Flabbergasted, but in the best of ways, by the wonderful Emma R. Alban's debut work. I can't begun to understand how she manged to write a story that hit all the notes perfectly. This is a genuine delight. I smiled, I laughed, I got hot, and I cried. I cared about every single character. I'm going to read this again and again. I eagerly await the sequel. Overwhelmingly enjoyed!

One of the few 5 star reviews I've given in 2023. Go buy a copy now!

Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager, and NetGalley for providing an eARC for a honest review.

This books is so cute! First I was attracted by the wonderful cover and the title and the fact it was advertising as a queer Parent Trap. I love parent trap, so I was intrigued. Than I read it and I fell in love with it. I fell in love with the characters and with the story.
It’s a really cute story about two girls who decided to cospirate. They have to marry a wealthy husband to save their family but they don’t want to. So they decided that Beth’s mother and Gwen’s father have to marry instead.
While they parent trap their parents, they fall in love. It’s a really cute lgbt+ story, full of queer joy. And yes, technically is the 1857 so they can’t be togheter, but this is a romance, this is a story, so there is a wonderful happy ending.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!

This was so fun and so sweet, and also had the perfect amount of depth and history. I loved this cast of characters and their growth as individuals and as friends/couples/found family to one another. The queer love throughout the story was integrated and explored so beautifully - and I have next to no chill when it comes to waiting for James and Bobby’s story.

Alban had me at the T. Swift reference in the title and she delivered with a beautiful love story on multiple fronts.

Thank you to Avon/Harper Voyager and NetGalley for the ARC.

I wasn't sure about the writing style at first, but I was quickly drawn in. Beth and Gwyn are so flipping cute together. Neither one of them really knew what they were getting themselves into and I loved it. The added bonus of them trying to parent trap their parents was pretty funny. I am very excited for the next book.

I received an arc through netgalley.

This book surprised me in the best ways possible! For the first part of the book I was just happily going along, enjoying a well-written story and getting to know both Gwen and Beth. The prose was immersive and the environment lush, and after a couple chapters I felt like I was actually in the 1850s London along with them.

What really blew me away however, was the chemistry between the two mc’s. For some reason I had expected more of a slow burn, slowly realizing they like each other pining, and this was not that. I have absolutely zero complaints because as soon as these two ladies kissed (probably one of the best first kisses I’ve read recently) you could feel the tension and desire between them. What followed next was an achingly beautiful tale of forbidden desire in a much different time and ultimately the (hard fought) happy ending I craved.

Was this book perfect? No. The writing style of third person present tense is not often used and takes a little time to get into, but once I did I feel it actually helped immerse me in the story. The middle parts dragged at times, and once or twice I yelled at all of the characters to just talk to each other!! But in the end the flaws didn’t matter, the overall impression this book left me with and the emotional depth it invoked all lead me to rank it as one of my best of the year and I have already pre-ordered its sequel, You’re the Problem, it’s You.

This book is perfect for anyone looking for a regency romance with sizzling chemistry and a forbidden love story full of angst and a touch of parental matchmaking schemes!

I received an ARC of this ebook from Netgalley and all opinions are my own.

Absolutely a new favorite historical romance.

This book is described as a queer Bridgerton meets Parent Trap and that is pretty much all you need to know! I do believe it is impossible not to love it.

Beth and Gwen are two debutantes seeking/not-so-seeking husbands this season. They realize that if they get Beth's mom to fall in love with Gwen's dad, they might be able to delay or permanently put off their own need for a husband! But they also fall head over hoop skirts for each other 🥰🥵🥰

• The pining and angst was heavenly. Heavenly I tell you! These characters went 👏 through it 👏 and so does the reader, but it is so worth every bit of pain. I just loved it. Pining all over the place. Pining from the side story romances, too! Just so much glorious pining! 🤣
• The pacing was perfect. I am a slow burn lover and this book did it splendidly! They have a connection from the start, but I absolutely love how the desire sort of sneaks up on Gwen and Beth.
• Open door, but moderate level of detail. Written in the kind of way where even hand holding and stolen kisses makes you feel a certain type of way.
• It's more than one romance. Probably my favorite "more than one romance" ever. Each of the love stories depicted in this book are top tier. You will see!
• The father-daughter and mother-daughter dynamics are different but both so special in their own ways. I loved reading about the parents just as much as I loved reading about Beth and Gwen!
•The most wonderful housekeeper side characters! Stop it right now?! And also never stop, authors, never stop.
• The gosh darn hoop skirts. I loved 'em.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (In case you couldn't tell!)

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Avon for this eARC

I had so much fun reading this book! It completely delivers on a sweet, banter-and-shenanigans-filled romance I hoped it would. I read most of the book at work, and it still had me smiling and giggling throughout.

I loved both Beth and Gwen, and I believed their romance from the beginning, as well as their friendship. I understood immediately why they liked each other, which I think is particularly important in a friends-to-lovers romance like this.

Beth and Gwen's relationship was not the only important one in this book, of course. Considering the setup of this book hinges on a parent-trap plot, it's particularly important to manage the balance between making me care about and believe the parents' romance as well without them taking the spotlight away from the romance I actually came here for. I thought this book did a fantastic job of that. It even made me care about a background romance, and the epilogue provided a wonderful preview of the next book's romance, which I am very much looking forward to. I really loved the characters here.

I will note readers looking for historical accuracy may find themselves frustrated. The language in particular tends a bit more casual than I would have expected. However, I personally did not find myself bothered by it at all. It clearly felt intentional, and anyway, a strong sense of verisimilitude was not my main concern when I picked up a parent-trap-inspired sapphic romcom with a Taylor Swift lyric in the title. I came here simply to be delighted, and I got more than my money's worth of that.

Thank you to Avon for the ARC!

I am not typically a fan of historical romance, but I decided to request this one mostly based on the cover, plot summary, and the fact that it's a sapphic romance. It did not disappoint!
I fell in love with our main characters, Beth and Gwen, more quickly than they fell in love with each other. Their relationships with their parents are tender and felt realistic; the slow burn friends-to-lovers trope culminating in some particularly steamy scenes was PERFECT; and the double happily ever after was extremely satisfying. I'm really looking forward to reading more from Alban and revisiting some of our beloved characters to see what shenanigans ensue next time.

This was a super cute novel that I absolutely loved!!! The angst and pining was soooo well done. I loved the sapphic energy, and the HEA was so sweet. I think there was too much filler in the first 30% ish, but once the girls got together the book went super quickly. 4.5 rounded up!

🌈 Queer rep: FF main pairing, FF side pairing. MM pairing hinted in the epilogue.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for this ARC.

This book was so cute! I liked it a lot. I think one of my favorite aspects of Gwen and Beth's relationship was them slowly realizing that they had feelings for each other and what it meant to both of them to realize that they prefer women. I appreciated how important Beth and Gwen's relationships were with their parents (Beth with her mom and Gwen with her dad). I liked Gwen's cousins, Albie and Bobby, as well and how Gwen interacted with them. I also really liked seeing the relationship between Gwen's dad and Beth's mom develop throughout the story, They were cute too and I enjoyed their scenes together. The only issue I had was that there was a little bit of a lull in the middle, but it picks back up once we get closer to the end. I'm looking forward to reading the sequel and seeing how the rest of the story plays out.

This was a delightful read that I can see being a big hit for Victorian and sapphic romance readers. It was such a nice, heartfelt and easy read.

I am not someone who is drawn to historical romances, and truthfully I wanted to read this one because I have a hard time resisting a Leni Kauffman cover!! But this was a good choice, and I’m excited that there’s going to be another book! I can’t wait to see more of Gwen and Beth’s schemes!

I loved Gwen and Beth. Those sweet girls loved for each other so much. The small quiet moments they shared before they realized they could and do like each other which then led to the sneaking around! And the scheming to get their parents together! They were fun and sweet and loved each other and their parents SO much! They wanted to do what was best for their families but they also desperately wanted to be happy, they didn’t want to repeat their parents mistakes.

Gwen and her father’s relationship made my heart ache. They are so sweet together. The way he loves her and wants the absolute best for her, wants what he couldn’t have when he was younger… it all made me so happy.

And the four of them! Beth and Gwen trying to get their parents together was so cute. It was clear once they saw them together something was there. And seeing each parent reveal a little about their past to their daughter was so sweet, even if there were hurt feelings and regrets, they both still thought about it with such fondness and longing. I loved Cordelia and Dashiell together too, they were SWEET and seeing them reconnect and then eventually make choices based on not only their happiness but the girls’ too was so freaking sweet!

Thank you to Avon Harper Voyage and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange of an honest review!!

You want The Parent Trap but make it sapphic?

Look no further, Don’t Want You Like a Best Friend has got you covered. In this historical romance, we follow our two main characters, Beth and Gwen who upon becoming fast friends and realising that there is more to their parent’s connection than they have been told, decide to concoct a plan to set up their parents and give them the second chance at happiness they deserve. Yet their parents isn’t the only thing that’s causing them trouble. While Gwen has long since given up on finding a suitable husband, this season marks Beth’s last chance to find a good match so she can keep her and her mother afloat. Yet as Beth and Gwen spend more time together, scheme together and dream up wild and gorgeous futures together, the real love story might just turn out to be their very own—if they play their cards right in the regency era, that is.

(Listening to Dress by Taylor Swift on a loop while reading this book is obligatory, by the way.)

I honestly can’t quite believe this is a debut novel. Gwen and Beth as well as all the secondary characters were so fleshed out that they practically jumped off the pages.

Gwen is clever and feisty (maybe even more so than her father and that’s saying something) and then we have Beth, who is the embodiment of kind and cordial. It could be argued that together they bring out both the best and the worst in each other but it’s so entertaining that you can’t really complain about the drama that ensues. Not to mention that their chemistry was absolutely sizzling.

I admit to being a tiny bit scared before I read this whether I would like the storyline with the parents. See, for The Parent Trap to work, you can’t just be invested in the youngster’s story, you also need to be rooting for the parents to actually get together because they belong together instead of just for the girls to get what they want.

It’s a feat to balance the main romance between Gwen and Beth and the romantic relationship development of their parents yet Alban does this swimmingly. I rooted just as much for Gwen and Beth’s plan to come to fruition as I did for their own happily-ever-after. The parent storyline offered so much: a layer of complication to Gwen and Beth’s romance but also a social commentary on the rules and conventions of a time that would rather see you stuck with someone in an unhappy marriage than following your heart’s deepest desire. There was a lot of depth to the discussion of women’s rights and political upheavals and the rich having their hands in keeping women powerless but there were also so many moments of fighting for your voice, for your dreams and not confining yourself to archaic gender roles that were all detailed beautifully in Gwen and Beth’s struggle to make it in society but also in getting their parents back together.

Also this may be a controversial opinion I’m sure but in my opinion this was idiots to lovers and I had just such a fun time reading it. Gwen and Beth both take a while to figure out that they’re into each other and once they do, all bets are off. From secret moments in a crowded room (IYKYK) to stolen kisses in a labyrinth, their romance made my heart soar. But all of these giddy feelings were amplified by the fact that they were the best of friends and genuinely cared for each other, even when they made mistakes or said the wrong thing.

Add to that rambunctious humour, found family, hilarious banter, Gwen’s dad who deserves his own book and other side characters that add so much to this wild tapestry of emotions as well as an explosively epic conclusion and you have yourself an unputdownable debut. I for one can’t wait to get my hands on the companion novel to return to the wonderful universe Alban has created.

Historical romance meets a sapphic The Parent Trap retelling in Don’t Want You Like a Best Friend, a gorgeously immersive tale that’s a must-read for fans of Bridgerton, the friends-to-lovers trope and swanky romances that leave you swooning.

Don’t Want You Like a Best Friend is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of January 9th 2024.

A queer romance set against a backdrop of the parent trap and the politics of protecting women from abuse, named after a Taylor Swift song? This book was amazing, I adored these characters, and I can't wait to buy it.

This book follows Gwen and Beth, two sapphic women in the mid-1800s, in the midst of Beth's first season and Gwen's...fourth, if I recall correctly. It is through their friendship that they discover tthe past romance between Gwen's father and Beth's mother, both single. And of course, the only logical conclusion is for them to attempt a parent-trap style scheme and get their parents together.

And of course, while they do this, they fall in love. And it is sweet and messy and chaotic. And of course, there are the perils of the time period, and being queer during that era. To add to the mess, there is Beth's suitor, which they think will become a safe beard for their relationship, allowing them to stay together as "friends."

Alas, surprise, the suitor's father is fighting against a law supported by Gwen's father, one that would give women the right to divorce their husband's for abuse (something Beth's mother suffered from at the hands of her father). As such, both women are forbidden from seeing Gwen and her father. How they solve it? That's the rest of the story.

This book was such a wonderful, sweet romance between these two girls, and getting to watch their parents fall back together from afar was also so nice. Additionally, Gwen's family staff features to older sapphic women, and it is so, so nice to see elder LGBT women, both in general and for the time period. I adore Gwen and Beth, and I think other readers will too. And the ending? Fantastic, in more ways than one, and more than I expected.

Parent-trapping widowed ex-lovers, anxious debutantes, and unexpected romance intertwine in this captivating debut novel by Emma R. Alban. Alban skillfully weaves together a heartwarming story of friendship and love, set against the debutante season of 1857. As Gwen and Beth navigate societal expectations and their own spicy desires, readers are taken on a delightful journey filled with wit, charm, and unexpected twists. This queer Victorian romance is a must-read for anyone seeking a fresh and enchanting tale of love and self-discovery. Parts of it were laugh-out-loud funny and few novels have relationships as sweet as Beth/Gwen and their parents! I'm really looking forward to the next book in the series.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for the ARC!

3.5 rounded up to 4

I didn't know I needed a lesbian Bridgerton × Parent Trap novel until read this. It's a cute, funny and cozy debut novel<3 It got a little slow for me in the middle but I enjoyed myself nonetheless.

This book was everything i was hoping it would be and more. I love sapphic historical romance book and this is the best one i have read in long while. The romances where well thought out and written and i ended up enjoying the romance of Lady Demeroven and Lord Havenfort (Beth and Gwen's parents respectively. way more then i expected but the stars where Beth and Gwen they are so cute and sweet together. thanks to the publisher and neutrally for providing a copy for this review.5 stars will reread in the future

wow this had so many elements of my favorite stories: matchmaking, secrets, shenanigans, the looming threat of spinsterhood, and most of all, lesbians. This was genuinely one of the best romcoms i've read all year! It made me laugh, it made me cry, and it had me STRESSED. I did not know how it was going to turn out at parts!!! There were a few individual line edits that were needed (some sentences were a bit confusing or just had threads that needed closing) but i was reading an e-arc from netgalley, so it's possible those got fixed before print. All in all, a banger!! I hope there's a sequel

rep: lesbians, side queers

spice: a couple vivid sex scenes

I will read anything sapphic but I really don't like Taylor Swift or regency era so this was already a turn off for me. I think the cover is gorgeous though. This was a parent trap x historical romance blend and for that, it was quite fun and a different read than I'm used to. SO many relationships to get on board with. I enjoyed the friends to lovers trope. I thought the characters and the plot were well done but the actual writing could have been improved upon. I always want more but at least there was an open door sex scene.

'Don't Want You Like a Best Friend' is a Sapphic historical romance that delivers a heartfelt story with the right amount (and topic) of drama and none of the internalized homophobia usually found in queer historical novels (at least the ones I've unfortunately read). So, color me shocked and delighted!

I picked up this ARC with several expectations in mind of what the story would deliver: there would be drama over being queer, there would be homophobes in the ton, the word 'unnatural' would be thrown about...But none of this happened!?

Gwen and Beth start off as besties who eventually figure out they prefer each others company than that of any available male suitor. And while each has a moment of "oh goodness, what are these feelings!" neither has negative thoughts about what it means to like someone of the same sex. Their main concern is that society is against it and so they must hide. Yet, there are ways they can make it work, and we get a prime example of that in Gwen's household staff. What's even more brilliant? Gwen's father knows about it and it's one-hundred percent an ally.

The main drama does revolve around women's rights and the abusive treatment many of them suffer in silence just to pretend they are fine in the face of society. Gwen and Beth certainly break the mold when it comes to staying silent, but we also get the perspective of Beth's mother. Of how she lived through an abusive marriage, how she still hasn't broken through the trauma, and how she's now leading Beth through the same path, yet can't see it. The overall theme is about speaking up, following your heart, and not letting other dictate your life.

Never in my life did I think I would read a historical with such an open-minded, true-ally group of people surrounding the main queer couple and helping them along. 'Don't Want You Like a Best Friend" is a breath of fresh queer air for historical romance fiction! I am already recommending it to friends and I am definitely reading book 2!