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3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
This was so fun! It’s absolutely bananas. Bonny is so over the top, chaotic dramatic little ho. Valentine is oblivious and grumpy. I really liked the story of their relationship. I had very little patience for the sister, but I guess she was a necessary plot point.
This is truly a romp and delightfully silly farce of a historical romance (where everyone is gay).
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-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:
No
adventurous
lighthearted
The author calls this book silly, and while there are bits of silliness, I thought it was far more than fluff. As someone who grew up comphet and discovered my variance later in life, I resonated with Valentine. Although I found, Bella annoying and immature, the larger issues surrounding marriage, etc. were certainly real concerns.
I've never met an Alexis Hall book I didn't like, it's ridiculous at this point, I should just auto-buy the books and auto-review them 5 stars, he never disappoints. This one was wonderful, a bit more spicy than what I'm used from his books, but also thoughtful, kind, and full of heart.
Something Fabulous indeed!
Something Fabulous indeed!
Dude, Where's my Curricle
The was so much fun. The over the top theatrics, the characters pretending to be living within a novel, it was just so enjoyable to be along for this ride.
The was so much fun. The over the top theatrics, the characters pretending to be living within a novel, it was just so enjoyable to be along for this ride.
"There can't be a world that has you in it that is not mine."
This was such an unexpectedly amazing story that hit home for me in so many moments. It's over the top, addicting, and just simply fabulous.
Most days (and by that, I mean literally every day) I have Something Fabulous already flipped open. I think I've memorized what happens in every chapter. Something Fabulous was such a treat to read, and "comfort read" couldn't even BEGIN to explain the warm fuzzies this book gave me. This book literally had me giggling and kicking my feet in the air.
THE PLOT
So basically, our MMC Valentine is in an arranged marriage with a Miss Arabella Tarleton. However, as we all know, arranged marriages tend to be moronic decisions, and Arabella isn't a moron. So, after Valentine's terrible proposal, Arabella flees into the night.
This is very inconvenient for Valentine, but also inconvenient for Arabella's twin brother, Bonny, who's got very specific views on love. Bonny convinces Valentine to ride off into the night after Arabella to win her back. You know, as a true gentleman would do. And so starts a lovely journey between two men who have completely different views on...well, everything, and their journey to track down Arabella. Because of course, Valentine and Bonny don't agree on anything. Because Bonny is dramatic, and loud, and annoying, and he never stops talking, and he's breathtakingly beautiful, and-
Hmm.
No, no, that's correct.
Bonny is very beautiful, and surprisingly sweet, and loving, and funny, and he brings Valentine's mind, body, and soul to life.
THE WRITING
Alexis Hall has such an over-the-top writing style, and I eat it up every single time. I'm absolutely in love with Hall's way with words. Every book I read of his sinks me deeper and deeper into this obsession with his books, and Something Fabulous was no different. There were an endless amount of quotes and scenes that had me dying of laughter.
"Then," asked Valentine with impressive patience, "what are we to do?"
"We could look for some woods?" Bonny said. "Or a bridge, maybe?"
"A bridge? You want us to rest beneath a bridge? Like a troll in a folktale?"
"And your idea is...?"
"An inn? A farmhouse?" Valentine peeled some strands of wet hair from his equally wet face, his tone becoming increasingly desperate. "A stable? Anything? Tarleton, we could die."
"This is England. If people died of rain, there'd be nobody left."
But there were also so many moments that touched on important topics, ones I feel like are important even in today's time. Like how hard it is to find yourself, and that the struggle is perfectly okay.
“But what can you possibly know of life? You’ve spent twenty years inventing stories about it.”
“And yet”—here Bonny patted his knee—“it’s still infinitely less confusing to me than it is you.”
“I’ve just . . . ,” began Valentine helplessly. “That is . . . everyone else has always seemed so . . . content and unquestioning.”
Bonny gave one of his little head tilts. “Unquestioning about what?”
“How they should be or what they should do or who they should love. I suppose I assumed that . . . lacking such certainty was an oddity. Perhaps even a weakness.”
“In my admittedly tragically limited experience,” said Bonny gently, “very few people are as certain as they pretend to be.”
Or, just the quotes that make you want to curl up into a ball and sob.
“Well, there are none of those things,” Bonny told them. “Just the mousetrap of circumstances. And a mistake on my part that felt like a betrayal.”
“She betrayed you first.” Valentine hardly knew he was about to speak until he’d spoken. “She was the one who left.”
The look Bonny turned on him was infinitely weary. “Oh, flower. When you hurt someone you love, you don’t keep score.”
So, yes. Absolutely read this book, if only for Hall's beautifully unique writing style.
THE CHARACTERS
Valentine Layton
"I see." Truthfully, Valentine didn't see. It was hard for him to imagine how it would feel to be with someone, as he was with Bonny now, if he did not know them. Was not profoundly irritated, and fascinated, and disarmed by them. And once this would have seemed like a flaw or some weakness in the way he was made. Now he was not sure.
Oh, Valentine. I just want to give him a hug.
I actually liked Valentine from the beginning. I read a lot of reviews before reading the book saying that he was unlikeable in the beginning, everything from mean to selfish, but I truly disagree. A big part of Valentine's character is how simply unaware of literally everything he is.
Valentine is beautifully flawed, and Hall is so in-your-face about it that it's almost comical. Valentine is someone who never knew he could feel a certain way until he met a certain person. Someone who buried himself in other people's expectations, who chose to live a quiet life of "safe boredom". Someone who was so deeply lost and had to learn that being vulnerable is perfectly alright, that there's strength in it. Someone who learned that the world needs to be challenged, and that attraction is a spectrum so very, very wide.
I see a lot of myself in Valentine.
"Also," Valentine said, "do you really think if we were agents of the Crown, we would go around telling people we were agents of the Crown?"
"Well, of course we wouldn't," retorted Tarleton, stung. "But we could insinuate it."
"How? How would you insinuate it?"
"I suppose" -he seemed genuinely to be considering the matter- "I would say I was a person of no consequence looking for a young lady, and that it was imperative I located her for reasons...not related to national security and all."
Valentine covered his face with his hands. "Oh God, you're going to get us hanged for treason."
Bonny Tarleton
"You know what we should do?" Bonny didn't so much ask this question as announce it.
"Does it involve being quiet and self-possessed?"
The young man grinned. "That's one of the things I'm beginning to like about you, Malvern. Your groundless optimism. Of course it doesn't."
An absolute icon. And such a sweetheart!! The perfect sunshine to Valentine's grump. I absolutely adored Bonny, so imagine my surprise when I read so many hateful reviews about him! I think the problem is that people go into this book without understanding that it's not to be taken so seriously. I mean, the book doesn't take itself seriously! Something Fabulous is best enjoyed if you simply let yourself roll with the vibes, so it makes me sad to see people DNF the book so early on or criticize the characters when they've just barely scratched the surface on them. And Bonny is absolutely one who deserves better treatment, in my opinion.
Bonny is someone who believes so fiercely in love that it hurts. Someone who constructed himself from books and fairy tales and princes and all that is magical. Someone who is unapologetically himself in every aspect and still afraid of abandonment, of loneliness, of not being enough.
I see a lot of myself in Bonny, as well.
His eyes slid wickedly to Valentine. "Not that I don't appreciate my jaunt to Dover with a man who would rather be in bed."
"On the contrary, Tarleton, I would rather be just about anywhere."
"Yes, yes, I'm annoying, my sister's not good enough for you, this is tedious. Do you need your watercolors, or do you trust the picture is clear enough to me?"
Arabella Tarleton
Talking to Miss Tarleton was...well, Valentine had never been struck in the face repeatedly by a blunt object (thank heavens) but if he had been, he imagined it would feel much like talking to Miss Tarleton.
Quite the character. Arabella irked me a lot, if only for how dramatic she was being about it all. But then again, in hindsight, the entire book is dramatic, so she fits. And I definitely see where she was coming from. I wouldn't want to be forced into marriage either, especially if I already had a lover.
Also, this second book we're getting could be about her and Peggy?? I'm absolutely here for it. I love Peggy.
Peggy
"I've seen you before," he said.
Peggy nodded. "Downstairs. The first time. You nearly gave me a heart attack."
"I was under the impression I was looking for a lady."
"I am a lady," returned Peggy, without rancor. "Just...not all the time."
I don't want to flat out say that Peggy deserves better than Arabella, but...Peggy deserves better. Whatever happens in this second book, if they get together or not, if Peggy's not happy at the end, I will riot.
Peggy shrugged. "Hero. Heroine. In an ideal world, one would be both."
Valentine's Mom
"You can't do something just because a couple of men thought it might be a nice idea."
I wasn't expecting to put Valentine's mom in this, considering she was only here for a single chapter, but Valentine's mom is my favorite female character in this book. Every word out of her mouth was poetry. She spoke nothing but facts, and I want a hug from her so bad, it hurts. She said everything Valentine needed to hear in that moment, and I absolutely love the relationship the two of them have.
Sir Horley
Sir Horley's smile took on that toothy, foxy quality that Valentine distrusted. "Let me guess. You've still misplaced your fiancée."
"I haven't misplaced her. She just doesn't happen to be here."
"Here" -Sir Horley gestured- "at this romantic spot with the waterfall and the wildflowers? Where you've been-"
"Bathing," explained Valentine. "As gentlemen do. With their gentlemen friends."
Bonny offered a decisive nod. "That is exactly what is going on here. Gentlemanly bathing. Between gentlemen friends."
"Ah, yes." With a wistful sigh, Sir Horley clasped his hands. "Gentlemanly bathing. Between gentlemen friends. Reminds me of my days at Eton. And Oxford, now I think about it. Good times."
This man is absolutely hilarious. Every scene he was in had me cackling. I love his relationship with Valentine. I think it's interesting that he pretty much knew about Valentine all along, but he always let Valentine come to his own conclusions on things, and he never pushed him too hard. He let Valentine come to him for help when he was ready.
CONCLUSION
I read Something Fabulous and felt something bloom inside of me. Like being seen for the very first time, in a way few books have ever made me feel. To say I treasure this book would be an understatement, but I can say with full confidence that I will defend it with my life. I will take absolutely no slander on this book, ever.
This was such an unexpectedly amazing story that hit home for me in so many moments. It's over the top, addicting, and just simply fabulous.
Most days (and by that, I mean literally every day) I have Something Fabulous already flipped open. I think I've memorized what happens in every chapter. Something Fabulous was such a treat to read, and "comfort read" couldn't even BEGIN to explain the warm fuzzies this book gave me. This book literally had me giggling and kicking my feet in the air.
THE PLOT
So basically, our MMC Valentine is in an arranged marriage with a Miss Arabella Tarleton. However, as we all know, arranged marriages tend to be moronic decisions, and Arabella isn't a moron. So, after Valentine's terrible proposal, Arabella flees into the night.
This is very inconvenient for Valentine, but also inconvenient for Arabella's twin brother, Bonny, who's got very specific views on love. Bonny convinces Valentine to ride off into the night after Arabella to win her back. You know, as a true gentleman would do. And so starts a lovely journey between two men who have completely different views on...well, everything, and their journey to track down Arabella. Because of course, Valentine and Bonny don't agree on anything. Because Bonny is dramatic, and loud, and annoying, and he never stops talking, and he's breathtakingly beautiful, and-
Hmm.
No, no, that's correct.
Bonny is very beautiful, and surprisingly sweet, and loving, and funny, and he brings Valentine's mind, body, and soul to life.
THE WRITING
Alexis Hall has such an over-the-top writing style, and I eat it up every single time. I'm absolutely in love with Hall's way with words. Every book I read of his sinks me deeper and deeper into this obsession with his books, and Something Fabulous was no different. There were an endless amount of quotes and scenes that had me dying of laughter.
"Then," asked Valentine with impressive patience, "what are we to do?"
"We could look for some woods?" Bonny said. "Or a bridge, maybe?"
"A bridge? You want us to rest beneath a bridge? Like a troll in a folktale?"
"And your idea is...?"
"An inn? A farmhouse?" Valentine peeled some strands of wet hair from his equally wet face, his tone becoming increasingly desperate. "A stable? Anything? Tarleton, we could die."
"This is England. If people died of rain, there'd be nobody left."
But there were also so many moments that touched on important topics, ones I feel like are important even in today's time. Like how hard it is to find yourself, and that the struggle is perfectly okay.
“But what can you possibly know of life? You’ve spent twenty years inventing stories about it.”
“And yet”—here Bonny patted his knee—“it’s still infinitely less confusing to me than it is you.”
“I’ve just . . . ,” began Valentine helplessly. “That is . . . everyone else has always seemed so . . . content and unquestioning.”
Bonny gave one of his little head tilts. “Unquestioning about what?”
“How they should be or what they should do or who they should love. I suppose I assumed that . . . lacking such certainty was an oddity. Perhaps even a weakness.”
“In my admittedly tragically limited experience,” said Bonny gently, “very few people are as certain as they pretend to be.”
Or, just the quotes that make you want to curl up into a ball and sob.
“Well, there are none of those things,” Bonny told them. “Just the mousetrap of circumstances. And a mistake on my part that felt like a betrayal.”
“She betrayed you first.” Valentine hardly knew he was about to speak until he’d spoken. “She was the one who left.”
The look Bonny turned on him was infinitely weary. “Oh, flower. When you hurt someone you love, you don’t keep score.”
So, yes. Absolutely read this book, if only for Hall's beautifully unique writing style.
THE CHARACTERS
Valentine Layton
"I see." Truthfully, Valentine didn't see. It was hard for him to imagine how it would feel to be with someone, as he was with Bonny now, if he did not know them. Was not profoundly irritated, and fascinated, and disarmed by them. And once this would have seemed like a flaw or some weakness in the way he was made. Now he was not sure.
Oh, Valentine. I just want to give him a hug.
I actually liked Valentine from the beginning. I read a lot of reviews before reading the book saying that he was unlikeable in the beginning, everything from mean to selfish, but I truly disagree. A big part of Valentine's character is how simply unaware of literally everything he is.
Valentine is beautifully flawed, and Hall is so in-your-face about it that it's almost comical. Valentine is someone who never knew he could feel a certain way until he met a certain person. Someone who buried himself in other people's expectations, who chose to live a quiet life of "safe boredom". Someone who was so deeply lost and had to learn that being vulnerable is perfectly alright, that there's strength in it. Someone who learned that the world needs to be challenged, and that attraction is a spectrum so very, very wide.
I see a lot of myself in Valentine.
"Also," Valentine said, "do you really think if we were agents of the Crown, we would go around telling people we were agents of the Crown?"
"Well, of course we wouldn't," retorted Tarleton, stung. "But we could insinuate it."
"How? How would you insinuate it?"
"I suppose" -he seemed genuinely to be considering the matter- "I would say I was a person of no consequence looking for a young lady, and that it was imperative I located her for reasons...not related to national security and all."
Valentine covered his face with his hands. "Oh God, you're going to get us hanged for treason."
Bonny Tarleton
"You know what we should do?" Bonny didn't so much ask this question as announce it.
"Does it involve being quiet and self-possessed?"
The young man grinned. "That's one of the things I'm beginning to like about you, Malvern. Your groundless optimism. Of course it doesn't."
An absolute icon. And such a sweetheart!! The perfect sunshine to Valentine's grump. I absolutely adored Bonny, so imagine my surprise when I read so many hateful reviews about him! I think the problem is that people go into this book without understanding that it's not to be taken so seriously. I mean, the book doesn't take itself seriously! Something Fabulous is best enjoyed if you simply let yourself roll with the vibes, so it makes me sad to see people DNF the book so early on or criticize the characters when they've just barely scratched the surface on them. And Bonny is absolutely one who deserves better treatment, in my opinion.
Bonny is someone who believes so fiercely in love that it hurts. Someone who constructed himself from books and fairy tales and princes and all that is magical. Someone who is unapologetically himself in every aspect and still afraid of abandonment, of loneliness, of not being enough.
I see a lot of myself in Bonny, as well.
His eyes slid wickedly to Valentine. "Not that I don't appreciate my jaunt to Dover with a man who would rather be in bed."
"On the contrary, Tarleton, I would rather be just about anywhere."
"Yes, yes, I'm annoying, my sister's not good enough for you, this is tedious. Do you need your watercolors, or do you trust the picture is clear enough to me?"
Arabella Tarleton
Talking to Miss Tarleton was...well, Valentine had never been struck in the face repeatedly by a blunt object (thank heavens) but if he had been, he imagined it would feel much like talking to Miss Tarleton.
Quite the character. Arabella irked me a lot, if only for how dramatic she was being about it all. But then again, in hindsight, the entire book is dramatic, so she fits. And I definitely see where she was coming from. I wouldn't want to be forced into marriage either, especially if I already had a lover.
Spoiler
Did she have to shoot Valentine? I mean, really. Though it did cause one of my favorite tropes to happen: the one-character-nurses-the-other-character-back-to-health trope. Good ol' reliable.Also, this second book we're getting could be about her and Peggy?? I'm absolutely here for it. I love Peggy.
Peggy
"I've seen you before," he said.
Peggy nodded. "Downstairs. The first time. You nearly gave me a heart attack."
"I was under the impression I was looking for a lady."
"I am a lady," returned Peggy, without rancor. "Just...not all the time."
I don't want to flat out say that Peggy deserves better than Arabella, but...Peggy deserves better. Whatever happens in this second book, if they get together or not, if Peggy's not happy at the end, I will riot.
Peggy shrugged. "Hero. Heroine. In an ideal world, one would be both."
Valentine's Mom
"You can't do something just because a couple of men thought it might be a nice idea."
I wasn't expecting to put Valentine's mom in this, considering she was only here for a single chapter, but Valentine's mom is my favorite female character in this book. Every word out of her mouth was poetry. She spoke nothing but facts, and I want a hug from her so bad, it hurts. She said everything Valentine needed to hear in that moment, and I absolutely love the relationship the two of them have.
Sir Horley
Sir Horley's smile took on that toothy, foxy quality that Valentine distrusted. "Let me guess. You've still misplaced your fiancée."
"I haven't misplaced her. She just doesn't happen to be here."
"Here" -Sir Horley gestured- "at this romantic spot with the waterfall and the wildflowers? Where you've been-"
"Bathing," explained Valentine. "As gentlemen do. With their gentlemen friends."
Bonny offered a decisive nod. "That is exactly what is going on here. Gentlemanly bathing. Between gentlemen friends."
"Ah, yes." With a wistful sigh, Sir Horley clasped his hands. "Gentlemanly bathing. Between gentlemen friends. Reminds me of my days at Eton. And Oxford, now I think about it. Good times."
This man is absolutely hilarious. Every scene he was in had me cackling. I love his relationship with Valentine. I think it's interesting that he pretty much knew about Valentine all along, but he always let Valentine come to his own conclusions on things, and he never pushed him too hard. He let Valentine come to him for help when he was ready.
CONCLUSION
I read Something Fabulous and felt something bloom inside of me. Like being seen for the very first time, in a way few books have ever made me feel. To say I treasure this book would be an understatement, but I can say with full confidence that I will defend it with my life. I will take absolutely no slander on this book, ever.
Wondrously Fabulous
Through the richness of regency language we are taken on an uproarious adventure in Achillian love. I couldn't put this down. I can't recommend this enough!!
Through the richness of regency language we are taken on an uproarious adventure in Achillian love. I couldn't put this down. I can't recommend this enough!!