*thank you to the lovely Author ,to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC*

Absolutely superb and brilliant. Loved it. Will definitely buy a copy and would recommend it to anyone in need of great writing and amazing characters. Amalie never disappoints.

thank you again for an early copy it is greatly appreciated.

This book was absolutely amazing. I have nothing bad to say about it.

I loved the love story and the "redemption" story in it as well. This was so much more than just a normal young adult romance book. There was growth in the main character that we got to see along the way and it was executed perfectly.

Overall, this was a great book and I think everyone should read it.

This was a really fun read! I enjoyed the characters and the overall aesthetic was very pleasing. I loved the banter between the characters and Kes our little arrogant love interest. I loved Ela’s development over the course of the book and I think it was a very mature sort of trajectory. She was a fun character to follow.

Overall, great read!

"Queen Bee" is just...decent. What's most important to recommend here is that this is a "unhistorical romance," meaning that BIPOC characters take the lead, when those roles were traditionally held by white people (a la "Hamilton").

This is a courageous, natural new direction for YA historicals. Historical romance is not an accurate representation of actual history; sure, maybe some of these romances could have existed in reality, but the likelihood is low to non-existent. No dukes were ever really willing to marry kitchen maids or bluestockings. If the genre itself relies upon being "unhistorical," then there's no reason that BIPOC can't be the wealthy, aristocratic heroes and heroines.

The story itself is unobtrusive, neither wickedly bad nor exceedingly readable. I've read some of Howard's adult historical romances, and they're about the same- well-written, well-researched, just not particularly exciting. While this may not have been the story for me, I can definitely see some students absolutely loving this book, and finally getting to see themselves as the romantic hero of their own story. And honestly, that's well worth the price of a hardcover book for me.

I cannot wait for this book to be released! I enjoyed the short chapters, it helped move the story along nicely. I also really loved the flashbacks to young Ela. This story was everything and more. I loved that we got to see Ela create new friends and make amends with old friend's. I usually don't enjoy stories where the whole thing is surrounded by miscommunication or a big lie, but I LOVE how Amalie Howard tied it all together in the end. I loved every moment in this book, except for anything that included Poppy of course. this was such an enjoyable read and I cannot wait to get my hands on the physical copy when it comes out!

My expectations were set for a regency novel reminiscent of The Count of Monte Cristo (one of my favorites). So I was disappointed when it resembled neither.

I could appreciate what I think was referred to as an anti-historical approach, taking the typical and changing a lens; in this case, though it was early 1800s British society, making it a melting pot of distinct races and cultures. But it wasn’t just inserting a bunch of different cultures into the regency British mold (one would have been enough), it was ignoring most of the time period’s strict societal rules and decorum. The language and attitudes were thoroughly modern day. Which has me wondering, why did we even bother with a historical setting? You could still have ball gowns and titles in a modern day story.

SPOILERS

I had major issues with plot points- solicitor manages to get away with bleeding several peers dry without anyone catching on? A peer allowing his daughter to socialize with his solicitor’s child. A neighborhood boy claims to have ruined a peer’s (14 yo) daughter without consequences. Ela and poppy strolling around town without chaperones. I could go on and on.

And then, there were the characters and relationships, most of which felt very shallow. Our MCs catch feelings at 14 and 16 after what I think was a couple of months? Which would be fine if they didn’t act like they had been lifelong friends who grew up together. They bonded over sword fights and her denying he was anything like his father. When he quickly betrays her, she swears revenge, but struggles when she meets him again 3 years later because he’s just so attractive. So we spend the rest of the book being treated to fixations on his pillowy lips etc.

I should also mention we have a couple of LGBT couples, who honestly felt like they were there just to fill a diversity quota. And it seemed to me that they were more sexualized than the others. I’m a conservative Christian, and I felt bad that they were reduced to that.

And seriously, how did -no one- recognize her after only 3 years. I can't imagine height, hair dye and a lack of acne would do it for those who knew her intimately.

The authors note at the end was really interesting (though I believe her examples were outliers, not commonplace, and even if they were, they were like 50 and 70 years after this story took place. A lot can change in 50-70 years, obviously) and she seemed to care a lot about research, historical accuracy, and intentional characters. Based on the author’s note alone, I wanted to like it. But it just lacked substance on every front.

I cannot honestly recommend it and, based on this book, I probably would not read another by this author.

Three years ago Lady Ela Davi was betrayed by her best friend and consequently sent away from her home and family with her reputation in ruins.

Now, Ela has transformed her look, dress, and manner with plans to infiltrate the season posing as one of the London elite. Ela is focused on taking her revenge, but when confronted with the boy from her past with whom she fell in love, she begins to question what it is revenge will bring her.

I was pulled into this story really easily. I liked that Amalie Howard had alternating chapters with the past and present. It kind of has this slow build as readers catch up with what is happening in the present, but also are building up the understanding of the betrayal and what that meant to a young Ela.

I did have a little bit of a hard time believing that the people she's trying to take her revenge upon would not recognize her. I mean it had only been three years and while a lot of growing and changing can happen on the cusp of childhood going toward adulthood, I still feel like Ela would have been recognizable. Then again, maybe it's something where if you believe the story enough yourself you kind of influence others to believe the story as well. And I will grant that Ela did change her hair and she grew taller and changed her wardrobe and she's in a different environment than the one these people had previously seen her. So yes, I can see how it could happen, but for me personally, there were quite a few times I had to remind myself to go with the story.

I did like how much the narrative tackles revenge and forgiveness. As we see Ela go down this path of revenge where she takes no prisoners, she's using new friends to gain a one-up on those who wronged her, you just want her to find a feeling of peace. When the story cuts to the past and we see how Ela was wronged it's easy to again get caught up in Ela's need for justice, but at what cost to the future? Amalie Howard puts everything together so satisfyingly and cleverly. I enjoyed Ela's journey and growth seeing her realize her worth without the influence of others. Highly recommended read.

Umm, an anti-historical regency era YA romance?? SIGN ME UP! I loved all of these characters and all of the drama.

It goes back and forth between when Lady Ela was betrayed by her "best friend", Poppy, and when she changes into Lyra, a mysterious heiress who is in town for the season, and is set on getting her revenge. Her plan is to take down Poppy and Keston but Ela did not expect certain feelings to come back when she saw Keston.

Yes, some parts are a little hard to believe, but I still really enjoyed the story. The romance was cute and it gave me major Bridgerton vibes. I love a good revenge story!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children’s and Joy Revolution for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion and review.

This was cute! I was excited to read this as soon as I saw the description. I love friends to lovers in historical romance, especially since it isn’t as common in that genre. Reading about how Ela fell for Keston in the first place then fell for him again was great. I also really liked her own character development and how she matured and grew. Some parts felt a bit unrealistic and/or too modern for the setting, but not enough so that it ruined things for me.

Overall I liked reading this and definitely will be reading more from Amalie Howard in the future.

The regency era brought me back to Bridgerton vibes and anyone who is a Bridgerton fan based on books or the Netflix show will definitely love this one! I would say this is a mix of mean girls as well as Bridgerton vibes but suitable for the YA community and I loved it!!! Getting revenge on a backstabbing friend AHAHAHAHHAHAha is satisfyingggg

I really enjoyed this book. It kept my interest and didn't have very many slow parts. I also liked the characters and thought they were written well. I'm starting to really like regency romances. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the arc in return for an honest review!

In this forward-thinking YA romance with Count of Monte Cristo and Mean Girls vibes, we follow Ela Dalvi on her quest for revenge that has been years in the making. Ela has reinvented herself after being betrayed by everyone she knew and loved and is now back to settle the score. Amalie Howard weaves a sensuous picture of the time, engaging all the reader's senses as we follow a strong woman who has carefully learned to play high society's games. It has witty dialogue and modern mores and leads the reader to examine just how similar we are to those who have gone before, and just how high is the cost of revenge.

Oh wow, I LOVED this book! I loved the idea of feminism and the subversive ideas about diversity, identity, and so many other things. It explores universal sentiments: love, betrayal, and revenge is a satisfying cycle to observe. And this particular micro-universe is not unsimilar to that of high school--we have the same cliques, the popular kids, the hormones...but the marriage market of the ton of England's Regency Era may be more similar to high school than we initially think. Indeed, some aspects of high school surpass age entirely and we experience them during all phases of life. The players hail from a diversity of backgrounds ethnically and even socioeconomically. The explanations of the period and the culture were helpful and subtle--it's easy to get that wrong and heavily over-explain, but it was gracefully done here. I found Ela the kind of woman I would love to be in many ways: beautiful, charming, intelligent, and adept in social rules and in always finding the right thing to say. In the end it's about power, agency, compassion, and being considerate, and contemplates the power of forgiveness and the choice we all have to forgive or to let bitterness destroy us from the inside. I think this book is going to be a winner!

This definitely gives me Bridgerton vibes solely because of the regency era. The romance was so sweet and I love a friends to enemies to lovers plot line. The vibes of this book was so entertaining and I just had the best time reading it. I like the characters and dual time line as well.

So so so so good! I was fully immersed in it and can’t seem to put it down. The build up and word building was one of the strong aspects of this book. Also I really liked the pace with which story unfolded and events occurred. The main characters are starkly superb, and I’m in awe of their strength and arc development. Definitely one of the bests I have read this year.

I received this from netgalley in exchange for a review.

I felt for Ely/Lyra this whole book. Having a backstabbing best friend who ruins everything in your life as a teenager and then wanting so badly to get revenge - who can’t relate, even if most teenagers now don’t have quite the stakes that Ely had. I knew something was going to mess up her revenge plan, and it happened so well - and Poppy (and her father) got what was coming to them, even as Ely learned that revenge was maybe not quite what she needed in her life, and was able to become who she wanted to be.

I really liked the cast of characters in this book - to be honest, I’d totally read a book about Zia and Kes’s band of boys each.

I saw someone else say this needs to be a movie or a show and I completely agree. I’d definitely watch it.

Queen Bee is Machiavellian regency fun full of manners, slander, and a plot for revenge. It's essentially Bridgerton meets Mean Girls, which makes it a light historical romp with a dash of modern sensibility.

This book gives "Ela can't come to the phone right now. Why? Because she's dead" vibes. So, in other words, it's an escapist respite!

Three years after her reputation is tarnished by her former best friend, Poppy (aka London's resident Regina George), Ela comes waltzing into ton with a new name (Lyra) and a fake backstory (she's a rich heiress with no title), hell-bent on retribution. This time, the odds will fall in her favor. This time, she'll land on top. She'll make sure of that. In fact, not only does she have plans to ruin Poppy's life, preventing her from making a good match in the marriage mart, but she also intends to break the heart of the boy who broke her's all those years ago...or so help her!

However, once Keston, the handsome and charming marquess, is within her orbit again, nothing goes according to plan. (Which, pssh--as if I'd want it any other way!)

Although I wished the revenge angle had been leaned into a little more, particularly at the beginning when Ela/Lyra was still smarting from the trauma of her past betrayals, this was an absorbing read. I flew right through it. I loved the diversity of the characters as well as the themes about the power of forgiveness and the representation of true friendship. The romance between Ela and Kes could have had more build-up or oomph, but it was still cute in that coy, you've-been-trampolining-on-my-heart-from-the-start YA way. It felt fitting for them as a pairing well as for the YA genre on the whole.

I liked it. Definitely worth a read. So if you're looking for a story full of scandal and schemes, but also one with a wholesome heart at its center, then this is the historical romance for you!

3.5 stars

Special thanks to NetGalley and Random House Children's for the ARC in exchange for my review.

This was a delightful cupcake of a book, sweet, fluffy, and a little bit naughty (regency naughty, so mostly stolen kisses). .Perfect for fans of Austin, Bridgerton, and Gossip Girl alike, this book examines mean girls and the power of gossip. The cast is diverse in multiple ways and it brings life and richness to the story

After appreciating other Amalie Howard titles, this one was a disappointment. It felt like it was written for a YA audience, without being a YA book.

I really enjoyed this novel and think it's perfect for fans of Bridgerton. It was age-appropriate for teens and I will definitely order it for my classroom this spring. I loved the setting, the revenge, and the girl-boss aspect of the female MC.

My only disappointment was the way the romance built up between the MC's in the present day. There was a dual POV from four years prior and present day, The "childhood" romance had more build up and chemistry than the present-day rekindling of the romance. The ending was also a little abrupt. But other than that, I really loved this!!

I have always enjoyed Amalie Howard’s books but this was my first historical of hers and I adored it. Bridgerton meets The Obsession in this YA about a girl who was ruined by a lie and wants her revenge on the boy and girl who ruined her reputation. This book was so fun and I could read it over and over again.