Fun and flirty with a lot of interesting historical perspectives. It was a good read with entertaining characters. The pacing didn't quite strike the right chord for me.

Gracie Simon is a reporter. Or should I say...Simon Gracie. Gracie is a woman who moonlights as a man so that she can be given the jobs and stories that her talents truly allow. She typically covers political content and other "serious" matters but her boss assigns an entertainment piece. Up-and-coming actress Evelyn Wade appears to be a starlet in the making. When she reveals the seedy behavior of men in positions of power in the movie industry, Gracie says that she can unveil the story and keep her out of the public eye for the week following the drop to avoid immediate backlash. The two decide to take a cross-country round trip to Chicago and move than just small talk is revealed.

This is a great work of queer historical fiction. It discusses the blurred lines between sex, gender, and sexual orientation really well. It also handles the performativity of gender in a truly exceptional way. At one point, Gracie is asked if she is “acting as a man” or “being herself.” This distinction puts her gender presentation in a different context and gives the reader framework for the language that should be used to describe these characters. Geonn Cannon should be praised for this.

I do not read a lot of historical fiction, but this is a setting that I have not seen very often—especially in queer literary circles. I tend to avoid queer historical fiction because I find the homophobia to be stifling, but I think Cannon handles the burgeoning romance between Gracie and Evelyn tenderly while still giving enough attention to the society at large without it being overbearing.

Overall, I enjoyed this a lot. I appreciated the setting, I particularly enjoyed the discussions on gender, and I found the queer relationships believable. I would definitely read more by Geonn Cannon.

**Big thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

A pleasant read about two people struggling to live an honest and happy life because of the timely restrictions of past Hollywood. I enjoyed the portrayal of the emotional connection between the two women and appreciated shedding a light on the casting couch practice that women were expected to go through if they wanted to have a career in show business.

This book is quite enjoyable. It is rare that we are treated to a woman's road trip and Cannon treats us to just that.

A reporter who is hired to interview a movie star reveals her secret (that she has had to pose as a man to get work). The star then reveals her secret about the dirty business of casting couches. She is a rising star and it seems this may be a career breaker. She does it to help other women not be victimized by this standard Hollywood behavior.

A buddy road trip ensues as they escape the immediacy of the story's publication.

This books is about Simon Grace - Gracie- who is a reporter who is posing as a man to get career opportunities she wouldn't get as a woman. She gets assigned to do an article on an actress and that's when certain events lead up to a road trip with both of these women.

The two main characters are interesting in their own way and I liked getting to know them and seeing how they gravitated towards each other.

Queen and Bandit is a really fun read with a serious undertone in it. Geonn Cannon takes on Hollywood and the casting couch in this road trip romance.

Evelyn’s plight unfortunately still happens today. Cannon’s historical tale does not read as one. The only time you really feel as if you are reading a historical novel is when they are driving through Las Vegas.

There is one scene that is stereotypically male that while I was reading it I was thinking, “Oh, no.” Then I was chuckling and saying the same words out loud in CAPS as Gracie reacts to it. Men have not changed. Smh

Gracie is my favorite character in this book. Her desire to write and tell important stories is something I can readily identify with. The fact that she hid her gender to make this happen is (sigh) so attractive. That drive and determination in a person is so appealing. Then how Evelyn sees Gracie is hot. I love them together.

There is a point in the book that I thought Cannon was going to go in another direction and I was horrified. I am so glad that they didn’t. It would have devastated me as I love Gracie and Evelyn as a couple.

Queen and Bandit is a fantastic road trip in time and love.

I received an ARC of this book and I am writing a review without prejudice and voluntarily.

Enjoyed reading this book. Set in an era when the casting couch seemed the only way for a woman to get a plum role in a movie and you had to be male to get on in a career. The story of a movie actress and a "male" journalist. And how they met and fell in love. It's not an exciting read as such but probably pertinent to the era it portrays.