Unfortunately my ARC expired before I could finish this book but I loved it so much I have requested it from the library and am desperately awaiting its arrival.

Belle and Sir Harley return, this time in their own story. Hall's writing is witty and brutal, the characters loveable and infuriating.
It's nice to see inside Belle's brain, to understand and value her worldview and choices.
She is stubborn and loyal to a fault, and Sir Harley is lucky to have her in his life.

Watching their relationship unfurl was such a pleasure, and it is refreshing to read a romance novel celebrating platonic love the way that Something Extraordinary does.
At 60% I was ready to give this 5* and I doubt I'll change my mind when I have the book in my hot little hands and can gallop to Gretna Green and over the finish line.

This book was a warm hug for the soul or a punch in the face, depending on the chapter, and I loved it!! I just wanted to jump inside this book and dive into its depths. Look, it's not a light read and it takes effort but that is part of what makes this book so special. Both main characters had incredible growth over the course of the plot. The side characters and sub plots made this a truly delightful read. The ending was so delightful. I was not sure how it would end until the very last page. This is the third book in a series and there are some times that having read the previous books would have been useful, but you can get away without it.

Big thanks to NetGalley, Montlake and Alexis Hall for a copy of this book. This is my honest opinion.

Alexis can sure make me laugh! This was such a fun and laugh out loud ish book for me. I loved the main characters, and felt like I actually learned a lot from the queer relationship as well. I thought it was a very thought provoking read, as well as humorous and emotional. For an author to be able to do all of those things in one book is very impressive! I definitely enjoyed this one and recommend it!

No one does banter quite like Alexis Hall! I was very skeptical going into this one because I’ll be honest, Arabella is not my fav! But wow! Was I surprised? I absolutely devoured this book! The banter was probably my favorite by far in this book! Absolutely recommend this

Well, this was bonkers! Silly, whimsical, funny, wild, yet sometimes exasperating romp to Gretna Green and back. Have I expected an elopement slash mutual abduction from these two? Absolutely not. Loved to meet again Orpheo and Peggy as well as Bonny and Valentine, though I wished a bit more of the latter couple. At least I came to like and understand Bella, who was quite a frustrating character in the previous books. On the other note, the pacing of this story was a bit off, or maybe I was in the wrong mood for this book, since I don't remember ever reading a story by Alexis Hall at such a snail's pace, Still, I had fun with it more often than not.

Another fun installment in the series. I loved the unconventionality of the story and how it is a different kind of romance. I strongly suggest reading the previous one to fully enjoy this one (specially to see how the FMC has grown as a character) but it can definitely be read as a standalone.

Spicy, gay male main character, aromantic female main character, historical fiction. This is the third standalone interconnected book in the Something Fabulous series. A tad too long with a tad too much dialogue. Still, a fun romp though with some great moments.

This is a hilariously unconventional Regency adventure. Sir Horley Comewithers, flamboyantly gay and resigned to an ill-suited marriage, is saved by his aromantic best friend, Arabella Tarleton. In a dramatic escape, Belle whisks him away to Gretna Green, where they decide on their unique marriage. Filled with madcap adventures, witty banter, and colorful characters, this story explores the beauty of platonic love and forging a relationship that works on your terms. Hall’s signature humor and heartfelt writing shine, offering a fresh perspective on romance. The audiobook brings this delightful tale to life with vibrant narration by Steve West and Ell Potter. A must-read for fans of unique, character-driven stories.

I feel like l was missing bits of the story as I have only read book 1 of this series.

While the story has little to do with the historical regency accuracy, it does provide a variation on "what" a historical romance could feel like if told with modern language. This was a truly silly romp between mischievous characters seen in the previous books.

Thank you, Montlake

A gay man resigned to a loveless marriage, Sir Horley is dramatically rescued by his friend Belle, leading them on a chaotic journey to Gretna Green that redefines their views on love and marriage.

This novel is hilarious. Like the previous books in the series, it’s a romp, but it’s deeply emotional with well-developed characters. Don’t miss it!

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Thank you to Netgalley and Motnlake for the arc. I loved having a romance featuring a Queer Platonic Relationship. I was a bit nervous when I saw Belle had a book because I didn’t know how to reconcile aro and romance but this was amazing. In classic Something Fabulous way this was over the top, super dramatic and such a fun ride. Belle and Sir Horley were amazing together and I loved seeing them navigate the world and come to platonically love each other so much. While not my favourite of the series, I am thrilled that this exists and loved it.

This is not a romance in the traditional sense. Sir Horley and Belle have been friends and partners in crime, but they are not in love. Sir Horley is “extravagantly gay,” and Belle is aromantic (that term is not used in the book, but it’s been obvious from previous books that’s where it was heading, and even more so here). They ultimately decide to marry each other. They care about each other in a platonic, best friends way. And they are both open to the other dallying outside the marriage. Other than romantic love and smexytimes, this book follows all the conventions of a romance novel. Misunderstandings, wanting the best for the other while not believing you deserve what you want, and cuddles.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

I feel like this book was about 125 pages too long. The journey to GG was too long. The Carswiles were an unneeded deflection. We spent way too much time in the characters heads.

In general, it's a book I read, it'll probably hit for a lot of people just not for me. Arabella and Rufus were great when they actually talked to each other. I think the author put too much focus on the two of them getting off with their respective needs instead of making their relationship shine.

A new queer romance of the regency with the intervention of Hall.

We have Bella who sees that her friend Sir Horley, has resigned himself to marry a young woman chosen by his aunt, being gay; so before her lodge is that if he is going to submit to a marriage of convenience, what better than to do it with her, who at least likes him.

Moving on to Grtna Green, this escape has Hall's sarcastic and humorous elements that make the story crazy.

I had a great time reading about these varied characters.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this beautiful ARC in exchange for my honest opinions.

Something Extraordinary is book three in the Something Fabulous series by Alexis Hall.
An absolute delight, full of wit, charm, and just the right amount of chaos. It’s set Regency England and such a fun read.
As always, Hall excels at creating characters you’ll fall in love with.
I’m so in love with this series!

I think I might have to reread this one. It wasn't my all time favorite of this series. I maybe just wasn't in the mood for this one, it was a bit long for me and it dragged in some parts.

4.75 🌟
The Something Fabulous series has been my introduction to Alexis Hall and I am a staunch supporter of whatever they decide to write next (and I will be visiting their entire backlist because of course I will). This particular story gave me whiplash in all the best ways - every time I assumed the story was going to play out in a prescribed way, it went in the polar opposite direction, which was a delight. The characters were well developed and fully flawed, and I love the fact that Hall recognizes that we contain multitudes, as all humans do. Love, love, love this book! 💖

Everything Alexis Hall writes is gold. I am obsessed with their writing and generally everything they put out. I loved this marriage of convenience and that this was a queer story! I cannot wait to read more.

4.5 - “No human being is worth any more or any less than any other.”

For me, Alexis Hall does not disappoint. The way he balances humor and heart is incredible. This series in particular is pretty silly, but the topics explored are so relevant and it’s really poignant being set in the regency era.

It was satisfying to see Belle and Sir Horley’s story after they were background characters in the first two books. They are so similar in their quests for love and feeling unlovable, which inevitably leads them to their marriage of convenience. I love the way this comes together in that they agree that they don’t have a romantic attention, but rather a platonic one. The marriage of convenience was such a fun aspect, especially because they want to protect the other so much, There's a lot to be said about their friendship, even though they go through their rough patches throughout the story,

Their journeys are as humorous as they are heartfelt. It does seem a bit long, but that didn’t hinder my enjoyment. They have an understanding about taking lovers and how their lives will work, which I think works so well for their characters. The vulnerabilities that they share and the metal support is endearing. Considering the setting, it's so refreshing to see these types of characters portrayed. This is something Hall has done so well in all of his books set in this time period.

“Come closer. Hold me tighter. Let me feel your breath and your heartbeat and all the devastating warmth of you.”

Belle and Sir Horley’s friendship is so deep and they truly want the other to be happy. Over their calamity of a journey, he learns that he’s worthy of love and she learns that there are more type of love than just romantic. For an unlikely pair, this was a true joy to read.

Last year, I read my first Hall, 10 Things That Never Happened, and loved it and it now goes down as one of my favourite Christmas-set romances. As a result, I was quite looking forward to Something Extraordinary. My responses to Extraordinary, however, were as uneven as the narrative itself. I started confused, moved to delighted, grew restless, grew bored, recovered and experienced new-found delight, was scandalized, grew restless, and ended with a bout of reader whiplash as the HEA hit me like a fast-falling brick. Am I sorry I read it? Nope. Would I want to repeat the experience? Also nope.

Here are the publisher’s blurb’s details:

Sir Horley Comewithers isn’t particularly interested in getting married, especially when his match is a perfectly respectable young woman. Sir Horley is, after all, extravagantly gay. But he’s resigned to a fate there’s no point resisting—until a dear friend does it for him.

Arabella Tarleton has no interest in romance, but even she can see that Sir Horley’s nuptials are destined to end in a lifetime of misery. Well, not on her watch. And what are friends for, if not abducting you on the night before your wedding in an overdramatic attempt to save you from a terrible mistake?

Their journey to Gretna Green is a hodgepodge of colorful run-ins and near misses with questionable innkeepers, amateur highwaymen, overattentive writers, and scorned fiancées. Then again a bumpy road is better than an unhappy destination.

But when it comes to marriage, Belle and Sir Horley are about to discover that it’s not what you do or how you do it but the people who you choose to do it with that matter most.

Thematically, healing is always Hall’s most important message. He achieves his purpose in two modes: hilarious, especially via snappy banter, and sentimental. These two modes are my romance faves: wit and redemption. While they’re present in Extraordinary, the meandering narrative replacing the classic Regis-ian romance arc work against them. Hall’s narrative is, at best, picaresque, with a stop-start movement which echoed my responses to it.

When the narrative opens, Arabella “Bella” and Sir Horley, whom she calls Rufus after his father for the remainder, leave his messed-up engagement situation for Gretna Green and an equally though less pernicious mess. The opening is weak as it hearkens to the series’ earlier volumes, none of which I read, and took me out of the narrative as former couples and their complications pile on. Once Bella and Rufus are on their way, things look up, though Rufus is in a depressive state and steadily, constantly in recovery from inebriation. There’s a lot of vomit.

Conceptually, I liked what Hall was trying to do: say something about love and commitment, a gay hero and bisexual heroine, no necessarily being linked to sexual desire and preference. Bella and Rufus are funny, the dialogue in particular is hilarious, but they’re also good people who care about each other. And others — many many others. Especially Bella, who makes everyone a project of her goodness. And yet, feels unloveable, especially to Rufus, whom she coerced into the Gretna-Green-bound marriage. Interspersed with Bella’s goodness projects and Rufus’s feelings of unworthiness, a long-standing wound stemming from being abandoned and unwanted by his parents and not having Bella’s twin’s love, and and and and…are a variety of every rainbow colour love scenes, which I skimmed. Because, honestly, like our former prime minister wisely said, the state has no business in the bedrooms of the nation. And I agree, consent and adulthood are the only perimeters to the bedrooms of the nation, but these elaborate details of choice were not to my taste. You’ve been warned, reader, and as for the details, ’nuff said. Irrespective of sexual preference, I prefer subtle over explicit, but that’s my stance and others may enjoy the long, detailed love scenes.

In the end, other than the aimlessly episodic nature of Hall’s narrative, I think my main problem was Arabella’s characterization (though Rufus is screwed up in many ways, his characterization is confident and consistent). “Bella” is saintly and all-knowing and knows exactly what everybody needs. A paragon of perspicaciousness is Bella. She knows what all the broken people need, sexual healing; being of a generous nature, it’s her specialty to ensure it. She can rescue a friend from sexual assault, encourage Rufus to find pleasure with inept highwaymen, and get a fractious baby to sleep. She alternates between aggressive boldness and abjectness. An uneven narrative with inconsistent characterization, especially because what appeared to be Rufus’s story turns out to have the spotlight predominantly on Bella, make for a tedious read.

Alexis Hall’s Something Extraordinary is published by Montlake and releases today, Dec. 17th. I received an e-galley, from Montlake, via Netgalley. The above is my honest, AI-free opinion.