Something Fabulous

By: Alexis Hall

Narrated by: Nicholas Boulton

Length: 10 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

One of AudioFile Magazine's Best Audiobooks of 2022

From the acclaimed author of Boyfriend Material comes a delightfully witty romance featuring a reserved duke who’s betrothed to one twin and hopelessly enamoured of the other.

Valentine Layton, the Duke of Malvern, has twin problems: literally.

It was always his father’s hope that Valentine would marry Miss Arabella Tarleton. But, unfortunately, too many novels at an impressionable age have caused her to grow up…romantic. So romantic that a marriage of convenience will not do and after Valentine’s proposal she flees into the night determined never to set eyes on him again.

Arabella’s twin brother, Mr. Bonaventure “Bonny” Tarleton, has also grown up…romantic. And fully expects Valentine to ride out after Arabella and prove to her that he’s not the cold-hearted cad he seems to be.

Despite copious misgivings, Valentine finds himself on a pell-mell chase to Dover with Bonny by his side. Bonny is unreasonable, overdramatic, annoying, and…beautiful? And being with him makes Valentine question everything he thought he knew. About himself. About love. Even about which Tarleton he should be pursuing.

©2022 Alexis Hall. (P)2021 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“[Nicholas] Boulton perfectly captures Valentine's tendency to become stiff and overly formal when he is distressed.… On the surface, Bonny seems flighty and flirty, but Boulton gives him unexpected depths of compassion and insight into Valentine and the workings of the world at large.... A delightful performance will leave listeners alternately cackling with glee and cringing in sympathy.”–AudioFile Magazine, Earphones Award Winner

“Alexis Hall’s first queer historical, Something Fabulous pays homage to the classic Heyeresque Regency romp while subverting many of its problems…The whole duke archetype is deconstructed piece by piece in a series of comic mishaps unfurled with impeccable authorial control.”—The New York Times

“[A] wonderfully queer mash-up/send-up of buddy movies, Austen novels, and classic rom-coms.”—Publishers Weekly

Fabulous

I have to agree with the title; this story is something fabulous. A young duke (Valentine) finally proposes to the daughter of a family friend (Arabella Tarleton). Their fathers had always wanted them to marry and now Valentine wants to do right by his deceased father. Arabella runs away because she doesn't want to marry him and Valentine goes after her along with Arabella's twin brother, Bonny. On the way, Valentine and Bonny fall in love. Crazy things happen, mostly because Arabella is a lying, impulsive drama queen who thinks she is living in a novel and wants to get away at any cost and Valentine is a bit obtuse. Arabella's actions are annoying and I wanted to throttle her and some of the other characters too. That is the point, though. The novel pokes fun at over-the-top dramatic characters and plot elements, the gothic genre of the 19th c. as well as ideas of respectability and decorum (hence the reference to Austen's Northanger Abbey). The characters and dialogues are hilariously funny but the novel is plot-driven; it hangs on the ridiculous plot elements and how they develop. The point of this novel is to entertain, first and foremost and it does exactly that without being realistic or profound. It's just fun! I've listened to and read a few of Alexis Hall's novels and while very different, all have been well-written and this one is no exception. The narrator also did an excellent job of portraying the different characters and the absurdity of situations. His performance was just right for this work. I'll probably listen to this again when I'm having a bad day and want something to cheer me up.

What a HILARIOUS FARCE! 😍

I ADORED this farcical romp across the British countryside.

Included:
A Duke
A gentleman
A lady
A lady’s companion
An ostler
And assorted characters
ALL QUEER

Required:
Suspension of disbelief
(This is a farce, after all)
Alone time so no one looks at you funny while you chuckle, snort, and laugh your way through the story.
Something to strangle or throw (one of the characters will force you to do this).

Recommended:
The audiobook (unforgettable)

Warning:
You may fall in love with Bonny, the gentleman.
You will want to slap Valentine upside the head.
Scenes with Arabella will cause steam to come out your ears and daggers to fly out your eyes.
Side aches from hard guffaws may be treated with ice.

Hysterical and Sweet Regency Romance

Alexis Hall continues the great British tradition of telling stories about people who can be awful but funny and somehow endearing, such as in A Fish Called Wanda and Absolutely Fabulous. I had a great time reading and listening to the ridiculous situations Valentine, Bonny and the others got themselves into. I also smiled at the absolutely sweet love story between Valentine and Bonny. Nicholas Boulton’s narration was fantastic. I knew which character was speaking at all times. It was a great listen. Just a fun and fantastic time all around.

Romp

If you’re looking for a ridiculous romp, this is it. Delightfully gay, the mostly LGBTQ cast spends a lot if time trying to shoot some sense into Valentine, who thinks he knows best but barely knows himself, as he chases his errant fiancé thru the countryside.

Steam: Medium. Several on page scenes and some ceilings with satyrs at the “hunting box”. Lots of snuggling. Cosy sexy, if that’s a thing.

Narration: ounded ducal to me. Good, even sound quality.

ABSOLUTELY DELIGHTFUL!

I really enjoy Alexis Hall’s books. I enjoy the ones where the sex scenes are left a bit more to the imagination, as in Boyfriend Material, rather than describing things in a fair amount of detail. Some of Hall’s books discuss the sex a bit more graphically, which is fine, I just happen to prefer a good romcom over a trashy romance novel any day. Unfortunately there is a narrator who is very popular in this genre, and I find his narration to be utterly atrocious. Fortunately this book has a great narrator! No whiny, breathy reading here, just a top notch job of narration. I’ve been eagerly awaiting the release of this book, and I’m pleased to let y’all know that this book hit the mark in all areas. I found this book to be aBsOLuTeLy deLiGhTfuL!

Fabulous indeed

This book is so wonderful, and the narrator brings it to life so thoroughly. He absolutely nails every character and affectation. A delightful listen.

Valentine deserves the word

I loved Valentine with all my heart and i did not understand why he had to apologize even for the things done to me! He deserved better.

Perfect story and narration

Nicholas Boulton is perfection. I had to keep reminding myself that I was listening to one person voice all of these characters. It was the biggest joy to listen to him read this story to me.

The story itself is also perfection. It's hilarious and touching and tender and adventurous -- it contains multitudes. It is about freeing yourself from external expectations, exploring to find your true self, uncovering incorrect assumptions. It's a literal journey across the countryside and also a journey of self discovery. And, it contains such queer joy that my heart is bursting with happiness.

Is that why you call me flower?

A hilarious romp. I thoroughly enjoyed every part of this book except for tiresome miss Tarleton. Alexis Hall aaaaand Nicholas Boulton. Heaven for your ears. I highly recommend you give this a listen.

Something fabulous indeed

It's hard not to love everything Alexis Hall writes, especially narrated by Nicholas Boulton. Wow. This may actually be one of my favorites from AJH. An unapologetically over-the-top, campy, clever, romantic, uproariously funny, insightful, and absolutely, ABSOLUTELY delightful queer romp. It doesn't take itself seriously; it really is. so. damn. funny. Beyond the hijinks though, it has so much heart, and such beautiful prose - a grumpy Duke named Valentine you can't help but want to hug, and a cinnamon roll full of bounding energy and light called Bonny.

AJH is, as always, a master with words. Even when purposely writing a farce involving a duke and a runaway fiancée, he subverts our expectations and elevates it to say something that touches our hearts and makes us rethink our preconceived ideas - a lovely homage to Jane Austen or Molière (and isn't that the point? There is a clever meta aspect to the book - a love letter to writers and readers of romance/gothic stories). As always, AJH turns genre conventions on their heads and says something clever and insightful about matters of the heart and those of us who enjoy (adore!) romance novels. He also says important things about queerness, asexuality, women's rights, the British class system, the art of writing, and masculinity, wrapped in a gorgeous jeweled box. I found myself continuously rewinding to enjoy a beautiful turn of phrase, character moment, clever joke or heartfelt sentiment.

Bonny and Valentine's story is romantic, touching, incredibly sexy and completely endearing. The characters come out of the page like a Watteau painting or Jane Austen novel: playful, dewy, sensuous and frolicking in fields. With, you know, the occasional duel and kidnapping. Every single character (not just precious Bonny and Valentine) are a delight and a surprise. Belle is probably the hardest character to love -- it's difficult to understand how she keeps acting so erratically, even callously, over and over; but I enjoyed her character as the antagonist who keeps this mad pursuit going and allows the other characters to find their place in the world, their peace and their heart. She is also in a tremendous amount of pain and angst, which can be easy to forget in such a lighthearted romp.

This book is the perfect antidote to this endless pandemic. I laughed out loud A LOT. But also made my heart skip a beat for these two idiots ❤️. Something Fabulous is a beautiful roller coaster of silliness, drama, tears, laughter, pure light, and joy. Highly highly recommend.