I feel like this got really bogged down in the middle but overall I feel like it delivered on the premise and I had a pretty good time reading it!

“For centuries, and eons, and epochs” will this book stay with me…
This sapphic historical romance is a stunning debut. It was everything that I could have ever hoped for. The pining and desperately waiting… oh wait. Taylor Swift didn’t write this, but I know miss thing would be so proud of this book. It is the MOST Dress coded book I’ve ever read. Not just because of the title, but because of who Gwen and Beth are. I have not stopped thinking about this book and I never will. I think that Alban perfectly captures what sapphic longing feels like. And how timeless it is. This book is so soft, embodies so much queer joy and love. I am so emotional about Gwen and Beth.

this was so taylor swift coded!!

from the title alone i knew i would love it and i did!

thank you netgalley for the e-arc!

Don’t Want You Like a Best Friend is a sapphic regency romance where our two main characters, Beth and Gwen, hatch up a plan to set their parents up so they can have a second chance at happiness and end up falling in love in the process. This was an absolute joy to read. The relationship between Beth and Gwen felt so real and raw and was scattered with very real issues that came with being a lesbian who needed to marry in regency England. The relationship between the parents was also well fleshed out and beautifully done, I felt so bad for Beth’s mom and was immediately charmed by Gwen’s dad. While we mainly follow Beth and Gwen as they meddle and develop feelings, we also see some incredible developments from side characters. The parental relationships both girls have are so important to the story and so wonderful to see, the cousins add some hilarious banter, and the maids are a heartwarming surprise.

The only real critique I have is that it got a bit repetitive and lulled a little in the middle. Nonetheless, this was an incredibly enjoyable read and I cannot wait to see these characters again in the sequel!

Thank you netgalley for the e-arc <3

Wow, what a wonderful sapphic regency romance story!!

Beth and Gwen are so cute. Their love is swoon worthy! I was giggling and kicking my feet so many times during this book. I’m so glad they were able to find their happy ending.

I loved the meddling in trying to get their parents to date! That made for some very funny but also heartbreaking moments.

The way intimacy was described between Gwen and Beth took my breath away. The way their lovemaking is described makes the reader yearn for that kind of love and affection.

Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my review!

This book was absolutely one of my favorite reads of the year. A queer bridgerton-esque romance book with a Taylor swift lyric for a title? I’m on my knees. I really enjoyed the progression of the storyline, and how the author was able to continue the “drama” without sacrificing the values of the characters. This entire book felt like queer yearning to me. 5/5 stars!

This was FUN. Regency romance with friends to lovers, yearning sapphics, a bit of debauchery, and incompetent parent trap scheming - what's not to love? Strongly recommend!

There may be some small element of disbelief that the main characters go from "what even is a lesbian" to sleeping together in approximately 2 chapters, but even that doesn't detract from the fun.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher who provided a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

What an absolutely fantastic debut novel. The ballgowns, the banter, the emotions, the longing. I cried, I laughed, and I cried some more. I stayed up all night to read this book and it was well worth it.

The only downside I would say is that it was difficult to keep up with the present tense. It's such a unique choice, to write an entire novel in the present tense, and I couldn't help but feel as if it was more of a roleplay than a novel at some points. However, the depth of the character relationships and the overarching theme of queer visibility overshadowed the awkward tense.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book!

An incredibly charming and lovely read that feels like a warm hug. I loved it so much! The writing is very easy to follow and the characters are so lovable. Highly recommend and I will be reading anything else Emma puts out.

Don't Want You Like a Best Friend is a pretty great debut, all things considered! When it shines, it does so spectacularly - the sum of Gwen and Beth's relationship, ups and downs included, is really fantastic. The banter, the slow burn; it hits at every moment. And letting Mrs. Gilpe and Mrs. Stelm serve as aspirational fairy godmothers for Gwen is an inspired choice.

It's also nice to see such a robust Father/Daughter relationship here. That's not something I see a lot of in even contemporary sapphic romances, so to show it here is really special.

The cons, so to speak, were more like debut growing pains. The book felt long, and really dragged towards the end. And there were way too many side characters without any differentiating characteristics. Albie and Meredith became fantastic characters, but it took two-thirds of the book to be able to tell them apart.

All in all, it's a great debut and one I really enjoyed. If the epilogue is truly setting up the sequel, I can't wait. 3.5 stars rounded up. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Thank you NetGalley, Avon, and Emma R. Alban for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! It’s such a cute read that’s reminiscent of The Parent Trap, which I loved as a kid. It follows Beth and Gwen as they meet during Beth’s first season. When they meet, they realize that their parents - Beth’s mom and Gwen’s dad - have some kind of relationship and they want to understand more about it… And get them back together! The romance between them is also super sweet. The book is fun, entertaining, and beautifully written and fans of historical reads and sapphic books will love it. Be sure to check it out! It feels very modern, so readers new to the genre will also really enjoy it.

Thank you for the digital ARC!

I've had my eye on this one for ages, ever since Emma announced it. I mean, historical romance AND ballgowns AND it's sapphic AND the title is a Taylor Swift lyric? I'm so excited that the book absolutely delivered on all of that. The romance was swoony, the plot was a romp, and I love friends-to-lovers, especially when it's queer. This book is a warm reminder that queer people have always existed through history.

"Don't Want You Like a Best Friend" delivers pretty much exactly what the blurb describes: a historical romance between two friends trying to set their parents up so they don't have to get married themselves, though there are definitely some darker undertones in the background and a lot of angst.

Some things about the book that will either appeal or turn readers off, depending on preferences:
-The language is very modern.
-The pacing is fairly slow, with a lot of scenes with side characters where the two leads are not together. More of a book to sink into rather than race through.

CWs: there's quite a lot of heavy drinking, as well as mention of spousal abuse and domestic violence.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc! Opinions are my own.

A queer Victorian debutant-romance and a matchmaking scheme, what more could you want?

Beth, upon her fathers death, has to catch a husband as a debutant during the season to save herself and her Mother from financial ruin. Gwen and her Father are partiers, ready to make fun of all the ton’s social events. But when Gwen and Beth form an unlikely friendship to get their parents together, they find love in unexpected places.

I really loved this book — the dual POV gives you a great insight into each character, and it’s a good mix of fluff and angst. I really liked the realistic conversations and concerns about the reasons for marriage, and how being queer during the regency period required jumping through a lot of hurdles. But it still has that fantastical, romance element, and I loved the amount of queer joy and queer characters within Beth and Gwen’s circles. With some fun side characters and a romance for the parents that is actually very cute, this wlw romance is top notch.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to get this as an Arc.

This was the sapphic Victorian romance of my dreams. We start off with Beth and Gwen meeting at a ball where they are supposed to be looking for husbands and we wind up on a wild ride where they try to set their parents up instead.

This book had humor, fluff, angst, spice. It checked all of the boxes. Gwen had wit that had me cracking up and Beth is just the sweetest thing. Their falling in love took them by surprise and it showed through the pages. It felt authentic and just so real. The spice was written beautifully and their chemistry shone off the pages.

The historical aspect felt very accurate. I had to research a few phrases here and there. And a side note- hoop skirts sound absolutely awful! I give them credit for being able to do anything in them.

I really wanted to like this book but it was really long and predictable. Also, the perspective would randomly change without any warning in ways that were really confusing. This book could have been a third of the length and had one less plot point and it would have been so much better. The relationship between the women is cute and the build between the parents is too, but it couldn’t make up for everything else the book lacked.

Maybe closer to a 3.75, but I’m going to round up.
Victorian-era debutantes who get up to Parent Trap schemes to set up their widowed parents but end up falling for each other? Plus a Taylor Swift title?? From Dress???
Yeah, I obviously had sky-high expectations for this and was extremely excited.
I’m such a character-driven person, so I think I would’ve loved it a lot more if we had been able to get to know everyone better. I usually need to really connect to the characters to feel fully immersed in the story. Although, I didn’t realize the second book in this series was going to have the same characters, so maybe we can get to know them more then! Also, this could’ve just been me, but there were a lot of side characters, and so many lords specifically, that I found it a bit difficult to keep following at times.
I would’ve really loved more time dedicated to Gwen and Beth getting to know each other too (and then we could know them better, as well), but their relationship was sweet and cute and even a bit steamy at some points. I adored their secret moments in a crowded room ;))
While it’s mostly lighthearted, there are occasionally some more serious tones since it deals with being queer in an unaccepting society. However, I loved seeing the support Beth and Gwen did get. I especially loved Gwen and her father’s relationship. I feel like I don’t see a ton of close father-daughter relationships, and they were so sweet.
I also appreciated everyone choosing lives truly for themselves, even if everyone around them meant to deny them that. They had to go an unconventional route that may seem odd to get their HEA but, again, they weren’t allowed much choice. I appreciated the acknowledgment of other queer people in the time period, as well, but how Beth and Gwen weren’t willing to accept any compromises to be together.
I can’t get enough of happy queer historical romances so you knew I was going to have to enjoy this in some way.
I totally thought this would make a great movie, and after learning that Alban is a screenwriter, that makes so much sense!

What a strong debut from author Emma R. Alban! This sapphic Victorian romance is a well balanced blend of anticipation, humor, angst, and fun! Nice light read for a historical romance

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

2.5/5

Well this was... interesting. Certainly a unique premise, that made for an overall fine read. However, perhaps due to the nature of the premise, the story felt somewhat unfocused.

The core romance at the heart of the story, wasn't quite the sapphic romance as one might expect, but more so the parent's romance from the perspective of the daughters. But due to the framing of the story, I don't think either got the focus it deserved, despite both being interesting. This wasn't helped by the attempts at developing the wider cast of characters and all their relationships, while attempting to juggle two romances.

The relationship that I felt got the most focus was the relationship between Beth and her mother, which I rather liked. The character journey Cordelia had through the story was the probably the best written aspect of the story. However, for a romance novel, the romances felt somewhat dry, especially with the gaps between their interactions and somewhat inconsistent internal monologue.

It's still a decent and enjoyable read, with quite a few humorous moments, but the focus of the story could have tightened/streamlined a fair bit to fewer aspects.

Do you ever read a book and think to yourself…I wish I had this as a teenager?

That’s how I feel about this book. When I was younger I didn’t have stories like this—it is truly so heartwarming to read books like this as an adult.

Alban writes with warmth, skill, and vibrancy. For those that want Bridgerton with less spice and a sapphic twist, this is the book for you.

Overall, this is a great read—I had some issues with the timing and feel at certain points, but nevertheless found it delightful! I will be recommending this to everyone—so good.