A review by wardenred
Something Fabulous by Alexis Hall

adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

2.5

“You know what we should do?” Tarleton 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.”

If I could ask Alexis Hall one question about this book, I would go with, “Were you perhaps on a T.J. Klune binge when you came up with this?“ Because there’s a very similar unhinged vibe here. Not identical, but really, really similar. And I should note that T.J. Klune, due to those vibes, is a SUPER hit or miss author for me. And the version of the vibes here was definitely more of the “miss“ kind.

I mean, in many ways, this was fun. I snorted out loud more than once. I appreciate the unapologetic queerness of the cast. There were a couple of entertaining twists to the plot. And in the second half, the book even genuinely grew on me in some ways, most of them having a lot to do with Arabella as she started opening up as more than just the resident self-proclaimed gothic heroine. The first half, though, nearly lost me a good five or six times—I’m not even sure why I persevered. It was just so over-the-top about everything, from the character interactions to prose itself. Like, please. This prose is just too much. I was stunned by its purpleness in the prologue, then decided that maybe it was just because the prologue was from Arabella’s POV and she’s Just Like That, and then it kept getting worse.

Also, the repetitiveness of some dialogue scenes *stung*. By repetitiveness, I mean all those instances when a character would say something, and the other character would repeat it near verbatim, and then the POV character would also maybe repeat the same thing to himself in his head for good measure. I have a vague suspicion that if all of these instances were cut, it’s entirely possible this book would be a novella.

I really like the idea of this book; I’ve become really interested in intentionally modern-flavored queer historicals lately, I love stories with twins, I love the grumpy/sunshine trope and road trips with a purpose. But alas, the way it was told was just abjectly Too Much for me.