You're the Problem, It's You by Emma R. Alban Series: Mischief & Matchmaking #2
Published by HarperCollins on August 27, 2024
Genres: Fiction / LGBTQ+ / Gay, Fiction / Romance / Historical / Victorian, Fiction / Romance / LGBTQ+ / Gay, Fiction / Romance / New Adult, Fiction / Romance / Romantic Comedy
Pages: 400
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9780063312050The enemies-to-lovers queer Victorian romance follow-up to Don’t Want You Like a Best Friend, in which a young lord and a second son clash, but find themselves thrust together again and again by their meddling cousins.
“That man is, without a doubt, the absolute most obnoxious…
Bobby Mason is sick of being second best: born the spare, never trusted with family responsibility, never expected to amount to much. He’s hungry to contribute something that matters, while all around him his peers are squandering their political and financial power, coasting through life. Which is exactly why he can’t stand the new Viscount Demeroven.
…insufferable…
James Demeroven, just come of age and into the Viscountcy, knows that he’s a disappointment. Keeping his head down and never raising anyone’s expectations is how he’s survived life with his stepfather. To quiet, careful James, Bobby Mason is a blazing comet in his endless night, even more alive than he was at Oxford when James crushed on him from afar. But Mason is also brash and recklessly unapologetic, destined to shatter the fragile safety of James’s world. Worst of all, he keeps rubbing James’s failures in his face.
…hottest man to ever walk the ton.”
They can barely get through a single conversation without tensions boiling over. Neither Bobby nor James has ever met a more intriguing, infuriating, infatuating man.
If only they could avoid each other entirely. Bad enough their (wonderful but determined) cousins Beth and Gwen keep conveniently setting up group outings. But when an extortionist starts targeting their families, threatening their reputations, Bobby and James must find a way to work together, without pushing each other’s buttons (or tearing them off) in the process...
I was so excited to get my hands on You’re the Problem, It’s You! I absolutely loved Don’t Want You Like a Best Friend and couldn’t wait for this one.
The story itself was lovely and played so well. James Demeroven was a young man who never wanted a title and just wanted to stay in the countryside. Bobby Mason was the second son, the spare, and has absolutely no direction in life. There both lost souls in a way. The fact that they both had childhood traumas that made them incapable of communicating made the whole story better. I also found the fact that James has always been aware of Bobby but too intimidated to approach him absolutely adorable!
There is one aspect that annoyed me throughout the book and even when they had the 3rd act break up, which is, they all put too much blame on James shoulders. Yes, both Bobby and James were to blame for their miscommunication, but at the end of the day, Bobby had other people in his life. He has his brother, Meredith, his cousin, and uncle, and after the first novel, he has Beth and her mother too. Who does James have? No one! Yes, his mother is there, but it doesn’t seem like she was really there for her son. His stepfather was able to emotionally, psychologically, and physically abuse him. James flinches away from Bobby in one scene EXPECTING TO BE HIT! James was running away and not talking to the people who cared but he’s never had anyone in his life be on his side, and you can’t expect him to flip that emotional switch on after only a few days in the country.
Okay, that was my only big gripe with the novel! I loved how the blackmailing scheme played out, Ravenson deserves everything he gets. I loved the fact that Gwen and Beth’s plan to have fake marriages with each marrying the other’s cousins actually happened. Not only that the idea works in the end, but also that each fake couple works well together too. With Bobby and Beth, they have such a wholesome love for each other that is too precious for words. And Gwen and James are so competitive that it’s hilarious. They had a rocky start, but their camaraderie is great.
I won’t give away anything with the epilogue, but to call it perfection would not be an exaggeration.
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