#Don’t Want You Like a Best Friend by Emma R. Alban

[betterbooksandthings]

"Radically reimagining queer joy is the project of the best queer historical romance books.

Historical research and fantasy are the founding pillars of historical romance. There are certain things about the past that any historical romance is willing to hand-wave away. In return, readers of the genre buy into that imagined past.

Queer historical romance is perhaps more radical in its approach. Not because it is less historically accurate than any other historical romance but because it works against the myth that queer people never existed in the past.

Patriarchy, Teleology, and Queer Historical Romance

Patriarchy and teleology undoubtedly work against queer historical romance. The teleological view of history is the idea that history works in a forward march of progress to a single unified goal. Teleology works against historical romance’s aim to humanize people from the past. The genre gives characters access to joy and agency that often feels anachronistic, especially to readers unfamiliar with the periods.

Pair teleology with a frankly overwhelming body of historians using patriarchal lenses to interpret history, and many dismiss all historical romance as entirely inaccurate. Not to mention, a general de-prioritization of joy and the humanization of people throughout history complicates the idea that everyone should view the past one way.

As historical romance books continue to include queer and BIPOC characters, arguments of historical inaccuracy continue to pile onto the genre. Queer historical romance rejects the claim, “In the before times, things were bad, everyone was horrible, and queer people or non-white people didn’t have power.”

So, while all historical fiction will include fiction by its genre category alone, diverse historical romance bears the brunt of historical inaccuracy claims.

What Makes a Great Queer Historical Romance?

So maybe it is unsurprising that I love queer historical romance quite so much. It’s radical, fun, engrossing, and sometimes downright silly.

Selecting just a dozen books to feature in this list was difficult, especially when so many queer historical romance authors have excellent backlists. If I were you, I would start with the twelve best queer historical romance books here and then go into each other’s backlist for an even better time."

[harleychick91]

Victorian Parent Trap Indeed!

This book had me ranting and raving. The twists and turns are wonderful! I love (begrudgingly) the slow burn between Gwen and Beth. Does have some spice but done in a tasteful manner. I fell in love with all of the main characters. Especially when they are so supportive. The cousins are hilarious by the end.

[savesappho]

Don’t Want You Like a Best Friend (2024)

NEW REVIEW: Don't Want You Like a Best Friend (2024) gets 2/10 optimistic, historically-accurate violets. RATING out of 10 violets, with 1 being the least and 10 being the most painful to read

Author: Emma R. Alban Content Warnings: non-graphic discussion of domestic violence; alcohol use/abuse Genre: Sapphic Historical Romance 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…

[lgbtqreads]

Fave Five: Historical F/F Romance

Feminine Pursuits and Hen Fever by Olivia Waite Don’t Want You Like a Best Friend by Emma R. Alban The Spinsters of Inverley by Jane Walsh That Could Be Enough by Alyssa Cole A Little Light Mischief by Cat Sebastian Bonus: For cozy mystery/romance mashup, check out Proper English by KJ Charles Double Bonus: These are all realistic fiction, but for historical fantasy, try Heather Rose Jones’s…

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

🪞 What to Read After Watching Bridgerton Season 3

🪞 Don’t Want You Like a Best Friend - Emma R. Alban 🪞 The Ladies Rewrite the Rules - Suzanne Allain 🪞 Confounding Oaths - Alexis Hall 🪞 Hathor and the Prince - J.J. McAvoy 🪞 Ne’er Duke Well - Alexandra Vasti 🪞 The Lord of Stariel - A. J. Lancaster 🪞 The Lily of Ludgate Hill - Mimi Matthews 🪞 To Catch a Suitor - Sarah Adams 🪞 To Woo and to Wed - Martha Waters 🪞 My Season of Scandal - Julie Anne Long 🪞 Damned If I Duke - Anna Bradley 🪞 A Viscount for the Egyptian Princess - Heba Helmy 🪞 The Diamond and the Duke - Christi Caldwell 🪞 An Unlikely Proposition - Rosalyn Eves 🪞 A Governess’s Guide to Passion and Peril - Manda Collins 🪞 Lies and Weddings - Kevin Kwan 🪞 Viscount in Love - Eloisa James 🪞 A Lady for a Duke - Alexis Hall 🪞 Lady Charlotte Always Gets Her Man - Violet Marsh 🪞 My Rogue to Ruin - Erica Ridley 🪞 Never Met a Duke Like You - Amalie Howard 🪞 Never Blow a Kiss - Lindsay Lovise 🪞 Wake Me Most Wickedly - Felicia Grossman 🪞 The Duke’s All That - Christina Britton 🪞 Bookshop Cinderella - Laura Lee Guhrke 🪞 Dukes Do It Better - Bethany Bennett

[appropriatelystupid]

Do you have a list of book recs by any chance? 👀 I trust your book vibes so I’d read anything you thought was good

okay as is usual with an ask like this i’ve forgotten everything i felt about everything but here are some that i enjoyed so far this year per my gr ratings:

you, with a view by jessica joyce (bonus point for my hometown getting a mention)

raiders of the lost heart by jo segura

the good part by sophie cousens

don’t want you like a best friend by emma r. alban

kilt trip by alexandra kiley

the bodyguard by katherine center

fish out of water by katie ruggle

till there was you by lindsay hameroff

the falling in love montage by ciara smyth

fly with me by andie burke

[13uswntimagines]

If you like Bridgerton, I just finished Don’t Want You Like a Best Friend by Emma R. Alban. I will preference that I haven’t seen Bridgerton, but I imagine it gives heavy Bridgerton vibes.

I tried that one, but I just couldn’t get into it.

[femmilingus]

You're the Problem, It's You - Book Review

Gorgeous Cover This book is expected to be released on 15 August 2024 and is the second book in the Mischief & Matchmaking series by Emma R. Alban. The enemies-to-lovers queer Victorian romance follow-up to Don’t Want You Like a Best Friend, in which a young lord and a second son clash, but find themselves thrust together again and again by their meddling cousins. “That man is, without a doubt,…

[whistledownbad]

What is your favorite thing about Pen and Colin's story

Reading any good books lately?

What's something that never fails to bring a smile to your face?

Wow, great questions!

1. I think my favorite thing about their story is how relatable it is. It seems that many people in modern times go through a period of friendship before they really decide that they want to be with someone. Whether that friendship is from childhood, or just while you’re getting to know one another before becoming more serious, most people experience it. If they don’t, there’s often moments of friendship within relationships that are so, so relatable. They say your partner is supposed to be your best friend anyway, right? I can personally relate to the friends to lovers nature of their relationship, which also happens to be why they are so special to me.

2. I’m currently listening to Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros, which is entertaining. I think “good” is subjective in relation to this series. I really like the dragons. A few of my upcoming TBR books include Don’t Want You Like a Best Friend by Emma R. Alban, Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross, and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid. My other fandom is The Cormoran Strike & Robin Ellacott novels by Robert Galbraith (full disclosure, this is JK Rowling under a pseudonym, whose views on trans rights I do not entertain), but I’m usually re-reading something related to the series at any given time. I’ve honestly been reading a lot of Polin fics lately, the most recent being Brothers Conflict by LostLily7 and Pandemic Romantic by KatofKanals.

3. My pets always bring a smile to my face! I have a tuxedo cat named O’Malley, a house panther named Lexi, and a miniature dachshund named Sophie. I mean, how could you not smile at this face?!

Thank you for the questions! I really enjoyed them 💜

[bookblog2003]

Don’t want you like a best friend-Emma R. Alban

Finished April 18th

[yourfavebooklrsfavebooklr]

library haul!

Borrowed today:

Ocean’s Echo by Everina Maxwell

network effect by Martha wells

Don’t want you like a best friend by Emma r. Alban

from last week:

Artemis by Andy weir

the case for sanctions against Israel, edited by audrea lim

[thebooklovebot]

Review: Don’t Want You Like a Best Friend by Emma R. Alban

PUBLISHER: Avon PUBLICATION DATE: January 9, 2024. GENRE: Romance / Historical / Historical Romance / LGBTQIA Thank you to the publisher for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion! In 1857, debutante Beth is pressured to secure a wealthy husband, while Gwen, on her fourth season, has no interest in marriage. To avoid the traditional path, Gwen hatches a plan to set up their…

[lgbtqreads]

Most Anticipated Queer Adult Fiction: January-June 2024

Don’t Want You Like a Best Friend by Emma R. Alban (January 9th) 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…

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

Queer Books Coming Out January 2024

🌈 Good morning, my bookish bats! Struggling to keep up with all the amazing queer books coming out this month? Here are a FEW of the stunning, diverse queer books you can add to your TBR before the year is over. Remember to #readqueerallyear! Happy reading!

❤️ Tentacle Wonderland by Reese Morrison 🧡 Cupid’s Revenge by Wibke Brueggemann 💛 Okay, Cupid by Mason Deaver 💚 Soren by Miranda Page & Lina Ganef 💙 Just Happy to Be Here by Naomi Kanakia 💜 Stars and Soil by Dax Murray ❤️ Deep Sounding Chaos by Adrian J. Smith & Neen Cohen 🧡 Minor Disturbances at Grand Life Apartments by Hema Sukumar 💛 Evergreen by Devin Greenlee 💙 Matsdotter and Adrastus (Adventures in Levena #2) by Aelina Isaacs 💜 Thousand Autumns: Qian Qiu Vol. 3 by Meng Xi Shi and Me Mimo 🌈 Destined by Jen Carter

❤️ Her Spell That Binds Me by Luna Oblonsky 🧡 Her Mechanic Bear Mate (Crescent Lake Bears #3) by Arizona Tape 💛 That Bitter Sting by Melissa Polk 💚 Bioluminescence by Toni Duarte 💙 Lucky Bounce by Cait Nary 💜 Don’t Want You Like A Best Friend by Emma R. Alban ❤️ Bachelorette Number Twelve by Jae 🧡 How to Share a Cat and Other Life Lessons by Evelyn Fenn 💛 A Sheep in Wolf’s Clothing by Amy Allen 💙 Bound by Kate Hawthorne 💜 Moonbreak by Lise MacTague 🌈 Falling All In by Laina Villeneuve

❤️ Murder on Castaway Island by Alicia Gael 🧡 The Butler's Vessel by S. Rodman 💛 Tadek and the Princess by Alexandra Rowland 💚 Escaping Mr. Rochester by L.L. McKinney 💙 Amid Our Lines by Zarah Detand 💜 Most Ardently by Gabe Cole Novoa ❤️ A Doctor’s Touch by A.A. Fairview 🧡 So Let Them Burn by Kamilah Cole 💛 Never Be a Saint by Mark Runte 💙 Maude Horton's Glorious Revenge by Lizzie Pook 💜 Eli Harpo's Adventure to the Afterlife by Eric Schlich 🌈 City of Laughter by Temim Fruchter

❤️ Enthralled by Her by Chelsea M. Cameron 🧡 Knight of Staria by Iris Foxglove 💛 The Storm Gathers by Maelan Holladay 💚 Stars of Chaos: Sha Po Lang Vol. 2 by Priest 💙 Fence: Redemption SC by C.S. Pacat and Johanna the Mad 💜 Dreamer by Kris Bryant ❤️ Not Just Friends by Jordan Meadows 🧡 Winter's Spell by Ursula Klein 💛 Two is a Pattern by Emily Waters 💙 All Things Beautiful by Alaina Erdell 💜 Curse of Souls by Niranjan 🌈 Voyage of the Damned by Frances White

❤️ The Principle of Moments by Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson 🧡 Curse of the Dragon Shadow by Selina A. Fenech 💛 No Shelter But The Stars by Virginia Black 💚 Shards of Trust by Fox Beckman 💙 My Fair Brady by Brian D Kennedy 💜 The Summer Queen (The Buried and the Bound #2) by Rochelle Hassan ❤️ A Luminous Heart by Cailee Francis 🧡 To Cage a God (These Monstrous Gods #1) by Elizabeth May 💛 Out of Our League by Dahlia Adler and Jennifer Iacopelli 💙 Earth and Water by J.L. Gribble 💜 Rend Me, The Wayward Knight by Mary Vanalstine 🌈 Prince of Endless Tides by Ben Alderson

❤️ Sweet Wicked Thing by Jessie Walker 🧡 Ocean’s Blood by Thelma Mantey 💛 Breeze Spells and Bridegrooms by Sarah Wallace and S.O. Callahan 💚 A Reckless Oath by Kaylie Smith 💙 Fallen Thorns by Harvey Oliver Baxter 💜 Faded Moon by T.L. Morgan ❤️ Game On by Amy Aislin 🧡 The City of Stardust by Georgia Summers 💛 The Invocations by Krystal Sutherland 💙 Spark of Wrath by E.M. Lindsey 💜 Honeybloods by I.S. Belle 🌈 Love Me At My Worst by Adrian J. Smith

[the-novel-approach-reviews]

Review: Don't Want You Like a Best Friend by Emma R. Alban

Title: Don’t Want You Like a Best Friend Series: Mischief & Matchmaking: Book One Author: Emma R. Alban Publisher: Avon Length: 396 Pages Category: Historical Romance Rating: 4.5 Stars At a Glance: Don’t Want You Like a Best Friend is a thoroughly charming historical romance with a decidedly modern flair, aiming for delightful and scoring a perfect tone. Reviewed By: Lisa Blurb: Gwen has…