Don't Want You Like a Best Friend by Emma R. Alban
Series : Mischief & Matchmaking #1
Genre : Historical Romance, LGBTQ
Publisher : Avon
Publication date : January 9th, 2024
A swoon-worthy debut queer Victorian romance in which two debutantes distract themselves from having to seek husbands by setting up their widowed parents, and instead find their perfect match in each other—the lesbian Bridgerton/Parent Trap you never knew you needed!
Gwen has a brilliant beyond brilliant idea.
It’s 1857, and anxious debutante Beth has just one season to snag a wealthy husband, or she and her mother will be out on the street. But playing the blushing ingenue makes Beth’s skin crawl and she’d rather be anywhere but here.
Gwen, on the other hand, is on her fourth season and counting, with absolutely no intention of finding a husband, possibly ever. She figures she has plenty of security as the only daughter of a rakish earl, from whom she’s gotten all her flair, fun, and less-than-proper party games.
“Let’s get them together,” she says.
It doesn’t take long for Gwen to hatch her latest scheme: rather than surrender Beth to courtship, they should set up Gwen’s father and Beth’s newly widowed mother. Let them get married instead.
“It’ll be easy” she says.
There’s just…one, teeny, tiny problem. Their parents kind of seem to hate each other.
But no worries. Beth and Gwen are more than up to the challenge of a little twenty-year-old heartbreak. How hard can parent-trapping widowed ex-lovers be?
Of course, just as their plan begins to unfold, a handsome, wealthy viscount starts calling on Beth, offering up the perfect, secure marriage.
Beth’s not mature enough for this…
Now Gwen must face the prospect of sharing Beth with someone else, forever. And Beth must reckon with the fact that she’s caught feelings, hard, and they’re definitely not for her potential fiancé.
That’s the trouble with matchmaking: sometimes you accidentally fall in love with your best friend in the process.
This was such a cute sapphic historical romance with a Parent Trap
scheme!
Beth is a debutante who has just a few months to find herself a
husband, or else she and her mother would be out on the streets. And
she meets Gwen, who is on her fourth season and they quickly become
friends. When they discover that Beth's mom and Gwen's dad have some
history, they devise a scheme to bring them together😆 but their
parents don't seem to get along with each other at first. And while
Beth and Gwen grow closer, a viscount also starts courting Beth and
he seems like the perfect match on paper. Will Beth and Gwen be able
to bring their parents together while figuring out their
relationship too?
I loved Beth and Gwen in this one! They had an instant connection
and they were so comfortable with each other while bringing out the
other's mischievous side too! There's a bit of a push-pull thing
going on because of their circumstances but I loved watching them
figure things out. Gwen also has an amazing relationship with her
dad! And the parents' love story was an added bonus and I'd have
loved seeing more of it😆 I did want a grovel from Beth's mom at the
end though 😂
What kept me from fully enjoying this one was the third person
present tense writing 🙆♀️ I'm fine with both first person and third
person povs but when it comes to past/present tense, I'm definitely
gonna pick the first. It took me a long time to immerse myself
because of this and I also found certain parts of the story a bit
more on the contemporary side at times. But, I still enjoyed reading
this one and the next book sounds very promising too especially with
another round of matchmaking hijinks 😆
You can also find this review on my bookstagram here
*I was provided with an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an
honest review*
Emma R. Alban writes Queer Historical Romance about finding yourself, falling in love, and making a loving world for you, your family, and your friends.
She also writes TV Drama about all of the above, and sometimes vampires.
Raised in the Hudson Valley, she now lives in Los Angeles, enjoying the eternal sunshine, ocean, and mountains. When she isn't writing, she can usually be found stress baking with the AC on full blast, skiing late into the spring, and reading anywhere there’s somewhere to lean.
Her debut novel, DON'T WANT YOU LIKE A BEST FRIEND, releases from Avon Books on January 9th, 2024.
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