If you are a fan of Pride and Prejudice and Bridgerton, this book is for you.

This novel is an enemies-to-lovers achillean romance the second book in the Mischief and Matchmaking series following the sapphic romp Don’t Want You Like a Best Friend,

This novel features found family/community, blackmail, and a social commentary of the time. It is an enjoyable read though this reader could benefit from a family tree or org chart of sorts. The large cast of characters with various titles can make it difficult to track who is who and how they are related or what role they play in the story.

Thanks to Avon and Harper Voyager and Net Galley for the ARC..

This was a drag. I hate to be the one leaving a bad review, but I just had a hard time forcing myself through it. There were far too many characters, main and side, far too many relationships to keep track of; whose family was whose, how they all related to each other, and after a while I found myself going "who's that again?" because I had read so many names that if one particular name didn't appear for a while in mention, I'd forgotten the character entirely. The main event (their getting together) should not have been nearly 20 chapters into a 30 some chapter book. If there was a bit of preamble leading up to it, maybe even some sort of inkling as to their feelings for each other being shown in anything other than their own private thoughts, it would've made for a better slow burn. Instead it was just 20 some chapters of pure drivel and nonsense and turning my brain backwards and inside out to figure out who was who and what was what whilst also waiting for the main plot to kick off. I was looking forward to this, but ultimately was disappointed.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

You’re the Problem, It’s You is the sweet, witty, and wildly entertaining second book in the Mischief & Matchmaking series.

I had the best time with this one. It was funny and tender, romantic and heartfelt. The political intrigue and beautiful writing captivated me, and the fast pacing and diverse characters had me flying through the pages. I loved the found family and the adorable ending. This historical fiction is one of my favorites, and I cannot wait to read more of Emma’s work!

Thank you to the publisher and author for the free ARC!

This book covers a variety of tropes. Enemies to lovers, mm romance, lgbtq inclusive, fake marriage, historical romance,
James remembers Bobbie from Oxford and has been crushing on him since. James has just come in to his Title and wants nothing to do with it. Bobbie is the “spare” and has no direction. They are attracted to each other from afar but, can’t get along. A threat to both of the men brings them together to save their names, reputation and families.
18+ spice.
This book was very enjoyable. The problems dealt with by the characters are dealt with thoughtfully and with great insight. I will definitely recommend it

Thank you to NetGalley, Emma R. Alban, and the publishers for allowing me access to the e-Arc.

3.5 stars

I really enjoyed the first book in the series more than this one. I think for me it was frustrating to read their miscommunications throughout most of the book. I did understand why James acted the way he did. But it was frustrating that he didn’t change until almost the end of the book. I felt like the first book was a sweet and beautiful romance where this one was clunky. I liked Bobby and James together but they needed to work out more of their problems. Overall, I did enjoy it.

I devoured this book, it’s such a sweet and lovely follow to Alban’s debut. You feel Gwen and Beth’s love grow stronger in an existing relationship, while experiencing the flutters of new love. Alban writes feelings and intimacy in a way that’s very fun but also heart-melting, and I love the political element she bring in, rooting these characters so well in their time. I want so many more!

Slow burn enemies to lovers, Bridgerton meets red white and royal blue. I LOVED this book. It was such a fun, delightful read and I love the banter between characters. The depth of the characters was incredible and I loved how real they felt.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/64824839043.5 Stars. Bobby and James keep getting thrown together during the London season, mostly by their cousins Beth and Gwen, and neither quite know what to do with the other. After running into one another at an underground queer gentleman’s club they both become aware of the other’s secret which leads each to figure out their attraction to the other may not be one sided. Unfortunately each has had a fling with a school mate who threatens to air their secrets if they do not pay what he wants.

Like the previous book in this series, I had to turn of my historical knowledge to enjoy this book. The book is painfully anachronistic in language, societal rules, references, etc. which will annoy the historical romance purists. It is also written in present tense (I think third-person limited present to be exact) which I absolutely hate for a historical romance. I actually started it and then put it down for a few weeks because I was struggling with the tense. That being said, I did enjoy the overall story, though I do question why it is being marketed as enemies to lovers because at no point in the story are Bobby and James enemies or even rivals, maybe dislike to lovers would be best descriptor. But just say the book is no plot all vibes and call it good without forcing tropes that aren’t there onto it.

I absolutely love the cover of the book and I liked both Bobby and James. I do think the attraction was stronger between Gwen and Beth in the first book and I was more invested in their romance than I was with Bobby and James, but I still liked their characters. I enjoyed that the character from the first book were so involved in this one. I do struggle with miscommunication as a plotline, which was essentially the first half of the book, which could explain why I had a harder time connecting with the pair. The villain of the story was almost cartoon-like, which yes is common in historical romances, but usually those books have enough other drama that the cartoon villain fits into the story. This review is coming across more negative than I want it too, but the good things about the book are strictly vibes. The book has excellent vibes and once I got used to the writing style i did read 75% of the book in a single day. As this duology is finished, I am interested to see what Emma writes next.

Swifties: THIS BOOK DOES NOT HAVE TAYLOR REFERENCES the title is the only Taylor Swift reference. If you want cute queer romances with Taylor Swift references, please read Alexandria Bellefleur.

Thank you Avon for the gifted print ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A cute MM romance following characters from the previous book. I don’t think it’s absolutely necessary to read the first book but I do think it would help with understanding the setting, characters and their relationships with one another. I thought it was an overall cute story with some romantic scenes. There’s a lot of will they, won’t they, which some may find annoying. There was a lot of miscommunication as well. It was a fine read and I didn’t dislike it. One major gripe I have, though, is that the author would refer to the character Bobby Mason as both Bobby and Mason and the same for James Demeroven, and not Mr. Mason, just Mason. It was unnecessary and confusing at times. 3.5

I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked this authors first book and I love queer historicals (particularly in the Victorian era!) but this one really didn't work for me. I didn't really like either main character and I felt like so much of the book hinged on miscommunication. I thought the characters didn't really fit well together as a couple unfortunately.

I think where this book fails for me in particular is that I really don't like reading about lavender marriages. I'm not really worried about historical accuracy in my historical romances so I really prefer when the characters are together without being married to another person. So I just really hated how the ending was resolved.

I was looking forward to this after reading Don't Want You Like A Best Friend, but found it to be a little too predictable and slow.

Some Romance series can be read separately, each book connected but ultimately distinct. Not so with this duology. While at the core this is James and Bobby's story, it is also an epilogue for Beth and Gwen. The ending offers closure for the family as a whole. Read the books in order.

That said, "You're the Problem, It's You" is a strong story that offers a look at some of the challenges faced by those who experienced same sex attraction in the 1800s. Because this is a Romance Novel, a solution is found that offers a HEA for all involved, but that wasn't always the case and that is addressed a little in the story.

While serious at time, this is still a charming and sweet story, about two men trying to find their place in the world.

Thank you to Avon Romance for this eARC! It's so easy to fall into this world, reading Don't Want You Like A Best Friend then immediately picking this book up is the IDEAL reading experience. James and Bobby are both so perfectly imperfect. They are so afraid and so alone and their families - chosen and given - are so willing to pick them up and hold them close and give them the love they deserve to have in all forms it can come. And the relationship itself, James and Bobby's contentious beginnings melts so beautifully into love. And the chemistry explodes in their spicier scenes - just an unbelievable read. A remarkably solid duo of books that I can't wait to revisit again!

You're the Problem, It's You has a lot of story elements that I usually love, but I found the execution extremely lackluster. For a story that is a series of tropes strung together, it fails to deliver on the main trope of "enemies to lovers." The first half of the book is just a long, painful series of miscommunications.

I liked the characters and the found family elements were adorable. The villains of the story were cartoonishly evil which makes it very difficult to take their plot lines seriously. The historical setting, though not necessarily central to the story, felt underdeveloped.

My biggest problem with this book was the painfully repetitive writing. In the first chapter of the book, we are hit over the head with the fact that A) Bobby is the "useless" second son and B) Bobby's father was an alcoholic gambler. So many facts would be repeated over and over again using almost exactly the same phrasing. It was awkward and stilted and made the first half of the story drag even more.

More lavender marriages in books!! more groups of silly little queer people finding their family! I loved the first book in this series and think Emma Alban is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. These characters are my FRIENDS. I want them to be so happy!

Alban delivers with this sequel to her first queer historical romance. Like the first book, Alban writes charming and likable characters. Loved the happy ending for this one.

I have been so excited to read You're the Problem, It's You ever since I finished Don't Want You Like a Best Friend and It didn't disappoint!

Emma Alban does something really interesting in her historical romances which is that they have a new adult feel to them. Her heroes and heroines are still figuring their lives out and they still have parents or older adults involved in their lives and decisions. In this story, James struggles with taking his seat in parliament and taking on his title. I like the acknowledgment that these people are young and still figuring out their lives.

I also really enjoyed seeing the differences between the first romance which was sapphic, and this one which was between two men. The realities of the time were that there could be social consequences for sapphic romances but romances between men were illegal. It changes the stakes of the two stories. At the same time, men had so much more freedom and information, which really changed the awareness these characters had of their own sexuality.

Bobby and James had an interesting dynamic. I really appreciated that the book was dual POV because we got to see how both characters perceived each other and how that changed over time. James in particular is so anxious, but it comes off as rudeness to the other characters. I liked them coming to understand each other as well as the reader already knew them.

I can't recommend this one enough! I think it has appeal for contemporary and historical romance readers. I do think that the story is best understood by reading Don't Want You Like a Best Friend first. Despite having read that one only a few months ago, I had to look up some characters to remember who everyone was.

🌶️🌶️ - This story had one detailed open-door scene and several other partially less detailed or fade to black scenes. There is some sexual tension and passionate kisses as well.

I loved the first book, I Don't Want You Like a Best Friend, and I enjoyed this book as well. the history was pretty accurate which was great as its pretty hard to find good historical fiction that stays true to history. I also loved the two main characters- nothing quite beats the Enemies to More Than Friends Trope and this book set it up really well. The cover art is amazing and the cast of characters from the first book is seen in this sequel.

I've been behind on writing this review, so it's going to be brief. Overall, I don't have many big feelings about it. While reading it was a bit stressful due to how hard the boys butted heads. Both Bobby and James felt naive in different ways. They had very little awareness of just how much power they held socially. They didn't have a realistic understanding of the consequences of their actions on others. James was constantly anxious about messing up/being outed (which is reasonable) that he completely ignored the harm his family was actively doing. It gets excused as him not knowing, but it felt too easy. In many ways, the characters felt like they were in a YA novel instead of an adult one. The coming-of-age aspect of their characterizations felt less comfortable in an adult romance. Mistakes that are understandable in teens have different implications when made by adults. I will likely read more books by the author in the future.

Fun followup to Don't Want You Like a Best Friend! Highly recommend for those interested in some queer historical romance.