Not my cup of tea. So many things I disliked. I really really wanted to like it, but I just didn't. I couldn't get into it to save my life, I thought the characters were terribly written, I expected more and it failed to hold up to my expectations.

I don't often like to give less than 3 stars because I don't like to minimize the efforts of the author and the people that may have enjoyed the book...but I have to go with 2 stars here. I disliked all of the characters. I found the constant state of obliviousness insufferable. I hate cheating and almost all of the main characters are coupled off but dabbling around with others. The scenarios where the alternative pairings are allowed to flourish just go on and on and no one talks about what is happening and they just keep going with the flow and whoops we are alone again. No one talks about anything or resolves anything for like the whole book. There is this gothic manor plot that is also supposed to be unfurling throughout and it is thin at best and just kinda pops up randomly. Why are they still at this house! Everyone sucks and the place is falling down - you all need to go home! I'm sorry I just did not get swept up and the queer romance was messy at best so it barely compelled me to finish the book.

I fell in love with Lex Croucher's engaging and fun period novels when I read Reputation, a rom-com set in Regency style England. Infamous follows a similar trajectory, bringing humor and wild heroines alive during this fussy and polite time period.

Infamous follows Eddie (short for Edith) as she grapples with the engagement of her best friend Rose. Eddie can't see why Rose should marry, as they promised each other as girls that they would not. Eddie is also pursuing her literary dreams when she meets one of her all-time favorite poets, Nash Nicholson. Swept up into a new clique of artistic types, Eddie finds herself moving farther away from polite society. If you like wonderful female friends to lovers, haunted estates, villains and drunkards, then this is for you!

While the plot twist is easy to see coming for all but Eddie, I still enjoyed this romp. I am devoted to Lex Croucher and all she writes from here on out! The audio version is perfectly narrated and bingeable!

I was really intrigued by the premise of this one - I love Eloise from Bridgerton, and this book felt like a combination of Bridgerton meet Little Women (two of my favorite things). But something about this story didn't do it for me. It was okay - I liked watching Eddie and Rose come to the realization that they were in love with each other. The self-discovery and growth were there. But mostly it was confusing, if not a little bit boring (to me). I loved Lex Croucher's previous book - Reputation - so this one was a bit of a let down for me. It was okay, I just didn't love it.

Lex Croucher does it again! I became an instant fan when I read Reputation last year (I read it in one sitting) and could not wait for Infamous.

The characters of Infamous are witty and relatable. They are people you'd love to have as friends but also drive you to the brink of madness (Looking at you, Eddie!)

This is the regency romance to read if you've been in a regency slump! Lex Croucher is brilliant and I cannot wait for more.

This one just wasn’t for me. I didn’t like the characters or writing style. I think it was very tropey but didn’t add anything new, and the “pining” just felt like Eddie whining.

I’m sure there’s people who will like this one. It just really didn’t work for me.

Infamous.
Sex, Drugs and Alcohol.
I never really thought about the title until the end. And noooow I see the relevance.

Ugh. To be young, naive, confident and self conscious at the same time. Can I ever relate. Edith is complex, intelligent, and strong but so blind.
Rose, the kind best friend that conforms to society but also doesn’t at the same time.
Nash, what a loaded character. Funny, but almost annoyingly so. So full of nuance, lies and trauma.

This story was incredible to see the regency era from the artists and outcasts point of view. From the nonconformists that are still allowed in society but actively rebel. The queer aspect was refreshing, and new.

Did I wish there was more on page explicit details?! Yes a little. But I also loved how at times it was left off page and to the imagination.

This book had me hooked and wanting to listen whenever I could. And if anyone wants to drop The Gentleman I’d love to read it!!

i was REALLY intrigued by this novel’s premise. booksmart meets beidgerton, a more blatantly queer little women! it had so many great ideas that never fully came to fruition. my biggest complaints are with the structure and the journey of the characters. the narrative rushed and dragged at odd times, the second act dragged on, and by the end eddie’s resistance to listening to the woman she loves was wearing thin on me.

none of our main characters got enough development, and we spent far too long learning about nash’s temperamental moods than we did about rose, our actual love interest. i would have loved to see more from our secondary characters— especially dayo and valentine. they had so much to offer, and felt underutilized by the narrative.

i’m giving this one 2.5/5– i finished it, and would be willing to give lex’s work another try in the future. this one wasn’t for me, but many thanks to netgalley and macmillan audio for a review copy.

This book follows Eddie’s point of view. Even though she is young, it took her a long time to understand people’s intentions. I found it to be quite annoying.

I enjoyed reading the book reputation, and I thought this one would be just as good. I was wrong. I just cannot connect with any of the characters.

Thanks to netgalley and publishing for allowing me to listen and review this book. Generation was pretty good.

Thank you MacMillan audiobook for the audio of Infamous from Lex Croucher. I chose this because I don't read regency era books (ok maybe I have that Bridgerton book that many of us have...) and it's time for something new. The cover, the summary, the title, all drew me in along with a snappy smart sounding approach to inclusion with smart strong female voices. A win for me, this was FUNNY, cheeky even, and indeed smart. an plot and writing voice that kept me laughing, reflecting on how great a strong friendship and love relationship can feel, and that made me glad I chose something a little different for me during a month celebrating love.
Thank you to the publisher and Lex Croucher for this fun read, it works well in this audiobook format and I will be back for more!

I loved this book! It was Little Women meets Bridgerton but make it sapphic. There was so much humor and I found myself actually laughing out loud at parts. Other moments were so so sweet and I loved the characters growth and watching her discover her identity. I can’t wait to read more books by Lex Croucher! And thank you to NetGalley for both the audiobook and the ebook version. True review: 4.5/5 stars only because I wish the Mr. Nicholson/Nash/Henry/Henry’s Mom storyline was either omitted or better fleshed out. Overall a great friends to lovers romance with comedy, betrayal, and plenty of shenanigans.

This book was really interesting at moments. As someone who loves historical fiction, especially regency era romances, I was really excited for this book. However, for every interesting moment there was boring moments or point where what was going to happen was so obvious it was painful to watch Eddie be a fool. I wanted only the best for her and Rose and we barely get her thriving and them happy compared to the horror show that is Nash. Who i hate so so much and wish had a worse ending.

Lex Croucher could write a book about a potato and I would read and love every word. The way that she fully commits to every character blows me out of the water every single time. I love that she shows true consequences as well as happy endings! Albert and Rose's relationship in this just goes above and beyond what anyone could have hoped for in this time period and I felt it so deeply in my core.

I LOVED this so much. I did not expect it to give me so many feels! I definitely expected a cheeky, sharp witted, slightly irreverent regency romance - and it absolutely is all those things…but it was also much more than that. It is sad, thoughtful, poignant, sweet, infuriating, despondent…..There are a surprising number of moods and vibes contained in this book. The middle to end especially is a rollercoaster of different emotions.

I saw someone compared Eddie to Elouise in Bridgeton and like…yah, that’s highly accurate. And while I personally love both Eloise and Eddie, I think that personality type is very divisive…you either LOVE them or cannot staaaaaaand them, so that will provably be a pretty clear indication of whether you’ll like this book or not. I personally found her hilarious, but I can see how some people might be turned off by Eddie…especially in the first 1/3 or so of the book. As mid book is approaching it was almost getting to be a little much even for me, but just when you might start losing patience with her she starts edging into a lot of character growth. It doesn’t completely change her vibe - a lot of it is simply her very distinct personality…but we also begin to see that she’s not just this intentionally bullheaded, impertinent child thoughtlessly plowing through everything…she’s genuinely naïve and simply doing the best she can with the information and innocence she has. By virtue of unusual upbringing she’s really been mostly left to her own devices while simultaneously being pretty sheltered, so she genuinely just does not understand the nuance in so many of the social situations she finds herself in. Lex does such an amazing job of portraying this, it would be such a fine line into Eddie just being annoying but Lex weaves it just right. I could see though people who haven’t spent a lot of their lives being confused by the world and social rules may not understand this and may not catch the nuance in her character/growth but this was intensely relatable for me in a way that made me feel really seen.

I wish we had gotten a little more time with Rose and Eddie one on one because they were just so sweet when it was just the two of them! The slow development between them was so gently and beautifully done. Their relationship from the beginning made me so so happy, the way they knew each other so completely and were just so right together.

Nash was truly the worst, like you know what’s coming from the beginning but it doesn’t make it any less infuriating. Personally, I wish that he had been publicly exposed just for my own petty satisfaction haha But really though - I was very happy and satisfied with the way everything turned out in the end (the note at the very end about the dedications in E. Miller’s books made me tear up, so freaking adorable and perfectly them) and this is immediately going in my favorite books to re-read stack because one read is just not enough!

The narrator for the book was fantastic and I absolutely loved listening, especially the conversations between Rose and Eddie - done with such perfect nuance! Loved it!

Infamous is a romance book that takes place during the regency era, this is an era that I have not explored in many books and don’t see myself exploring any further.

This story takes place from the main character Edith’s point of view. I had a hard time with Edith. I did not find her likable and had a hard time wanting happiness for her. Her best friend Rose is a character that I did like more but still did not get very invested in her.

The story was a little disjointed and boring at times but it ends up hitting everything you want from a romance novel. It however is classified as a rom-com. For me at least that’s a stretch. I didn’t find this book to be funny.

A lot of my problems may stem from the fact that I listened to the audiobook. This may have been the worst narrator I have listened to. Every character sounded the same and lacked emotion. A better narrator may have led to me enjoying this more.

If ever a book could demonstrate the importance of female friendship and sapphic love while still maintaining a sense of humor, Infamous does.
Dear Eddie made me chuckle and fuss aloud at the audiobook narrator. The protagonist is very talented, but adorably clueless. The end is very satisfying.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an early copy of this audiobook. Below is my honest review.

This is a regency era romance. Edith “Eddie” Miller and Rose are best friends. They do everything together. One day, they even practice kissing. Eddie is unconventional. Rose is quite the opposite.

Eddie is horrified by the thought of coming out to polite society, but Rose can’t wait. As children, Eddie talked Rose into saying she’d never marry. Eddie believed her, but Rose thought it was just the promises of kids. Eddie is shocked when Rose finds someone she wants to marry, a man named Albert.

Eddie wants to be a writer. At a party, Eddie turns into a fangirl when she meets Nash Nicholson, is a well known poet. After Eddie, Rose, Albert, Nash, Nash’s wife, and more, get to know each other, they head to Nash’s gothic estate. Nash needs cheering up after receiving some harsh criticism of his work.

There are ghosts, parties, revelations, and more. Will Nash help Eddie with her writing? Will Rose marry, and if so, what will Eddie do?

Eddie is delightfully clueless. Rose is continually the hero. The secondary characters are well written and fleshed out. Beatrice was a riot. I laughed out loud about the ducks. I saw the ending coming, but it didn’t lessen my enjoyment of this book.

The narrator was fantastic.

Infamous is fun and funny, and surprisingly suspenseful for a romance. Lex Croucher did a great job here of making each of the MC's shortcomings believable and real. The main characters are lovable and we root for them from the very beginning, even as we quickly get a sense for Eddie's blindspots in particular. Definitely a slow burn. The narrator, Ellie Kendrick, did a great job. I found the audio to be well done and I will certainly recommend it. Also, who doesn't love a crumbling, haunted castle?

I enjoyed the premise, but it drags quite a bit in the middle, and the utter obliviousness of the heroine is rather infuriating near the end.

This was a fun sapphic romance. I loved the humor and wit throughout all the characters. I will always enjoy characters who fight against societal norms.


I was given the audible version of the books and the narrator was great.