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How to Talk to Nice English Girls
In the aftermath of The Great War, everything is changing.
But not for Marian Fielding.
Marian’s life is quiet and predictable in the solitude of the English countryside, where she plans to remain. But Marian’s world is turned upside down when she meets brash, confident Katherine Fuller.
Katherine arrives at the Fieldings’ family estate for the wedding of Marian’s sister and immediately shakes things up. Instead of keeping the ill-mannered American girl out of trouble, Marian finds herself magnetically drawn to Katherine’s vivacious nature, and they are swept into a whirlwind romance that will change both of their lives.
Katherine's unconventional behavior and the pull of Marian's old life threaten their chance at happiness together. But these two women from different worlds will find a way to be together against all odds and expectations.
How to Talk to Nice English Girls is a steamy historical romance and is a standalone novel with plenty of heat and a definite HEA!
But not for Marian Fielding.
Marian’s life is quiet and predictable in the solitude of the English countryside, where she plans to remain. But Marian’s world is turned upside down when she meets brash, confident Katherine Fuller.
Katherine arrives at the Fieldings’ family estate for the wedding of Marian’s sister and immediately shakes things up. Instead of keeping the ill-mannered American girl out of trouble, Marian finds herself magnetically drawn to Katherine’s vivacious nature, and they are swept into a whirlwind romance that will change both of their lives.
Katherine's unconventional behavior and the pull of Marian's old life threaten their chance at happiness together. But these two women from different worlds will find a way to be together against all odds and expectations.
How to Talk to Nice English Girls is a steamy historical romance and is a standalone novel with plenty of heat and a definite HEA!
198 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 27, 2019
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March 10, 2019I got very excited at a new 1920s f/f because honestly, what a fabulous period and how much potential. We definitely get a sense of the changing times, including the collapse of the landed aristocracy and the ravages of the War, but mostly it's a pretty inward-focused story concentrating on Lady Marian's slow journey of self discovery and then the growing sexual relationship. The two leads are passionate, flawed, and fit well together. I'd have liked more external plot / internal conflict myself, but this works well for a positive, low-conflict high-pining historical f/f read. (Small grumble: It's an American industrial heiress and an English earl's daughter, but it's all from the Englishwoman's perspective despite the title and the fact it's written by a USian. I'd really like to see more historical cross-pond romance from the USian perspective, digging into all the weird class/cultural clashes and cringes.)
Strongly fanfic-styled. Whether this bothers or delights readers, or indeed floats by unnoticed, is up to you.
Strongly fanfic-styled. Whether this bothers or delights readers, or indeed floats by unnoticed, is up to you.
September 15, 2019
So this book really surprised me. While it wasn’t the first historical romance book I’ve read, it was my first book from this author so I didn’t know what to expect from her in terms of writing style, character growth, etc..It’s safe to say on both of those accounts I was impressed. If anything, what made this book was the strong, well-crafted characters, their backgrounds, and their searing romantic connection that had me glued to the pages. Ms.Evan's writing was also a plus, nothing too flowery or descriptive but still compelling.
The author hit the home runs with the palpable sexual tension, forget the actual sex scenes that were pretty spank bank hot. I was a fan of Downtown Abbey and if the production team would have been as creative as Ms.Evan, in the sex scenes' element, I would have continued watching after that certain episode.
The build-up to that point, the stolen glances, the heated looks, the secrecy, phew, kept me glued to the pages. While 'were they or weren't' they' going to get caught suspense part of the plot was present and did hit my panic button a few times and no one should question the short period for the romance to develop as it was somewhat believable considering the timeline.
Aside from the fact this book began at a different starting point than what I expected it to be based on the blurb, the rest of this story was absolutely fantastic. There were a couple of heart-to-heart scenes between Marian and Katherine that hit me hard like someone was stabbing at my heart with the Excalibur and I wanted them to be together so badly. And by the end of the book, my heart was going boom³ and I was content with the way the story wrapped up.
Two people don't have to be together right now, in a month or in a year. If those two people are meant to be, then they will be together somehow at some time in life - I wholeheartedly agree but thankful the author did not head to such direction.
Recommended, 4⅜ stars to Ms.Evans and can't wait to devour her future work.
The author hit the home runs with the palpable sexual tension, forget the actual sex scenes that were pretty spank bank hot. I was a fan of Downtown Abbey and if the production team would have been as creative as Ms.Evan, in the sex scenes' element, I would have continued watching after that certain episode.
The build-up to that point, the stolen glances, the heated looks, the secrecy, phew, kept me glued to the pages. While 'were they or weren't' they' going to get caught suspense part of the plot was present and did hit my panic button a few times and no one should question the short period for the romance to develop as it was somewhat believable considering the timeline.
Aside from the fact this book began at a different starting point than what I expected it to be based on the blurb, the rest of this story was absolutely fantastic. There were a couple of heart-to-heart scenes between Marian and Katherine that hit me hard like someone was stabbing at my heart with the Excalibur and I wanted them to be together so badly. And by the end of the book, my heart was going boom³ and I was content with the way the story wrapped up.
Two people don't have to be together right now, in a month or in a year. If those two people are meant to be, then they will be together somehow at some time in life - I wholeheartedly agree but thankful the author did not head to such direction.
Recommended, 4⅜ stars to Ms.Evans and can't wait to devour her future work.
October 2, 2019
Another book where I've been putting off the review, but this time because I couldn't work up the energy to talk about it.
This was a rec from KJ Charles here on Goodreads (she's a good follow for more eclectic and/or self-pubbed books) and I'm glad I picked it up, but I'm not sure I'll read any more books by this author. It was solidly in 'I liked this but meh' territory. Historical f/f romance is so hard to find, and when I've found it, it hasn't often scratched that itch I like my romance novels to scratch. This one sadly didn't, either.
How to Talk to Nice English girls takes place in the 1920s just after the end of the Great War, which was fun! More of that, please. Our main character is Marian, the quiet spinster daughter of an earl. It's her sister's wedding, and a wealthy American and his daughter have come to town. Marian is tasked with keeping the daughter, Katherine, out of trouble, which she finds annoying and insulting. Katherine immediately identifies Marian as a kindred spirit and bothers her until she comes out of her shell, and they eventually start a sexual and romantic relationship.
My problem was that I was never invested. I found Marian nice but dull. Katherine actually annoyed me quite a bit, but I don't like pushy people in real life, and usually not in fiction, and she's very pushy and almost arrogant in her approach. I never warmed to her. Maybe I would have if we would have gotten POV from her, but the book is told solely from Marian's perspective, which I think was a waste. And on top of all that, there is barely any plot or conflict here, just a slow awakening on Marian's part. It wasn't what I wanted from the story, but it might very well be great for others who have different tastes than mine.
As a heads up, if this sounds like your thing, it's currently free if you have Kindle Unlimited!
This was a rec from KJ Charles here on Goodreads (she's a good follow for more eclectic and/or self-pubbed books) and I'm glad I picked it up, but I'm not sure I'll read any more books by this author. It was solidly in 'I liked this but meh' territory. Historical f/f romance is so hard to find, and when I've found it, it hasn't often scratched that itch I like my romance novels to scratch. This one sadly didn't, either.
How to Talk to Nice English girls takes place in the 1920s just after the end of the Great War, which was fun! More of that, please. Our main character is Marian, the quiet spinster daughter of an earl. It's her sister's wedding, and a wealthy American and his daughter have come to town. Marian is tasked with keeping the daughter, Katherine, out of trouble, which she finds annoying and insulting. Katherine immediately identifies Marian as a kindred spirit and bothers her until she comes out of her shell, and they eventually start a sexual and romantic relationship.
My problem was that I was never invested. I found Marian nice but dull. Katherine actually annoyed me quite a bit, but I don't like pushy people in real life, and usually not in fiction, and she's very pushy and almost arrogant in her approach. I never warmed to her. Maybe I would have if we would have gotten POV from her, but the book is told solely from Marian's perspective, which I think was a waste. And on top of all that, there is barely any plot or conflict here, just a slow awakening on Marian's part. It wasn't what I wanted from the story, but it might very well be great for others who have different tastes than mine.
As a heads up, if this sounds like your thing, it's currently free if you have Kindle Unlimited!
September 19, 2019
How to Talk to Nice English Girls: a lesbian historical novel is Gretchen Adams’ first published novel (after writing a lot of fan fic – although I don’t know for what fandom) and I think she shows a lot of promise. Historical fiction is not an easy route to travel, and even though there was not an enormous amount of historical detail she created a believable enough world.
I want to thank Farah for bringing this to my attention. It was an entertaining read. The mousy Marian Fielding and the bold Katherine (only call me Kat when we have sex) Fuller have good chemistry together. It was great to see Katherine coax Marian out of her shell and lead her into temptation. Their sexy times did not disappoint.
Once the excitement of Katherine pursuing Marian and bedding her was done, we had about half the book left where it kind of meandered on. The story arc could have been plotted better but that is something that can be learned over time.
I hope to see more of this author.
f/f explicit - hot sexy times
Themes: 1920s, this bold American girl, changing times, breaking free from boredom and daddy, hot sex scenes, the first part of the book was the best.
4 Stars
I want to thank Farah for bringing this to my attention. It was an entertaining read. The mousy Marian Fielding and the bold Katherine (only call me Kat when we have sex) Fuller have good chemistry together. It was great to see Katherine coax Marian out of her shell and lead her into temptation. Their sexy times did not disappoint.
Once the excitement of Katherine pursuing Marian and bedding her was done, we had about half the book left where it kind of meandered on. The story arc could have been plotted better but that is something that can be learned over time.
I hope to see more of this author.
f/f explicit - hot sexy times
Themes: 1920s, this bold American girl, changing times, breaking free from boredom and daddy, hot sex scenes, the first part of the book was the best.
4 Stars
July 13, 2021
3.5
Good writing, especially for a debut novel, but it could use some editing to get rid of the typos. Some parts of the story were more enjoyable than others — especially Marian’s sexual awakening — but I couldn’t really connect with either of the MCs. Marian was a bit bland, to be honest, and Katherine was spoiled and immature (then again, she was 19…). The relationship development would’ve been better and more realistic if it wasn’t so easy. For a historical, there’s a distinct lack of conflict here that required some suspension of disbelief. Still, it was an entertaining, quick read. The sex scenes were very well-written.
Good writing, especially for a debut novel, but it could use some editing to get rid of the typos. Some parts of the story were more enjoyable than others — especially Marian’s sexual awakening — but I couldn’t really connect with either of the MCs. Marian was a bit bland, to be honest, and Katherine was spoiled and immature (then again, she was 19…). The relationship development would’ve been better and more realistic if it wasn’t so easy. For a historical, there’s a distinct lack of conflict here that required some suspension of disbelief. Still, it was an entertaining, quick read. The sex scenes were very well-written.
February 9, 2019
4.5 stars.
The world needs more F/F Historicals as heartwarming as this one.
The world needs more F/F Historicals as heartwarming as this one.
July 11, 2019
THE BATH TUB SCENE. That's all I've got to say.
Want to read
November 22, 2019oh gosh a sapphic historical romance,, they know what we want
July 24, 2020
A short 2 and a half hour read, set in the 1920s England.
With an American protagonist Katherine 'Kitty' who is unconventional and vivacious, with the demure British Marian who is intrigued yet more stoic.
Sparks fly though and the hot and heavy ensues. Does it ever! 😰
The ending wraps up rather quickly and easily, which was my only disappointment. Currently on Kindle unlimited.
With an American protagonist Katherine 'Kitty' who is unconventional and vivacious, with the demure British Marian who is intrigued yet more stoic.
Sparks fly though and the hot and heavy ensues. Does it ever! 😰
The ending wraps up rather quickly and easily, which was my only disappointment. Currently on Kindle unlimited.
February 6, 2019
Delightfully Sapphic.
Full review to come!
Full review to come!
August 24, 2019
So very charming.
I was really excited when I found out about this book because, while there is a lot of queer historical romance being published right now, there's A sad lack of lesbian historical romance coming out. So this book gets my thumbs up for that alone. It is a fast, sweet read with a few rough edges. Marian feels a little more one dimensional and feels real list stick, even coming from an old fashioned titled family. I would have liked a few more glimpses into her world, a few views of things she remembers or things she likes or things she wishes for even if she thinks she can't have them. I also would have liked to have seen things through her eyes and other senses a little more, rather than just hearing her thoughts. But, the romance here is perfectly lovely and sweet - but not too sweet! There is plenty of steam, and plenty of self discovery along the way. I think the epilogue might be my favorite part of the book. Lots of tenderness and humor there, and a lovely flow to the prose that was missing in other parts of the book. Overall, though, this was a satisfying read and gets plenty of extra kudos from me just for bucking the queer romance novel trend and bringing us a lovely growing relationship between two young women.
I was really excited when I found out about this book because, while there is a lot of queer historical romance being published right now, there's A sad lack of lesbian historical romance coming out. So this book gets my thumbs up for that alone. It is a fast, sweet read with a few rough edges. Marian feels a little more one dimensional and feels real list stick, even coming from an old fashioned titled family. I would have liked a few more glimpses into her world, a few views of things she remembers or things she likes or things she wishes for even if she thinks she can't have them. I also would have liked to have seen things through her eyes and other senses a little more, rather than just hearing her thoughts. But, the romance here is perfectly lovely and sweet - but not too sweet! There is plenty of steam, and plenty of self discovery along the way. I think the epilogue might be my favorite part of the book. Lots of tenderness and humor there, and a lovely flow to the prose that was missing in other parts of the book. Overall, though, this was a satisfying read and gets plenty of extra kudos from me just for bucking the queer romance novel trend and bringing us a lovely growing relationship between two young women.
September 24, 2020
rep: lesbian mc, lesbian li, f/f romance
It took me months to read but for a debut novel, especially a historical romance, this is a strong one. The clash of values, morals, etiquette and upbringings were well-developed and it was nice to see Marian and Katherine were raised differently but still had things in common. Katherine is American and she has more experience than Marian who is older, and a Lady. I also liked that Katherine was interested in business and trade, and how she tried to go against a society that doesn't want women to succeed.
The romance was nice too and convincing. Overall, it was a good book.
It took me months to read but for a debut novel, especially a historical romance, this is a strong one. The clash of values, morals, etiquette and upbringings were well-developed and it was nice to see Marian and Katherine were raised differently but still had things in common. Katherine is American and she has more experience than Marian who is older, and a Lady. I also liked that Katherine was interested in business and trade, and how she tried to go against a society that doesn't want women to succeed.
The romance was nice too and convincing. Overall, it was a good book.
March 20, 2025
3.5 stars
A 1920s Sapphic tale of an English lady and an American hellion that never quite catches fire. Some delicious sexual tension and pining, but I found myself getting a little bored toward the end. We needed more plot or conflict.
A 1920s Sapphic tale of an English lady and an American hellion that never quite catches fire. Some delicious sexual tension and pining, but I found myself getting a little bored toward the end. We needed more plot or conflict.
November 3, 2019
I really enjoyed this book, nice change of pace. It's my first book from this author, will definitely look for more.
Read
March 25, 2019A lovely sweet romance between a naive English and bold American girl in the twenties. This is really lovely, with a great focus on their growing relationship without overlooking the social mores of the time.
June 23, 2019
A Lesbian Romance
Finally, a lesbian romance that is about as normal as normal can be. No screaming rants. No breaking up. Just two lovely women fAlli in love. I loved it.
Finally, a lesbian romance that is about as normal as normal can be. No screaming rants. No breaking up. Just two lovely women fAlli in love. I loved it.
November 15, 2019
So this was alright but I dunno. The MCs didn't really grab me. I didn't care one way or the other if they got together or not. It was a OMK read for me and some steam for those that care. 3 and change stars
June 22, 2023
It’s really more like a 3 star but I’ll give it 3.5 because the smut was 👌👌👌
February 13, 2021
Katherine: 
Marian:
Me:
How to Talk to Nice English Girls was fun and surprisingly steamy. I think I'm a sucker for historical Sapphic romances; something about the ankle-glimpsing taboo of it all just gets me, man. Proper Lady Marian is tasked with keeping wild, American Katherine under wraps for the duration of her sister's wedding— that girl has a reputation. Predictably, it's Katherine who has the greater influence, dragging Marian to scandalous barn parties with JAZZ MUSIC and women dancing in TROUSERS. Gay makeouts ensue. It's cheesy but heartfelt; I rooted for these baby gays. Cute, cute.
Marian:
Me:
How to Talk to Nice English Girls was fun and surprisingly steamy. I think I'm a sucker for historical Sapphic romances; something about the ankle-glimpsing taboo of it all just gets me, man. Proper Lady Marian is tasked with keeping wild, American Katherine under wraps for the duration of her sister's wedding— that girl has a reputation. Predictably, it's Katherine who has the greater influence, dragging Marian to scandalous barn parties with JAZZ MUSIC and women dancing in TROUSERS. Gay makeouts ensue. It's cheesy but heartfelt; I rooted for these baby gays. Cute, cute.
May 14, 2019
This book made me so happy. Marian, an introverted upper class Brit and Katherine, the care free daughter of an American businessman became my very good friends. I hated having to put the book down, for whatever reason, but especially needing sleep. I missed them and wondered what they were up to, I missed their banter and flirting. Throughout the story, they influenced and encouraged growth in each other.
Something I enjoyed so very much about this story is that through all of their challenges and obstacles, not once was there any painful angst caused by one on the other based on insecurity or jealousy or any number of other agonizing "misunderstandings" that we readers are forced to endure.
The writing is so beautiful. It's clean and crisp, and yet easily plays to all the senses
Something I enjoyed so very much about this story is that through all of their challenges and obstacles, not once was there any painful angst caused by one on the other based on insecurity or jealousy or any number of other agonizing "misunderstandings" that we readers are forced to endure.
The writing is so beautiful. It's clean and crisp, and yet easily plays to all the senses
February 15, 2019
I mainly just wished this had been a little longer, and we'd gotten more about the relationship development. It's a very sweet (and hot!) story about two girls finding each other.
March 14, 2019
A gentle but surprisingly steamy for f/f historical romance novella about an American flapper and English lady.
July 14, 2019
The world needs to make more books like this one. Wonderful read.
August 24, 2019
LOVED IT! I will never get tired of saying that we need more f/f books, especially good ones.
February 2, 2021
Set in the 1920s, this is a lovely, lovely read.
Read the full review @ https://bestlesficreviews.blogspot.co...
Read the full review @ https://bestlesficreviews.blogspot.co...
January 10, 2020
This was book #13 for Romanceopoly 2020.
Square: Lovers Lane (LGBT)
Challenge Pack: Moon
Challenge: Read a LGBT romanace which isn't a contemporary.
For my other square in this neighborhood on the Romanceopoly board I read a M-M romance and I was really happy I did. For this one, I wanted to read a F-F romance. I knew that I didn't want to jump right into the traditional historical romance, not yet at least, so I looked for one that was still historical, but a more recent time period; this fit the bill perfectly. This takes place in the early 1920s - not so far removed from the Great War for it to not have an impact, but removed enough for society to start to change: the flapper revolution has begun.
Lady Marian Fielding is the younger daughter of a Lord, who lives a nice quiet existence in the English countryside. Her family is preparing for her older sister's wedding and she is informed that she is being tasked to take care of one of the wayward daughter of a guest and her father's American business partner. Not exactly what she wanted to hear, as she's already got so much on her plate, but as an obedient daughter, she does as asked. However, when she meets Katherine Fuller, she feels a draw to her that she's never felt before for another person. Katherine is beautiful, vivacious, fun loving, and mischievous. While Marian is supposed to rein Katherine in and show her how a lady is supposed to act, she finds that she wants Katherine to change less and less and she wants to let loose more and more. She finds that she needs to navigate these new feelings and decide what really matters to her: disappointing her family and society or love.
This was a beautiful story of young and forbidden love in the early 20th century. While it's always been easier for two women to hide their relationship in plain sight, this book addresses some of the societal views on relationships like this. I wish that it had gone more into the differences between attitudes in the smaller societies of the English countryside and Kent with Paris and London, I understand why it didn't. I would have dearly loved to see how the more permissive Paris society would have embraced or shunned them as Paris was Katherine's dream location to be.
Square: Lovers Lane (LGBT)
Challenge Pack: Moon
Challenge: Read a LGBT romanace which isn't a contemporary.
For my other square in this neighborhood on the Romanceopoly board I read a M-M romance and I was really happy I did. For this one, I wanted to read a F-F romance. I knew that I didn't want to jump right into the traditional historical romance, not yet at least, so I looked for one that was still historical, but a more recent time period; this fit the bill perfectly. This takes place in the early 1920s - not so far removed from the Great War for it to not have an impact, but removed enough for society to start to change: the flapper revolution has begun.
Lady Marian Fielding is the younger daughter of a Lord, who lives a nice quiet existence in the English countryside. Her family is preparing for her older sister's wedding and she is informed that she is being tasked to take care of one of the wayward daughter of a guest and her father's American business partner. Not exactly what she wanted to hear, as she's already got so much on her plate, but as an obedient daughter, she does as asked. However, when she meets Katherine Fuller, she feels a draw to her that she's never felt before for another person. Katherine is beautiful, vivacious, fun loving, and mischievous. While Marian is supposed to rein Katherine in and show her how a lady is supposed to act, she finds that she wants Katherine to change less and less and she wants to let loose more and more. She finds that she needs to navigate these new feelings and decide what really matters to her: disappointing her family and society or love.
This was a beautiful story of young and forbidden love in the early 20th century. While it's always been easier for two women to hide their relationship in plain sight, this book addresses some of the societal views on relationships like this. I wish that it had gone more into the differences between attitudes in the smaller societies of the English countryside and Kent with Paris and London, I understand why it didn't. I would have dearly loved to see how the more permissive Paris society would have embraced or shunned them as Paris was Katherine's dream location to be.
January 4, 2021
Actual rating: 2.5.
The year is 1920. When Lady Marian Fielding's father asks her to look after his American business associate's brash and brazen daughter Katherine, she's less than impressed. But why is she so magnetically drawn to Katherine? And who's working their influence on whom?
This was a quick, pacy little read which took me just over 2 hours to finish. Unfortunately, due to its short length and shallow content, I don't have much to say about it beyond the fact it's a sweet, fluffy, sexually explicit F/F historical romance centred around the sexual awakening of the main protagonist and not much else.
Marian and Katherine are nice enough characters, but I personally found them be a bit bland. Despite being complete opposites in terms of personality, all potential for conflict goes out the window once Kitty makes her move on Marian. Consequently for me, they lacked chemistry; the whole thing felt like a relationship of convenience as opposed to one of genuine feeling—I do not believe this was the book's intention.
The sex scenes—very steamy and explicit—dominate too large a chunk of the book; I'd had liked a bit more internal/external conflict, which could have been covered had the book been at least 100 pages longer. E.g. although there's enough historical detail to place the setting, it's mostly window dressing. Anytime conflict arises to threaten Marian and Katherine's relationship, it's conveniently explained away or just outright ignored and dropped altogether. Even the fact that Katherine is American is barely remarked upon beyond her flapper appearance, so any potential for culture clash with the prim and proper Marian is wasted.
Whilst it's quite refreshing to read a genuinely fluffy lesbian historical romance where absolutely nothing bad happens whatsoever, it does beggar belief absolutely 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 who finds out about their relationship wants to help them keep it quiet. I honestly would not be surprised to learn that the author's historical research of Britain in the 1920s consisted only of watching a few episodes of 'Downton Abbey'.
The ending was rushed, came out of nowhere and left me with a lot of unanswered questions.
Overall, this was fun to read. But a memorable story of substance it is not.
CWs: Adult themes and sexual content. Feel free to DM me for details!
The year is 1920. When Lady Marian Fielding's father asks her to look after his American business associate's brash and brazen daughter Katherine, she's less than impressed. But why is she so magnetically drawn to Katherine? And who's working their influence on whom?
This was a quick, pacy little read which took me just over 2 hours to finish. Unfortunately, due to its short length and shallow content, I don't have much to say about it beyond the fact it's a sweet, fluffy, sexually explicit F/F historical romance centred around the sexual awakening of the main protagonist and not much else.
Marian and Katherine are nice enough characters, but I personally found them be a bit bland. Despite being complete opposites in terms of personality, all potential for conflict goes out the window once Kitty makes her move on Marian. Consequently for me, they lacked chemistry; the whole thing felt like a relationship of convenience as opposed to one of genuine feeling—I do not believe this was the book's intention.
The sex scenes—very steamy and explicit—dominate too large a chunk of the book; I'd had liked a bit more internal/external conflict, which could have been covered had the book been at least 100 pages longer. E.g. although there's enough historical detail to place the setting, it's mostly window dressing. Anytime conflict arises to threaten Marian and Katherine's relationship, it's conveniently explained away or just outright ignored and dropped altogether. Even the fact that Katherine is American is barely remarked upon beyond her flapper appearance, so any potential for culture clash with the prim and proper Marian is wasted.
Whilst it's quite refreshing to read a genuinely fluffy lesbian historical romance where absolutely nothing bad happens whatsoever, it does beggar belief absolutely 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 who finds out about their relationship wants to help them keep it quiet. I honestly would not be surprised to learn that the author's historical research of Britain in the 1920s consisted only of watching a few episodes of 'Downton Abbey'.
The ending was rushed, came out of nowhere and left me with a lot of unanswered questions.
Overall, this was fun to read. But a memorable story of substance it is not.
CWs: Adult themes and sexual content. Feel free to DM me for details!
January 13, 2020
“I could love you. If you let me.”
Very sweet historical f/f romance, set in 1920s England. The kind of low-stakes, character-driven, first-time romance that I'm always inevitably drawn to. I honestly would have liked some more character interaction, and maybe some external conflict? The hurdles that they did have to clear with regards to their relationship seemed to disappear so quickly as to be a little unsatisfying. I definitely don't think there always needs to be huge conflicts in romance novels (the results when it's not done well are always so awkward) and I LIKED getting straight to the romance, but also I expected Marian's father to be more of a problem, or to have challenges arise from Mr. Fuller's business dealings or Katherine's boisterousness. And speaking of Katherine's badly behaved ways, I would have liked to see more of Marian doing chaperone things, whether or not she actually succeeded at them.
Despite the little nitpicks, I still thoroughly enjoyed myself with this book. Character dynamics that I feel in love with, good plot, and a happy ending. And it has to be mentioned: it was super hot.
3.5 stars.
Very sweet historical f/f romance, set in 1920s England. The kind of low-stakes, character-driven, first-time romance that I'm always inevitably drawn to. I honestly would have liked some more character interaction, and maybe some external conflict? The hurdles that they did have to clear with regards to their relationship seemed to disappear so quickly as to be a little unsatisfying. I definitely don't think there always needs to be huge conflicts in romance novels (the results when it's not done well are always so awkward) and I LIKED getting straight to the romance, but also I expected Marian's father to be more of a problem, or to have challenges arise from Mr. Fuller's business dealings or Katherine's boisterousness. And speaking of Katherine's badly behaved ways, I would have liked to see more of Marian doing chaperone things, whether or not she actually succeeded at them.
Despite the little nitpicks, I still thoroughly enjoyed myself with this book. Character dynamics that I feel in love with, good plot, and a happy ending. And it has to be mentioned: it was super hot.
3.5 stars.
February 16, 2021
I read a fair amount of queer historical romances (by queer authors...don’t get me started on cishet authors writing queer romances) but for some reason I’ve always avoided books set in the 20s. The whole jazz age/flapper period has never been a thing that appeals to me but after reading the synopsis of this, I decided to forgive it that sin 😂 and give it a chance.
We follow Marian, a young self-proclaimed spinster, as she plans her elder sister’s wedding and meets Kitty, wedding guest and daughter of her (Marian’s) father’s business acquaintance. In the time before the wedding, Marian is charged with keeping an eye on the overly brash Kitty and keeping her out of trouble and away from scandal….shenanigans ensue from there.
I loved both Marian and Kitty and was pretty much foaming at the mouth waiting for them to get their sh*t together and get together. I enjoyed how the relationship progressed and the book itself was such an easy, enjoyable read from start to finish that it almost felt too short when it ended (it was just right though). I enjoyed it a whole lot, can’t really say much more.
We follow Marian, a young self-proclaimed spinster, as she plans her elder sister’s wedding and meets Kitty, wedding guest and daughter of her (Marian’s) father’s business acquaintance. In the time before the wedding, Marian is charged with keeping an eye on the overly brash Kitty and keeping her out of trouble and away from scandal….shenanigans ensue from there.
I loved both Marian and Kitty and was pretty much foaming at the mouth waiting for them to get their sh*t together and get together. I enjoyed how the relationship progressed and the book itself was such an easy, enjoyable read from start to finish that it almost felt too short when it ended (it was just right though). I enjoyed it a whole lot, can’t really say much more.
December 29, 2019
Lovely FF historical romance set in the 1920s between an English earl’s daughter and an American industrial heiress. The plot is very quiet and I was less invested about halfway through—to the point of setting it aside for a couple of weeks—because there wasn’t much of anything happening to drive things forward. It's more about Marian's internal dilemma than anything else. But I did love Marian and Katherine together, especially for the way Katherine opened Marian’s eyes to how much more life was available to her than what polite society dictated.
CW: homophobia, closeted characters, financial concerns, sexism
CW: homophobia, closeted characters, financial concerns, sexism
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