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A review by lezreadalot
The Bluestocking Beds Her Bride by Fenna Edgewood
2.0
2.5 stars. It seems to be a particular tragedy of mine that many of the books I let myself get excited about/look forward to end up being duds. Not that I disliked or hated this; as always, with queer historical romance, I am hugely thankful for its existence in the first place. Historical f/f romance is one of my absolute favourite things to read, and there's relatively little of it. The plot of this one (age gap, single mom, revenge plot, high stakes) was enough to convince me I'd love it, but. Alas.
I will say, one of the biggest things about the book that I didn't love is actually something that other people might like. It's written in... what I'm going to call a very modern way; both in terms of the writing/phrasing and the sensibilities of the characters. There were so many phrases/words that pulled me right out of the setting. Some passages could have easily been taken from a modern book. It's not that the writing was simple; simple is good. But it was also just flat. I didn't feel immersed at all. As for the approach to same sex relationships and love... Look, I'm not saying I want all of my queer historicals to be full of homophobia; that would be tiresome. Julia is pretty much as out and proud as you could get for 1827. It's just the casualness with which it was written that threw me off. Would you really tell a near stranger about whom you know little to nothing that you're interested in women? Something that's not illegal but could have huge societal ramifications? They were both kinda cavalier in a way that felt off. I felt the same way about some of the plot elements, like how Fleur admits to attempting to murder someone, before she and Julia are even close. A lot of things that should have taken time were rushed over, and it left so much to be desired.
But there's only one thing I actually really really hated, and that's how the book treats a closeted side character. It's far from the first queer book to do this, but I hate it every time, when people who are closeted or scared to come out are vilified or made into a minor enemy in some way. Especially in a case like this, where it's historical, and society is against you, and that fear should be understandable. The character in question is seen as a coward and returns near the end
It wasn't all bad. I did like Fleur's grumpiness and her dislike of/awkwardness around children. (Her asking Julia why the hell why'd want six children made me laugh out loud.) I never really loved the characters, but the romance was cute and steamy and they had good chemistry. I wish the age gap was addressed more than it was, but I still liked it. This did have the dreaded unnecessary third POV from time to time, but I didn't dislike that character, so I guess it was okay. Just not really needed imo.
LOL I started that paragraph attempting to talk about things that I liked, but then devolved back into nit-picks. Listen, the book was fine. I think most people will probably like it. I hope the lovely cover pulls in a bunch of readers like it pulled me in; I just LOVE seeing queer historical covers like this. (Though it's not really accurate to the characters; Julia doesn't look very much older.) It's part of a series, but I understood events fine even though I haven't read any other books by this author.
Content warnings:
I will say, one of the biggest things about the book that I didn't love is actually something that other people might like. It's written in... what I'm going to call a very modern way; both in terms of the writing/phrasing and the sensibilities of the characters. There were so many phrases/words that pulled me right out of the setting. Some passages could have easily been taken from a modern book. It's not that the writing was simple; simple is good. But it was also just flat. I didn't feel immersed at all. As for the approach to same sex relationships and love... Look, I'm not saying I want all of my queer historicals to be full of homophobia; that would be tiresome. Julia is pretty much as out and proud as you could get for 1827. It's just the casualness with which it was written that threw me off. Would you really tell a near stranger about whom you know little to nothing that you're interested in women? Something that's not illegal but could have huge societal ramifications? They were both kinda cavalier in a way that felt off. I felt the same way about some of the plot elements, like how Fleur admits to attempting to murder someone, before she and Julia are even close. A lot of things that should have taken time were rushed over, and it left so much to be desired.
But there's only one thing I actually really really hated, and that's how the book treats a closeted side character. It's far from the first queer book to do this, but I hate it every time, when people who are closeted or scared to come out are vilified or made into a minor enemy in some way. Especially in a case like this, where it's historical, and society is against you, and that fear should be understandable. The character in question is seen as a coward and returns near the end
Spoiler
after she decides to marry a man to conform to society, and it turns out that the marriage is an unhappy one, and she's been threatened and blackmailed. The way our protagonists react isn't the absolute worst, but it was still kind of infuriating. That, and the way Helena is written. It left such a bad taste in my mouth.It wasn't all bad. I did like Fleur's grumpiness and her dislike of/awkwardness around children. (Her asking Julia why the hell why'd want six children made me laugh out loud.) I never really loved the characters, but the romance was cute and steamy and they had good chemistry. I wish the age gap was addressed more than it was, but I still liked it. This did have the dreaded unnecessary third POV from time to time, but I didn't dislike that character, so I guess it was okay. Just not really needed imo.
LOL I started that paragraph attempting to talk about things that I liked, but then devolved back into nit-picks. Listen, the book was fine. I think most people will probably like it. I hope the lovely cover pulls in a bunch of readers like it pulled me in; I just LOVE seeing queer historical covers like this. (Though it's not really accurate to the characters; Julia doesn't look very much older.) It's part of a series, but I understood events fine even though I haven't read any other books by this author.
Content warnings: