In "You're the Problem, It's You," Emma R. Alban crafts a compelling queer Victorian romance that balances witty banter with emotional depth. As Bobby and James clash in a world of societal expectations and family drama, their journey from enemies to lovers is both captivating and heartfelt. Alban’s deft storytelling pulls you into their tumultuous relationship, making it impossible not to root for their eventual happiness. This sequel not only delivers on romantic tension but also explores the complexities of identity and societal pressures, leaving you thoroughly enchanted.

Thanks NetGalley and Avon for providing an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I liked DWYLABF, and was excited to get into this sequel, but I was ultimately pretty disappointed by it.

This is entirely my opinion, but it felt to me like this book was written as a way to finish off Beth and Gwen’s story together from the first book, and Bobby and James were just tools to do that within their own story. I struggled a lot to get through this one since the main motivation for all of Bobby and James’s actions seemed to really boil down to “the plot needs us to do this”.

I think James could have been a very interesting character, but his chapters were half the length of Bobby’s. Although Bobby’s chapters were mainly watching the DWYLABF characters interact, so he also didn’t feel very developed.

It just felt to me as though book 1 was definitely the passion project Alban set out to write and book 2 is the thing that was needed to complete the set.

Some light spoilers below, but only if you haven't read book one.

So at the end of the first book (Don't Want You Like a Best Friend) Gwen and Beth propose a solution to their woes, which will form the basis for book 2. And it takes until almost EIGHTY PERCENT of this book for these characters to reach the same conclusion and then discuss it multiple times.

On one hand, as with DWYLABF, hooray for acknowledging that queer people have existed in history. As before, queer Bridgerton vibes. I just felt like this book was so plot driven that there was almost no time to get into the characters and their relationship. There are a lot of (extremely repetitive) conversations about how their relationship can't work, and then suddenly a character will take a big swing with little lead-up. I think this book could have been much tighter, and better for it. So much of it hinges on poor communication, and I'm not sure why James and Bobby dislike each other so much at the beginning and then go into insta romance mode.

Lastly, a warning that is a bit spoilery: one of the characters hooks up with another character (the obvious villain) twice in this book. For plot reasons. I don't necessarily dislike when that happens, but given the sudden shift of the main romance, it just... felt weird, pacing-wise, and made it harder for me to buy into this whirlwind romance.

If I love the characters, I will happily read an infinite book about them doing little to nothing. For me, this book felt much more plot-driven than character-driven, which let me a bit tepid. ALL of that said, I do feel that it was on par with the first book, and many characters carry through, so if you liked DWYLABF, you're almost guaranteed to enjoy this one.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an eARC of this book. My lukewarm feelings are my own and have been left voluntarily.

**I received an electronic ARC from the publisher through NetGalley.**

Actual rating: 3.5

Emma R Alban returns to the Regency with You're the Problem, It's You. The second novel in the Mischief & Matchmaking series, You're the Problem, It's You is a direct sequel to the events in Don't Want You Like a Best Friend. This installment follows newly titled Lord James Demeroven and second son Bobby Mason as they navigate the need for discretion in their partners while receiving pressure from the peerage of the ton to marry respectably. Unfortunately, past dalliances could lead to ruin for them both.

While I acknowledge that this is a sequel, I admittedly didn't read book one. I don't think I suffered for it as it was perfectly understandable what had occurred previously. I do think readers who have read book one will feel more attachment to Lady Gwen and Beth along with their family.

For me, the coming together of James and Bobby was a tad slow. Both parties were more inclined to bicker than have an actual conversation, due in great part to James' sincere fear of ruination. Perhaps I simply wasn't in the mood to have the patience for that, but it did bring my enjoyment level down a bit. Otherwise, this was an enjoyable read with a good bit of spice.

I would recommend this series to fans of Cat Sebastian and KJ Charles. I look forward to future works from Alban.

4 stars and my thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the eARC.

I didn't read the first one in the series, but I don't feel like I was missing anything since the two mains are featured fairly prominently in this one as well.

James and Bobby are a sweet couple and I enjoyed reading them falling in love. I felt James' anxiety and fear about being discovered, but also hoped he would be brave.

I hope to read more from the author!

“You’re the Problem, it’s you” is a great conclusion for this Victorian romantic duology. We were introduced to the characters in the first book, but we have time to explore them in great dephts. Their struggles with their place in the world is not connected to their sexuality, and that’s something I deeply love about this. Yes, they are gay, but that’s not all there is. They have to fight for their place in the world, one as a second son, and the other as a newly appointed viscount. I would have love more development in their relationship, at times it felt they were moving to fast, but in the end it was lovely done

4/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
You’re the Problem It’s You
Author: Emma R Alban
Historical romance ?

Thank you Netgalley and Avon Harper Voyager for the ARC! really enjoyed this! It was so unique. It was like a modern mixed with Victorian style romance. Mason and James don’t really like each other very much at first. Both are going through their own struggles. They also are pretty much opposites and can’t get through a conversation without butting heads. Conveniently their cousins keep throwing them together. Their issues navigating all of their family and political dynamics in London society was entertaining to read. I felt the story flowed really well. I really liked all of the side characters. Overall good read if you’re in the mood for a queer Victorian romance. 🥹

The second of the Mischief & Matchmaking novels, it ends the main plot threads set up in the first; the heroines from Don't Want You Like a Best Friend, their parents and assorted other friends show up as important secondary characters here. They're not only deviously working to get our two main characters together, but also still dealing with some of the same serious issues regarding being queer in a strongly--when not violently--bigoted society.

Which of course, you don't get a hint of from the cover, which suggests "light wallpaper-Regency romp". Meanwhile, the situation these four characters (and several others) are in, is anything but light. For starters, at the time the story is set, the crime of "buggery" was still a capital offense in Great Britain, never mind the social and financial cost of being outed.

Some authors manage to write around this issue by variously making the characters commoners living in obscurity or landed gentry perennially rusticating somewhere in the country, rather than highly visible members of the ton during the Season.

Here, the author boldly sets her characters in positions of both high privilege and high risk; if their queerness is exposed, most of them would have to flee to the continent, not knowing how the fallout would affect those members of their families who know the truth and support them.

And then there are those family members who don't know, some of whom are downright abusive.

Beware: homophobia and general queerphobia; blackmail under threats of outing; alcohol consumption; anxiety; mentions of dangerous pregnancies, past miscarriages, and death in childbirth; references to child abuse; explicit sex.

The story is narrated by both Bobby and James, alternating by chapter, in third person, present tense. I generally struggle with this narrative voice because it too often feels like reading stage directions for a play. Ms Alban avoids that trap, in part by using the narrating character's name often without making it obvious or too repetitive. It's a tricky balance, well maintained throughout the novel.

When they meet formally at the start of the Season, it is through their cousins, who are now stepsisters after the wedding, the year before, of Bobby's widowed uncle, Lord Haverton, to the widow of the previous Viscount Demeroven--James's own aunt.

How that marriage came about is told in the first book, as well as some of the more sordid details about James's late uncle's treatment of his wife and daughter, and how his stepfather contributed further to their misfortune. The author doesn't rehash any of that in this book, which works great for a returning reader; for me, however, there were a few frustrating conversations, because the characters were aware of and reacting to a subtext that was invisible to me.

Speaking of reactions, I had not realized, until I started reading, how young most of the characters in the novel are. Bobby is twenty, his brother Lord Albert "Albie" Mason just a few years older; James just turned twenty-one, and Beth and Gwen are close to them in age.

And while young characters, especially heroines, are mostly par de course in historical romances, these characters read younger than the norm in the subgenre; in fact, there is something in the tone and rhythm of the dialogue, and the occasional word choice, that feels much closer to contemporary new adult romance.

This is not necessarily a bad thing, as it makes the characters' inner struggles more accessible to a contemporary audience facing their own growing pains, from adolescence to adulthood, while feeling different and separate from their peers.

James comes across as stiff and detached, in part because he suffers from social anxiety and has occasional panic attacks; today he would be considered to be on the autism spectrum. In the Victorian era, he would have been forced to mask constantly just to survive. His stepfather has been emotionally and physically abusive all of his life, and even though James is finally of age, he still lives in fear of the man.

As the new Viscount, James is being pushed to take his seat on the Lords, as well as to start thinking of marrying and begetting the next generation to ensure the title's succession; which, being queer, makes him more than a bit queasy. And on top of that, he's terrified of being exposed, especially since a former schoolmate--and erstwhile lover--has already indicated he's ready to blackmail James, again, over his sexual preferences.

Bobby appears to be at his ease in society, a well-regarded young man about town, of good bloodlines, and with a close family connection to a wealthy and powerful aristocrat. Inside, he's a mess of insecurities, what with being the spare and feeling entirely superfluous in the face of his older brother's seemingly effortless competence, added to the shame of their late father's ignominy. Aimless, he spends a bit too much time drinking and carousing, not always wisely, at private clubs catering to his particular inclinations.

Which is how he ends up having a couple of physical encounters with a certain Lord Raverson, who soon openly extorts money from Bobby's uncle in order to keep quiet--not just about Bobby's and Jame's proclivities, but also about Beth's and Gwen's.

It turns out that the new Lord Raveson was himself the spare once, his father cold and abusive. Being observant, and an excellent liar, young Richard learned to gain power, and occasionally money, through holding secrets over people's heads like proverbial blades, always ready to fall. And he's prepared to continue to do so with impunity; the boys whose secrets he held are now men of position who have much to lose, after all.

I have to say that his comeuppance is most excellent, as the foursome cousins defang the villain and protect their community from him, permanently, using essentially his own tactics.

The events in the book take place over a number of weeks, perhaps a couple of months. The pace of the narrative is fairly leisurely, and what events--teas, balls, votes in Parliament, and so forth--are included provide insights into the main characters' lives and growth, individually and towards each other.

Bobby's and James's relationship is not precisely enemies to lovers, as much as fraught by shared family history and misunderstandings, stemming mostly from James's ignorance of a lot of that history, compounded by his social anxiety, and Bobby's restlessness and feelings of impotence.

There is a fair bit of character development for the main secondary characters as well; there is a lovely scene between Bobby and Albie, as they face again the memory of their abusive father and acknowledge their fear over Meredith's difficult pregnancy, and how it's colored by the loss of both their own mother and Gwen's.

In fact, the risks of pregnancy and childbirth are a main plot thread, as Lady Haverton, now in her late thirties or early forties, is close to term, which has her husband, his daughter, and her adult daughter, terrified for a good portion of the novel, until she's delivered of a healthy baby boy.

As I said at the start, the story has an overall darker, more angsty tone than what I expected from the cover; throughout, there are a number of minor bleak moments between Bobby and James, and between one of them and the villain, rather than a major one. In fact, the third act separation is relatively brief, and the issues behind it are addressed head on, as both characters have grown more during the Season than they themselves have realized.

And while I'm generally not a fan of the sweet epilogue, I very much appreciated it here; it's important to show not only that happily ever after is not only for traditionally heterosexual couples and their families, but also how community can work to serve and protect the individuals and the whole, to build joy and safety for the future.

You Are the Problem, It's You gets a 9.00 out of 10.

I’ll be honest: if I was basing my review of You’re the Problem, It’s You on just the first third of the book this would have been a 3 star read for me, and maybe even lower. I found James to be frustrating and unlikable in the earlier part of the story, and I didn’t find myself sympathetic to him in the least. Fortunately the story picked up in enjoyment for me after that and I quite liked the second half of the book, enough to bring it up to a 4 star read overall.

I loved reading about Bobby again, and the return of Gwen and Beth, along with Lord and Lady Havenfort, Albie and Meredith, among others. As insufferable as I found James in the early part of the book, once he finally starts to open up the story vastly improved, and I found myself cheering James and Bobby on. I did feel like the resolution was a bit abrupt, but it wasn’t too out of place or off the wall, and the story flowed well. Overall this was a nice follow up to Don’t Want You Like a Best Friend, and a worthwhile read once I got further into it.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley, but my review is unbiased and left voluntarily.

this is not my favorite, dnf'ing at 30%. i will come back to this and finish it before the end of the year

I really enjoyed the rivals-to-lovers dynamic between James and Bobby. Their interactions were fraught and fun, and I was rooting for them to get together the whole time. Overall, this was a sweet story that I enjoyed. I did struggle to get into it at first, not because of the main characters -- who I enjoyed immediately -- but because there were so many minor characters and so many group scenes where side characters were referred to by both names and titles, and I just couldn't keep everyone straight. I actually wondered at one point if I had forgotten key characters and needed to reread the first book in the series (which I only read two months ago). Or perhaps I needed to make some sort of character list for my own reference. That was really distracting to me, and unexpected since I did not have the same confusion while reading the first book in the duology. Once I settled in though, I was able to lose myself in the story. There characters were all sympathetic in their own way, and I enjoyed the setting even if it felt a little unrealistic that everything could work out so neatly for two queer couples in this time period. I will gladly take unrealistic over traumatic though, so I was happy to suspend that disbelief to enjoy this story.

You’re the problem, its you is a period romance and the second in the mischief and matchmaking series. We follow Bobby Mason, a simple second son, as he tries to befriend the new Viscount Demeroven, James, very unsuccessfully. Both boys find themselves in the same circles, in and out of society, as they stumble upon one another in Parker’s gentleman’s club, a safe space for queer men of the ton. They’re forced to band together to keep their family, and each other safe, growing fonder of each other through the minute. I adored Bobby and James’ story and the life they built, and happily rate this 4 stars!!!


James and Bobby have an electric dynamic, they spend the first half of the book bickering and the second half devouring each other. I didn’t know how badly I had been missing rivals to lovers until them.
I love how much of a lovesick puppy dog Bobby is the whole time, he’s down bad for James the entire book, which is saying something when you factor in James’ school crush. He’s very cautious, and easily spooked; he spends the first part of the book in gay panic mode. It’s not until he learns about Gwen and Beth, and their families acceptance, that he is able to relax and be himself. I really enjoyed James’ adrenaline induced “come to Jesus” moment where he realized how much he didn’t want anything he’d been working so hard to preserve. I love seeing a character that was once so headstrong about making themselves unhappy finally realize what they’re doing to themselves.

It’s so funny knowing what Gwen and Beth’s plans were, and then realizing just how suspicious it was. I was in the dark like the boys, I had no clue their behavior was off.
I really loved the epilogue, seeing that the four of them were able to build their own beautiful lives, and while some parts may be seen as “unrealistic”, there was still time accurate conflict. Yes they created a safe haven, but we know the world outside this family is not safe for them and their kids, despite their statuses in society.

This was a really quick and fun read for me. I hadn’t read Don’t Want You Like A Bestfriend, and I feel like I should have and plan to read it. The family dynamics were a bit hard to follow, something I think reading the first book would have cleared up.

Did not much care for the first book in this series, about Beth and Gwen, and their whole parent trap sapphic situation. But this one is more interesting, and not just because it handles enemies to lovers so well. Bobby and James are both shown struggling significantly with their purpose in life, with their privilege and their complicated inherited legacies, they have a fantastic queer group of friends, and a family entrenched in the politics of medical safety, especially with two family members going through difficult pregnancies. I'm so impressed by how well rounded this story is in grounding the characters in their circumstances and zeitgeist. Such a rarity in Regency romance, especially queer ones, usually the forte of only a handful of well established authors in the genre. Not to mention the huge departure from the relatively frivolous tone of the previous book. Beth and Gwen somehow still manage to be the most annoying side characters but the D'Vere crew and the parliamentary storyline more than makes up for it. I wish it could have been a standalone but unfortunately the events of the first book are crucial in setting up the family structure that we see and cherish in this second book.

You're the Problem, It's You, the second installment in the Mischief & Matchmaking series is funny and tense, and packed to the brim with sweet little moments. This is such a sweet gay Victorian romance, bringing back a cast of beloved characters from the first book as supporting characters for James and Bobby. There is a sprinkling of enemies to lovers, and the banter between the characters is witty and well-paced.
The characters are stubborn and loveable.

My only qualm is that I found the combination of the third person omniscient point of view combined with the fact that victorian era characters tend to be referred to as their first name, their last name, or their title interchangeably. this combination, at times, caused a bit of a disconnect for me personally, but the alternating perspectives helped this quite a bit!

The plot is also well-paced and managed to include a lot of important topics and interesting themes. Overall this was such a warm and entertaining read, a perfect fit for queer bridgerton lovers!!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC!

I read the first book in the series and knew that I had to read this one. I read the first one for the Bridgerton vibe. I read this one for the same reason and both of them hit their marks!{! I enjoyed both of these books thoroughly but I enjoyed the first one a bit better. I would still highly highly highly recommend this book to anybody and I think that the Taylor Swift inspired idea of it all was pretty brilliant as well and I’m not even a swiftie. Overall, I think this book was a great and I’m glad that I was able to read it and enjoy it..

I have been so eagerly awaiting the follow up to Emma Alban’s first sapphic historical romance (Don’t Want You Like a Best Friend) which I loved loved and this in no way disappointed. And, as I updated @sarahsbookstacks, I only cried eight times while reading it.

Gwen & Beth’s (the couple from book 1) cousins, second-son Bobby and newly come into his title Viscount James seem like stark opposites. James is prone to panic and doesn’t know how to fit in his new role in the ton or in Parliament. Beth and Gwen urge Bobby to help James find his place, but the two do nothing but clash and argue. Yet their fighting is maybe just because the heat between them is something other than animosity. When they have to team up to protect their families from blackmail, they realize how much they care for each other, but with the way the world is in regency England, is a future something they can ever have?

Look, historically I know that most families wouldn’t have been supportive of their family members being gay, I am so obsessed with the fact that Alban allowed her characters to find loving families who did anything to support them. This is such a perfect example of found family which is one of my most favorite tropes. It also handled the issues that women faced historically with the dangers of child birth which was so important. I loved loved James and Bobby and how much they loved each other even if I wanted to slap them a couple times for their miscommunication. I always think miscommunication works so much better in historical romances and even though I was frustrated for them (just be happy!) it made sense why they couldn’t be honest up front.

If you’re looking for mm love in a historical romance you must absolutely pick this book up, out today!

If you’re looking for a historically immaculate novel, "You’re the Problem, It’s You" isn’t that book. Emma R. Alban’s mid-19th century setting blends the time period with a modern sensibility, adding to its charm while giving readers not one but two happily-ever-afters at a time when society and laws made it difficult, if not impossible, for queer folks to live as their true selves.

James Demeroven and Bobby Mason aren’t dire enemies as much as they simply find each other beyond insufferable. James is aloof and arrogant—for reasons which gradually become clear—while Bobby is a second son who hasn’t established his role in the world yet. There’s no small amount of envy thrown into their dynamic, but, of course, there’s also lust and attraction that makes them even more prickly and annoyed when they’re forced to be in each other’s company, let alone acknowledge each other’s existence. Which is far too often for their liking.

Cue: The Villain.

No, it’s neither Bobby nor James but someone with whom they are both unfortunately, intimately associated. When they aren’t busy insulting and running away from each other, they have time to realize the only solution to being blackmailed is to put their animosity aside, for the sake of themselves and their families, and cut off their mutual extortionist’s ammunition against them. Bobby and James don’t work alone, either, which offers the story so much of its sincerity and hope within the love and respect and acceptance they find from all sides of their blended families, and more than a few outside allies too.

Warmth and kindness go hand-in-hand with trouble and threats in "You’re the Problem, It’s You", which serves to draw a close-knit family closer and makes love and a future together possible for James and Bobby, and Gwen and Beth. This novel is about queer joy, pure and simple and uplifting.

A Taylor Swift inspired gay Bridgerton?! What's not to love?! This is giving cute banter and it's very cute, very demure. Not gonna lie, it's nothing I wasn't expecting, but sometimes you just need a gay lil' period piece moment.

Queer Romance + Historical Romance + Taylor Swift?? Absolutely sign me up! What first drew my attention was this book cover. It’s so cute!!! But then the blurb hooked me in. I really liked this story and I really liked both main characters.

I read romance novels for the joy and the hope they give me that love exists and can happen regardless of (fill in the blank). And I cannot find two words more fitting for the feel of You’re the Problem, It’s You, than hope and joy. Emma R. Alban has imagined a world in which queer love can exist AND prosper, where acceptance by family and friends, if not by society, makes it okay to love whomever you choose.

I adored Don’t Want You Like a Best Friend and was excited and nervous for James and Bobby’s story. The book begins with lots of anxiety; Viscount James Demeroven has just come into his first season in Parliament, having lived under the intimidation and belittlement of his stepfather for years. He has secretly harbored a crush on schoolmate Robert, Bobby Mason, second son whom he now encounters frequently due to working closely with Bobby’s older brother Albie in parliament. James has a tremendous amount of fear not only about his sexual proclivities being discovered but also that he will fail in his role as viscount. Bobby has been lucky enough to live close to his uncle who provides protection for his daughter Gwen and her stepsister Beth to live as lovers. Seemingly different as they may be, James and Bobby find each other continually nudged together in social settings by their friends and family. What begins as distrust and dislike slowly begins to turn into something more as opportunities to engage with each other allow Bobby and James to see each other with fresh eyes.

With a lot of romances, once the MCs get together, the book is at its apex. And yet what I loved was that I knew James and Bobby would get together, but given the time period and circumstances (and an evil viscount), I truly could not see how they would get their happy ever after. Alban so creatively and beautifully creates a way for her characters to ALL receive a love story fitting for them, and I had enjoyment in seeing it unfold. Family, friends, and the power of loving acceptance play a tremendous role in the character development of both MCs. There is such hope that queer love can bloom in the world Alban has created. There were moments I teared up, just thinking about how much I wished more people in the world could believe in love like these characters do. It may not have been an easy path, but it ends with the best rewards.
Avon graciously sent me a finished copy and all opinions are my own. I am excited to see what other queer love stories Alban will write in the future.

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟.5
Steam: 🪭🪭
Favorite quote: “It’s the world that’s wrong, not us.”