Narrated by Nicholas Boulton
I read an ARC copy of Alexis Hall’s Something Fabulous a while back, but when I saw Nicholas Boulton would be narrating the audio version, there was no way I wasn’t going to listen to it as well! It’s a gloriously queer, charmingly nonsensical Regency romp that plays with familiar tropes in the most affectionate way while at the same time delivering a sexy romance and a tender story of self-discovery.
Valentine Layton, Duke of Malvern is a serious-minded, rather stuffy young man, brought up to always consider his position and status, and to put duty first. There is, however, one particular duty he’s neglected for too long, and when the book begins, he’s proposing marriage to Miss Arabella Tarleton, the young woman intended for him since birth. Miss Tarleton, however, is not at all inclined to accept, and even though Valentine is more concerned with accomplishing his late father’s wish than he is with actually getting married, her pointedly barbed rejection still stings.
Annoyed, Valentine takes himself – and a bottle of brandy – to bed, only to be awoken in the middle of the night by another angry Tarleton – Arabella’s twin brother, Bonaventure (Bonny) – who, first of all, insists that Valentine Did It (the proposal) Wrong and then tells him that his sister has run off and they’re going after her to bring her back so that Valentine can propose again and get it right this time. This idea doesn’t appeal – not because Valentine doesn’t want to retrieve his errant intended, but because he doesn’t want to set out without due thought and preparation. Or his coat. Or his cravat. But Bonny won’t take no for an answer and soon Valentine finds himself bundled into the curricle wearing a coat ‘borrowed’ from the assistant gardener and a cravat tied surprisingly adequately by Bonny himself.
The road-trip that ensues is a journey of discovery for Valentine. He starts out as an entitled arse with no idea of his own privilege, but he’s also deeply repressed and terribly lonely, and as the story progresses and we begin to understand him more, he becomes somewhat endearing in his cluelessness. He’s never experienced attraction and romance is an alien concept; he just doesn’t see what all the fuss is about. Yet being around Bonny has him… feeling things, things he’d never imagined feeling for another person, let alone another man. Bonny is his complete opposite, vibrant, garrulous, charming and kind, he knows who he is and what he wants and isn’t about to settle for anything less than being loved in the way he loves, with his whole heart and soul. He’s utterly adorable and I loved the way he encourages Valentine to understand that he’s allowed to have feelings, to want things for himself, that life doesn’t have to be all about duty. The story focuses almost entirely on developing the relationship between Valentine and Bonny, on Valentine learning about how attraction works for him and that he deserves to be loved for who and what he is and not just for his wealth and title.
The small secondary cast is well drawn and the queer rep is excellent – as one would expect from this author. I particularly liked the wonderfully named Sir Horley Comewithers, a rakish gentleman who has his eye on Bonny – and who therefore brings out the green-eyed monster in Valentine – but who turns out to be a very good friend, and Peggy, Arabella’s (nonbinary) friend and travelling companion, whose good sense and level-headedness is a very welcome contrast to Arabella’s overblown histrionics. Speaking of Arabella – she’s the books biggest flaw. I understood why she behaves as she does; like every other well-bred young woman of the time, she has no rights and is expected to obey the dictates of her family and social convention. She’s obviously frustrated at the pressure to conform but instead of having a conversation with Valentine and talking to him about why she doesn’t want to marry him, she behaves like the worst, most TSTL heroine ever. She insults him, makes unfounded accusations, screams, throws tantrums and even carelessly and recklessly endangers his life. I couldn’t stand her – which I suspect is one of the reasons I started to find the book a little bit repetitive in the second half. Valentine and Bonny catch up with Arabella; she eludes them, they catch up with her again, she eludes them again… I just wanted her to run away and stay gone!
I imagine that no-one who has ever listened to Nicholas Boulton narrate an audiobook could possibly expect me to say anything other than that his performance here is simply sublime. Which it is. His pacing is just right, his comic timing is spot on and his characterisation of the two leads is absolutely wonderful. His Valentine is the perfect mix of hauteur and vulnerability while Bonny is all lively enthusiasm and warmth; the author’s dry wit and snark are exquisitely rendered and the connection that forms between the two men is totally convincing, their chemistry and growing attraction coming through so strongly as to be palpable. The secondary characters are realised with equal skill and care, from the jovial Sir Horley and the bewildered ostler to the awful Arabella and the dreadful Mr. Whelpington-Byng, Esquire, who sounds exactly as ridiculous and pompous as his name! TL;DR – it’s an outstanding performance and one I can see myself returning to often.
My dislike of Arabella aside, Something Fabulous is the best type of light-hearted fun – warm, witty and sexy with complex and engaging characters, and perfectly timed, sparkling dialogue. I enjoyed it very much in print, but Nicholas Boulton’s performance really does take it to the next level.
Warning: Probably best not listened to in public, as you’re likely to get funny looks from people who wonder what you’re giggling at!
Caz
Buy Something Fabulous by Alexis Hall on Amazon
I suspect I’ll get steaming mad at Arabella, but I’m going to listen to this anyway! Since I know going in it won’t be a surprise, and the rest of it sounds too good to miss. I have it on Kindle, but once I heard Boulton was narrating, I decided to wait for the audio.
I really didn’t like her, and that’s unusual for me, because my analytical brain knows “why” and I can get past it, but she really rubbed me up the wrong way! But the narration is SO GOOD, it’s worth putting up with her!
I think this audiobook is absolutely glorious. It’s a lovely book but, as you say Caz, the narration takes it to another level. I’m sure that it will be a contender for my best narration of the year and I really hope that Nicholas Boulton is considered for an award for it.
I’ve listened to it twice now, and found so many gorgeous bits to laugh or sigh over. Much of it is Valentine and Bonny on their own together and IMO these are the strongest bits, as both of them are completely ‘got’ by the narrator. Bonny is so lovely, but could have been interpreted all wrong in other hands.
Arabella still doesn’t bother me so much as she’s there to serve a purpose in the plot. The next book in the series is about Peggy, who is a much more interesting character…..
If only all narrations were this good!
I get what you mean about Arabella, and as I’ve said to Carrie above, I usually see such characters for what they are or what they need to be for the plot (in the same way I never hated Nico in H&S, because I knew why he was there!) but she really rubbed me up the wrong way!
I really liked Peggy, so was pleased to learn she’d be getting a book, too.
I dreaded every mention of Arabella. She ruined the book for me. I never like when a character’s bad behaviour is glossed over. Valentine was lovely though.
I didn’t like her, but thankfully, she didn’t ruin the book; there was enough Val and Bonny together for me to forget about her when she was off the page, which was fairly often, thank goodness! I did find her quite funny to start with, a very insightful p**s take of a specific type of heroine – it was when she started outright lying and throwing unfounded accusations around that I really wanted her to disappear for good.
I’m so happy I read your review! I’ve started the audiobook twice and I think it’s my dislike of Arabella that’s kept me from the immediate magic (or whatever you want to call it) that it Alexis Hall and/or Boulton.
Thanks for stopping by! The narration is SO good and the story is such fun that it’s worth pushing past the Arabella parts :)
Coming back to this after reading some tweets from Alexis Hall yesterday. He says that he was really concerned before publication that everyone would hate Valentine as he feels he is his most unsympathetic hero. But, from reviews I’ve read, everyone seems to love him and some people hate Arabella! Personally, I’d choose Caspian as his most unsympathetic hero.
He also confirmed yesterday that Joe Jameson is going to narrate Husband Material – yay!!
Interesting – it’s not the first time an author has written a character and found the audience’s reaction has been very different to the one they expected.
And yes, I saw the news about JJ, too! I’m reviewing the book for AAR so will be reading it soon, but I’ll definitely be listening as well!
I’m almost finished with this book and wanted to comment that even at his most obtuse moments, Valentine had a sort of clueless charm about him. I keep feeling he’s on the spectrum, as well as demisexual, and order is the way his copes with his world. Arabella’s behavior has almost ruined the book for me. I’ve pretty much skimmed (by putting the audio speedway up) every scene she’s in because she’s such an arrogant little sh*t. She may have little power overall in life, but her willingness to hurt others makes her a completely unsympathetic character for me. She’s mean in her anger. I’ll only read the next book if Arabella isn’t in it.
I’ve been thinking about why Arabella’s behaviour doesn’t seem to bother me as much as it does others. I do see her as representing the melodramatic, histrionic heroines of many novels, but I also see the cruelty of her actions as those of a very scared, very damaged child, acting to cause maximum hurt. I know she isn’t a child but she isn’t very old either, and her upbringing was so limiting. I find it fascinating that Bonny, in contrast, has managed to emerge from this background with so much emotional intelligence.
The juxtaposition of Bonny actually hurts her chances at sympathy in my eyes. She’s quick to turn on him as well. Anyway, I’m really trying to see her as anything but vile, and failing miserably. If this weren’t a comedy/farce, I’d be able to accept her better (not like her, but understand her place in the story). As it is, her cruelty isn’t funny to me, and it hits a very jarring note in the story. I think Hall could have written a silly, hurt, frustrated, and melodramatic Arabella without the cruelty and had a more effective story.
And honestly, her running away just got boring after a while. I really wanted more Bonny and Valentine interactions and fewer Arabella ones. Even Boulton’s incredible narration couldn’t save this one for me.
I think Hall could have written a silly, hurt, frustrated, and melodramatic Arabella without the cruelty and had a more effective story.
*nods in agreement*
He absolutely could – he’s more than a good enough writer. I can’t help but wonder how he misjudged so badly.
Yes, she’s absolutely a parody of those gothic heroines, and that worked really well to start with – and I also completely understand her frustrations. But when she went from slightly bonkers to outright lying (the cottage) to encouraging two men to try to kill each other… just no. I still really enjoyed the book and the audio is wonderful, but I just thave to ry to forget she’s in it.