#G: Romance

[guseveretts]

books read in 2024

|| beach read — emily henry || ⭑ ⭑ ⭑ ⭑ ⭑

[gifsofhubris-a]

Idk I bet this can be used for someone who likes ghouls

[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/

[xxfangirl365xx]

ray showing off da music

(ft. the way brothers looking miserable in the background*

[zzombiegrrrl]

I think about this a lot...

[wolfy4586]

[br41n-r0t]

[princes-favorite-guard]

[yingtan]

TAKESHI KANESHIRO as Mr. Worm LOST AND FOUND (1996) dir. Lee Chi Ngai

[pepperonyfic]

I can’t find a fic I’ve loved coming back to over the years. I’m pretty sure it’s called Damaged Armor or something like that. Tony comes back from a mission all damaged and injured, and Pepper has had enough and can’t bear to look at him like that. However, after an argument, they get together for the first time. This must ring a bell 🤞🏻

I believe you are correct with the title. Here is the link:

Damaged Armor by Zion Angel

[drathym]

how is my handwriting so booty i cant

[thepunkmuppet]

reblog if you’re:

unbelievable

ugh

so unbelievable

uUUUughHh

and if you:

ruin everything

ooohhh

better go home

[rareish-mcr-pics]

the red boots, ripped pants, flour makeup, wood walls, just the whloe thing

(X)

[shadowybasementgerard]

I LOVE THESE PICTURESSS

[xxfangirl365xx]

Gerard way on the floor (a series)

[zzombiegrrrl]

ERM... GEE WAY BE UPON YEE.