomly, Valentine is older and has been surrounded by such people all his life, and STILL DOESN'T KNOW THEY EXIST. This whole thing did not convince me in the slightest. This entire setup didn't make sense.
I'm keeping an extra star in this because I actually did like Valentine as a POV character, I truly believe his journey to self-discovery could have been an interesting one, and the writing is actually skillful and flowing, like every Alexis Hall book I've read so far. I'm really sad to say this one was a huge miss for me.
One, Valentine might be a flawed character that could use some polishing in his demeanor, but he is treated like a monster throughout the book; not only by the other characters and himself, but by the narrative itself. For the life of me, I could not understand why everyone hates him so much. He was trying to do the right thing all along. It's been a while since I've seen a character I despised more than Belle. She blames Valentine for things completely appropriate with the time the book is set on, is actively rooting for his ACTUAL DEATH, and will not hesitate to embarrass, assault, defame, lie about, and maul him, just because she feels hurt by him. She's a dangerous brat that pissed me off more than I can explain, and for the life of me I don't understand why everyone treats her as if she's in the right. Bonny is slightly better, even though he often seems condescending and fond of shaming Valentine for a myriad of things that were not necessarily under his control. This entire thing reads as a main character with severely low self-esteem and deeply rooted issues being bullied into becoming someone entirely different by people who don't know how to process emotions, be adults, or have a proper fucking conversation, and who will absolutely not hesitate to keep berating and abusing him if he ever steps out of like of what they think is appropriate in the future.
Two, and this one is weird, because I'm writing it not only as a queer person but as a creator whose works have been blamed in the past for only featuring queer characters:
Not everyone can be gay.
I mean, this made no sense. How can everyone that Valentine meets be gay? And on top of that, he doesn't know that gay people exist. Is he stupid? How can it be so common and normalised AND he's so entirely clueless about it being a thing? Bonny is out there banging dudes left and right, dudes that are entirely open about being queer, women are out there living together and fucking randomly, Valentine is older and has been surrounded by such people all his life, and STILL DOESN'T KNOW THEY EXIST. This whole thing did not convince me in the slightest. This entire setup didn't make sense.
I'm keeping an extra star in this because I actually did like Valentine as a POV character, I truly believe his journey to self-discovery could have been an interesting one, and the writing is actually skillful and flowing, like every Alexis Hall book I've read so far. I'm really sad to say this one was a huge miss for me.
it’s alexis hall’s world and we’re just living in it
✼ thank you to netgalley and montlake for an arc of something fabulous in exchange for an honest review.
if you’ve breathed in my general direction, you may know that alexis hall is one of my favorite authors. an autobuy author. i’ve impulse reread boyfriend material a worrying number of times and made my way through his backlist this year. one thing his books have in common: they’ve all brought me immeasurable joy.
something fabulous is no different.
something fabulous is a regency romp following valentine, a reserved duke who unwillingly proposes to arabella tarleton, so horrifically that she flees. in a bid to find her, arabella’s twin brother, bonny, gathers valentine on a cross-country chase but as they bond, valentine starts to question what he thought he knew about himself and about love.
this was a whole queer party! the campest, wildest, silliest, most outrageously fun book. at multiple points my brain went “am i having…a fever dream?” but complimentary! i was literally in tears from cackling. i joke that Hall is single handedly saving 2021 but am i joking though? this was sunshine in a book. a breath of fresh air. a much needed reprieve.
as always, Hall excels at creating characters you’ll fall in love with. with valentine - naive & profoundly lonely. watching him challenge what he’d internalized about the world, about attraction, and as he came to understand his own relationship with attraction made my chest ache. with bonny - wholesome, charming. believing so fiercely in love and yet never judging valentine. i would give my left lung for him. and arabella - a drama queen with violent tendencies.
this book is delightfully Hall. the wit, banter, feelings, and clever literary references - his voices radiates through. i love recognising it and knowing that there will always be this voice to return to for comfort and joy. what a wonderful voice to know.
“i believe we know when we do wrong. we feel it. in our hearts, our soul, our conscience. and nothing i have ever learnt or known or felt has taught me to believe that love is wrong.”
✼ thank you to netgalley and montlake for an arc of something fabulous in exchange for an honest review.
if you’ve breathed in my general direction, you may know that alexis hall is one of my favorite authors. an autobuy author. i’ve impulse reread boyfriend material a worrying number of times and made my way through his backlist this year. one thing his books have in common: they’ve all brought me immeasurable joy.
something fabulous is no different.
something fabulous is a regency romp following valentine, a reserved duke who unwillingly proposes to arabella tarleton, so horrifically that she flees. in a bid to find her, arabella’s twin brother, bonny, gathers valentine on a cross-country chase but as they bond, valentine starts to question what he thought he knew about himself and about love.
this was a whole queer party! the campest, wildest, silliest, most outrageously fun book. at multiple points my brain went “am i having…a fever dream?” but complimentary! i was literally in tears from cackling. i joke that Hall is single handedly saving 2021 but am i joking though? this was sunshine in a book. a breath of fresh air. a much needed reprieve.
as always, Hall excels at creating characters you’ll fall in love with. with valentine - naive & profoundly lonely. watching him challenge what he’d internalized about the world, about attraction, and as he came to understand his own relationship with attraction made my chest ache. with bonny - wholesome, charming. believing so fiercely in love and yet never judging valentine. i would give my left lung for him. and arabella - a drama queen with violent tendencies.
this book is delightfully Hall. the wit, banter, feelings, and clever literary references - his voices radiates through. i love recognising it and knowing that there will always be this voice to return to for comfort and joy. what a wonderful voice to know.
I listened to this on audible and I’m pretty glad I did that rather than reading it. It took me a few chapters to get used to the period-typical language but the narrator did a great job of bringing the story to life!
As with most Alexis Hall books, ‘Something Fabulous’ had me laughing out loud a lot! It was bordering on ridiculous at times but in a really fun and charming way that just made me crave more of it.
The relationship between Bonnie and Valentine is so sweet and heartwarming with plenty of spice thrown in there for good measure. I found myself very invested in their story from the beginning.
The side characters are also a lot of fun and they added more comedy and tender moments that made the story even more enjoyable.
Despite the overall comedy and rom-com vibes, there’s a bit of drama sprinkled through it that drew me in even more!
Overall it was a lot of fun.
As with most Alexis Hall books, ‘Something Fabulous’ had me laughing out loud a lot! It was bordering on ridiculous at times but in a really fun and charming way that just made me crave more of it.
The relationship between Bonnie and Valentine is so sweet and heartwarming with plenty of spice thrown in there for good measure. I found myself very invested in their story from the beginning.
The side characters are also a lot of fun and they added more comedy and tender moments that made the story even more enjoyable.
Despite the overall comedy and rom-com vibes, there’s a bit of drama sprinkled through it that drew me in even more!
Overall it was a lot of fun.
3.75*
"...the immensity of desolation that was sweeping through him now, raging like a sandstorm across what Valentine had always believed to be the arid plains of his heart. How in God's name did people endure this? Such longing and uncertainty and hope? The latter, in particular. Even in the midst of loss, it was there, buried deep. This thorn of terrible sweetness: eyes on his eyes, a hand in his hand, a body curled around his in the vulnerability of sleep."
Having read Alexis Hall's "Boyfriend Material" twice, i knew i had to read this one as soon as i saw it. I really enjoy character studies, and Hall has now proved twice that he is a master of them. His characters are so vulnerable yet strong, and it is so much fun to accompany them in their journey of self-discovery. He has a talent for writing very likeable characters who stay with you for a very long time (i'm looking at you Luc & Oliver). Also, his writing has definitely improved a lot, as i found myself re-reading and highlighting a lot of passages.
I had minor issues with the pacing as i sometimes felt that the book could be a bit shorter, and it took me a long time to get into the story. But nonetheless, it was a fantastic read!
"...the immensity of desolation that was sweeping through him now, raging like a sandstorm across what Valentine had always believed to be the arid plains of his heart. How in God's name did people endure this? Such longing and uncertainty and hope? The latter, in particular. Even in the midst of loss, it was there, buried deep. This thorn of terrible sweetness: eyes on his eyes, a hand in his hand, a body curled around his in the vulnerability of sleep."
Having read Alexis Hall's "Boyfriend Material" twice, i knew i had to read this one as soon as i saw it. I really enjoy character studies, and Hall has now proved twice that he is a master of them. His characters are so vulnerable yet strong, and it is so much fun to accompany them in their journey of self-discovery. He has a talent for writing very likeable characters who stay with you for a very long time (i'm looking at you Luc & Oliver). Also, his writing has definitely improved a lot, as i found myself re-reading and highlighting a lot of passages.
I had minor issues with the pacing as i sometimes felt that the book could be a bit shorter, and it took me a long time to get into the story. But nonetheless, it was a fantastic read!
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I love Alexis Hall’s contemporary work so so much and was left kind of wanting by this.
The pacing was off for me and the characters were a bit flat.
The pacing was off for me and the characters were a bit flat.