Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this eARC of 'You're the Problem, It's You' by Emma R. Alban.

This is my second Emma R. Alban historical romance and sadly, it's still not hitting me. I did connect to 'You're the Problem, It's You' much much more and in comparison to the first novel, I did enjoy this one. But I honestly cannot fall in love with this book and the writing style doesn't grip me, again this is perfect for a newbie to the Historical Romance genre or someone who loves Queer romances but not convoluted historical business.

This is a lovely historical romance story which has the characters going from enemies to lovers rather quick, the characters have banter and the romance aspect, it’s a well written story but is lacking on the historical side

After absolutely adoring the romantic romp that was Don’t Want You Like a Best Friend, and after the little teaser for the next couple at the end, I was super excited to dive into You’re the Problem, It’s You, and needless to say I wasn’t disappointed! I love Emma Alban’s take on regency romance and it was so great to be back with the beloved cast of characters again.

Bobby and James were such fun characters to spend time with. After the original animosity between them mostly fuelled by misunderstanding and missed expectations, they quickly fell into a camaraderie that lead to the slow burn romance of my dreams. I really loved how James’ anxiety was portrayed, especially regarding his dealings with Stepfather and his worries over social situations. He was incredibly endearing and really pulled at my heart strings, and I was definitely rooting for his happy ending! Bobby, while happy go lucky and extroverted as his core, proved to be the emotionally intelligent and careful partner I knew be would be. I loved seeing these two fall in love and the family support they both enjoyed. And who doesn’t love a tactical lavender marriage!

Overall, this will definitely appeal to fans of Bridgerton (but queer!), Cat Sebastian, and KJ Charles. Can’t wait to see what they write next!

This is a delightful historical romance that isn’t set in the Regency for once! James is an anxious disaster who doesn’t know how to act around his long-time crush, Bobby is trying to draw him into society as a favour for mutual connections while frustrated that such an attractive man can be such a dick. The whole cast is wonderful, and the found family vibes gave me war fuzzy feelings. It’s not for you if you’re looking for much historical authenticity in the language, it has lots of contemporary-sounding dialogue, behaviour etc, but if you don’t mind that I think it’s great for fans of historical and contemporary romances alike.

The various ways people are related to each other gets a bit much to keep track of, and I remained slightly confused about the actual details of a dramatic family history that lends some tension to the story. I haven’t read the first book in the series, and I’m assuming that was when said dramatic family history actually happened? But without that I was lightly baffled in places.

4.5 stars

Ok this was so fun.

I absolutely adored don’t want you like a best friend and before I even finished it I was requesting this book on NetGalley

A different relationship dynamic here with it being enemies to lovers but it was so good.

James was absolutely insufferable for most of this book but honestly I didn’t care or could blame him for it poor guy goes through it.

And Bobby who was such a sweetheart I loved him.

I also loved seeing more of Gwen and Beth of course. And the inclusion of albie bobbys brother.

There was a bit more smut in this book then the first, which honestly wasn’t great at all. I don’t mind smut in books but this just wasn’t written very well at all I wish it was more similar to how it was written in the first book. But i could easily skip those scenes and there were very few.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review

If you like Bridgerton or generally that time, this is a must read. It’s a lovely story with characters that you just want to join in their lifes. This story focuses on so many important topics and overcomes them in ways that shows how important it is to trust your family. You’ll easily have a hard time picking your favourite character because all of them except some of course, are just so loveable. I really enjoyed this book though I have to admit there were some parts that were a bit slower. But all in overall, I absolutely recommend this book.

This was a very anticipated book for me after loving Don't Want You Like a Best Friend. James and Bobby's story was another enjoyable romance with the charm of a regency love story and the joy of finding your own space of queer acceptance. I really grew to like James as a character which is quite impressive considering what a shadow he cast in the first book, inheriting the Demeroven title and seemingly casting out Beth and her mother. He was a charming young man with a great character arc of learning to trust others and stand up to the bullies in his life - namely his stepfather and Raverson. I really liked how he clearly had panic attacks but that they were described in an era-appropriate way.

Towards the end I felt the story got a little rushed but I think when the focus is romance and there's some big subplots going on to do with blackmail and so forth that's not unlikely to happen. I think the same sort of vibe happened in book 1 with the failed wedding and the setting up of Dashiell and Cordelia.

Asides from that, I also liked the insights into parliamentary life from James perspective as well as the insight into how different things were for homosexual men than women - they had secret social spaces but simultaneously it's a greater cost for men to be discovered than women. It's nice to see those details brought in. I also liked the adoption of the orphans at the end and how that was a subtle background theme from the girls volunteering at the foundling hospital and Frederic being born.

Ultimately, this is just a fun series about queer people being lucky in finding love and support, and being able to navigate an unwelcoming society. It's somewhat predictable but that's not a flaw because it's nice to think maybe some people in at historical point had this kind of life.

This is a very cute romance, the historical part is a bit lacking tho but i didn't mind. They went from ennemies to lovers pretty fast but their banter was great

I really wanted to love this book.

I definitely found the 'historical' aspect to be lacking. Throughout, it feels like the author almost forgot what era is was set in, especially when it came to the characters. I was mostly just frustrated with the grasp of the setting. It was often difficult to tell when it was actually set. I've seen it advertised as regency AND victorian but it doesn't really keep up with either.

However, apart from that, it's nice, it's cute, it's easy to read. It wasn’t quite enemies to lovers and more ‘I don’t like you oh wait maybe I do’ as it all felt very quick, but it IS nice.

The found family aspect is wonderful, and the use of certain clubs as accepting spaces during the time that homosexuality was a crime was good, but it also felt like it kind of ignored the fact that it was a crime (bar it being used as blackmail). Everyone seemed a little bit Too accepting.

It’s definitely not accurate historical fiction,
but it’s snappy, easy, cute and worth a read.

Thank you to Penguin and Netgalley for the ARC.

I have such a complex relationship with these books - which seems a bit overdramatic for how easy and gentle they are. With Alban's first book I actually found it growing on me after the review, and thought I'd perhaps been a bit harsh and unfair based on my own expectations. I still gave it 3 stars, but found the 'historical' aspect lacking. Therefore, I prepped myself with this book and went it accepting that it isn't historical fiction, despite the setting.

Somehow, I still found myself a little bit frustrated with this loose grasp of the setting. Is it Regency? Is it Victorian? Is it some general mishmash? I've seen the books advertised as both eras but it doesn't quite sit in either. There are a few little anachronisms that I caught.

BUT ignoring all of that, my comment about the first book - "it's a fluffy little proftierole of a book" - stands for this too. It's nice, it's cute, it's easy to read. I wish we'd had a bit more of the enemies side of things before we got to the lovers as it all felt a bit quick, but it's nice. There's a found family which is always my favourite, and we dip into the world of clubs a little and see the accepting spaces there were when homosexuality was a crime.

Maybe this isn't the book for you if you like tried and true historical fiction, but it's a sweet Bridgerton-esque romantic romp, and it's worth reading if you're into that.

✨3 stars✨

I really wanted to love this book. The premise sounded really interesting! However, the execution just wasn’t there for me. I found it really difficult to connect with the characters and they all felt quite flat and 2-Dimensional rather than being fully formed characters. Therefore, I found myself skimming parts because I was bored.

I just don’t think this book was for me sadly as it was just fine, okay, but not memorable or likely to stick with me past writing this review!

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

After reading the first book in this series, I couldn't wait to get hold of this! We saw a little of James and Bobby in the previous book, one perhaps in a kinder light than the other. Here we pick up with Gwen and Beth being adorable in the background, with much more subtle matchmaking this time, and Bobby and James at the front, clashing over and over again.

The title gives you an idea of what their initial relationship is like, "You're The Problem, It's You". Watching them move from antagonists, to friends and lovers is utterly delightful. I just want to coddle James up and make sure only good things happen to him.

It's safe to say that this book lived up to all the expectations I had for it. And it gave me an oblivious bisexual secondary character who can't understand monosexuals. Honestly, Prince was the best. Actually, so was Meredith's mother. And Meredith and Albie, and you know, just everyone was the best.

I can't wait to buy a copy when this comes out and pop it on my shelf!

This is the kind of read you want at the end of the day, where you want to set aside your worries and just immerse yourself into the romancelandia version of England - but make it queer. The sequel carries on with largely the same set of characters as were in the first novel by Emma Alban, but not in a way that would make it inaccessible to new readers. Recurring characters get handy reminders of who they are and what their backstory was, so that you can carry on following their lives as they happen in the background to the central couple's romance. While I did find their first meeting unnecessarily antagonistic, they grew on me as the book evolved. It's a nice piece of escapist histrom, so if you like the genre, you will like this one.

A really enjoyable sequel. While I enjoyed the first book more, there's just something about queer historical fiction that tickles a part of my brain. As with the first book, Gwen and Beth were delightful, as were the supporting cast. I also got unreasonably excited reading about the GMC act.

My biggest complaint would be that James was so incredibly frustrating to read about and absolutely insufferable towards the other characters. I basically spent the whole book feeling bad for Bobby and wondering why he would be in love with James. Despite this, the romance was still fun to read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin UK for providing a copy of this book for review. All opinions are my own.

There are stories that we read that never truly leave us and I have no doubt that, this series will stay with me forever. I’m not sure I precisely have the words to explain how entirely amazing this series is or just how much it has captivated me. All I know is that I want to read it over and over again.

After loving Beth and Gwen’s story I was eager to return to 1858 for James and Bobby’s story, which did not disappoint. There is so much longing and angst throughout their story that I just couldn’t put it down. Just like the first book I don’t think I have ever wanted two people to find their way to one another as much as I did for these two couples.

It’s marked as an enemies to lovers but I would say they are never truly ‘enemies’ , there’s a clear dislike of one another which comes after a disastrous first encounter (James being unable to communicate after many years of crushing on Bobby and Booby conveying James’ actions as stand-offish.)

Just like the first book there’s meddling and mischief from Ben and Gwen and all our favourite characters return as well as Albie, who is just the sweetest, having a bigger part in James and Bobby’s story.

Emma, thank you for writing these beautiful stories and creating these characters to give a voice to so many. I have said it before and will say it again, please someone turn these books in a TV series.

✨ Queer Historical Romance
✨ Found Family
✨ Enemies to Lovers (kind of)

Favourite Quotes:

𝑰 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒈𝒐, 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒊𝒕 𝒄𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓. 𝑰 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒚 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒆.

𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒂 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆? 𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒊𝒕 𝒂 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆, 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝒖𝒔?

𝑩𝒐𝒃𝒃𝒚 𝒐𝒓 𝒏𝒐𝒕, 𝒔𝒐𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒕𝒚 𝒅𝒐𝒆𝒔𝒏'𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝑱𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒔. 𝑾𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒔, 𝒏𝒐 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔. 𝑯𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒃𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒊𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆-𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝒗𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚'𝒓𝒆 𝒈𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒆- 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒔𝒎𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒅, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒅, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒋𝒖𝒅𝒊𝒄𝒆𝒅.

𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕, 𝒊𝒇 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝑩𝒐𝒃𝒃𝒚 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒃𝒆 𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒊𝒕- 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒔𝒌 𝑱𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒚 𝒉𝒊𝒎. 𝑾𝒆𝒍𝒍, 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒔𝒌 𝑱𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒚 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒏, 𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒇𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚- 𝒊𝒇 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒂𝒕𝒆, 𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆, 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏, 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆, 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒂𝒏 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒍𝒃𝒐𝒚.

𝑰 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅𝒏'𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒇𝒖𝒍, 𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒐𝒖𝒓... 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒎.

𝑩𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅 𝒕𝒐𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin General UK for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with this ARC.

I can sometimes struggle with multiple POVs; I either struggle to keep up with exactly who each character is and who’s POV I’m currently reading, or I just really don’t care for one or more of the characters. I was SO happy to find I didn’t have either of those problems this time. I loved getting to see things from both Bobby and James’s POVs, I found it really helped to understand why they said the things they said and how they really felt about each other.

Bobby and James were such lovable characters and SO well written, but I found that some of the side characters - particularly the ones we’re supposed to hate - weren’t as well rounded as they could have been. They read more black and white, than the realistic grey I prefer to see in characters.

This was such an easy read! I find historical fiction difficult to read sometimes because the language used can either be too modern which takes you right out of the scenes trying to be set, or it can be too historical and difficult to read. Alban found the perfect balance between modern and historical language, that I’ve only seen once before in Alexis Hall’s A Lady for a Duke.

I was already half way through when I became aware this was part 2 of a duology. I carried on regardless and found that despite not having read the first in the series, I didn’t feel like I was missing anything. I will definitely be going back and reading part 1 though!!

Sadly, I couldn't get into this You're The Problem, It's You. I can't seem to get into Regency anymore. Did not finish.

Firstly, thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review. I enjoyed this one with it's cuteness.

While I haven't read the first book in the duoligy the book was easy to follow along with. I do love a good enemies to lovers and this one was great. I do enjoy a bit of historical fiction and this one didn't disappoint with it's society.

Bobby and James are such a good match and I enjoyed reading as they inevitably fell for eachother.

While the plot was a little predictable it's still such a great read and I highly recommend reading.

I'm giving it a solid 3.5 just because I was a bit confused by certain things. I was also a little thrown off with the third person pov.

Adorable little society romance that will warm the heart.
We see two members of the London ton navigate the trials of society, the season and scandals.
Bobby is a second son who wants a purpose in life, this purpose comes in the shape of befriending James a Viscount new to his title.
The both fight against their attraction for each other and when they finally fall, a villian threatens to out them to the papers and have the thrown in jail!

All in all the story is charming and heartwarming if somewhat predictable ( I worked out the main plot twist by page 3). It was enjoyable and relaxed read and I would happily recommend this to anyone who enjoys a wee romance.

thank you netgalley for the arc this was a slay
i love a good annoyances to lovers and beth and gwen are happy so that's all i care about!