This was a fun Christmas novella which I read in one sitting. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read this.

The Christmas Chevalier by Meg Mardell

A quirky historical read. A novella that features a trans in the 1800 it is a little confusing at the start but it a quick ,enjoyable read 3.5/5

A historical romance fiction with a Trans MC. Loved it! This short novella has a focus on fashion as everyone is getting ready for the Christmas ball.

This is definitely a fun story and I loved that the Trans character written for the 1800's is so relatable to today.

A unique, clever, and well written historical romance with a very interesting twist...

I adore historical romances, and kudos to Meg Mardell for her skill at incorporating a trans character into 19th Century England and making it work! A fast paced, fun story, Ms. Mardell builds the tension over the course of the novel: will Alvy get discovered, and will he get the girl!?! Nicely done.

Review excerpted from my blog post over at Pan/Cis LGBT2SQ+ Romance Reviews (https://pancis.wordpress.com/2021/01/28/the-christmas-chevalier-by-meg-mardell/)

Overall Rating: 4.0 stars

Library recommendation: Recommended for public library LGBT2SQ+ historical romance collections.

Warning: Hereafter, you chance spoilers. I will try never to reveal major plot points, but to review any book, you must reveal some parts of the story.

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Number of titles I have read by this author: 1

Love story speed: Slow burn

Relationship dynamics: The Bluestocking Governess (h) / The Eccentric Gentleman (H)

Sexual content: None. Kissing only.

Gender Identity: Cis (h) / Trans (H)

Sexual Identity: publisher lists as Pansexual (h) / Heterosexual (H)

Triggers: Perceived harassment for gender identity; threatening behaviour based on gender identity (blackmail)

Acceptance Rating: 2.5 stars

Acceptance Rating Explanation: For a historical, it could have been far worse. There was more fear of discovery than real threat. There is acceptance, but without being considered “normal”

Grammar/Editing: My ARC included a few typos and a reference to macaroons that were actually macarons.

Review: This is a quick-paced book – it has to be, at fewer than 35000 words. It is set in 1879 in London, although there are liberties taken with historical details (e.g. identity of the Prime Minister). In terms of structure, I think that I would have appreciated more indications of which character is speaking when there was a large exchange of dialogue – near the beginning, I didn’t find that the voices were distinct enough to carry long passages of banter without clarification of who said what.

The main characters in this book were Alvy and Laura. They are friends before Alvy transitions and their friendship evolves once he begins transitioning. That is, Laura begins to notice the changes in Alvy and begins to work though her attraction to him. Alvy is understandably a bit cagey, secretive, nervous, and paranoid, but he is also very entertainingly cheeky, as well. Theirs is a cute love story, if short and, while Laura’s switch to using male pronouns for Alvy after learning of his gender identity is thoroughly modern, I was willing to suspend my disbelief because it was a nice feature of the narrative. The supporting characters are primarily the villain and Alvy’s mother. His mother is doting and the villain is mostly ineffectual, but I found that I didn’t mind because I only wanted good things for Alvy.

Full disclosure: I received a free advance review copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley for letting me read this book in return for an honest review.

WARNINGs: on-street harassment of MC (feared to be over trans identity), blackmail of MC (over trans identity), deadnaming and misgendering of MC (this is due to the other main character not knowing that he is trans), the trans character is not out to his family

This is a good book, but I will say that the beginning was a little bit confusing as I struggled to get a grasp on the characters and the plot. I carried on and found that it read a lot smoother after the beginning bit and I really like the friendship and chemistry between the two characters.

The cover shows a woman (I am assuming it is Laura) but I think it should have shown a man as while Laura and Alvy are both main characters, I feel like it was more focused on him. T

There is a lot of misgendering from Laura and other characters who Alvy know but this is because they do not know that Alvy is actually a man who uses he/him so while this is a warning, please know that it is not with malicious intent. The blackmailer however....

Rating: 3.5⭐
Would I Read It Again? Yes
Would I Recommend it? Yes

It’s unusual enough to find a trans character in historical romance that I really wanted to give this another star. But there were too many questions left unanswered, even for a novella. The writing is charmingly old-fashioned, and the characters were intriguing. Usually I would describe the plot more, but I don’t want to give anything away.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC to review.

[The ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]

A really cute queer christmas story! I wish it was longer.

I read this one in almost one go and oh it was such a sweet and beautiful story! I have a huge weakness for books set in the Victorian Age and this one - this was a real gem.
I was slightly confused, however, because I couldn't quite tell for a really long time whether Laura knew that Alvy was trans or not. Besides that - I can only recommened this book. It was a perfect and sweet read and as a person who's questioning their own gender identity I think this was probably the sweetest Christmas gift I could have received. I felt understood while reading this book; I could relate to the characters and I am very excited for the next one. I hope it'll give us a reunion with Laura and Alvy, however, because I I have a feeling that their story isn't quite over yet. Also, I do have a thing for masquerade balls in books and movies. It might a bit weird, but that's a trope I am totally sucking for.

I received a free ARC by Netgalley and the publishers in exchange for an honest review.

Meg Mardell's <i>The Christmas Chevalier</i> is an adorable historical queer romance with a trans love interest! TBH I'm not usually a fan of romance novels, but it's Christmas! Who doesn't like a little romance around the holidays?

Mardell really excels in setting the scene. Victorian London at Christmas really comes alive and it is full of excellent scenery: "Every railing, balustrade, and ornate picture frame of the entrance hall was festooned in evergreen branches and wrapped in gold-flecked white ribbons." If you are a nerd for historical details this one is for you!

My only criticism of this book is that I wanted more! More Laura and Alvy! More wild masquerades! more detailed printing press shenanigans! I do hope that they return in the future I will happily follow more of their adventures!

THE CHRISTMAS CHEVALIER is a really sweet, fast-paced holiday novella.

I really liked how the queer romance was handled. There was nothing too dark or complicated, and the characters were all very accepting of each other. Perfect for the light, holiday story and for the amount of space available in the shorter page count.

The historical setting was well done and I thought the various locations were clear and vividly written: the costumed ball, the outdoor ice rink and Alvy’s bohemian flat.

There are lots of well-used tropes too so this is a really fun read: mistaken identities, friend-to-lovers and mutual, oblivious pining. All great elements in an easy to speed-through romance.

Laura and Alvy are both a delight to read, and I’m glad we get the split POV. The characters are witty and charming.

There were a lot of things going on in this story: Laura’s deadbeat father, the setting up of the printing press and Alvy’s relationship with his parents. I think THE CHRISTMAS CHEVALIER could have done with being a longer, so it could go into all of the different elements in more detail, but I think this might be a series, so I can understand why some things are held back as long as they’re tackled as the series goes on.

A lovely holiday read.

This was a strange book to read. I did enjoy it but don't know if l would recommend it to be read. I liked the characters but got puzzled with the story.

3 stars

It took me half the book to finally understand who were the characters and what was the plot of the story and still I think it had so much going on that i didn't felt I fully enjoy the story.
To be honest I was expecting more or something else and I felt the story was left unfinished. Still, I did end up liking it, especially the ending with Alvy's mother(?) Alexandra.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I very much enjoyed this story. The characters are bright and enjoyable, with palpable affection between Laura and Alvy. I thought the transgender issues and feelings were handled with tact and truth, feeling authentic and real to me.

My only complaint about this book is its cover -- I'm not sure why a story about a trans man would feature so prominently a woman in full dress on its cover. Seems an oversight on the publisher's part.

Thank you netgalley and Nine Star for access to this arc.


Alvy’s money certainly helps him to break from his past and start over as who he truly is. But this change to living as openly as possible as a man is still new to him as shown in little ways – when he begins to dance with Laura, he initially starts them waltzing as he would have danced when presenting as a woman. When out on the street in his male clothes, there are a few times when he initially fears that his trans identity has been uncovered. He still feels that when wearing a dress to visit the family townhouse, that it is a barrier behind which he hides. When he realizes that Laura accepts him as he is, a man, he is dazed with relief and joy.

Laura is used to being on her own and solving her own problems due to her feckless father’s (inferred) gambling habit. She has also been dismissed from her last post because of feminist and suffragette material her employers found. I didn’t find it odd that she barges into “Alvenia’s” flat, still thinking Alvy is a woman, with the plan for them to set up a paper and then has “Alvenia” hire her. This part of the story drags a little and I was amazed at how quickly Alvy and Laura catch onto how to set type.

It takes a while for her to find and put together the clues which tip her off that “Alvenia” (in male costume) is her chevalier. That Laura doesn’t bat an eye when she figures out that “Alvenia” is dressing in masculine clothing doesn’t surprise me due to Alvy’s history of dressing “eccentrically.” Because the concept of transgender identity wasn’t as widespread among genteel ladies in Late Victorian England as it for us today, I was a bit surprised that without Alvy explaining, Laura susses out that he identifies as a man nor does this faze her. She even begins thinking of Alvy with male pronouns with no prompting.

The blackmailer is dispatched forthwith in a way that I found delightful. I’m still not sure if the person responsible actually knows that Alvy identifies as a man or still sees him as a woman albeit one who likes to dress in men’s clothes and then still accepts him that way. But regardless, Alvy and Laura have discovered true love and appear to be headed towards a life, even if an unconventional one, together. B-

The Christmas Chevalier by Meg Mardell is a delightful debut novella set in Victorian England. Alvy is such an interesting character and it's important and so interesting to read about LGBTQ+ characters in a historical setting. I really wish this story was fleshed out more, though. Alvy and Laura had a lot of story to tell and while the story ends happily for them, it also quite abruptly ends..

Great bones, just wanted more depth. Beautiful world building and some lovely scenes with the printing press, in the ballroom, and ice skating on a frozen pond. A slightly villainous character was introduced, but wasn't really impactful to the story. I think that's what I was lacking from the book, a moment that was just huge, a moment that really shook the characters to their core, a big moment between Alvy and Laura, or Alvy and his mother. Given the subject, there was opportunity. It was a very sweet book, low on the steam, no sex scenes, a couple of chaste kisses.

I will definitely have this author on my radar for future reads.

As noted in a reading update, there were no dialogue tags used in this book. So it did get somewhat confusing as to which character was speaking when there were pages of dialogue.

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Normally I give books the benefit of the doubt. Despite rereading the beginning of the book multiple times, I had a terrible time understanding the characters.

I really enjoyed this one! I absolutely love queer historical romances; it's my favourite comfort genre by a country mile, and this was a good one.

I'm cis, so I can't comment too much on the trans rep in this one, but I did like how the author handled other people's perceptions of Alvy. Laura has no problem at all changing the framework by which she views her friend, once she's made aware that he isn't who she's always believed him to be. I liked their dynamic and the easy way they joked with one another, and how their familiarity and respect for one another was evident right from the off. Alvy in particular is a very enjoyable character, being very eccentric and also very tall, which is not, I recognise, a character trait, but is quite endearing. The actual romance was well-paced, given the length of the book, and felt believable.

It wasn't perfect; it definitely could have stood to be about twice the length, for a start. I would have loved to have read more about the printing press and the periodical they published. We only really got to see a couple of scenes of them messing around with the letters, and I think there was a real wasted chance for a meaty subplot and some historical detail there. I like novellas a lot, but I think this should have been a novel. That said, the author does an excellent job of establishing the principal characters, their personalities and their relationships within the small space of this book, and that's no mean feat.

The author also has a very strange habit of never using dialogue tags. I did a search for the word 'said' after I finished the book, and the word only actually crops up 7 times, and every single time it's in direct speech (i.e. "Do you remember that you said this?") and never as an active verb. This means that it's often very difficult to tell who's speaking, because we have whole swathes of back-and-forth dialogue without any of it attributed to one character. You can eschew dialogue tags in conversation with two characters, but only once you've already established the order of who's speaking; without initially making it clear who says the first sentence, the reader becomes lost. This was my only real gripe with the book, and reading the preview for the next book at the end of this one, it looks like that one suffers from the same problem.

All in all, this was a good little read, and I'll very happily look out for the author's next works, although would really like to see the word 'said' get its dues.