Starred Review for Kirkus Reviews (Fri Dec 06 00:00:00 CST 2024)

A debutante meets a new friend who becomes something more.Miss Elizabeth Demeroven is ready for her first season. She's been presented to Queen Victoria, she's been strapped into her hoop skirts, and she's off to find a husband, because she and her widowed mother will have nowhere to live if she doesn't. At her first ball, where she's cornered by a lecherous old nobleman, she's quite grateful to be saved by Lady Guinevere Bertram and her widower father-both of whom are also technically on the market, though they can afford to avoid actual marriages. In Gwen, Beth has found a kindred spirit, and both are relieved to have a friend to help get them through the upcoming crush of balls and parties. Once the two discover that their parents were once sweet on each other, they hatch a plan to make them fall back in love; not only do they want to see their parents happy, but a marriage between them would also mean that neither of their daughters would have to get married. In the process, Gwen and Beth discover that they have strong feelings for each other, and before long, they act on them. Unfortunately, their parents won't be trapped, which means that just as she's discovered real love, Beth has to return to her original goal and accept a proposal from an inoffensive young man with an atrocious father; suddenly, any future with Gwen is out of reach. Alban's debut is a witty, complex slow burn that offers a welcome new perspective on the Victorian marriage market. In addition to a well-paced story with charming heroines, it's heightened by thoughtful, realistic historical detail-who knew hoop skirts could be both so troublesome and so useful? The book is lightly spicy and remarkably intense, thanks to the emotional connection between Beth and Gwen as well as the many barriers between the two women and their happy ending. Readers will be eager for the next installment.A stunning Sapphic Victorian romance from an author to watch.

Kirkus Reviews

A debutante meets a new friend who becomes something more.Miss Elizabeth Demeroven is ready for her first season. She's been presented to Queen Victoria, she's been strapped into her hoop skirts, and she's off to find a husband, because she and her widowed mother will have nowhere to live if she doesn't. At her first ball, where she's cornered by a lecherous old nobleman, she's quite grateful to be saved by Lady Guinevere Bertram and her widower father-both of whom are also technically on the market, though they can afford to avoid actual marriages. In Gwen, Beth has found a kindred spirit, and both are relieved to have a friend to help get them through the upcoming crush of balls and parties. Once the two discover that their parents were once sweet on each other, they hatch a plan to make them fall back in love; not only do they want to see their parents happy, but a marriage between them would also mean that neither of their daughters would have to get married. In the process, Gwen and Beth discover that they have strong feelings for each other, and before long, they act on them. Unfortunately, their parents won't be trapped, which means that just as she's discovered real love, Beth has to return to her original goal and accept a proposal from an inoffensive young man with an atrocious father; suddenly, any future with Gwen is out of reach. Alban's debut is a witty, complex slow burn that offers a welcome new perspective on the Victorian marriage market. In addition to a well-paced story with charming heroines, it's heightened by thoughtful, realistic historical detail-who knew hoop skirts could be both so troublesome and so useful? The book is lightly spicy and remarkably intense, thanks to the emotional connection between Beth and Gwen as well as the many barriers between the two women and their happy ending. Readers will be eager for the next installment.A stunning Sapphic Victorian romance from an author to watch.

Publishers Weekly

Alban debuts with an unabashedly fluffy sapphic romance set in 1850s London. Beth Demeroven’s newly widowed mother is anxious for her to find a successful match during her first season in society and save them from “dying in a hovel.” The available men are tedious, but Beth finds a friend in Lady Gwen Bertram. Despite it being Gwen’s fourth season without an engagement, her doting widowed father, the charming Lord Havenfort, puts no pressure on her, as he’s more interested in engaging her in fencing, chess, and political maneuvers to get the Matrimonial Causes Act, granting wives greater freedom to divorce their husbands, passed. Gwen and Beth discover that their parents were once involved and scheme to rekindle their old romance. If they marry, after all, it would save Beth from having to do so herself. As their matchmaking plays out, the women develop unexpected feelings for each other, realizing they want to be more than just friends. The people around them are encouraging about their connection despite the social mores of the time, and difficult topics like insolvency and spousal abuse show up as plot devices without real emotional resonance, keeping the tone light. For readers who want tenderness, not trauma, in their queer period fiction, this will hit the spot. Agent: Stacy Testa, Writers House. (Jan.)