Book Review: The Perks of Loving a Wallflower by Erica Ridley

 

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Thank you to NetGalley and Forever of Grand Central Publishing for allowing me to read this ARC!

Content Warning: homophobia, misogyny, death.

Philippa York is a certified bluestocking. She spends her time running her book circle, chatting with other ladies of a similar disposition, something she'd like to spend her whole life doing -- but her parents are forcing her to marry a man with a title. The Yorks are well-off, and Philippa's father is in the House of Commons, but without a title, they're limited in their status. On the other hand, there's Tommy Wynchester, who spends her time going on capers with her adopted siblings and disguising herself in various costumes. The Wynchesters are a family who have a passion for righting wrongs, and so when one of the women in Philippa's reading circle is the victim of plagiarism by a man who is not only a fraud but outright villain, it's up to Tommy and Philippa to save the day. There's just one problem: Tommy is hopelessly, desperately in love with Philippa, and hoping to win her heart...

I was so excited to read this Regency romance between two women, and I can tell you in no uncertain words that I was not disappointed. Full of wonderful, captivating historical detail, a fun and clever mystery, and two main characters who will win your heart effortlessly, I cannot believe I'd never even heard of Erica Ridley before! Although I didn't read the first book (which is about Tommy's sister, Chloe), I think I will be reading the rest of the series, as well as probably going back to read Chloe's installment, too!

The romance that flourishes between Tommy and Philippa was enough to make me sigh and smile. Although there's many difficulties on their journey, and countless obstacles, this book is both contagiously fun and moving in its depth of emotion. Although the main pull of this book is the main romance, there's also plenty of other intrigues to be found, and that's something I personally like in my romances -- it makes it feel more fleshed out, and also serves in helping the characters to seem more real. I loved all of Tommy's siblings; the dynamics were well-written, and I loved the fact that they felt so authentic to my own relationship with my sister! 

Like all books in this genre, there's a few misunderstandings between Philippa and Tommy, but they were realistic (given the attitudes of the time) and I found myself able to sympathize with both sides when they fought. They don't go on for an excessively long amount of time, either, which was such a huge relief. Instead of raging at one another, they tried their best to communicate and put themselves in the other's shoes. Not only does that make for good reading, but it made it especially easy to root for their happy ending!

I was a tiny bit surprised, as often romances don't make it into the five-star range for me, but this was truly special. Every aspect of it felt sweet, heartwarming, populated by characters who leapt off the page. There's steam, too, and the tension between Philippa and Tommy will definitely have your heart racing. Tommy in particular was insanely dreamy: pure-hearted, flirtatious, sensitive and brave, all rolled into one. You'll definitely be looking for you own Tommy after this! 

This lovely novel comes out on October 26th, and I urge you to give it a go. It's everything you can possibly dream of in a historical lesbian romance, and if you're like me, the addition of a small mystery and taking down  arrogant misogynists will definitely make this a five star for you, too!