Source of book: NetGalley (thank you)
Relevant disclaimers: The author and I are social media moots; we have occasional bants.
Please note: This review may not be reproduced or quoted, in whole or in part, without explicit consent from the author.

I’ve written before about how … complicated it can get when you love one book in a series, or one particular work by an author. Thankfully, in the case of Infamous, it’s not complicated at all because I loved it EVEN MORE than I loved Reputation. With hindsight, I think I loved Reputation for its potential: I adored its exuberance, it’s defiance, it’s capacity for both darkness and light, even if sometimes, especially towards the end, it felt a bit tonally unbalanced. Infamous, though, is very much the realisation of Reputation’s potential. It has everything I loved about Reputation but … y’know BIGGER, HARDER, FASTER. Basically, Infamous is Fury Road to Reputation’s Mad Max. And I could not be more delighted or more impressed.

In my review of Reputation, I spoke a little of the ways it had the potential to be a little divisive among readers. I think it’s impossible, as an author or any creative professional, to completely insulate yourself from criticism, no matter how careful you are to avoid reader spaces. And, obviously, this too is complicated because if you refuse to accept criticism of any kind then that is ALSO a problem. It’s just public criticism comes at you with the randomness (and, occasionally, the brutality) of machine gun fire so it’s impossible to fully balance what is justified versus what is ill-intentioned, especially when aspects of the text will sometimes be perceived as flaws when they’re both fully intended and fully integral to what you’ve created.

I should emphasise, that I’m not saying it’s wrong not to like something about what someone is doing. But, to put it in the bluntest possible terms, if what you didn’t like about Reputation was its irreverence, its queerness, its diversity and its deliberate use of anachronism then you aren’t going to like Infamous either. Because it takes all those aspects from Reputation and it does them MORE. I don’t like to over-speculate, or indeed speculate at all, about what drives other authors: but, to me, this doubling down on aspects of Reputation that were controversial to some readers did not feel spiteful, defensive or resentful. It felt like a writer committed to their vision. And that, in turn, was a pleasure to experience as a reader.

(Although, speaking purely for myself, I do feel some kind of way about the general willingness to assert as just plain “wrong” books that use historical settings to explore marginalised experience, while texts that use historical settings to tell stories about straight white people are just assumed to be correct and appropriate, and never get called out on their biases.)

Anyway, the deal with Infamous is that our protagonist, Edith (Eddie) Miller, has been raised ‘unconventionally’ by her loving parents, alongside her siblings. Her best friend, Rose Li, is by nature and upbringing somewhat less unconventional, although the two young women have been devoted to each other since childhood. As they hover on the brink of adulthood, however, their priorities have begun to diverge: Eddie has always known she wanted to be a writer, and Rose seems to want nothing more than a conventional marriage. Then, frustrated with Rose (especially her engagement to a boring man in his thirties who breeds rabbits) and mainstream society in general, Eddie runs into one of her heroes: the romantic poet Nash Nicholson. He is immediately taken with her, encouraging her writerly ambitions, and ultimately invites her on a artist’s retreat to his family home. The family home turns out to be a decomposing wreck on an island but Eddie, and the other artists, do their best to work amidst Nash’s constant whims and dramas. Except this is barely the beginning of Eddie’s journey. Because, holy shit, does she have a lot to learn about life, love, art and—most of all—herself.

Much like Reputation, Infamous is a Bildungsroman and, while Eddie’s journey from innocence and ignorance to knowledge and understanding, doesn’t offer many surprises in its peaks and troughs, everything about it was, for me, pitch perfect. I should also take a moment to explain that I don’t mean “doesn’t offer many surprises” in a negative way: this is a story about growing up, it’s not a thriller, I wasn’t reading to be surprised, I was reading to be engaged. And engaged I was, deliciously and comprehensively. On top of which, Infamous’s adherence to the rhythms of its genre (a genre, by the way, was flourishing during the time the book is set) give the whole story a remarkable precision, both in terms of its arc and its pacing. Also, reading with my queer adult eyes, I got all the satisfaction of about a million fictional “I told you sos” and “I saw that coming” by the time Eddie figured her shit out.

Speaking of Eddie, I adored her. She is not the most sympathetic of heroines, nor I think is she intended to be, because she is relentlessly flawed, self-absorbed, and short-sighted when it comes to the people around her. But, to me at least, she was profoundly, wonderfully relatable, as much because of those flaws, rather than in spite of them. Her mistakes, her misjudgements, and her occasional straight detours into obnoxiousness always came across more understandable than condemnable: she is, after all, a confused seventeen year-old with big ambitions, who is more vulnerable than she realises, and feels somewhat alienated by her society. I think there will be readers to whom Eddie does not speak. But, frankly, you are wrong and I will fight you. Okay, I won’t. I do, actually, get any frustration with Eddie. But I think there’s something very … queer somehow, about her particular brand of obtuseness. That kind of helpless, thrashing ‘who I am, what does it mean, where I do fit’ bewilderment that some of us, ahem, don’t figure out until their late twenties at least.

The supporting cast is equally delightful. From Eddie’s lovingly rambunctious family (please give me a whole book about Beatrice, who became my instant favourite after this description: “a small girl with her dark hair gathered up on top of her head so that she resembled a very angry pineapple”) to Nash Nicholson’s circle of artists and radicals, there isn’t a single character who doesn’t fucking shine. Your mileage may vary, of course, but I personally really appreciated the fact that the world of Infamous feels very much a world where people have their own shit going on, shit that Eddie learns to be less oblivious to as the book progresses. I think this felt particularly true, and important, for Rose. Obviously it’s not for me to make judgements about whether Rose is a successful portrait of a Asian woman in the Regency. While Croucher never elides issues of social injustice (one of the supporting characters, Oluwadayo Akerele, is an abolitionist) or pretends micro-aggressions don’t exist, this isn’t a book that constantly subjects its marginalised characters to cruelty and aggression in the name of the sort of “historical accuracy” I’ve already noted I personally find messed up and, to be blunt, actively inaccurate.

On the surface, Rose seems a much more conventional character than Eddie. She wants to get married, she wants to be accepted by society, she cares about her reputation and, indeed, about being kind to other people, in ways Eddie just doesn’t. But we are also seeing Rose from Eddie’s exceptionally unreliable perspective. We learn, almost incidentally, that Rose’s father is deeply involved in helping Chinese immigrants find homes and jobs in England, and there’s a degree to which, I think, we are expected, as readers, to understand that Eddie can buck against her society precisely because there is no question that she belongs within it. Rose, by contrast, cannot take that for granted. I did not personally see this as Rose rejecting her Asian heritage so much as growing up with an understanding of the world that Eddie lacks. They are both in their way rebellious people, it’s just that Rose has learned to rebel in useful ways, to make compromises around her identity that create spaces for her to be safe and happy, whereas Eddie—at least at the beginning of the book—is just loud in her discontents.

There’s no getting away from the fact that Eddie does less to ‘deserve’ Rose than perhaps she should or could. In terms of wake up calls, Eddie figuratively sleeps through about three different alarms over the course of the book. But, again, the book is a Bildungsroman: there’s romance in it (and a gorgeous HEA that made me literally hug my kindle), but learning is the key to the story. Reading between the lines of Eddie’s self-absorption, it’s pretty clear that Rose is doing plenty of learning of her own: it’s just she’s already knowing herself and knowing in the world, her journey looks very different to Eddie’s. Once again, your mileage may vary, but I was very much rooting for both of them. Eddie may have spent about half of the book clueless, but the connection between her and Rose is undeniable, with the sharply perceptive Rose perfectly able to hold her own against Eddie’s haphazard charisma, and their mutual chemistry … well *fans self historically accurately*.

Since I’m talking characters, I should also spare a few lines for Nash Nicholson, little though he deserves them. Basically, with Nash, I think Croucher pulls off an almost impossible feat—which is to say, he’s a genuinely charming piece of shit, and writing genuinely charming pieces of shit is actually really hard. Mostly when you read about a piece of shit who is supposed to be charming, he’s not charming at all, and you suspend belief on behalf of the character being taken-in because otherwise they just look way too credulous. In the case of Nash Nicholson, while he’s clearly bad news from the outset, red flags flying high from every parapet (I mean, he insists on calling Eddie, Edie, not Eddie, and claims to see that she’s a talented writer without ever looking at a single thing she’s written), he’s also … he’s just annoyingly entertaining.

“The library was enormous […] It had the air of a cathedral, something venerated and quietly holy - until Nash sneezed very loudly and then said, “For fuck’s sake.”
“This is amazing.”
“Apparently it is where we store all of the dust.”

I still resent the amount of times he made me laugh out loud—despite being a terrible person. It’s telling, I think, that even Nash’s dark backstory is ultimately a tragedy that belongs to other people.

The only character I wished there’d been a little more to was Valentine, Nash’s nonbinary friend. They get, to be fair, some wonderfully funny lines and some rather heartbreaking ones, but mostly they just lounge around, providing exposition about Nash and his wife. Given, as I mentioned earlier, that the book seems to go out of its way to create a sense that its supporting cast, especially the most marginalised members of it, have their own thing going on, I couldn’t quite understand why Valentine seems to have nothing better to do with their life than follow Nash around, even knowing Nash is a complete cockweasel, who cheats on his wife, and exploits seventeen-year-olds. I mean, I’m not saying nonbinary people are morally bound to make sensible choices about their friends—and Valentine does admit to Eddie that they feel lost within their life in general—but there was never any explanation for their loyalty to Nash and they felt like the only character without a context of their own. And I’m well-aware how … awkward it is for me to be reflecting on this, given the author is themself nonbinary. I should make it clear that I’m not saying they did nonbinary wrong (that is not a judgement anybody gets to make about anything, regardless of identity): I just felt, in terms of their place in the narrative, that Valentine, for all they were delightful, seemed to have no life that wasn’t Nash. And while that could well have been a deliberate choice, it left me sad for them in ways I didn’t want to be sad, and in ways the book hadn’t prepared me to be sad.

And, omg, I’m writing an essay here. The final thing I wanted to mention is that Infamous is, amongst its other themes, a book about art, and writing in particular. Being a writer who writes about writing is … complicated (and one of the reasons, I think, why I tend to write writers who are absolute hacks) because it can feel kind of crass to be exalting the thing you are yourself doing. Like everything else on the planet, how you feel about Infamous’s exploration of art is going to be subjective. Me? I really loved it. I think it helps that, while Eddie is talented and dedicated, she is never shown to be a extraordinary or particular genius. Most relevantly, writing is shown to be something she has to, y’know, *do*: it requires thought and commitment and, above all else, time, which reflects my own approach to writing and my experiences “as a writer” (whatever that means). It may, of course, not reflect yours. Even fucking Nash has his moments, like this annoyingly realistic little gem as he discusses trying to construct one of his poems:

“Love, sex, Aphrodite, Eros, death . . . It might as well be an instruction manual about how to build a ship, I spent enough time studying vessel plans to eke out horrible little metaphors and turns of phrase that made me want to vomit.”

I mean yes. That moment when you’re trying to say a thing that should be simple and so you research it half to death and then it ends up just completely sucking? That’s such a fucking mood.

The other thing I really appreciated about Eddie’s writing was the role Rose plays in it. While others are only too willing to exploit Eddie or manipulate her relationship with her art, Rose—while not mindlessly uncritical (What on earth does this mean?? she had written next to a line that described somebody’s personality as ‘foaming’. ‘You know,’ Eddie said indignantly later. ‘Sparkling! Effervescent!’ ‘Eddie, if you write that she’s foaming, everybody is going to think the poor thing’s gone rabid.’)—is unfailingly supportive, encouraging, and honest. Basically, the best writing friend any writer could wish for, and I love that the book celebrates the value of that relationship. Because writing, in my experience, needs a Rose as much as it needs an Eddie.

I need to wrap this up or I’ll break Goodreads. Basically, this book felt for me in so many ways. It made me laugh and clutch at it. I cringed and swooned and absolutely gloried in its wit, its compassion, its beauty, and its wicked sense of the absurd. In other words, I LOVED IT WITH MY WHOLE SOUL IT HAS MY WHOLE HEART which is the sort of thing I’ve always sworn I’d never write in a review. But I’m saying it now to show just how fucking serious I am about this book. If it was a person, I’d break up with my current partner to be with it.

It also contains a scene in which a duck defecates on the head of small child.

10/10

This has had rave reviews, but it didn't quite work for me. The writing style was a little too modern. If you are looking for a less traditional Regency romp, this definitely fits the bill!

I loved this! I read Lex Croucher's Reputation when it was published and enjoyed it, but Infamous was a real step up. The relationship between Eddie and Rose is lovely - tangible and believable whilst still having a sense of frustration about it because Eddie in particular is so stubborn and frustrating at times. A quick and enjoyable read.

Thanks to #NetGalley for providing me with an eArc in return for a fair review.

I adored this book! I loved the characters of Edith ‘Eddie’ Miller and her best fried Rose. They’ve been inseparable since childhood, but since their Coming out Ball Rose has started to talk about getting married and Eddie can’t think of anythIng she’d hate more than being married, except possibly seeing Rose married! Bombarded by feelings she doesn’t understand aspiring writer Eddie is swept up in admiration for literary bad boy Nash Nicholson, despite Rose’s obvious dislike of him.

An interesting cast of characters, a Gothic mansion, love that dare not speak its name…
I did want to shake Eddie at times!

#wlw # queer-rep #lgbtq

5⭐️ // ARC provided by the publishers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

After reading Lex's first period romance, Reputation, I already had some idea of what I was in for - a sort of Bridgerton meets queer rom-com story full of witty banter, slightly ridiculous happenstances, and warm, likeable, relatable characters.

But I have to say, this second story was all of the above and just so, so much more. Rose and Eddie's friendship felt tangible and believable, the pining and the revelations were perfectly pitched, the conflict made sense within the story - and the whole thing carried such a sense of place and time that if I closed my eyes I felt like I was along for the ride at the writer's retreat with them all.

I didn't want to put this down, and then I didn't want it to end... I still wish it hadn't! Eagerly awaiting whatever Lex turns their hand to next, as it will immediately be on my wishlist.

While I enjoyed Lex Croucher's previous novel Reputation, I did find it a bit all over the place in terms of what it wanted to be. Part romance, part coming of age with a dash of historical thrown in and the plot sufferers as a result. Unfortunately, I found Infamous to follow the same pattern,and with the same insufferable characters. Eddie is just not likeable. In fact, she's downright awful at times, and as such I couldn't connect with her at all. I also found the use of modern language particularly jarring, as well as the obvious disregard for any kind of historical continuity.

Fun wiriitnf, but the characters left a lot to be desired.

This one took me a bit longer to get into than Reputation, but when I got into it I literally could not put it down. At times hilarious, at others so unbelievably frustrating I almost cried. 10/10 would read again.

I tried to like this novel, but I just couldn’t. I didn’t like or care for any of the characters, especially the protagonist Eddie whose redemption I hoped for until the ending, and the story really wasn’t for me. Unlike Reputation, where even though it took me a while to get into the story, I ended up enjoying it. Infamous really wasn’t for me and it took me quite a while to finish reading it (the only reason I didn’t DNF it was because I hoped for improvements along the way). Maybe because my expectations were too high or maybe because I was expecting something else, but it wasn’t the right read for me.

I did like the follow up to Reputation and thought it was highly enjoyable but it lacked a little something for me that the original had. I did like Eddie and Rose as characters and felt they were really interesting to follow. The plot was done well and i liked the themes they explored in it. The story was paced well and this helped to keep me focused and wanting to continue on it. I probably would read another book in this series as it liked this one and the prior one.

I was not expecting to love this as much as I did. Sometimes I worry that comedy in romance books will come off super cringey but this had the perfect balance.

If you like Bridgerton, historical romance and are just looking for hilarious gooey escapsim this is for you.

Having read Lex Croucher's first novel, I was eagerly awaiting Infamous. While I really enjoyed the opening half, I felt by the conclusion, the novel had somewhat lost me and could have been tighter in its delivery.

I liked that this was a story about friends and creativity as much as it was about love - trying to stay true to yourself but potentially losing the person you care about most in the process. Eddie was relatable in her flaws and her relationship with Rose, in the beginning, was very sweet even as they began to pull apart unaware that they were falling for each other. Nash also had intrigue in the first half, even though it was clear any relationship with him would go horribly wrong.

What I found tiresome was the latter half at the 'summer house', and the fraught relationships it brought. The whole episode felt dragged out and tedious, even though fast moving. It was just clear where the narrative was heading and I felt myself turning pages to get to some point of conclusion where Eddie wasn't wrapped up in her fantasy anymore.

However, the resolution was worth the wait and the ending was satisfactory. Overall, I still enjoyed this read but I don't feel it had as much punch as Reputation did.

Once again Lex Croucher manages to blend the comforting familiarity of the regency era with the heightened excitement of a modern teen drama in perfect balance. It has queer representation, specifically wlw, that is done so beautifully and the way that this book deals with love and friendship and creativity is incredibly poignant. If you enjoyed Reputation then I think you will love this even more, Lex builds on the strengths from their first novel and in my opinion has only gotten better from it.

‘Booksmart Meets Bridgerton’ - cover blurb.

My thanks to Bonnier Books UK Zaffre for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘Infamous’ by Lex Croucher.

Having recently read Croucher’s first Regency romance, ‘Reputation’, I was prepared for this novel to be only loosely connected to its historical setting. The lovely cover art also promises a cheeky lightheartedness.

At twenty-two aspiring writer, Edith 'Eddie' Miller, isn’t keen on leaving behind the carefree days of her youth when she and best friend Rose climbed trees, drank secretly, teased boys, and practiced kissing (research).

Now to Eddie’s dismay Rose is changing and is more interested in domestic matters and is talking seriously about marriage. She is soon being courted by the eligible, somewhat older Albert Rednock. Eddie is not happy though then is introduced to the charming, renowned poet, Nash Nicholson, who considers himself more talented than Lord Byron. As one friend comments- they are too alike in background, temperament and ambition and these ‘irreconcilable similarities’ prevents them being friends.

Nash encourages Eddie’s writing and invites her, along with Rose and Albert, for a visit to his crumbling Gothic estate in the country. The house isn’t just metaphorically crumbling, there are leaks in the roof and rooms that are clearly uninhabitable.

Certainly an unconventional destination for two unwed young women, though Nash’s wife will be in attendance to calm parental concerns about impropriety and any danger to their reputations. However, Nash has also invited an entourage of eccentric artistic types and they are planning to indulge in pure hedonism.

Eddie doesn’t mind as she feels that this is exactly the atmosphere she needs in order to finish her novel and make a name for herself. Will she regret trying to keep up with her literary heroes? What kind of name might she gain if word gets back to London of hijinks? She crafts the occasional letter back home to her parents, rather painting a misleading picture of their visit.

While there are some light moments in the beginning, there are increasingly darker themes as the story unfolds.

I found Eddie a very relatable lead. Her desire to continue to enjoy the freedom of her youth and expand her world was understandable, especially given the constraints of the society of the day. I applauded Lex Croucher concluding with future documental references to her characters’ lives.

While my preference is for historical fiction well grounded in its period, I read ‘Infamous’ fully aware of the authors’ intentions. Indeed, one of the novel’s bonus reading group questions is: “How do you feel about the modernisation of Regency setting in books, film and TV?”

Overall, I found this an engaging, entertaining novel that had plenty of wit and charm. I am planning to read her upcoming medieval romantic comedy, ‘Gwen and Art Are Not in Love’ when published.

I liked this one better than reputation! I defo liked the protagonist more which helped. All the conflicts I had about Lex's first book weren't in this one so my enjoyment increased a lot!

Eddie was such a good protagonist - she is very sheltered and innocent and this leads to many mistakes that someone more streetwise wouldn't make. I really felt for her because she was totally clueless about some things. I loved her friendship with her best friend Rose, who also becomes her lover. Some of the scenes were just perfect (the bath scene am I right?)

Anyway, Nash Nicholson can do one, why are men like this.

There should be more regency books written about the rebels of society, it really is so fun to read about. I enjoyed the differences between the society balls and the literary parties thrown by Nash immensely. I enjoyed reading about women who wore trousers and artists who went by there first names and Valentine, who was never given a gender. With this and watching Gentleman Jack on the BBC, I've definitely developed a taste for stories about the people who went against the rules of society and didn't let anyone define who they were.

Beyond this, however, I was a little bored. Despite starting out with two girls kissing ("for practice") there was no real hint of romance until after the half way point. And I never really felt the romance. Eddie was supposed to be confused about her feelings and that was fine, but it didn't really feel like she was interested in anyone.

I also got such bad vibes from one of the characters. It was probably intentional and other people may look at it as a plus, but I felt really uncomfortable about it.

Infamous follows perfectly in Reputation’s footsteps. Lex’s writing is once again funny and witty and they have really established themselves as an incredible writer.

In Infamous we meet Eddie, a young writer who can’t imagine anything worse than following what’s expected of her, and Rose, her best friend who might not have as much space to fight against expectations…

I really do just love a Regency romance, and Infamous delivered on all of my favourite elements - there are (occasionally) some glamorous parties, there is always some gossip, and the era itself was really beautifully drawn.

I didn’t love this quite as much as Reputation though, and I think there’s one reason for that. Without spoiling the plot, there’s a character introduced early on that I *knew* was going to be awful, and I was filled with dread while reading just… waiting for them to do the awful thing.

Perhaps that’s me being cynical (when the awful thing happened, no characters seemed as bothered by it as I was!), but whereas with Reputation I had a bit of an idea of what might happen and could still get swept away, with Infamous I just found myself on tenterhooks.

I think you have to give some credit for that to Croucher’s writing, but it also means I’ll definitely be rereading soon so I can just enjoy the other elements of the story that I loved. Rose is a fabulous character, and if there is a chance for a follow up told from her perspective I will be first in the queue! Eddie went on a bit of a journey, and by the end of the book I was rooting for her too!

I also loved that this is a look into a bit of a different side of the Regency era - writers and artists in falling down houses! The queer representation here was also incredibly well done and I’m glad we’re seeing more of these stories as they deserve to be told.

I recommend this one if you need a Regency fix with a bit of a twist, and I’m very excited for Croucher’s Arthurian novel out next year!

A really fantastic book, I loved Reputation and this one was even better! Put Lex Croucher to the top of your TBR lists.

Eddie and Rose are inseperable, but they're also at the age where they're out in society and marriage is expected. Eddie is more interested in writing and doesn't want anything to change, so is horrified when Rose announces plans to marry. A meeting with a well-known writer and hero to Eddie leads to an invitation to both girls to spend some time at his country retreat, with a group of writers and artists. But the country house is ramshackle and Nash Nicholson is more dangerous than the hero writer of Eddie's dreams.

It's a lot of fun to read. There is a diverse group of characters, in terms of gender, sexuality and race, much like in Lex Croucher's previous book. The way of speaking may be modern, but the constraints of society Eddie and Rose face are definitely authentic, as are the ways of escaping them. Some of the events in the house took a bit of time to come to their conclusion, but I loved the ending and would recommend the book!

I had a lot fun in reading this Regency romp as it's gripping and humourous.
Great characters, witty style of writing, a well plotted and compelling plot.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine