In so many 'Gilden Age" novels, the romance is very...straight. Straighforward and just....hetro. Mutal Interest from Olivia Wolfgang-Smith takes the fun and familiar time and turns it upside-down with this innovative queer romance.

Vivian is trapped by her parents in Utica, New York. She moves herself to New York City and starts to live the way she's always wanted. This includes multiple female lovers. Soon, she meets Oscar Schmidt, a manager at a soap manufacturer, she sees a familiar. Oscar lives his life full of secrets (i.e. relationships with men).

Finding that she and Oscar can start their own business with funding from Squire Clancey, an old money New Yorker, Vivian, Oscar and Squire live together in a complicated but open and free home.
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All three characters are amazing in their own way, but Vivian is the star of this story. The pursuit of happiness is key and Vivian will do anything to find it.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

A literary historical fiction with a strong, cheeky voice following the intertwined lives of an unusual marriage: an ambitious capitalist lesbian, a gay man and his rivalry turned love with an autistic queer heir where they take over their respective industry in this early 20th century New York.

While the story is in theory about the three of them, it's clear that Vivian is the main character. She's the type of shrewd lesbian I like to see. She runs the company, is unapologetically manipulative and ambitious, a convinced capitalist who sleeps with younger leftist girls, always so hungry for more.

The summary mentions the threat of exposure of their unconventional relationship likely as a way to stoke drama but i was pleasantly surprised that it's a minor part of the book towards the end that's resolved quite quickly. I do not like narratives where the secret of being queer overpowers any larger plot as it's not the most interesting.

I must once again compliment the voice in this one, a good narrator perfectly in line with the time that made me feel like I had opened a book much older than this one.

Thanks to NetGalley, Olivia Wolfgang-Smith and the publisher for this ARC!

This historical fiction about a marriage of convenience between queer characters at the turn of the century seemed really interesting to me and I had high expectations going into this book.

While I liked the setting and concept, there are a few things that fell flat for me. The style of narration is a bit difficult to follow, and personally don’t love an omniscient narrator. The story is definitely a slower, and the end didn’t fully justify the pace for me.

One redeeming aspect for me the dynamic between the three main characters and was excited for a story to explore queer platonic love. However, I do feel like Vivian lacked strong character development and I was a little disappointed with how her story ended.

I adored this book! I was so invested in the characters and I found the prose to be as lyrical and poignant as Glassworks! Olive is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors!

This is an ambitious novel. A period piece written in the style of the period, both wrenching and wryly funny, and with a broad scope that includes not just the human experience of its main characters but the time and place in which they live. It's a slow-moving story, though, and the omniscient voice holds us at a distance us from Vivian, Oscar, and Squire. I really struggled with these factors, despite appreciating the novel for what it is and what it's attempting to do. Ultimately a beautifully written book for which I'm probably not the right audience. I read it closely for over two hundred pages, but skimmed the last third.