{"id":25817,"date":"2026-02-09T21:21:25","date_gmt":"2026-02-10T02:21:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/?p=25817"},"modified":"2026-02-09T21:41:18","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T02:41:18","slug":"something-spectacular","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/25817","title":{"rendered":"Something Spectacular"},"content":{"rendered":"

Something Spectacular<\/em><\/a> (2023) Alexis Hall<\/a> (Something Fabulous #2)<\/p>\n

\"SomethingI was somewhat hesitant to read this book as I thought it was Arabella’s book, and I’m not sure I can handle an entire book with her as the main characters (Bonny was difficult enough and that book wasn’t from his point-of-view) but this is Peggy’s story about how she fell in love with an opera singer.<\/p>\n

And not just any opera singer.<\/p>\n

Belle looked no more reassured. \u201cI\u2019m not angry because you kissed Orfeo. I\u2019m angry because you didn\u2019t think to tell me any of this before. How selfish do you think I am?\u201d <\/p>\n

It was probably for the best, Peggy decided, to assume that was a rhetorical question.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Let me note, Alexis Hall is lovely.<\/p>\n

Orfeo is in the difficult position of embracing an identity that was forced upon them by society (and indeed by direct violence), and for some readers that may not be the way they\u2019d want this theme to be handled. I\u2019m mentioning this in advance because I know these issues resonate with people, and I think it\u2019s important for us to be able to make informed decisions about the books we read.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

He is also delightful. <\/p>\n

I absolutely<\/em> am going to assume this is a Terry Pratchett<\/a> reference:<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd this isn\u2019t how you like to dress?\u201d Peggy asked. \u201cYou wouldn\u2019t rather we\u2014\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d Bob looked startled. \u201cGod no. Why would anyone like to dress like this? It\u2019s itchy and uncomfortable and I had to put a rolled-up sock in my drawers.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

But there is a lot going on underneath that, as the story deals with gender non-conformity and places we are put in society, whether we want to be there or not.<\/p>\n

Probably there would come a time when she wanted long hair again. Tomorrow she might go back to gowns. She didn\u2019t know, she couldn\u2019t tell. But that in itself carried a kind of rightness with it. Not having to decide.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Orfeo wasn’t given a choice in the matter, but one did feel his felt his gift to be something of a small compensation. But again, note Alexis Hall’s commentary upon the subject.<\/p>\n

There was also a lot of boinking, most of which was hard to skim since there were important conversations going on.<\/p>\n

There are also two sub-stories here, one the continuation of Bella’s story, and here we get more about Sir Horley Comewithers–which I wasn’t expecting.<\/p>\n

Characters<\/strong>: Margaret Peggy Delancey, Orfeo \/ Giovanni Rossi, Duke Valentinian Layton of Malvern, Bonaventure Tarleton, Miss Arabella Tarleton, Sir Horley Comewithers, Miss Emily Fairfax, Miss Angharad Evans, Lady Farrow, Lord Farrow, Roberta Bob Everley, Mr. Delancey, Mrs. Delancey, Cerberus, Duchess of Marshalsea \/ Cecil Fitch, Duke of Marshalsea \/ Henry Reed, Haxby, Radish, George, Periwinkle, Earl Parsifal Chastaine of Southerbrooke, Grace Hickinbottom, Lord Asham, Nicholas Marquess de Montcorbier, Verity Carswile<\/p>\n

Cover by Philip Pascuzzo<\/p>\n

Publisher: Montlake<\/p>\n

Rating: 8.5\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Something Spectacular (2023) Alexis Hall (Something Fabulous #2) I was somewhat hesitant to read this book as I thought it was Arabella’s book, and I’m not sure I can handle an entire book with her as the main characters (Bonny was difficult enough and that book wasn’t from his point-of-view) but this is Peggy’s story […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[191,30,292,2,33,742,148,26,56],"tags":[227,50,538,918],"class_list":["post-25817","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-8-5-10","category-british","category-ebook","category-fantasy","category-historical","category-physical-health","category-queer","category-romance","category-sexual-content","tag-alexis-hall","tag-boinking","tag-nb","tag-something-fabulous"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/piQkW-6Ip","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":25811,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/25811","url_meta":{"origin":25817,"position":0},"title":"Something Fabulous","author":"Michelle","date":"February 8, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Something Fabulous (2022) Alexis Hall (Something Fabulous #1) I struggled the first time I read this, partially because I was having a difficult time reading anything, and partially because I went into it thinking \"historical romance\" instead of \"fantasy rom com\". This time I went in thinking fantasy rom com\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Something Fabulous","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Something-Fabulous-200x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":19725,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/19725","url_meta":{"origin":25817,"position":1},"title":"Something Fabulous","author":"Michelle","date":"January 29, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Something Fabulous (2022) Alexis Hall (Something Fabulous) Set in Historical England. To be honest, I don't think this is historical England as much as fantasy historical England. Which is fine, since as he says in the author's note, almost everyone in the story is queer. Valentine Layton, the Duke of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "7\/10"","block_context":{"text":"7\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/7-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Something Fabulous","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Something-Fabulous.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Something-Fabulous.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Something-Fabulous.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Something-Fabulous.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Something-Fabulous.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Something-Fabulous.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":20913,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/20913","url_meta":{"origin":25817,"position":2},"title":"Waiting for the Flood, Audio Edition","author":"Michelle","date":"October 30, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Waiting for the Flood, Audio Edition (2016) Alexis Hall narrated by Alexander Doddy (Spires) This is one of my favorite Alexis Hall stories. I primarily listen to Fantasy and Mystery, but thought I'd see how I felt about this. I still love the story, but I think romance isn't a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "7\/10"","block_context":{"text":"7\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/7-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":14138,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/14138","url_meta":{"origin":25817,"position":3},"title":"Waiting for the Flood","author":"Michelle","date":"March 22, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Waiting for the Flood (2018) Alexis Hall (Spires) If you've read Alexis Hall, you may think you know what to expect from this story. Chances are you are completely wrong. It has been two years since Marius decided he was no longer in love with Edwin, and moved out of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "9.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"9.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/9-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Waiting for the Flood","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Waiting-for-the-Flood.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":24075,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/24075","url_meta":{"origin":25817,"position":4},"title":"Confounding Oaths","author":"Michelle","date":"November 12, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Confounding Oaths (2024) Alexis Hall (Mortal Follies #2) Set in England in 1815. Mr. John Caesar wants his sisters' coming outs to go well, so they can make good matches and be taken care of. But it won't be easy, because they aren't quite like the rest of society. Alexis\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "9\/10"","block_context":{"text":"9\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/9-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Confounding Oaths","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Confounding-Oaths.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Confounding-Oaths.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Confounding-Oaths.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":13662,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/13662","url_meta":{"origin":25817,"position":5},"title":"Iron & Velvet","author":"Michelle","date":"December 9, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Iron & Velvet (2013\/2019) Alexis Hall (Kate Kane, Paranormal Investigator) Kate Kane is a paranormal private investigator, called when something goes wrong i the supernatural world. She's called out to Velvet--an expensive nightclub--to investigate the exsanguiation of a werewolf in the back alley. It doesn't look like he had been\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Iron & Velvet","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Iron-Velvet.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25817","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25817"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25817\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25817"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25817"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25817"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}