Edith (Eddie/Edie) has always wanted to be a writer. Rose has always wanted to be with Eddie. Nash has always looked out for himself.

These three MCs, as well as a handful of secondary characters, depict the art scene in late-1800s London as one big hedonistic party, complete with flowing alcohol, drugs, and debauchery too fuel the talent within. While the landscape wasn’t a very favourable place to reside, Eddie and Rose were definitely the highlight of this love story. When Eddie finally realized Nash’s true colours, the painting that was constructed was one of deceit and betrayal. By the end, one can’t help but be in love with the power of love.

This ARC was provided by there publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Infamous by Lex Croucher is a perfect fit for readers who adore Regency-era romance, witty banter, and LGBTQ+ love stories, as it whisks them away to a world of 19th-century literary salons, charming poets, and the blossoming of a forbidden yet passionate relationship.

Eddie Miller learns the age old lesson that men are manipulative and mediocre. I will read anything Lex Croucher puts out!

Infused with Lex Croucher's typical humour, Infamous was engaging enough to finish - even when I really didn't care how the story ended. Honestly, this book was pure chaos and not in a good way. There was so much going on, yet everything still felt incredibly surface level. I would have loved the relationship between Eddie and Rose to be fleshed out a LOT more.

I'll continue reading Croucher's work because I love their wit, but will keep my expectations low.

I thought it was a really cute book. Would love to read more from the author. Enjoyed the storyline. Love a good wlw romance.

I LOVED this book! This is for the Bridgerton fans whose favorite character is Eloise (and those of us who really want her to be Queer) ! I loved Eddie and I loved following her journey with discovering herself and her friendships. This book was full of longing (in many ways), great friendship, and bits of wildness. I definitely recommend this book and this series!

Based on the whimsical pink cover, I had not expected this book to be so gothic. Infamous could comfortably sit beside both Wuthering Heights and The Secret History, capturing the bleak landscape of rural England and the chaotic bacchanalia of the cultural elite in one narrative. Despite the misdirect that the cover and first few chapters present, this book was enjoyable. However, Gothic literature isn’t really to my taste, so for that I have knocked off a star.

Lex has skillfully created characters with depth and who are deeply flawed. They vividly erupt from the page and demand your attention. The plot, on the other hand, left something to be desired. I saw the final conflict coming from 20% into the book. I wish the final twist had been less easy to spot for me. Since it was so obvious to me, I had to wonder how no characters shared my suspicion.

The book is atmospheric and spooky and fraught with tension as Eddie’s hopeful innocence butts up against Nash and company’s flamboyant recklessness.

The romance between Eddie and Rose hit just right—a compelling story of friends-to-lovers complicated by the lack of cultural awareness or support of same-sex relationships. Their steady story under the chaos of the rest of the book played an interesting countermelody. I found myself hoping for their romantic success throughout the book.

In all, this was interesting, and skillfully told, but not entirely to my taste.

I was drawn in by the regency slat for this sapphic romance, but over all struggled to stay engaged. I didn’t love Nash - he’ was aggressively unlikeable for me and detracted from the sweet moments. A appreciated the tension between Eddie and Rose, and loved Eddie’s family! Overall a good read, but not my favorite.

Just FUN. It's queer, funny, anachronistic (on purpose), kind of like Bridgerton but even better because we don't have to deal with so much annoying convention. This book is a dang delight. Please go read it. I think it is good for readers of Gentlemen of Vice and Virtue (that's the one book I kept thinking of) and Casey McQuiston.

i will read anything Lex Croucher publishes tbh. i will always read nearly any book with a queer MC. in the wise words of Laynie Rose, all i need to know about a book is that it’s gay and it slaps. and Infamous fits the bill!! i was enraptured the entire time, i loved the dynamic between Eddie and truly every one she encounters, and im here for a regency era fuckboy antagonist. Eddie and Rose stole my heart. i love the way Croucher writes and like i said, i would and do read everything they put out but this one in particular was such a romp. 4.5⭐️ rounding up to 5 since i just love it so much!

Infamous is a queer, period tale of friends navigating love, expectations, and the disappointment that is handed to us via our ideals.

Lex Croucher's books are always funny and modern, but in historical settings. This is one of my favorite series.

Historical romance is not my preferred genre, but I actually ended up very much enjoying this book. I liked Eddie. Her voice was very strong, and other than the fact that she was the last to realize she was in love with her best friend. I really enjoyed reading her story. I did think the ending was a bit obvious, but I liked the craziness, parties, and general bucking of authority. If this author wrote another romance novel, that was not historical, I would definitely read it.

Don't get me wrong, I love a morally grey/unlikable character as much as the next girl, but basically every character in this book felt unlikable. Which is a bummer, because I liked a lot of other things about this book!

I really enjoyed this fun, unconventional story of love, coming of age, and raucous literary parties in the country. I'll be recommending widely!

Infamous is a quirky story of friendship becoming something else. It is a sapphic story of discovery within a Regency setting. We are introduced to Eddie (Edith) and Rose, best friends who do everything together, including kissing practice. Eddie dreams of being a writer, and Rose is becoming more and more involved in society, which causes ripples when she declares her intention to marry. The rest of the story involves a chaotic group of artists and eccentrics, and Eddies favourite author inviting the whole group to his run down country house.

I loved the author’s previous work, Reputation, but this one fell a bit flat for me.

First of all I love the cover. Second of all this was a great historical fiction! Rose and Eddie have different ideas what they want out of their lives but what if what they really want is each other ?

Thank you #StMartinsPress and #NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

turns out historical romances just are not for me… i’ve tried a few and was hopeful this would be different but it just doesn’t work for me.
i looooove the women in this book, but the rest of the story fell flat for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book, as this book has already been published, I will not share my review on Netgalley at this time.

Thank you NetGalley, publishers, and Lex Croucher for gifting me a copy of Infamous in return for my honest opinion.

2/5 stars
22-year-old aspiring writer Edith 'Eddie' Miller and her best friend Rose have always done everything together-climbing trees, throwing grapes at boys, sneaking bottles of wine, practicing kissing . . . But following their debutante ball Rose is suddenly talking about marriage, and Eddie is horrified.

When Eddie meets charming, renowned poet Nash Nicholson, he invites her to his crumbling Gothic estate in the countryside. The entourage of eccentric artists indulging in pure hedonism is exactly what Eddie needs in order to forget Rose and finish her novel. But Eddie might discover the world of famous literary icons isn't all poems and pleasure . . .

I wanted to love this book but I could not get over how annoying the MC was. This was extremely hard to get through just due to how annoying and rude she was. I did not find anything likable about Eddie from when she was bullying her best friend to her being infatuated with Dushy Nash. Every time Nash came on the page I would skim over those passages just to get them over quicker!

The only redeeming quality of this book was Rose. I actually enjoyed her character up until the point where she became a push over and forgave Eddie for everything that she did to her. But she was at least partially sain and an interesting character. I cant say the same about anyone else in this book.

I really wanted to like this one due to the LGBTQIA+ Aspect of the book but it was a major let down for me.

This was a fun and entertaining read even if the main character was a bit frustrating! Her character growth throughout the book is wonderfully balanced and complex. I was expecting a fun, historical romp and while those elements where there, so much more was going on! There were so many emotional elements pulled throughout the book that made it an amazingly well rounded story.