I made the mistake of reading this without checking if it was part of a series and I only realised afterwards and yet it read perfectly fine without knowing what happened in book 1. So a nice standalone!

I'm conflicted on this one. On one hand, I absolutely adored Bobby and I was rooting for his happiness from the very beginning. I just wish his LI hadn't been possibly one of the most unpleasant characters I've ever come across. I love an anti-hero but the problem here is that I don't think James was supposed to come across as horrid as he did. Or maybe I just expect more from my men because yikes.

By about 30% in, I noted that this book is very much for the Pride and Prejudice lovers...which I am. But it didn't melt my heart like I expected it to. I think the difference here is that in 2024, a Mr Darcy coded character needs to be written with more care. Our girly Austen didn't know better but we do!

I enjoy a book with historically accurate language as much as the next person but I'm not so pedantic that some inaccuracies or creative license will bother me - if it's done well. I found myself getting annoyed every time modern-speak cropped up in this book because it simply didn't fit and it didn't seem like any attempt had even been made to make it fit.

I'm a soppy bish so romance will always get me, especially when it's such intense queer love. Even with the speed bumps I came up against, I really enjoyed this read and once we got past the 'enemies' stage (a trope I detest), I was all in. Bobby stole my whole heart, truly *chefs kiss* for this little himbo. And then I was hit by the realisation that I wanted to subsume Bobby and his brother's relationship into my very soul. TEars. I cried out of happiness and it was disgusting.

I'm so here for books that uplift queer love, revere queer love, praise queer love. No more ridiculously traumatic fiction please. We get it, some authors want to write intensely true to life but it's fiction and the gays have had enough trauma so please get off your high horse and give us more of this joy! That's not to say there wasn't suffering, stressing and silliness - but it wasn't gratuitous.

Saying that, the way the author wrote pregnancy in this time was SO refreshing. Some honesty for something that usually gets glossed over in fiction, especially the horrors of being pregnant in the past. Hypocritical of me yes (see above) but IDCCCCCCCC, bite me. If we have to replace the horrors of being queer with the horrors of being a mother-to-be then so be it.

The main stone in my shoe was the antagonist. Initially, not so bad, if annoying. However, as the story progressed, he became the kind of mess you see in cartoons. At some point, I expected him to twiddle his facial hair. It was too excessive and I just wanted him to GO AWAY.

I have SO many highlights in my kindle of the kind of prose that makes me die a little because it's so sweet and piercing - as this was an ARC I won't share them but I might do so after it's published because *gah*. Even James, as much as I struggled to like him, said some shit that hit me hard. Personally, the straights could never.

That ending got me right in the feels because wtf, THAT'S one of my favourite tropes. All in all, I was dragged through several emotions throughout this read, including some truly buggy-eye moments. One of my notes literally says: "LOL did he just call him a slut?"
Another says: "Too many bodily FLUIDS in this book!"
My favourite is: "FuCK offfffffff eurgh my heart."

There was a lot of confusion (for me) around alllllll the names and titles being bandied about and without this, I'd probably give it a 4. Maybe someone with a more comprehensive grip on this kind of thing wouldn't find it a problem. I hope so! I'd really say this is more of a 3.5 for me; the vibes got exponentially better as our boys grew. Plus, this cover? YES

Thank you to NetGalley and Emma R. Alban for the eArc!

Thank you to Penguin and NetGalley for the ARC!

I made the mistake of reading this without reading the first, assuming they were more stand-alones like it's comparable, Bridgerton. I do feel like I missed out on a lot of context, but again this is my fault for assuming!

This really put the slow into slow burn, which I am usually a huge fan of, but I wish there had been more tension and flirting in the first half. The miscommunication and enemies to lovers tropes are so strong that for a while they genuinely don't like each other. The dual POVs were needed for this, to see both their thought processes and true emotions. At least there's still the happy, fluffy ending we all need.

This is, essentially, YA queer Bridgerton for Gen Z. Someone out there will love it, for sure. But for now...

3/5

This was a very sweet queer historical romance which Bridgerton girlies are sure to enjoy immensely. With that being said, I did find the constant miscommunication frustrating at times and I found the pacing of the first half of the book a little slow. I did however enjoy both found family aspect and the chemistry between Bobby and James. The sex scenes were incredibly well written, as were the sweet tender moments and the witty dialogue.

After reading the first book in this series I was overcome with the need to read more Victorian queer love stories. Much to my own excitement, when I found out there was a second novel I couldn’t wait till release day! I was straight onto my computer to see if I could obtain an ARC. Low and behold, I was swiftly granted with a copy and began reading one of my now favourite love stories.

The characters were easily loveable, with Gwen, Beth, and their respective families all involved, I felt transported back to a place I already knew. Raverson brought out all the bad emotions in me and I found him highly deplorable - due to his own faults. He depicts a homosexual male who seems that he cannot accept himself and so must try his hardest to ruin the lives of those who can (even if they live in secrecy). But without him I wouldn’t have got to read the one of my favourite scenes towards the end, where we get to witness one of the best downfalls.

This book was so wholesome and an absolute pleasure to read. I am insanely grateful for the ARC and the opportunity to read this masterpiece!!!!

This has been a fun series so far, but I wasn't a huge fan of the miscommunication trope being so central to the story as it really stilted the pace and felt quite repetitive.

Whilst I was happy to see characters returning, the main characters weren't as strongly written as the characters in the first book, and were a little underwhelming in comparison. It didnt feel like there was much chemistry, and when there was, it was brief, especially since they were supposed to be rivals. However, there were a lot of very sweet and thought provoking conversations between characters that really uplifted the story.

As with my issue in the first book, it didn't feel like the book stayed in the era it was set, and would occasionally feel very modern, but was better handled and less noticeable than it was in the first book.

What a wonderful story!
I went back to read the first book in the duology before picking this up and i'm so glad i did because it just made me love the finding your people and family aspect of the book even more so!
After this series Alban is definitely now an autobuy author for me, I adore how they right love!

Really enjoyed this one - lots of strong feelings flying around, sometimes leading to the inevitable...!

Emma Alban’s You’re The Problem, It’s You, is a queer regency romance with rose tinted glasses. Being gay back in that world would have been heart breaking and difficult, but Alban dreams up a fairytale so that everyone gets the happily ever after that they deserve.

This book is the direct sequel to Alban’s Don’t Want You Like A Best Friend, which is her Sapphic novel. This one is all about the world of the gay regency. She touches on the fear of discover, but this book is more about sunshine’s and rainbows than anything bad happening. Like many queer books set in the regency era this is about the romance between two gay characters, not the existence of two gay men in regency England.

Emma Alban is an excellent writer. Her story is crafted with a perfect character arc and romance tropes. Her male main leads, Bobby and James, start out as enemies and slowly morph into lovers. I enjoyed their storylines and thought the things they were struggling with were great set ups to the overall story. The rest of the cast of characters were fun, with extra storylines to make them multidimensional.

The world of regency London has been vibrantly brought to life through tea parties, clandestine clubs and parliament. I actually thought the parts of the story in parliament were particularly interesting, but maybe that’s a reflection on the pace of the novel.

You’re the Problem, It’s You is more of a leisurely promenade than a fast paced, exciting read. There’s lots of worrying about things and little extra details to build the world, but it does mean there’s not a lot of spice or burning hot romance. It’s a great read, as Alban is a great author, but it didn’t keep me up late at night reading.

I did find this book had one of those disconnects between how the characters were described and how they thought and acted in their own heads. I found Bobby hard to place. He was meant to be the dashing second son with a devil may care attitude, but he came across as a sweet worrier more than anything else. Also, Bobby and James went from enemies who fought all the time, to people with a crush in the blink of an eye.

I thought the drama that almost tears them apart was well thought out and fit the characters and storyline really well. It was overcome very quickly. This book is about sunshine and rainbows and dreams and wishes coming true. It does make it seem a bit fantastical and unrealistic, but I’m happy to have the happily ever after.

Which I did love. I saw it coming from ages away, but it really was the perfect solution for all queer people in the story to get their happy endings. It was cheesy and perfect, but this is a regency romance.

You’re The Problem, It’s You is a beautifully written gay romance set in regency England. You just really want the male main characters to beat all the odds and find their happy ending, and luckily they do. This is a fairytale not a realistic story. It is a bit slow, but overall a fun read.

I really enjoyed this book, I loved seeing the whole gang together and scheming for the second time in this sequel. A perfect mix of bridgerton feels, romance and moments of angst.

I really wanted to love this book but the nearly the entire of the first half is a miscommunication trope and i absolutely hate it. Its painful to read and if it hadn't been an e-arc I would have DNFed long before.

The characters do get better in the second half, but with how they are in the start made it hard to connect with them and so I didn't really end up caring for them much.

This could jsut be my personal taste, sadly this book was not for me.

In the current mid-Bridgerton lull, this is the perfect way to scratch the itch. A fun read that will be FFO all the exploits of Lady Whistledown but want something outwith the Quinn family formula.

A beautiful regency era romance with bridgertonesque scandal and LGBTQIA+ representation

What if the world could be a better place? What if we could make it a better place for all of us?.'

This book includes
- historical romance
- LGBTQIA+ representation
- scandal
- enemies to lovers
- opposites attract
- found family / family dynamics
- chemistry

After reading the first book in the series 'Don't want you like a best friend' with my book club I saw this book and couldn't wait to read it and see where else the story would go. You can read this book as a standalone but I love the connection and fluidity if you have read the first one.
The way the relationship in this book progressed was wonderful to read, it happened so naturally. It was really interesting to read a regency romance from the male perspective and how different the societal pressures are for men vs women. Throughout the book we saw where the men struggled and watched them accept themselves too, there should be more books like this.


A beautiful representation of love and celebration of queer relationships. I loved this book and can;t wait to read more from this author

This was really good - but not great which is a little disappointing because I was expecting to LOVE it but that’s on me for setting my expectations too high. There are so many fantastic characters and the friendships and found family are beautiful and even though I liked both MCs separately, I just didn’t buy them as a couple. The supporting characters absolutely stole the show and without them I’m not sure I would have continued with it but it just so happened that they were incredible.

My biggest issue with this book is the fact that the pacing is really off. It dragged a lot in the middle and I had to keep forcing myself to push through. All that said, it was a lovely book and I adored the epilogue because it was such a ray of sunshine. This book is also oozing with queer love which is gorgeous.

I would recommend it if you love found family, sweet scheming family members and a whole lot of queer love.

You're the Problem, It's You" by Emma Alban is a delightful and entertaining read. While it didn't stand out to me personally, I would definitely recommend it to a teen reader

Receive a e-ARC of 'You're the problem, it's you' via NetGalley, so have not read the first in this series by Emma Alban - but this was not a problem!

I did enjoy the gay romantic Victorian basis for the story, however found it a little hard going throughout the book. Personally I found the miscommunication elements a little irritating, and stalled the flow of the story.

I guessed at the ending/solution about a third if the way along, however this wasn't a major issue as I liked the life they all built together and how it gave a fully rounded ending.

I think it is a powerful element to the book that the love and support of family/community was well written.

Thank you to NetGalley UK and the publisher for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for a review.

3.75 ⭐ (rounded up)

Much like its sister novel, I really enjoyed this book. From the beginning of the book, it was easy to root for Bobby and James with their chemistry and sexual tension. The build up of their relationship happened slowly and then all at once - I felt this could have been paced a bit better but I really enjoyed their dynamic once they had acknowledged their feelings. The heart of this book for me, was the familial love. Albie's, and later Meredith's care for Bobby was something special. The kinship between Beth and Bobby was lovely, especially since they didn't interact too much in the last book. It was a fun, mostly light-hearted read.

This was a pretty good historical romance! I enjoyed the last 50% much more than the first half, and I would definitely say that this was too long, but I adored James as a character, the romance was sweet and convincing, and I cried twice. Absolutely loved the ending, and wish more historical romances did this!

3.75 rounded up

This wasn't as good as the authors first book. It was fine but I struggled to stay invested in the relationship and the story. It feels like a book written by a straight woman about queer men.

Other people's milage may vary but I found there were too many modern and Americanisms. One or two is fine but it was near relentless.

I'm getting a little tired of Taylor Swift references in romances, I think publishers think this is appealing to a lot more people than it does. Ditto for the Leni Kaufman covers, everyone has the same face.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my copy of this e-arc.

I really wanted to live this, especially with the Taylor Swift reference as the title but it just wasn’t for me and around 25% mark I ended up DNFing as I couldn’t get on board with the story. It seemed to chop and change so much. I didn’t connect with the characters and unfortunately it just wasn’t for me.

2.5 rounded up to 3 stars
I want to start out by saying i read the first book in this duology (series?) and I did enjoy it but found it slow at times. So when i saw this book (and fell in love with the cover) I was SO very excited to read it and I was really hoping the pace would be quicker with this one but sadly it seemed worse in this one. At times this book felt like it was a chore to get through. I was hoping for a LGBTQ+ version of Bridgerton but it just fell flat. Nothing happened for like half the book and it really just seemed like it was a load of unnecessary scenes. The miscommunication went on for ages and I got board of it. It’s with a heavy heart i say this book wasn't for me. But that’s not to say i hated it. There were parts of the book I enjoyed, I liked the lavender marriage plot at the end and I really liked seeing Beth and Gwen again!