The worst thing about reading a really good book is that sometimes it’s hard to know when to start when talking about it. This is one of those cases– this book is not only by my favorite romance author, but it’s based on my favorite childhood movie– the Sound of Music (yes, I would sit down for three hours to watch this movie about once a week from the age of four to the age of eight– it’s also the reason I learned how to work a DVD player).
This book, a Regency-era, queerer spin on the story, takes place in England, and also has a much more diverse cast of characters. I loved everything about this book, most of all the characters, who were all very well-rounded and very distinct in terms of personality, as well as very lovable and fun to read about, even if some of them considered themselves or each other unlikeable or terrible. The found family was certainly found-familying, even if our main character wanted them to or not.
The way that queerness is talked about in the book also deserves to be talked about, because it is taken seriously without really changing the tone of the book itself too much.
Overall, I would just say to read this book if you can, it drove me insane in a good way that I did not know historical romcoms were capable of.
Also one of the characters is literally me. Like name and everything. Some of the particular relatable traits are spoilers for the book itself, so I am not going to share, but I did relate so much that I cried a little bit. For the same exact reason I cried over a different Regency-era romance novel literally last week. I am very mentally stable