Reputation was one of my top books of 2021, so I was SO excited to see Lex Croucher had another Regency coming-of-age story coming out. And it did not disappoint!!

Our lead, Edith (known as Eddie), is an aspiring writer, who has never quite fit in with her peers. You can’t help but root for her the whole way through, even though you wish you could drag her out of her story and give her some sound advice before shoving her back in there to hopefully make better choices the second time around.

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Although this is a romance, it is Eddie’s own story that takes centre-stage, as she – for want of a better phrase – finds herself and her identity. As with Reputation we have a great cast of supporting characters too, and the way they write diversity in a historically accurate way while still celebrating the joy of diversity is something very rare indeed.

I won’t spoil the ending here but just know that it’s absolutely perfect, tying everything up very neatly and satisfyingly and giving us a sense of the wider world outside this group of characters. While the majority of the action takes place in one house on one island, the action never felt confined from the wider world of the story, but more like it was going to have an even bigger impact when those two worlds collided.

It’s definitely true to say that if you like Bridgerton you’ll like Infamous, but I think it’s more true to say that Infamous provides all the things you’re missing Bridgerton. I’m hoping that Croucher’s books mark a turning point in our approach to historical fiction, where we acknowledge that people throughout history were just as messy and chaotic as we are and that’s great!

Thank you to the publishers for providing me with a copy for review. All opinions are my own.