Thank you netgalley for the copy in exchange for a review!

Eddie has my heart. She is such a likeable character and her and Rose are the sweetest.

The setting of this book was amazing! A haunted crumbling mansion on a lake in the winter. Yes yes yes.

Nash is the worst. That’s about as much of a mention as he deserves.

I found the story dragged a little in places and I’m not sure period dramas are for me overall but if they’re your thing I’d recommend. And the narrator of the audiobook is fab.

This review is just for the audiobook version, not the story itself.
The plot has everything I love: regency setting, queer cast, rebellious MC, a writer,...so I'm sure I'll pick a copy of the book at some point this year.
My only problem comes with the narrator. It was not bad but there's just something that bothered me with her voice / narration, I just can't place what. The problem is, if I can't enjoy the voice, I can't get lost in the story, so I'd rather put the audiobook aside and go back to the story on paper later on. I have heard great things about it so I'm sure it will be a fun read!

Infamous filled the Historical~Regency void! I’ve been wanting to read essentially “queer bridgerton” for a long time and found it in this!!!

When Eddie comes into the social circles of one Nash Nicholson she finds herself on a creative venture to the Nicholson estate, with more than a poet and a best friend she’s subconsciously in love with in store!

This was the first book by Lex Croucher I have read and I loved it! A page turner from day one and I binged the second half of the book in one day!

I’ll be honest… I seen the twist coming before the end 😅 but I enjoyed it nonetheless!

Eddie Miller is the definition of Bisexual Panic but in a brilliant way!

I really enjoyed how interested in the characters I became; and how my opinions of the characters changed whilst reading. (I found myself physically rolling my eyes a few times at one character in particular)

🥳Representation: Bisexuality, Sapphic romance.

🚨Content Warning: Homophobia, Mentions of murder/Death of a parent, Sexual Assault, Infidelity, Classism

This totally surprised me in the best way possible! I loved the writing and the pacing, got through it really quick cos I constantly wanted to know more. It’s queer, it’s hedonistic, it conquers the sorrows and turmoils of being a writer and a woman in the regency era and I ate it up!

All the characters were so interesting but I really did adore Eddie and Rose. They were fleshed out, larger than life protagonists and their romance contained the perfect amount of tension.

Thank you Net gallery for the audiobook !! It was read by Ellie Kendrick and she aced it and really brought the characters to life

Delightfully scandalous and fun!

Despite being predictable in parts, I really enjoyed the drama that Lex brought to this tale. It was fast paced, light hearted and full of excitement. I wish I was at Nash’s mansion partaking in all of the fun with this wonderful rag tag squad of deviants. They sound like they would be a world of fun to be around

I can understand all of the hype

I listened to this audiobook while sometimes reading along my own copy.

This book is a very well written queer historical romantic comedy-drama. The focal point is the relationship between Eddie and Rose, and it's ups and downs.. The book is well paced, well written, and the 'suspense' reads well
I've followed Lex on youtube for ages, and this book reads like them. I liked it quite a lot!

I first heard about this book when I attended YALC in 2022; the author was there to promote their upcoming YA release, Gwen and Art Are Not In Love (which I will be definitely reading as soon as it comes out) so I mistakenly assumed her other two books were YA as well. When I discovered it was adult I decided it was the perfect first book for my Romancing the Reader series, and decided to pick it up in January, to lauch it with a bang.
Something you have to know about me is that Regency Era romances have me in a chokehold and, contrary to what everyone thought, I am a die hard fan of Bridgerton. My two favourite Brigerton siblings are Eloise and Benedict, which Eddie is clearly the perfect crasis of. If you are a firm believer that Eloise should be sapphic, this book is for us.
I really liked Eddie and Rose’s friendship; as you may know, friends to lovers after years of pining from one or both of the characters is one of my favourite relationship dynamics, and the obvious yearning from Rose and the total obliviousness from Eddie was top tier.
The chemistry between these two was apparent from the very first paragraph, and I actually squealed more than once while reading, I’m not ashamed to admit it. I want what they have, your honour. I’ll even take my third act breakup arc in exchange for an HEA like this.
I’ll admit Rose did most of the work, and Eddie doesn’t deserve her, but I think she is aware of it and is willing to do better, which is what I care about. I would love to read a sort of companion novel, maybe from Albert’s POV where they make an appearence, just to get more of them. I am willing to pay the publisher to make it happen, honestly.
The plot was also extremely engaging, both the romantic one and the general one: I loved the depiction of the artistic scene of the period, with all its merits and flaws, and especially its contradictions. I think the author did a great job at that, and I am really curious to read Croucher’s first novel, Reputation, to see if she already tackled some of this in their debut.
I cannot talk for the representation of Asian people in the Regency Era (Rose is indeed Chinese-English) nor for the representation of an abolitionist Black man, however I found the conversations to be well balanced. It is at its core a romance novel, so the romance is the main focus, as it should be, but it was nice to see different aspects of the Regency Era from a different point of view than usual. Obviously, I encourage you to read more reviews.
The secondary characters were all well crafted, especially Nash Nicholson, which perfectly embodied the stereotype (I say this in a good way) of the poet of the times. His evolution, which I want to call more of a revelation, to be honest, was my favourite one, and once again, the conversations that were had thanks to his behaviour were very well done.
I would love to get more novels in this universe, as I was saying. Aside from Albert, I’d really love to read something from Kitty and Valentine’s POV. Please, dear publisher, grant me at least one more Infamous novel, I need it to fill the void this book left.
The writing style was also on point. It perfectly balanced seriousness and fun, and I had a great time following the adventures of Eddie and Rose. It was a great first experience with this author, and I will be for sure reading Reputation soon, because I want more.
I highly encourage checking this book out, as it is a real treat. If you are a Bridgerton fan or know one, this is truly the perfect book to read while we wait for season three.

I really enjoyed this Regency-set romantic comedy, which followed aspiring writer Eddie as she meets one of her writing heroes and then finds herself at one of his wild and bizarre house parties with an eclectic bunch of other writers and artists, all of whom with a sizeable contempt for society's rules and the importance of reputation, which seems to trouble Eddie much less than it does her best friend Rose, who goes along with her to keep an eye on her.

Although quite modern in language and feel, particularly with the inclusion of gay and gender non-conforming characters, I never felt that the book was not entirely set within the historical period in which it was meant to be in - the characters were free to be themselves only because they were on an island in the middle of the lake with like-minded individuals, and it was made very clear at several points throughout the story that elsewhere and throughout their lives they would have to make adaptations in order to meet societal expectations. I thought the direction that the story took was interesting, particularly the ending, and overall it was a really engaging and satisfying story, which was both a romance and a "coming-of-age", I suppose. I'm looking forwards to reading Lex Croucher's previous novel, and any future ones set in this genre.

The narration of this book was excellent. The voices for the characters were spot on and the pacing was perfect for me so that for once I was able to listen to it at normal playback speed, rather than speeding up as I have to with so many other audiobooks!

A rather lacklustre follow-up to Reputation, which I rather enjoyed, 2.5 stars (rounded down)

Infamous follows would-be writer Eddy Miller and her best friend Rose who is pragmatically looking towards a comfortable marriage so that she is supported when her dies. Eddy, spirited, impractical and nonconformist, is horrified by this (as she sees it) mercenary aspect and is determined to dislike Rose's kind and pleasant suitor. Her sights are fixed on literary fame and when she is invited to stay at the country home of famous and disreputable poet Nash Nicholson she is thrilled by her gothic (read: dilapidated) surroundings and the prospect of his mentorship. The cast of characters is diverse, with wide-ranging representation which is nice touch and there are plenty of silly antics and humour.

As with Croucher's previous work, do not approach this book looking for period accuracy as you'll do yourself and the writer a disservice, this is a fun, frothy, fantasy take on the Regency period that is happy to dispense with the realities of the time as well as its language and attitudes. Anachronisms abound: enjoy them. It's Bridgerton with even less basis in reality and it doesn't pretend to be anything else. But it didn't entertain me the way Reputation did. Eddy is insufferable and the plot loses any hold on the reader (or listener) by being very predictable. There are too many characters who offer little to the narrative and several of them could easily have been condensed into one or two without detriment. It also lacks the unexpected darkness that cropped up in Reputation which gave the first book a touch more depth. It is also far too long which makes any predictable plot a chore, half the length, with half the cast of characters would have been better,

The narrator does a good job, distinguishing well between the voices of the characters and carrying the story with lively, enjoyable narration

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an arc of this title, in exchange for this honest review.

This book was clever, funny and incredibly interesting. Certain parts were a bit predictable, but it didn’t prevent my enjoyment of the book luckily. I would have liked a few more interactions between the main couple, but that’s about all the negatives I have to say about the book.

Eddie and Rose have been inseparable ever since childhood. Now, at 22, things start to change and Eddie doesn’t know how to deal with that. While Eddie aspires to become a writer, Rose suddenly has little to talk about apart from finding a husband. During an eye-opening stay in the country that reveals more than expected, the two young ladies have to figure out if they simply grew apart or if there’s something more lying underneath that’s putting a strain on their friendship.

I rather enjoyed the idea, progression and pacing of this book. I liked Eddie and Rose’s friendship and the way it turned into something more. Even though, it was rather obvious what way the story was going to go, the details still surprised me, which I love.
Being someone who isn’t too fond of change and tries to hold on to friendships that one might have outgrown myself, I really felt Eddie’s pain upon Rose’s increasing distance. Both of their struggles and the way they deal with them are very relatable and you can’t help rooting for them, however frustrating they may be at times.
What I found to be quite interesting, is the fact that the author doesn’t really address the issue of being homosexual during that time. Maybe they just wanted „Infamous“ to be a sweet sapphic romance set in the 1800s? I am not sure if it’s better this way or a missed opportunity.

I recommend „Infamous“ to readers who enjoy sapphic romances as well as historical novels and stories about friendship. This book is the perfect blend of all of the above and an overall quick and fun read.

Thank you for the opportunity to review this ARC via NetGalley. This was a fun read, I really hope to read more stories from Lex Croucher.

First of alI, the audiobook was really good.
I really liked the romance part of this book and wanted more of Eddie and Rose. There was also way too much of Nash in this book.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

- I loved the presentation of modern tropes in a historical setting, I've not read a book like that before and I thought it was so nice to read. The dynamic between all the characters and their blatant disregard of society standards was beautiful, I would love to be friends with them all. Especially Valentine! They were such a great character and I wish they got given more spotlight.

- The character building throughout the first half was done perfectly, it set up the second half to have so much impact on the reader and made the bombshells hit that much harder.

- The LGBTQ representation was so good, there is bisexual rep, lesbian rep, gay rep, non binary rep... as well as POC rep! Absolutely loved it!

- Such a great friends to lovers, I absolutely love this trope and it was done so well. As a reader it is obvious from the very start that Eddie is in love with Rose, but she is so blind to her own feelings that it makes you want to smile and scream at the same time. I did want to see more of Eddie and Rose actually together at the end as it was so much build up and then we hardly got to see it, regardless I still enjoyed the book.

I love Lex Croucher's writing so I knew what I was going into and this didn't disappoint. The story and characters were amazing and the audiobook narrator was a great choice for this book!

What a different style ! Eddie really made me think of Eloise in Bridgerton !
I could see Nash’s actions coming miles ahead but it still was nicely written and made me go back in time!
Great LGBTQ+ too

I am SO annoyed at past me for not reading this earlier?!

I loved this - loved loved LOVED!

Naive MC who makes you want to shake her to make her realised the most obvious things?! CHECK
Friends to lovers? CHECK
On page bi rep? CHECK
Ambitious women? CHECK
Great cast of characters? CHECK
A little mystery b plot? CHECK.

Ellie Kendrick really brought the character of Eddie to life, and I'm really happy I listened to this via audio rather than reading it with my eyes. It's really heartwarming and lovely, with several laugh-out-loud and groan-worthy moments and not at all cringe to listen to!

This is very very very out of my comfort zone! The writing was good and funny. I liked the characters but I wasn’t the biggest fan of the setting.

This is a splendid book. In every way. Rich characterization, engaging characters, a riveting story line, a villain who's simply too fascinating to hate, even when you want to. And such a wonderful dive into writing, what it means to write, how we find ourselves in writing.. This is a story that grabs you and doesn't let go. About aspiration, friendship, love, what really matters in the end and who we want by our side.

This audiobook was brilliant. I loved every minute of it. The narration was marvelous, the nuances of character coming through the voices and the pacing just perfect.

Five stars. A glowing success. Highest recommendation

Fun, fierce and feminist! Such a good book that had me laughing out loud! I would highly recommend. I loved the main characters and the way in which their love interests were handled due to society.