Don't Want You Like a Best Friend

A Novel (The Mischief & Matchmaking Series, Book 1)

By: Emma R. Alban

Narrated by: Mary Jane Wells, Morag Sims

A swoon-worthy debut queer Victorian romance in which two debutantes distract themselves from having to seek husbands by setting up their widowed parents, and instead find their perfect match in each other—the lesbian Bridgerton/Parent Trap you never knew you needed!

Gwen has a brilliant beyond brilliant idea.

It’s 1857, and anxious debutante Beth has just one season to snag a wealthy husband, or she and her mother will be out on the street. But playing the blushing ingenue makes Beth’s skin crawl and she’d rather be anywhere but here.

Gwen, on the other hand, is on her fourth season and counting, with absolutely no intention of finding a husband, possibly ever. She figures she has plenty of security as the only daughter of a rakish earl, from whom she’s gotten all her flair, fun, and less-than-proper party games.

“Let’s get them together,” she says.

It doesn’t take long for Gwen to hatch her latest scheme: rather than surrender Beth to courtship, they should set up Gwen’s father and Beth’s newly widowed mother. Let them get married instead.

“It’ll be easy” she says.

There’s just…one, teeny, tiny problem. Their parents kind of seem to hate each other.

But no worries. Beth and Gwen are more than up to the challenge of a little twenty-year-old heartbreak. How hard can parent-trapping widowed ex-lovers be?

Of course, just as their plan begins to unfold, a handsome, wealthy viscount starts calling on Beth, offering up the perfect, secure marriage.

Beth’s not mature enough for this…

Now Gwen must face the prospect of sharing Beth with someone else, forever. And Beth must reckon with the fact that she’s caught feelings, hard, and they’re definitely not for her potential fiancé.

That’s the trouble with matchmaking: sometimes you accidentally fall in love with your best friend in the process.

©2024 Emma Alban (P)2024 HarperCollins Publishers

Lovely

I'm a long-time enjoyer of romantic novels set in the olden times, but finding those with lgbtq+ themes, especially with happy endings, is not easy. This book ticks all the boxes. There are hoop skirts, plots to both marry and not to marry well, and a truly happy ending. The story is a pure delight. It is a bit of a fairytale, since things surely didn't always work out perfectly in real life, but if you're looking for a period romance with sapphic main characters, this is for you.

An historical sapphic love story that feels genuine

First of all, I would listen to Mary Jane Wells read a phone book, and this was vastly more entertaining than that! If you’re looking for high-spice, this isn’t the book for you—it’s open door, but the book isn’t overly laden with sex scenes. As for the plot? Well, the parent trap was one of my favorite movies as a kid, so this book melted my cold lesbian heart ❤️ the emotions and intimacy felt genuine to me in the context of Victorian London, where 20 year old ladies wouldn’t have had much exposure to anything queer. And now I am counting the days until the next book comes out in August! 🥲

Loved every minute

I loved the development of all the main characters and Gwen is my dream girl that’s for sure

Good first novel

Realistic romance scenes , interesting enjoyable characters. Historical time period and well read. Looking forward to next novel. .

Just adorable

Super cute. Cozy romance. Nice easy to read story for a day at home. Not predictable.

Heartwarming

Not without drama or hoops to jump but this is a sincerely happy ending. So grateful to have a fairytale queer period piece! I cannot wait for the next book!

Getting Your Parents Hitched So You Can Date Your Step-Sister

Enough said in the title. Though I did enjoy the queer version of Bridgerton. I am excited to read the sequel.

I've listened to several hundred of wlw romances, and this is a new favorite

Great chemistry, pining, bit of spice, well written, sweet as hell, if you love all those things in a romance, get this book

Narrator Makes This Story Come Alive

Mary Jane Wells made this story come alive. I have never been as impressed as I am with her narration. It legitimately felt as though I was there hearing the conversation, hearing the nuances. It was absolutely stunning! With that said the Author also did a fantastic job and deserves credit for writing a beautiful story. In a story that could have felt old and uninspired. The author breaths life into the genre. Just an awesome book and I highly suggest you listen to the Audiobook, it is just a different plane of enjoyment.

WLW Historical Romance

I enjoyed the story and I loved that the mom had character growth. I just felt the two main characters were kind of stagnant in their character growth. I loved that it was a queer historical romance and overall it was a good story but sometimes it felt slow and a bit whiny. If your looking for 🌶️ I would rate it a 2/5.