After, Don’t Want You Like A Best Friend, I was eager to pick up the next book in their story and it did not disappoint! Bobby and James were utterly enjoyable and I loved getting to see more of Beth and Gwen. A great book!

I was eagerly anticipating Emma R. Alban's You're the Problem, It's You, but unfortunately, the novel fell short of my expectations. The lack of historical accuracy pulled me out of the story and made it feel somewhat aimless. The protagonist, Bobby, is portrayed as mired in ennui due to his inability to participate in politics. However, it was quite common for second sons to be involved in politics, albeit in the House of Commons rather than the House of Lords.

While this historical inaccuracy might have been forgivable with a stronger romance, both main characters came across as petty and whiny, which made it difficult to sympathize with them. Creating a compelling and historically accurate queer Victorian novel is undoubtedly challenging, but You're the Problem, It's You leaned so heavily into the angst that it rendered the protagonist unlikable.

I adored this story. I enjoyed Don't Want You Like A Best Friend, but this one was perfect. I loved Bobby and James and their journey to figuring out each other. The miscommunication made sense, they both took things literally, and both had to be careful in their words given the time frame and situation.

This is a queer historical romance set in London, but not during the regency era featuring two families that are merged because of events of the first book, match making cousins, a nasty character that is not above blackmail, great information on the Medical Act that helped to standardized doctor training and registration leading to a better standard of healthcare, and sweet characters and their insanely protective partners.

Highly recommend this story.

this book! this FREAKING BOOK! emma r alban has earned a spot as a new favorite author of all time this year. i simply ADORED her debut, and this sequel was no different. bobby and james had amazing chemistry together and kept me on the edge of my seat. not to mention, they were both wonderful to read as individuals with their own personal growth journeys. this book captures everything i adore about queer historical romance: people persevering to make a life they love in spite of societal circumstances, the swooniest sneaking around and obliviousness, and, of course, the aesthetic that the regency era affords with its swishing gowns and parasols and buttoned up suits and afternoon picnics and evening dances. the ending emma gives these beloved characters certainly wraps everything up in a wonderful bow, but i of course could read so much of their idyllic life at demoroven manor. i could also gush for hours. amazing and would rec to anyone wanting a wonderful historical romance.

You’re the Problem, It’s You

4/5 rating

Disclaimer: I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. A huge thank you to NetGalley and Avon.

I was very surprised to find that I enjoyed this one even more than the previous entry “Don't Want You Like a Best Friend”. The romance was a slower burn which personally made the angst and pinning so much more effective this time around. If you are going into this as a standalone and are looking for something super realistic/historically accurate this is definitely not that. But if you are looking for something queer, creative, and fun, pick this up asap!

Overall, this novel was an engaging and fluffy story full of bickering and angst that wraps up with a very satisfying ending.

I really enjoyed the writing style and the premise was interesting but the beginning was so slow. It didn't pick up for me until around 30-35%. It was not grabbing my attention whatsoever up until that point.
ended up having to pick up the audiobook on release day and tandem read them to keep my focus (although it did help that the story picked up).
did like the solution they came up with in the end to be able to live their lives happily during the time period they're in.
I would definitely pick up something from this author in the future because did enjoy the writing
If you are a fan of historicals you would probably enjoy this.

I really liked the first book in this series, Don’t Want You Like a Best Friend, so I was looking forward to reading the next installment.

Possibly very light spoilers (mention of parts that occur early on in the book, and the type of good ending — no specific details on the ending though)

I think I was expecting this book to be different than it was. While I could see the ending coming from a mile away, that was okay. I had more problems with the relationship development between the two main characters. For the first 50% or so, I didn’t quite understand how they would end up even remotely liking each other as there was so much verbal sparring. To me, it didn’t feel realistic, and I didn’t feel emotionally involved with the characters. (Except perhaps Gwen, Beth, and their parents from the first book.) Supposedly James has had a crush on Bobby since University, but as for why… not entirely sure. And with how he acted toward Bobby you’d never know.

I will say one part of the book I resonated with James’ fear of being discovered. I definitely empathized with him in this aspect.

Overall, this felt like a book with a good ending, but mainly a good ending for Beth and Gwen. A nice wrap up to their story. Not sure I much enjoyed James and Bobby’s story, unfortunately.

I received a free advanced review copy of this book for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley and Avon.

Tired of being overlooked, Bobby yearns for significance while his peers squander their privilege. He clashes with the newly titled Viscount Demeroven, James, who feels like a disappointment and avoids attention. James is drawn to Bobby’s vibrant energy, but their ambitions and personalities clash. When an extortionist threatens their families, they’re forced to cooperate and to navigate their simmering attraction.

This novel has more angst and less humor than I expected, based on the cover and title. I enjoyed the romance between Bobby and James, especially in the second half of the book. This is the second book in the series, and I highly recommend reading Book 1 immediately before reading this one. The audiobook narration was well done.

Thanks, NetGalley for the ARC.

Overall, I liked this one but it was a little slow at times. And then, it all happened so fast, they fell completely for each other so fast and it felt a little off. Basically the pacing was one for me...
I still enjoyed this, especially all the family things and seeing the girls from book 1 again and again. I liked the main characters and the overall drama even though some part of it felt a little off.
It was a good romance and I'm looking forward to reading more by this author.

Not a fan of the blackmail part of the plot but it was rather minor compared to the rest of the story so it’s fine. No hate but bridgerton vibes and im not a big fan of that show/era. It was still a good read despite that so if you like the rivals/enemies to lovers thing but make it Victorian you’ll like this. It felt like they went into the love aspect a bit quickly but this is part of a duology so maybe that’s why? I didn’t read the first book so maybe I’m just missing context. Even without reading the first the story still works.

Definitely not fully a standalone, it can be confusing if read as one with all the references towards the first story. The previous batch of characters are fully still in this second book. That’s just a heads up as it’s my bad for thinking otherwise haha. It definitely gives Bridgerton vibes, the show not the books, like Benedict’s storyline if they continued down his bi storyline! James was definitely a bit heavy on the Darcy douchey side to start off with, but you can eventually see how rooted in fear it was and his kinder heart start to shine through. Our sunshine, Bobby, was going through a lot while trying to tamper the feelings he was developing for James, and I loved how their little found/actual family were all there for each other. I can’t wait to see which of them is featured next!

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.