This book was amazing, like everything EK Johnston writes. The LGBTIA+ rep is perfect and she weaves amazing stories.

I loved Johnston's Exit Pursued by a Bear, but found this one too convoluted to finish. Thank you for the e-ARC and the chance to honestly review.

Although it is well written and I wanted to like it, I have lost interest in finishing the book and therefore won't be giving it a proper review and will give it a neutral 3 stars.

*This book was given to me by NetGalley in return for a honest review*

I love this author and the premise seemed like something I would really enjoy, but I just couldn't with this one. It was slow and there were major plot issues that made this story hard to stick with.

I've enjoyed all the books by E.K. Johnston that I've read and this is no exception. It's got very good worldbuilding that I think readers will find very intriguing. Lots of fun twists and turns. It also had really good representation which I think is it's strongest selling point. Already purchased for my library. I think our teens will really enjoy it.

Great potential in this one but I feel like it began to fall apart in the middle. I was very unhappy with the way Johnston approached intersex individuals and the relationship between Margaret, August and Helena and the "solutions" for everyone to have a *mostly* happily ever after. I also found the reaction of August's family when he was discovered dealing with pirates to be extreme and out of character for the way his family had been presented. This conveniently left August in a dire situation that pressured him into agreeing to the arrangement Helena and Margaret have decided is best.

I cannot believe how bored I got reading this book. So disappointed, and I am familiar wih the source material. Was expecting so much more.

I enjoyed the setting and how thorough the picture was. I didn't see the twist coming and loved that. I wasn't thrilled by the ending though.

This book really surprised me with its strong-willed protagonist and interesting setting. I would read this book over and over again!

That Inevitable Victorian Thing introduces Victoria-Margaret, who is in line to become Queen of the British Empire, which never lost the Revolutionary War. Genetic matchmaking technology now determines one's mate, so she asks to be allowed to disguise herself as a commoner, Margaret Sandwich, so that she can spend a summer in Toronto among people she will one day rule. There she meets Helena Marcus, whose parents are geneticists, and her best friend, Augustus Callaghan, at a debut party. Augustus is heir to his family's Canadian/Hong Kong lumber business which is plagued by American pirates. He makes some questionable business decisions in trying to thwart the piracy. Although not a genetic match, Helena and Augustus hope to one day marry. After Helena and Margaret quickly fall into a flitatious friendship, they decide to spend the summer together at the Marcus cottage up North at Lake Muskoka, where Augustus' family also owns property. There the three grow closer and ultimately discover one another's secrets in this light revisionist history set in the near future. Chapter headers, including maps, gossip columns, and correspondence, flesh out this alternate world and make this a uniquely entertaining read.

This sounded like everything I would love, almost like a period drama coming to life in a futuristic setting. But the world building was really strange. There were documents to establish the world, and mentions of this matchmaking software program, but I felt really out of place. There was this mix of ‘The Queen is an extension of God’ with ‘but we have all this genetic knowledge too’ and it left me feeling lost. I couldn’t build the world within my head - setting wise - and as far as ‘world logic’ I couldn’t grasp it. Not even till the end. I eventually just transported this setting in my head, which worked for me, but I know I lost out on some things.

Because of this, I didn’t catch on to the whole colonial power and diversity thing until reading reviews after. All of a sudden more things began to make sense, but that in turn left me with more confusion. What bothers me the most on a worrying level, is that when you read this as some alternate history science fiction, world building is crucial. And to have it so lacking is worrying. I realize that writing historical fiction is daunting, and in this respect, I felt like Johnston did well, but for the science aspect I needed more.

I can deal with a slow book, they’re some of my favorites, so if you’re a fan of high paced non-stop action this is not the book for you. What saved my experience with the book were the characters and ending. My favorite might have been August, which is so rare for me but I really appreciated the difficulty he was going through with his family business versus personal identity thing. The intersex character and f/f relationship was also wonderful to read. Much like life, the people are the ones who stick with you, and I enjoyed many of the side characters - I just wished they could have lived in a world with more depth.

In a re-imagined future, the world's aristocracy takes part in debutante balls similar to those from the Victorian times. In this world, computers exist as part of the church and as genetic counselors. The main use for computers is to match couples based on compatibility data. When one of the main characters submits their DNA to the computer, they find that they are the opposite gender of the one they knew themselves to be. The character keeps this information secret, unsure of what impact it will have on their future. Throw in some love triangles, princesses in disguise and you have this unique and compelling novel.

The premise of this novel was interesting, unique and important. I have not read a fantasy novel with a main character who is intersex. I think this adds an important layer to the YA collection. I think that the setting needs better development. It was unclear whether history had been changed to create this world, or if it was a world similar yet different from our own. I found the solution further added to the themes of LGBTQ and broadens the concept of happily ever after (in a good way).

I had incredibly high hopes for this book, which were dampened when I read that the entire premise of this book in relation to the British Empire was pretty problematic. I still really wanted to read it because of my initial excitement, so I gave it a try. And I have to say that I was pretty underwhelmend.

My main problem with the book was the world building. Or rather, the lack thereof. The whole idea of the world is incredibly exciting and cool but it just wasn't exectured well at all. There were a lot of things that didn't line up, and I get that worldbuilding is hard but these things just can't be overlooked and bothered me a lot while I was reading it (like, the colonials pushing for equality. That just doesn't work.).

I also didn't care much for the characters. And I think that sentence says it all, because I. Just. Didn't. Care. I think that might be more of a 'it's not you, it's me' thing, because I often have a lot of problems reading a book with a lot of POVs, so you can totally take this with a grain of salt. But for me, this almost made me want to put the book down, or at least only read the parts from Victoria-Margaret her POV, who was the only character I cared for.

Another thing that kept me from putting the book down was the writing style. Even though I didn't really care for the characters and the world, the writing style kept me entertained. It was very easy to read and because of this, I flew through the book, and I love it when that happens.

So while this book wasn't for me, I did really like E.K. Johnston's writing style, and I'm definitely planning on checking out more of her books.

I am really sorry but I couldn't finishe the book because I found it too boring. I would take it away from my Goodreads list.

“In this sci-fi/alternate history/Victorian romance, Helena is all but betrothed to August, her childhood friend and sweetheart as she prepares to make her debut. Debuting with her are Elizabeth, a socialite acquaintance, and Elizabeth’s cousin, Margaret, who’s actually the future Queen in cognito. As they make their entrance into society, each person is given a -gbot to upload their DNA profile for the purpose of finding their true match. What results not only throws a wrench into everyone’s matrimonial plans, but is further complicated by various unsavory business dealings and rapacious paparazzi. This is a well paced story with thoughtful and elegant character development and intriguing world building. Although the ending was a bit too abrupt and easy, the exploration of science, religion, morality, tolerance, and social media within an idealistically conceived Canadian Victorian society was refreshingly different. At first, I did not get the title, but I see now it’s a rather clever reference to the dependable romance tropes that are in fact inevitable in any satisfying tale of this type despite the sci fi elements. The cover is just beautiful.”

In the near future, if Queen Victoria’s reign and the general principles of the time had been perpetuated, crown princess Victoria-Margaret is travelling to Toronto to masquerade as a commoner so that she can have a proper debut season. Regardless of who she meets, however, she will be required to marry a strong genetic match to ensure the strength of Queen Victoria I’s line. At the same time, non-socialite Helena and her beau August are heading to Toronto for Helena’s debut, and introduction into high society. The three will meet, and the events of the summer will change their lives forever.
I’m a huge sucker for books set in Victorian and Edwardian England, so I was eagerly anticipating this read. Unfortunately, it didn’t work for me. Part of the problem is that the charm of reading about Victorian England is that it is in the past. We certainly don’t accept a lot of those social sexist, racist and classist norms now (or at least, we pretend not to, but that’s a whole different discussion) and I think that’s for the best. It was weird to read a book about the future that’s not meant to be a dystopia where many of those awful norms are still acceptable. The author does acknowledge this in a note at the end, which is why I’m giving this two stars instead of one. There were also quite a few worldbuilding holes, if you will. For example, at one point, Margaret has a question about sexual identity. Bear in mind that this is a near future book in which the characters have access to computers and some form of the internet. So, instead of doing whatever the equivalent of googling the question would be, she e-mails her uncle, the archbishop, which no teen ever would actually do. Little inconsistent things like that popped up relatively often, and I found that it pulled me out of the story.
Speaking of the story, there’s not much in the way of plot here. That’s perfectly fine, if plot is being sacrificed for character development, but the characters here were not particularly compelling. The POV switches between the three main characters, and while all of the characters were nice and likable, they were also fairly bland. I didn’t care about anyone but Margaret until a big reveal about halfway through the story, at which point I started to find Helena interesting as well. I never could make myself care about August.
All of that being said, I definitely think that romance readers will respond positively to this novel. I just kept getting bogged down in the worldbuilding or lack thereof, and never could connect with the characters. It wasn’t for me. 2 stars.

Interesting book with bits of science fiction/fantasy and historical all nicely wrapped up. I'm thinking there will be a sequel if not a series because I felt like there was somewhere more for the story to go.

I received an ARC of this book from Net Galley and SLJ Teen Live. These opinions, though, are my own.

Steampunk meets LGBTQIA+ romance meets alternate history meets historical fiction.

That Inevitable Victorian Thing was very different from anything else I've ever read. I hypothesized the ending chapters before it happens, but I didn't think it would actually happen-- it just seemed too avant garde.

While the constant switching between characters' "heads" in this third-person limited narrative took about 1/2 the story for me to fully accept and come to terms with, there were still paragraphs that seemed random and superfluous to the story as a whole. Perhaps they will be taken out in the final, published version.

While I enjoyed the originality of That Inevitable Victorian Thing, I won't be adding it to the collection of the library I work at. My budget is just too limited (less than $100/month), and, I think, the demographics too conservative to like and appreciate the story.

That Inevitable Victorian Thing is unique, clever, and an imaginative tale. I was drawn in by the premise of a world that could've been. I loved the added sci-fi element of a computer using our DNA to suggest matches. Though the narrative sometimes felt crowded with many characters, the story eventually flowed and connected the characters. Readers who enjoy contemporary and sci-fi will like this book. This would be a great book for a book club selection and vehicle for discussion. The book raises questions of how colonialism may be erased in this alternate world, questions of DNA uses, and discussions of diversity and what the world could've been.

There seems to be disconnect or choppiness in the story. None of the characters became alive to me or that I wanted to continue to read. In fact, at only a third through the book I saw no reason to continue as there was no theme I could distinguish with no tension, intrigue, or good vs. evil. Had hard time figuring out the purpose of the Victoria letters and short computer conversations. But at one third through out of no where is there items about racism and what I can only conclude will be a gay relationship. Read to about halfway mark and quit. Could not figure out any kind of time period so perhaps this was just meant to be a romance.