AHHHHHH! I was accepted?!?!?! IM SCREAMING!! I was a MASSIVE fan of the first two installments in this series so I HAD to request this one as an arc! I’m so glad I was able to read this early! It is everything I was hoping it would be and I’m going to cherish this story for YEARS and YEARS! When it releases, it’s also near the date for when my book club meets AND it’s my turn to suggest a book!! IM DEFINITELY SUGGESTING THIS ONE! I need everyone in my life to read this one!

I've enjoyed the entire lucky lovers of London series, and was excited to see a sapphic couple in the mix.I just would have killed for a little more drama and tension between our main pair here. Most of the tension came from Jo's life outside of Emily, when I so wanted more between them. But I love a queer little found family, especially when the odds are as fucking stacked against them, so I was a sucker for the ending

I was so excited to read Decadence and it did NOT disappoint. It far exceeded my hopes!!
Jo and Emily are both strong, splendid, characters with distinct individual voices that are exquisitely their own, throughout the dual-POV narration. I was laughing so much in so many places - especially when Jo was narrating. Amazing main characters AND side characters.
I love their ragtag family - all unique.
The conversation was written extremely well, it felt so natural and I felt like I was actually there.
It was beautiful to read about Emily learning to let go of responsibilities and embrace decadence - and learning that life will still go on and others will step up as needed. It was beautiful to read about Jo falling in love, letting herself be loved and making a place for Emily in her life.
The happy ending truly tied it all together. So beautiful.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC!

OH WHAT A DELIGHTFUL BOOK! From a truly delightful cast of characters and an interesting premise to a heartwarming and very hot romance between Emily (ehem, Doctor Emily) Jo, this book was a treasure. Historical queer fiction, found family, exploration of grief, gender, and growth- what's not too love? It's also a quick read, a perfect cozy rainy day vibe.

Jess Everlee has a beautiful way with words and her world is as immersive as it is lovely. I'm quite excited to snag more of her books.

I'd love to see more stories about this cast in the future. Maybe Miss Withers can save me a seat at the table for supper too?
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It's both comforting and frustrating to read about the issues and choices a woman faces in her life set in the Victorian era- and have them be relatable today. I'm getting a STEM PhD and I still hear sentiments similar to what Emily would hear at the hospital. A quite timely and oddly cathartic read. I will, like our Emily, continue to pursue my passions and see where life takes me. And make peace with my ghosts along the way.

A Bluestocking's Guide to Decadence is a sapphic take on historical romance. Two incredibly different women come together under scandalous circumstances and find themselves tangled together many a way.

Thank you to the publisher for the advanced reading copy!

I rated it 3.75/5 stars, which rounds up to 4.

Dr. Emily Clarke is tired of being seen as half a physician and treated as a nurse after years of training in the hospital. When a friend of her brother's shows up, with a pregnant unmarried woman in tow, she is vehemently against taking on an obstetric patient, in fear of being stuck in the specialty moving forward.

When Jo Smith finds her husband's mistress is with child, she fears she will be cast out of her home and divorced. In an attempt to prove useful, she sets about finding a doctor who will take in a woman pregnant under unusual circumstances, but when she meets the doctor in question, she is more excited to ruffle some feathers.

This was an adorable, historical sapphic romance novel. I was not aware of the politics and social movements occurring in the 1880s in England, but they played a hefty role in the inter-workings of the relationships in this novel, as well as the climax; though the climax felt a little underwhelming. I did not expect the end to be the end, and the moment I expected to be the tipping point to the resolution was a brief conversation on both counts, one of which did not occur on page. (This book does not contain the miscommunication trope between the two main characters, nor a third-act breakup.) Thankfully, the conflict occurs separately for the two main characters and focuses on issues with the other people in their lives rather than one another, which I always find refreshing in a romance novel. Though Jo was rather childish at times, I think that she and Emily balanced one another in terms of their personality traits and flaws.

All in all, I enjoyed the read. I recently found historical romance and it is so lovely to read one with a cast of queer characters.

A Bluestocking's Guide to Decadence is the third of Jess Everlee's books that follows a lovely found family in London and their adventures and relationships. This book follows Jo as she gets into a relationship with Dr. Emily Clarke, who takes some time to warm up to her.

I did enjoy this book quite a bit- the way that Emily and Jo played off one another was quite amusing to see, especially when it resulted in banter between the two of them. It was also lovely to once again see Noah, David, Charlie, and Miles from the past books in this series. Unfortunately, out of the three I think this one was my least favorite- which is not to say that it is bad by any means. I still greatly enjoyed this book and loved seeing Jo and Emily grow together, especially when the women of the Wisteria society were involved. Overall I am glad that we got to see Jo's story finally, and even to learn more of her husband and his partner.

When Jo's husband's lover gets pregnant (relationship status it's very complicated) Jo wants to try to help. Enter Dr. Emily Clarke, working in a woman's hospital having her status be questioned by the male doctors that she works with Emily is seeking to widen her client list. Jo and Emily meet and it's not the best first impression but there's an undercurrent of something and when Emily takes on Vanessa as a patient things get even more interesting between Emily and Jo. I loved the letter writing aspect of their relationship. Courting via mail is a bit of a secret love of mine. I also love the inclusion of Jo's Lady's Club. A sweet, fun, sexy romp.

This book hooked me in from the first chapter. I loved the character development and how the story progressed.

I love all the ways this connected to Jess Everlee's first two books in this series (it seems to be the trend these days with romance series and it almost always works on me) but I wasn't as attached to this couple. Even despite their initial negative meeting, they fall in love a little too quickly for my personal tastes and the book was too short to delve into any truly interesting conflict. I like Jo a lot as a character and her B-plot with the Beast is probably my favorite part of this book (especially since it's a continuation of her plot in the first book of this series) but Emily didn't compell me as much and her whole arc was fairly meh.

this book had so much potential to be a slay, but it simply id not live up to the expectations. i didn't believe the love story, i didn't really care about the characters, the sub-plot of the pregnant woman just wasn't super intriguing. overall a flop though i am sad to say so

I have really liked the first two books in this series and was so excited for the third, especially since it was sapphic! There were some things I liked a lot - I liked the relationship between Jo and Emily most and loved seeing cameos from the characters from the other books.

Some of my issues with this book are probably on me - I'm struggling eye reading right now which is an uphill battle. But ultimately at some point, I really lost the plot of this book and just...didn't care enough to find it. I couldn't tell you what happens from the police raid to the end of the book - I feel like there was just far too much going on (though again, that might be my current reading issues.

3.5 Stars. Thank you to Harlequin and Netgalley for the eARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This was a fun story. Emily and Jo are very different in personality and lifestyle, and instantly clash upon meeting. However, as they get to know each other better, they discover a mutual attraction, and that aspects of their individual lifestyles are of value. Emily’s life could use more decadence, while Jo’s life could use a little more stability and predictability. They also have let their pasts and fears limit them. There is a very colorful accompanying cast.

As someone who didn’t really love Jess Everlee’s first romance novel, I had low expectations for this book, but was intrigued due to it being a sapphic historical. This book, however, was so much more engaging than Jess Everlee’s prior books– I think sapphic is her niche!
Fans of Olivia Waite will absolutely devour this wonderful, swoonworthy sapphic historical romance.

A sweet romance about opposite personalities attracting. I also particularly enjoyed Everlee's focus on the other important relationships in both Jo and Emily's lives. I didn't think the writing of the steamy scenes was as effective as the first two books in this series. Overall a nice addition to the series, although not my favorite!

Thank you to Harpercollins and Netgalley for the free arc in exchange for a honest review!

I've always been a fan of queer historical romances, seeing how each individuals queerness is incorporated into a historical romance context is always really interesting!

Jo and Emily finding a way to be together and the found family trope was really sweet as well.

I didn't feel the characters chemistry overall, but I think it's important to address that everyone spectrums and views of chemistry are totally different. So although it wasn't the perfect amount for me, it could totally be for someone else!

The characters are incredibly interesting and worth reading about if you enjoy reading sapphic historical romances with a hint of humor and forbidness.

I adore unique premises (especially in historicals) and this one absolutely delivers! I loved that one of love interests is part of a lavender marriage. That was such a cool aspect to include. My favorite part of queer historical romances is watching the characters carve out a life that works for them so that they can be boldly themselves. This was especially satisfying in this story because Jo and Emily find a way to be a family in a way that works for them (even if others wouldn't understand their dynamic). It was a mostly queer cast so thankfully the homophobia was minimal.

I can't quite articulate what didn’t work for me but the book didn’t fully come together for me. The characters had strong motivations and interesting backstories and I cared about them all individually but I found that I didn't really care about the romance as much and found myself skimming towards the end. It's unfortunate because there's so much else to love about this book. I know from reading other reviews that other people loved the chemistry so I think this is just a case of this being a great book, but it didn't quite hit for me personally. I'm so glad I read it though because the premise is fantastic and watching queer people find queer joy in circumstances that aren't always conducive to it is always inspiring.

A Bluestocking's Guide to Decadence is one of those books that is so good that it makes it hard to read, because you simply don't want it to end. It's one of those five star books that gives you the urge to go and lower the rating of a bunch of other books, because there's simply no way that they can be on the same level of this one.

The concept of this novel is hilarious, yet compelling: what if a butch lesbian in a lavender marriage fell in love with her husband's girlfriend's obstetrician when the girlfriend accidentally becomes pregnant? In all my rambling to friends, family, coworkers, and random booksellers about town that I've done while reading this, that description has always brought about a laugh. It's ingenious, really, and I salute Jess Everlee for not only coming up with the idea, but for following it through in a delightful romp that I'm never going to be able to stop thinking about.

This novel is the perfect example of what I look for in queer historical fiction. Homophobia and transphobia are a part of the story, yes, and don't go unacknowledged, but they're not the focus of the internal or external conflict of the novel. Emily and Jo's families and friends are endlessly supportive, and the novel shows such an intriguing and fun view into the queer subculture prevalent in England in this time. Noncomformity comes in all sorts of different ways in this book, and each and every one of them is a delight to read about.

I cannot shout this book's praises enough. I've not read the first two in this loosely connected series, but I need to, right this second. Everlee's writing is engrossing, exciting, and shimmers with chemistry between our two leads. It may be only March, but I anticipate that this will be one of, if not the, best romance novels of 2024.

An eARC was provided via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I love a good historical romance and this book was perfect for what I needed. I loved the romance between them and found the characters to be so fun to follow

A delightful slow burn historic romance novel. Dr. Emily is a very proper women, trying to get ahead by playing by the rules in hopes that it will get her treated as an equal to the male drs. Jo walks around in men's clothing and her husband prints smut. What happen's when Jo's husband's paramour ends up pregnant and needs the help of a doctor?

Really enjoyable romance with a fantastic cast of characters. I had not read the previous books in this series but this works well as a standalone.