Review: Something Fabulous by Alexis Hall

5 🎩🎩🎩🎩🎩 out of 5

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.

☙ ☙ ☙ ☙ ☙

This book is a god damned masterpiece.

This is Alexis Hall at the top of his game. Peak AJH. Reading this book felt like watching a master magician: you don’t understand how he’s doing what he’s doing but you know it’s good and you’re in awe of what you’re seeing.

I have been looking forward to this book for a long time and it. Did. Not. Disappoint. In fact, it met and exceeded my every expectation. Every time I found a hilarious line I loved, the very next one would top it. Over and over and over again. The writing is so tight and well-crafted it reads effortlessly. I wanted to rush through and devour it and get it in my eyeballs as quickly as possible, but I also wanted to read slowly and savor every line. At 5% of the way in, I knew this was going to be going on my Faves of 2022 list.

This was just a blast to read. You can tell Hall was having fun playing with the conventions of the Historical/Regency Romance. The tropes are rendered so brilliantly; honestly, this is one of the best grumpy/sunshine dynamics I’ve ever read in any romance. I almost didn’t care where the plot went, I just wanted these characters to be in a room together and talking, or to listen to their thoughts. That’s where this book shines for me. But it’s not just all silliness and drama queens.

Valentine is extremely naive about a great many things. Every time Valentine throws a social norm in Bonny’s face, Bonny teaches him to question it, to question those long-held beliefs to see if they actually serve a good purpose, or if they are even accurate. I think we all need to do that a little more often. Bonny ends up slowly stripping away Valentine’s naïveté, leading Valentine to several realizations, including an understanding of his own sexuality.

I really loved all the myriad themes woven into the plot such as the importance of self-acceptance (whether that pertains to one's sexuality or one's taste in books) and letting people love who they love. The writing here is exquisite. Hall’s word-smithery is on fine display as usual and he keeps setting the bar high for romances in particular and storytelling in general. As consistently hilarious and joyful as the book is, it also has emotional heft. He gets you comfortable with the over-the-top silliness and humor and wallops you in the climax with a surprising amount of feeling.

But I mean, there’s also a pig named Boudicca for crissakes.

Beyond enjoyable. Highly recommend.

All the stars.

Read this book.