Book Review #infamous #lexcroucher #stmartinsgriffin #netgalley
Infamous is Lex Croucher's second young adult regency set historical romance novel. Croucher highlights diversity in this novel, not just through character's race, but also there sexuality and identification in a really lovely and inclusive way that makes her novel easily approachable and would have definitely been something I would have gravitated to in my youth and devoured whole-heartedly. Croucher's writing weaves together lightness, humor, and exploration with moments of discovery, unawareness, and growth. Croucher's style will definitely appeal to anyone who loves a teenage romantic comedy and coming of age story.
Infamous at its heart is about discovery and growth, in the center we have two friends who are both coming of age, and learning what they want out of life and love. We then have the layer of secondary characters that push and pull these two in various directions as they learn important lessons. I think that Croucher highlights and shows the ever changing minds of people who are growing and discovering new things about themselves. So while motivations are not always clear and while somethings seem to just scrap the first layer, these reflect the way problems and obstacles can be approached when uncertainty plays a large part into the character's understanding of themselves.
I enjoyed this novel and could definitely see recommending this to middle school and young high schoolers who are interested in reading historical romance-light fiction. If you are a historical romance reader you might find some of this delightful, but ultimately it is much more geared to a younger audience.
Thank you to St. Martin's Griffin and NetGalley for an eARC, all thoughts and opinions are my own.