SOMETHING SPECTACULAR

Two gender-nonconforming people find love with each other in Regency London.

Peggy Delancey loves herself and her body but knows she doesn’t fit into society’s rigid gender norms. She and her neighbor Arabella Tarleton have been friends and casual lovers for years, and Peggy is convinced that her feelings for Arabella are true love and not just sexual attraction even though Arabella doesn’t feel the same. Nevertheless, Peggy’s sense of duty and loyalty make her unable to resist Arabella’s pleas for help in wooing Orfeo, a famous castrato opera singer. Peggy is troubled by her instant feelings of attraction to Orfeo, wondering if it makes her disloyal to find them more attractive than Arabella. Even more thrilling, Orfeo is the first person who has ever preferred quiet, unassuming Peggy over the brash, beautiful Arabella. Orfeo instantly recognizes Peggy as someone special, and their magnetism and confidence show Peggy how to be honest with herself and others about her own identity. Hall’s trademark witty banter and impeccable comedic timing are on full display here. The book is a campy Regency, full of fabulous fashions and over-the-top plotting. The large returning cast of characters from the first book in the series, Something Fabulous (2022), adds a delightful feeling of camaraderie and a reminder of the importance of found family. Hall is explicitly claiming and making space in the historical romance subgenre for queer people to be main characters on their own terms. Peggy and Orfeo’s tender friendship and romance shows that queer people do not need to justify or explain their presence or identities to find love and that love, in some form or fashion, is for everyone.

This historical rom-com will delight readers looking for a fun, rompy read.