Something Extraordinary by Alexis Hall

Timy reviews Something Extraordinary, the third book in Alexis Hall‘s queer historical romance series, Something Fabulous.

An eARC was provided by Montlake via NetGalley. Something Extraordinary will be published on December 17, 2024,

Possible fit for The Sound of Madness Reading Challenge 2024 prompts:

Joker prompt that goes with anything: Now We Are Free

From the author of Boyfriend Material comes the absurdist adventure of two friends determined to avoid marriage to unsuitable people as they race through Regency England to marry each other instead.

Sir Horley Comewithers isn’t particularly interested in getting married, especially when his match is a perfectly respectable young woman. Sir Horley is, after all, extravagantly gay. But he’s resigned to a fate there’s no point resisting—until a dear friend does it for him.

Arabella Tarleton has no interest in romance, but even she can see that Sir Horley’s nuptials are destined to end in a lifetime of misery. Well, not on her watch. And what are friends for, if not abducting you on your wedding night in an overdramatic attempt to save you from a terrible mistake?

Their journey to Gretna Green is a hodgepodge of colorful run-ins and near misses with questionable innkeepers, amateur highwaymen, overattentive writers, and scorned fiancées. Then again a bumpy road is better than an unhappy destination.

But when it comes to marriage, Belle and Sir Horley are about to discover that it’s not what you do or how you do it but the people who you choose to do it with that matter most.

With a muted squeak, Belle huddled down again. “I think we’re fucked.”
“My dear Belle,” murmured Valentine, “we are long-standing recipients of fuckery. It began early, continued vigorously, and has yet to cease. This has been on of the most protracted fuckings of my life.”

I don’t think it ever happened to me before that I started reading a book in the middle (or at the end, rather) of a series, but I managed to do it twice this year. Go me. 🙄 While Something Extraordinary can be read as a standalone if you really want to, I would advise starting with book 1, Something Fabulous. Each of the 3 books tells the story of one couple, but the people are connected across the trilogy, and I think in some cases extra context goes a long way. While I understood everything, and Hall did a good job at giving us just enough details of past events, I would still recommend starting from the beginning.

Alexis Hall is a fairly new author to me – as in, I only discovered him this year when I was looking for M/M romance novels similar (but better) to Red, White & Royal Blue. I found Boyfriend Material and within a weekend I also devoured Husband Material and have been waiting for Father Material ever since. When I saw Something Extraordinary on NetGalley I thought it would be a good way to tide me over until such time. And once again, I didn’t really pay attention, and thus I can only blame myself. Anyway, no real harm was done, so whatever. Personally, I’m not super crazy about Regency settings, but I’m not against them either. I think I slightly prefer contemporary settings when it comes down to it, though.

I say this every once in a while, but I genuinely think that this is going to be one of the hardest reviews to write, ever. And even as I’m writing it, I still can’t decide how I feel about Something Extraordinary. Did I like it? Did it confuse me? Did it make me think a lot? Did it frustrate me? Yes to all of that. Did I enjoy it? I’m not sure. Despite the fact that I read it in a weekend, and highlighted so many paragraphs, for Hall’s sharp wit with which he is writing is top-notch.

“Unfortunately, she’d found it too unpleasant to stick to. Which was yet further evidence – as if she didn’t have enough already – that characters in novels didn’t know what the fuck they were about.”

Nonetheless, it’s still hard to express some of the things/feelings going through my head while reading. And I’m not sure if my lack of experience when it comes to LGBTQ matters is the one to blame or just my general ignorance. Or probably both. If I take one thing away from this book then it’s that I have a lot to learn about love (not that it surprises anyone, really) and all the forms it can take. I also need to take a long, long look into myself.

But we are not reviewing my personal failings here, so let’s move to the book. Something Extraordinary focuses on Arabella Tarleton and Sir Horley Comwithers’ relationship. Sir Horley is about to marry according to his aunt’s wishes (who is not too fond of him), despite the fact that he is attracted to men. Belle, having strong opinions on everything and considering him a friend even though things went a bit awry between them, thinks he is making a mistake and plans to rescue him, by way of proposing a marriage to him. Belle is not one for romantic notions, and even though she tried to fall in love before, she is content to marry her friend, which could be beneficial for them both. She could have a family of her own, someone she could belong to, and Sir Horley could be free of the bonds of his aunt. And since they don’t share an attraction, they could have relationships with anyone they wish.

But of course things are never so simple. Sir Horley, for one thing, is completely out of his wits when accepting the proposal and already halfway to Gretna Green when he sobers up. Secondly, his dream is a fairytale-like love, such as the one Belle’s twin brother has with their mutual duke friend. It doesn’t help that several hurdles are between them and Gretna Green, not least the aunt and his ex-fiancé who is chasing them. They also have a number of misunderstandings, and since they both are prone to theatrics, and not being able to communicate their feelings very well, all kinds of misfortune befalls them.

The story in itself is not really complicated – although, at times it felt like Hall did overcomplicated the plot – and while there are a lot of fun moments, and some quite graphic sex scenes, there was still something missing for me. I was struggling a bit to connect with the characters, or even like them. And I’m not sure I can put my finger on why. There were times I sympathized with Belle, who wants her freedom and a home to call her own with a partner who would not abandon her, or make her feel like a burden, as pretty much everyone else does around her.

“…But they’ll never understand you. They’ll dismiss you as foolish and selfish, or shrill and wilful, or whatever other words they find for women they can’t fit in a box, and all because your pain isn’t the same as their pain, and the world isn’t made for people like us.”

Even though she is incapable of love – though I think she *is* capable of love, just not the kind everyone seems to dream about. Sometimes, a companion and friend can be more satisfactory. I think what she needs is emotional security with someone, and she sees that in Sir Horley, with whom she built a friendship. I think this is where my error comes into play – since I missed out on the first two books, I have little context as to why Belle insists on saving Sir Horley, or even what she sees in him. Eventually, I do see why she chose him and he kind of grew on me as he started to come out of his shell and started to realize his own worth.

But I struggled sometimes with Belle’s reasonings, and choices, especially when it came to starting sexual relationships out of the blue. But again, this could be a completely me issue than anything else. Something Extraordinary still was an interesting experience for me, as this was the first romance novel I read with an ace (I think? I’m sorry if I’m mislabeling!) MC, and it certainly was eye-opening. And even though it was a mixed bag for me, I still recommend it for those who love queer romance novels and found family themes sprinkled with humor.