This book is just the thing for Bridgerton lovers, if you imagined what Benedict’s story could be like, this is it.

I really enjoyed the writing with this one and felt there was lots of chemistry between Bobby and James.

The villain was cheesy but didn’t feel out of place in a setting such as the Ton.

It’s fluffy and a good summer read and for those who like period dramas this is the perfect mix of period setting and modern writing.

Thank you to Penguin and Emma R Alban for the ARC of this one!

Unfortunately didn't really enjoy this or think much of it. I was expecting a LGBTQ+ version of Bridgerton and I loved the cover but it just fell so flat. Nothing happened for so so long, it felt like a lot of unnecessary scenes and information being dumped into chapters. It's said to be enemies to lovers but there wasn't that, if anything there was miscommunication and that was that. Sadly this book wasn't for me.

You're The Problem, It's You is the second book the Mischief & Matchmaking series. Having not read the first book made the first 30%, with its world building and reintroducing the characters, hard to understand but other than that it can be read as a standalone.

I loved the characters, the regency era vibe and the forbidden gay romance! It made for a sweet and fun read, which is exactly what someone needs after reading or watching Bridgerton.

Summary: Bobby and James, opposites in every way, must team up to thwart an extortionist targeting their families despite mutual animosity.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC of this book, all thoughts are my own.

‘You're the Problem, It's You’ is a queer enemies-to-lovers Victorian romance and sequel to ‘More than a Best Friend’ that follows the cousins of its predecessors main couple. The story revolves around Bobby Mason, a second son, and James Demeroven, a recently inaugurated lord. From old school acquaintances to newly found rivals, Bobby’s and James’ interactions consist of tense conversations and undeniable attraction to one another as they soon discover there’s a fine line between love and hate. I appreciated the focus on character development in this story, as both Bobby and James went through major character growth in order to be together and create their happy ending. In ‘You’re the Problem, It’s You’, Alban continues to emphasise the importance of family, both by choice and birth, and their portrayal of found family remains to be my favourite part of this duology. Similarly to the first instalment, the setting of the story coincides with background political movements that are woven seamlessly into the main plotline and ensure the supporting characters remain present throughout. What stopped me from rating this higher is the use miscommunication trope and an overly exaggerated villain to cause conflict. However, I would still highly recommend ‘You’re the Problem, It’s You’ to readers wanting a cosy, queer historical romance containing a skilful blend of light-heartedness and tension.

In the world of primogeniture, the secondborn seldom finds it easy to carve a role. The second son, Bobby, understands that better than most. He might find some when helping the new viscount, James Demeroven.

You're The Problem, It's You is the second instalment in a series, and I must admit, I dove into it without reading the first book. This decision did have an impact on my reading experience, as I found it challenging to fully immerse myself in the 'world' despite the author's skilful writing and well-developed characters.

All in all, it's a pleasant read, but I think the first one would be best. I'll certainly be doing so. Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin for the eARC.

I am only 3 pages in but I was talking to my friend about it and they told me how in the first book the two main characters are step sisters that get together and the incest has absolutely given me the biggest ick that I'll absolutely never pick up a book by this author

This was pretty cute and sweet and was a fun queer Regency read. Individually I liked both of the MCs but I didn't quite buy the chemistry and connection between them. I didn't love it as much as I did the previous book and the ending didn't work for me at all. It just sat weirdly with me but the bulk of the book was good and it was very well written.

Thank you to NetGallley and Penguin General UK for the advance reader copy,

I wasn’t too sure what to expect from the regency era queer romance and feel like this book was better than expected.

I didn’t realise this was a sequel and reading the first book may have made it easier to get into this one and the characters as there was backstory that was continued in this book.

The overall story and plot are well written and the main characters have their own issues they have to deal with,

Overall this is a 3.5 star review rounded up to 4.

The cover and title of this book really drew me in! Overall I really enjoyed the book, but did find it a little hard to get in to. I hadn’t realised this was the second book in a series and think if I had read the first book it would have helped with the additional characters and settings.
The story was sweet, the characters had depth and I loved the happy ending for both James and Bobby and Gwen and Beth.
I’ve not read many historical romances but definitely will be adding more to my TBR starting with book 1.
Thanks for the opportunity to read this ahead of publication.

This title is absolutely winning I have to say.

I wasn’t sure what to expect of this regency/Victorian romance between a Lord and Viscount and I found it quite enjoyable.

A couple of things -

It’s the second of a duology., the first of which I haven’t read. I took a peek at a couple of reviews and most say how good the first book was. So it appears I’ve missed out sadly. And I do wonder if it impacted my experience. I didn’t know when I was reading it, but there were alot of characters and I did wonder at times how they all fit.

I was a bit undecided about the historical accuracy? How close the book ran - I’m unknowing in most ways about regency and Victorian times but I found there was a lot of information about Bills and politics that I wanted fleshed out more in terms of how these characters sat within their communities, what it was all about, and the pecking order.

The romance - I was here for. It’s reasonably tame but once it gets going it’s quite sweet. Once they fall, they fall hard …

Despite it being enemies to lovers I didn’t really find that, as there wasn’t anything for them to be enemies about. There’s a lot at stake in terms of people in the wider community finding out about the two MMC’s but the threat of blackmail was a tad low stakes because to out them, the bad guy had to out himself. Tightening up this area would have really made this more significant.

I did want to know more about our MMC’s and their experiences, but I wondered if this might have been shown in the first book?

I enjoyed this once I got into it, and it does take a little investment.

Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.

3.5 stars

I loved the first book in this series and knew as soon as I saw a sequel was coming out that I would HAVE to read it. I did enjoy this book and the relationships between the two MMCs, but I found the enemies to lovers trope was a bit lacking. They start the novel absolutely hating each other and then it’s a sudden switch to all these big old horny feelings and talk of love which I found a bit confusing.

But that doesn’t take away from the main story. This is a lovely tale of forbidden love in a time it was illegal to be who you truly were and I love how we got to see a lot more of Gwen and Beth in this book too and the clever twist at the end.

I'll be honest: I did not know that this was a sequel (which, in retrospect, is on me), but I think you can absolutely start reading this series here. You're The Problem, It's You delivers exactly what it promises, a swoon-worthy, slow-burn romance set among a gripping plot with almost furiously three-dimensional side characters. I loved everything about this story, and had a marvellous time reading it. A great book to pick up for fans of Freya Marske or Foz Meadows.

💚 You’re the Problem, It’s You 💚
- Emma R Alban

⭐️⭐️⭐️

First of all, a moment for the title 👏

We follow Bobby Mason, a second son frustrated with his lack of responsibility and purpose. When he is tasked with helping newcomer and heir of the Demeroven fortune, James, ease into London society, he sees this as his opportunity to prove himself and his capability. That is, if he and James can manage to get along…

I have to admit, I liked this significantly less than the first book in the duology, Don’t Want You Like A Best Friend. The miscommunication in the first half of the book reallyyyy irked me, being one of my least favourite tropes, and made the story feel like it really dragged.

The antagonist was quite caricatured, leaving the plot quite low-stakes. I always knew how it was going to end (we are quite literally told at the end of Don’t Want You Like A Best Friend) and this rather took the jeopardy out of the extortion and blackmail plotline.

However, the found family is amazing and I loved our little group. Alban deals with themes that are still so prevalent in our society today, such as toxic masculinity, abuse and sexuality, with such soft care.

Overall, I’d recommend to fans of found family, Regency era stories and LGBT romance.

Thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC!
Publication date: August 15th

This was an incredibly fun, chaotic queer historical romance between a Viscount and a Lord in regency London. I will say, this is the second book in a duology and I didn’t read the first one… Even so, I was able to read this and enjoy it as a standalone, although I would say if you can read the first book ‘More than a best friend / Don’t want you like a best friend’ you should as there is a lot of crossover!

Bobby Mason is a second son - a spare heir as it were. He loves his older brother Albie, but is frustrated that he can’t do more to help him heal their family name after their terrible father left them in disrepute. In London for the season, he is annoyed when his cousin Gwen and her girlfriend Beth asks him to befriend the aloof, unfriendly but ever-so-gorgeous Viscount James Demeroven.

James has always had a huge crush on Bobby Mason, ever since they were boys at school. But with a hateful, overbearing stepfather and the weight of the world’s expectations on his shoulders, he can’t indulge in his wants… even though Bobby has made it clear he is more than interested.

I really liked James and Bobby and the worldbuilding; same-sex relations are illegal and so much of what happens in the books is coloured by the boys’ worldviews. Bobby is more open to love because his family is supportive and understanding, whereas James’ are absolutely not. There were some moments where I wanted to shake James for just running away from his problems!

The HEA in this was very sweet and a creative way to solve their marriage-issues (and very reminiscent of Alexis Hall’s ‘Something Fabulous’), plus their little family taking in the children from the orphanage was a sweet touch.

I thought the ‘villain’ in this was somewhat a bit of a plot hole… and perhaps unnecessary? He’s trying to blackmail men for being queer, yet surely he’d just be outing himself? Not convinced on that part… but overall a really fun story with a wonderful found family.

Trigger warning discussion: Just something to bear in mind - this book discusses pregnancy and complications in childbirth way more than I was expecting for an MM romance, so if you are someone who is triggered by discussions around high risk pregnancy, stillbirth or death of a mother in childbirth I’d potentially steer clear of this (although all the women who are pregnant in this book do successfully give birth to healthy children and are healthy themselves).

Thank you so much to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC in return for an honest review!

Taylor Swift inspired title? HOOKED! I haven’t read the book that comes before this so that definitely on my list! I loved the journey we went on with these characters though the miscommunication did get on my nerves a little :,)

If you’re a fan of Bridgerton, I definitely recommend this!

I found it hard to get into this book. I couldn't help but think it was because I didn't read the first book in the series. I love queer romance and historical fiction! I liked some of the characters but felt like I didn't really connect with them.

The story did, however flow nicely and I might try and read the first book in the series and try this again!

The enemies-to-lovers queer Victorian romance follow-up to Don’t Want You Like a Best Friend, in which a young lord and a second son clash, but find themselves thrust together again and again by their meddling cousins.

This one fell a little flat for me in comparison to Emma R, Alban's first novel in this series. It was fun and cute but I needed a little more in the middle for it to be a true enemies to lovers. It gave off more slightly dislike to lovers rather than enemies. It all happened very quickly.

However, the friendship group in this book was it's saving grace, I loved all the dynamics between the groups and really adored the cameos by Gwen and Beth.

The overall book I rated 3.5 stars.

thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the advance copy for review!

i wasn't planning on reading this so soon as it doesn't release until AUGUST, but it was sitting on my netgalley shelf... taunting me... so here we are

i really enjoyed these fun, joyful queer historical romps! this one follows bobby mason (who we met in the first book) and james demeroven, beth's cousin who has inherited the viscount title from her father. we also get to see LOTS of beth and gwen (yay!) as well as some wonderful scenes with bobby's brother albie and his wife meredith (who i ADORED btw).

these books really are just so fun to read, and i say that as someone who is not a huge fan of historical fiction generally. the characters have their own personalities, their own motivations and fears and desires, each POV has a strong voice and brings something new to the story. i loved seeing more of bobby in this one, showing who he is underneath the fun-loving exterior that we saw in the first book. i thought the chemistry between bobby and james was very believable, and it actually was very combative at the start so felt like a true 'adversaries to lovers'. their connection and slow enjoyment of each other as they worked together to bring down the dreadful raverson was such a delight to read.

i also just think we need more lavender marriages in books!!! i saw this one coming quite early on (after all it is literally the perfect scenario) but it still made me happy to see, and the epilogue was so cute. i love any book that has queer characters finding their joyful little families, so i was inevitably going to love this one. my one major gripe with this duology generally is that i REALLY struggle to keep track of who is related to who and how, and i know in "the olden days" marriages between cousins were commonplace but i still had to rationalise it a bit in my head (i think this book could benefit from a 'ton tree)

anyway! more queer high society bridgerton-esque books please and thank you!

This is a sweet gay historical romance that I really enjoyed. The characters are great and the plot is fun. The worldbuilding is solid and I really like the author's writing style.

I didn't find this one quite as strong as the author's previous novel and it didn't feel quite as deep or well-rounded. I felt like Bobby and James weren't quite as well developed as Gwen & Beth were and I didn't feel quite as attached to either of them. I also didn't love the ending, it just felt kind of eh. The enemies to lovers element of this story was wrapped up incredibly quickly but I didn't hate it.

Overall I really liked this, it was a cute, fluffy easy read with a lot of heart.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a copy of this in exchange of an honest review.

Thank you to the publishers for the ARC.

I read 25% and I am moving on now as the book hasn't drawn me in. The writing is decent enough, but the protagonists' personalities aren't detailed or engaging and there are so, so many secondary and tertiary characters who are referred to by varying names (first name vs lord whatever) and none of them are given detailed enough descriptions to be memorable. So, I can't keep track of who is who and given the plot of the novel hasn't started yet, there's nothing keeping me invested. This could be partly because I came in at the second book in a series. Maybe I'd be less adrift if I'd read the first, but I haven't.

I also strongly felt he lack of visual description. There's very little as far as what characters look like and even less description of places. Also, too much telling and not enough showing. For example: we're told several times that Beth and Gwen are madly in love, but this is something that should be clear without being told. I want to be swept away by emotion when I read romance and this didn't make me feel anything.