This historical rom-com will delight readers looking for a fun, rompy read.Įxes pretend they’re still together for the sake of their friends on their annual summer vacation. Peggy and Orfeo’s tender friendship and romance shows that queer people do not need to justify or explain their presence or identities to find love and that love, in some form or fashion, is for everyone. Hall is explicitly claiming and making space in the historical romance subgenre for queer people to be main characters on their own terms. The large returning cast of characters from the first book in the series, Something Fabulous (2022), adds a delightful feeling of camaraderie and a reminder of the importance of found family. The book is a campy Regency, full of fabulous fashions and over-the-top plotting. Hall’s trademark witty banter and impeccable comedic timing are on full display here. Orfeo instantly recognizes Peggy as someone special, and their magnetism and confidence show Peggy how to be honest with herself and others about her own identity.

Even more thrilling, Orfeo is the first person who has ever preferred quiet, unassuming Peggy over the brash, beautiful Arabella. Peggy is troubled by her instant feelings of attraction to Orfeo, wondering if it makes her disloyal to find them more attractive than Arabella. Nevertheless, Peggy’s sense of duty and loyalty make her unable to resist Arabella’s pleas for help in wooing Orfeo, a famous castrato opera singer. She and her neighbor Arabella Tarleton have been friends and casual lovers for years, and Peggy is convinced that her feelings for Arabella are true love and not just sexual attraction even though Arabella doesn’t feel the same. Peggy Delancey loves herself and her body but knows she doesn’t fit into society’s rigid gender norms. Two gender-nonconforming people find love with each other in Regency London.

Alexis hall something fabulous