Reviewed by Valerie

TITLE:  Something Fabulous

AUTHOR:  Alexis Hall

PUBLISHER:  Montlake

LENGTH:  363 pages

RELEASE DATE:  January 25, 2022

BLURB:

Valentine Layton, the Duke of Malvern, has twin problems: literally.

It was always his father’s hope that Valentine would marry Miss Arabella Tarleton. But, unfortunately, too many novels at an impressionable age have caused her to grow up…romantic. So romantic that a marriage of convenience will not do and after Valentine’s proposal she flees into the night determined never to set eyes on him again.

Arabella’s twin brother, Mr. Bonaventure “Bonny” Tarleton, has also grown up…romantic. And fully expects Valentine to ride out after Arabella and prove to her that he’s not the cold-hearted cad he seems to be.

Despite copious misgivings, Valentine finds himself on a pell-mell chase to Dover with Bonny by his side. Bonny is unreasonable, overdramatic, annoying, and…beautiful? And being with him makes Valentine question everything he thought he knew. About himself. About love. Even about which Tarleton he should be pursuing.

REVIEW:

Something Fabulous is a delightfully charming, magnificently ridiculous, extravagantly silly book. It is, indeed, something fabulous. There’s a harried road trip in a carriage, a few nights with only one bed, a duel, a duke kept captive in a cellar, and a virgin. You wouldn’t think a historical novel set in 19th century England would contain a road trip but it does – the majority of the book consists of Valentine, the Duke of Malvern, chasing his runaway fiancée, Belle, through Surrey and Kent in the southern part of the country. Accompanying Valentine is Belle’s twin brother, Bonny Tarleton, his soon to be love interest.

It was the desire of Valentine and Belle’s late fathers to join the families with a “sensible arrangement” (marriage) for the mutual benefit of both families. However, neither Valentine nor Belle wants to marry the other; Valentine has no desire to wed anyone and is only doing so to fulfill his father’s wishes, while Belle is fiercely opposed to the idea of being shackled to the “repugnant” duke. When she absconds with her gender fluid companion, Peggy, it falls to Bonny to awaken Valentine in the middle of the night to chase them. Valentine only agrees to go to save his reputation.

Valentine and Bonny’s adventures as they pursue Belle are hilarious. And enlightening to the endearingly clueless duke. When Bonny admits he’s attracted to men, Valentine is mystified; he’s never heard of such a thing. “Is it only you? Who is like this? What is the purpose?” His naivety is astounding and adorable. Although it was not part of the vernacular at the time, of course, Valentine appears to be demisexual and has never been attracted to anyone. He had come to the conclusion there was something wrong with him. That changed upon his prolonged time spent in Bonny’s company, and the understanding that men could indeed like other men. It becomes even clearer when he awakens aroused one morning with Bonny in the same bed, barnacled to his side. For his part, Bonny has long been enamored with Valentine, although his patience is being tested.

“You complete . . . arse. Wait, I like arses. You . . . you complete something I don’t like. Mustard. You complete jar of mustard.”

Alexis Hall serves up a master class in snark and sarcasm. These two bicker and banter non-stop and, boy, is it entertaining. Mixed in with the snark, though, is the occasional introspective moment when Bonny makes Valentine reflect upon his life:

“That’s the thing about rescuing people,” remarked Tarleton loftily. “Sometimes they’re fleeing something entirely harmless, and others they’re not even aware they’re in need of rescue.”

What is Bonny attempting to rescue Valentine from? A life of the mundane. A life devoid of love and adventure. A safe and banal existence. Valentine likes safe and familiar. He tries not to have feelings because then he can’t experience pain or grief. He just wants to live quietly. Well, Bonny is anything but quiet and throughout the book, he teaches Valentine about passion and how beautiful life can be.

Part of that beauty is his introduction to sex, which Valentine finds quite addicting. Nearly every character in the book is queer and Valentine simply cannot comprehend it. His obtuseness about sexuality provides much humor, but once he “gets” it, he can’t get enough.

I have to mention the note Hall makes in the beginning of the book, stating that certain modern linguistic choices were intentional (meaning not in keeping with the 19th century). These choices are hysterical, things like “full stop” and “He Who Shall Not Be…”. I felt they truly enhanced the humor in the book.

Let’s not forget Valentine still has to catch his bride-to-be on a rampage and work out how his impending marriage will function now that he wants Bonny and nothing but Bonny 24/7. It all turns out wonderful in the end with a perfect happily ever after.

If you want to brighten your day with some romantic silliness, this book is for you. Highly recommend.

RATING: 

BUY LINK: 

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