#a: amalie howard

[the-merry-librarian]

Described as an “anti-historical Regency-era romp” by the publishers, Queen Bee is a fun, romantic YA novel following Lady Ela Dalvi as she makes her debut in London high society—disguised as untitled heiress Lyra Whitley, as part of her plot to take revenge. Three years ago, her best friend betrayed her and left her life in ruins, and all over a boy. Ela’s plan is simple: infiltrate the ton, disgrace her former best friend, and break the heart of the boy who broke hers. It’s not long before her past—and the feelings she thought she left behind—start making that plan more difficult, and less desirable, than she counted on.

Genre: Fiction, Romance

Target Age Group:

Ages 12-17

Justification:

I found this novel while browsing the BookRiot Best Books for Teens 2023 list, and was immediately intrigued. My big secret—or maybe not that big—is that I love Regency-era historical fiction, especially nontraditional historical fiction; Queen Bee immediately appealed to me because of that, and since I needed a romance novel to fill out my YA section, I decided it would be the perfect fit.

Evaluation:

For this review, I will be evaluating point of view, characters, and accuracy. The point of view here is interesting; chapters flip back and forth between present and past, indicating present-day chapters as “Lyra’s” point of view and past chapters as “Ela” to reflect the main character’s presented identity. The narrator often thinks of herself as having “killed” Ela to become someone new, and it’s interesting to be able to contrast the new, harder Lyra against the more naïve Ela before her downfall—although in truth they’re not very much different at all. The characters in the novel are unique, interesting and charming; while they appear at first to be a bit tropey, “Lyra” briefly makes light of this by assigning the boys nicknames based on their apparent roles, such as “The Rake” or “The Jester.” All of them are young adults in their late teens—Ela is eighteen in the present day, fifteen in the past—and while they lack a more layered, often politically-motivated depth that I find in adult Regency novels, they are nonetheless appealing and have individual personalities. They do, however, speak with a more modern syntax that is a little jarring. That leads nicely into discussing the accuracy of the novel; Queen Bee markets itself as anti-historical, and Amalie Howard states in her Author’s Note at the back of the book that this is “mostly because it features an entirely diverse cast” (p. 345). She goes on to explain that, while people of color and LGBTQ+ people were present in the Regency era, they were rarely written about; Howard discusses a few women of color who were part of Regency history, such as Princess Catherine Duleep, Sarah Forbes Bonetta, and Princess Sophia Duleep Singh. Aside from the diversity of the cast, however, the novel makes a great effort to be accurate, featuring real-life characters such as Lady Sefton & Lady Jersey and historically accurate settings like Vauxhall Gardens. Howard lists many of this research in her Author’s Note, and it’s impressive to read through it and realize how much effort she put in. While I definitely think I prefer Regency romances geared towards adults (and with more of a queer flavor), I enjoyed Queen Bee a lot. I’d recommend it for teens and perhaps for adults who are just getting into the genre.

References:

Doherty, A. (2023, October 5). The 20 best books for teens: 2023 picks. BOOK RIOT. https://bookriot.com/best-books-for-teens-2023/ Howard, A. (2023). Queen Bee. Random House Childrens Books. Random House Children’s Books. (2023, April 4). Queen Bee: Hardcover. Barnes & Noble. https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/queen-bee-amalie-howard/1141727044 RH Childrens Books. (n.d.). Queen Bee by Amalie Howard. PenguinRandomhouse.com. https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/696842/queen-bee-by-amalie-howard/

[fated-mates]

An absolute classic for a reason, we’re talking about BEAUTY AND THE BEAST today — about the trope itself, about how the 1991 Disney movie brought it back to life (yes, we see you, Dain), and about why we love the vibe of scarred and broken men in a castle being found and renovated by whip smart, bookish heroines. Spoiler: It’s patriarchy.

[betterbooksandthings]

"A-spec and asexual romance novels might just be my favorite kind of romance novels. The communication is next level, the interpersonal plots are to die for, and, even better, at least one character is ace.

Really, the A-spec community has a lot to offer romance readers who’ve already bought into the project of romance at large. I.e. readers buy into the idea that the characters are going to have a happily ever after or happy for now (HEA/HFN). The joy of romance is figuring out just how those two people will get from point A to point B.

A-spec characters introduce an added layer of communication and consideration into the character’s interpersonal relationship that can sometimes get glossed over or assumed in other relationships. Allosexual and alloromantic couples do not always separate their layers of attraction (sexual, romantic, platonic, aesthetic, etc.). Don’t get me wrong: they can consider the varied ways they are attracted to and want to interact romantically, platonically, or sexually with another person. It just doesn’t happen all too often.

In contrast, I love the range of interactions asexual romance novels give readers. Some decide to do an info-dump style AVEN (Asexual Visibility and Education Network) definition. Others describe how they experience attraction and go into their feelings about what they are comfortable with the people they are in a relationship with. However they happen, these are conversations that clarify and crystalize relationships on the page for readers in satisfyingly intricate ways.

The Range of A-spec and Asexual Romance Novels

There are more and more a-spec and asexual romance books being published every year in every romance subgenre. So, there are more and more opportunities for new approaches to representing a-spec characters in interpersonal relationships with an HEA/HFN that feel more authentic to individual readers. Not every book is going to land for every reader. What I like in these a-spec and asexual romance novels might be something you dislike.

All that being said, I had a terrible time narrowing down my list to just the 16 best asexual romance novels. These books have a range of a-spec characters who are aromantic, asexual, demisexual, demiromantic, and gray ace. I have broken them up into contemporary romance, historical romance, romantasy, horror romance, and paranormal romance."

[triviareads]

if there was ever a scene written by a girlie for the girlies (gender neutral) it's this SLUTTY PIRATE SWORD FIGHT and I say pirate because the hero is stripping allegedly to save his sole shirt but he has TATTOOS and a NIPPLE PIERCING while the entire lady pirate crew cheers him on and the heroine is gnashing her teeth because she's in a pissy mood which is why she challenged him to begin with

[elvencantation]

so i’m reading queen bee by amalie howard… any other satisfying revenge story recs? preferably scifi or fantasy but i’m open to others! didn’t realize how much i enjoy a good revenge story

[romancereader222]

Hi Keero shippers, there might be more of us than we realized. I think shippers have been reading historical romance. There have been times the amazon top 100 kindle list had some historical romances that made me go hmm.

Here are my recommendations for historical romances that have tropes that remind me of Keero:

Scoundrel of My Heart by Lorraine Heath

Heartbreaker by Sarah MacLean

The Duke in Question by Amalie Howard

[sarah-maclean-completist]

Goodreads: Top rated romance books of the last three years.

[a-skirmish-of-wit-and-lit]

Book Review: Queen Bee by Amalie Howard

Queen Bee is Machiavellian regency fun full of manners, slander, and a plot for revenge. It's essentially Bridgerton meets Mean Girls, which makes it a light historical romp with a dash of modern sensibility.

This book gives "Ela can't come to the phone right now. Why? Because she's dead" vibes. So, in other words, it's an escapist respite!

Three years after her reputation is tarnished by her former best friend, Poppy (aka London's resident Regina George), Ela comes waltzing into ton with a new name (Lyra) and a fake backstory (she's a rich heiress with no title), hell-bent on retribution. This time, the odds will fall in her favor. This time, she'll land on top. She'll make sure of that. In fact, not only does she have plans to ruin Poppy's life, preventing her from making a good match in the marriage mart, but she also intends to break the heart of the boy who broke her's all those years ago...or so help her!

However, once Keston, the handsome and charming marquess, is within her orbit again, nothing goes according to plan. (Which, pssh--as if I'd want it any other way!)

Although I wished the revenge angle had been leaned into a little more, particularly at the beginning when Ela/Lyra was still smarting from the trauma of her past betrayals, this was an absorbing read. I flew right through it. I loved the diversity of the characters as well as the themes about the power of forgiveness and the representation of true friendship. The romance between Ela and Kes could have had more build-up or oomph, but it was still cute in that coy, you've-been-trampolining-on-my-heart-from-the-start YA way. It felt fitting for them as a pairing well as for the YA genre on the whole.

I liked it. Definitely worth a read. So if you're looking for a story full of scandal and schemes, but also one with a wholesome heart at its center, then this is the historical romance for you!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Random House Children's for the ARC in exchange for my review.

3.5/5 stars

**Follow me on Goodreads

[prologusblog]

Írói profil: Amalie Howard

Nem is olyan régen jelent meg Amalie Howard Queen Bee című könyve magyarul (Bosszú öt lépésben). Nekem nagyon tetszett a regény és ahogy az írónő életének utána olvastam, egyre inkább elámultam attól, milyen érdekes életet élt fiatal korában is. Ezért szeretném megosztani veletek a szerző életútját és kalandjait, amelyek igazán figyelemre méltóak. Minden információt az Howard saját oldaláról…

[songedunenuitdete]

Le voisin aux lunettes d’or de Amalie Howard

Mon avis : Le titre et le résumé m’ont tout de suite donné envie de lire cette romance historique de type Regency. Je n’ai pas lu le tome précédent, mais cela ne m’a pas empêché de suivre cette histoire puisque les tomes sont des compagnons et chaque histoire y est indépendante de l’autre même si elles se suivent et se passent dans le même univers. J’ai beaucoup aimé rencontrer Vesper, notre…

[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."

[dilawrosas]

[BOOK REVIEW] ARC: Never Met a Duke Like You by Amalie Howard

This Amalie Howard book is AVAILABLE NOW! ✍️✍️✍️✍️✍️ In the latest addition to the TAMING OF THE DUKES series, the heroine is a self-proclaimed matchmaker who isn’t looking for love, but in this book, she finds it with the hero. The hero is looking to revive his family’s fortunes while also realizing that a lot has stayed the same even after his return to England, including the heroine. Then a…

[awkadoodledoo]

I have to take a break from The Gray Man series because Court Gentry stresses me out. I will continue onto book four, Deadeye, when historical romance novels have fixed me.

[elif-in-wonderland]

I started reading Queen Bee by Amalie Howard and for now I love it. I’m really looking forward to see the revenge plan in action. Ela / Lyra is an interesting character.

[sarah-maclean-completist]

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Historical romance recs for your tbr

[catedwrites]

Never Met a Duke Like You by Amalie Howard

Never Met a Duke Like You was an honestly fun read. Yes, there were moments of seriousness and hardship--the discussion of mental health and its treatment in Victorian England as well as the portrayal of what it feels like to be neurodivergent, in particular were written deftly and compassionately (as a woman with ADHD as well, I thought Howard's writing of Vesper was true-to-life and very well expressed). These "heavier" topics provided a really good counterbalance to the snark and banter between Vesper and Aspen. I found their conversations genuinely entertaining and witty, and really appreciated the "sparky-ness" of their relationship. While the constant longing for each other did grate a tad before they actually came together, the payoff was worth it. I did think the climax was a tad drawn out, but nothing that put me off. I haven't read anything by Amelie Howard before, but I would, now, like to go back to her previous books and take a look.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the ebook ARC. All opinions are mine alone.