A delightful Sapphic historical romance with a social conscience.
In a late-19th-century Britain in which queer relationships are normalized, a lord’s dutiful daughter is inexorably drawn to an outspoken American.
Two of Lord Tallon’s daughters (Marigold and Dani) are attracted to women, and two (Freya and Angelica) favor men. Lacking sons, he needs a daughter to marry a titled man and bear a grandson to be his heir. Freya receives most of the pressure—Angelica has only daughters, and children adopted by two women cannot inherit. Ivy Yada-Lovell, a Sapphic American poetess with a scandalous reputation, joins her newly minted viscount brother at a neighboring manor and immediately falls for Freya. Despite Lord Tallon’s expectations and his contempt for Ivy’s outspoken support of women’s rights, Freya tumbles headlong into her first same-sex romance. Ivy, meanwhile, finds her yearning for Freya extends to the Tallon sisters’ loving family life. Can they overcome the obstacles in their path? Despite being set in the late Victorian era, the lack of mention of the era’s technology gives the setting more of a Regency feeling. This effervescent romance features an evocatively built world, strong, sympathetic characters, and sweet moments of yearning and connection. A pervasive theme in the book centers on queer women’s lack of inheritance rights. Familiar historical romance tropes abound, and the intimate moments are chaste. Freya’s family is cued white, Ivy is of English and Japanese descent, and there’s diversity in gender identity and ethnicity among the supporting cast.
A delightful Sapphic historical romance with a social conscience. (Historical romance. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 4, 2025
ISBN: 9781250356314
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 13, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head.
The finely drawn characters capture readers’ attention in this debut.
Autumn and Phineas, nicknamed Finny, were born a week apart; their mothers are still best friends. Growing up, Autumn and Finny were like peas in a pod despite their differences: Autumn is “quirky and odd,” while Finny is “sweet and shy and everyone like[s] him.” But in eighth grade, Autumn and Finny stop being friends due to an unexpected kiss. They drift apart and find new friends, but their friendship keeps asserting itself at parties, shared holiday gatherings and random encounters. In the summer after graduation, Autumn and Finny reconnect and are finally ready to be more than friends. But on August 8, everything changes, and Autumn has to rely on all her strength to move on. Autumn’s coming-of-age is sensitively chronicled, with a wide range of experiences and events shaping her character. Even secondary characters are well-rounded, with their own histories and motivations.
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head. (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: April 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4022-7782-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
A heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind.
In this companion novel to 2013’s If He Had Been With Me, three characters tell their sides of the story.
Finn’s narrative starts three days before his death. He explores the progress of his unrequited love for best friend Autumn up until the day he finally expresses his feelings. Finn’s story ends with his tragic death, which leaves his close friends devastated, unmoored, and uncertain how to go on. Jack’s section follows, offering a heartbreaking look at what it’s like to live with grief. Jack works to overcome the anger he feels toward Sylvie, the girlfriend Finn was breaking up with when he died, and Autumn, the girl he was preparing to build his life around (but whom Jack believed wasn’t good enough for Finn). But when Jack sees how Autumn’s grief matches his own, it changes their understanding of one another. Autumn’s chapters trace her life without Finn as readers follow her struggles with mental health and balancing love and loss. Those who have read the earlier book will better connect with and feel for these characters, particularly since they’ll have a more well-rounded impression of Finn. The pain and anger is well written, and the novel highlights the most troublesome aspects of young adulthood: overconfidence sprinkled with heavy insecurities, fear-fueled decisions, bad communication, and brash judgments. Characters are cued white.
A heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind. (author’s note, content warning) (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781728276229
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
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