A Shore Thing by Joanna Lowell | Book Review

I’ve been reading historical romance for many years. That includes my historical romance bender from 2013 to 2015 where I read more than 200 historical romance novels. (Sometimes the special interests are strong.)

The thing about historical romance, though, is that it can be overwhelmingly white, cishet, focused on the aristocracy, and set in the Regency or Victorian eras in England. (Despite the Netflix series fame, the Bridgerton books are the perfect example of this.) But you can find more books these days that push on that very narrow (and often unrealistic) demographic or subverting it in some way. And A Shore Thing is one of those books.

Why I read it: Do you need a better pitch than “A delightfully queer Victorian love story, featuring a boldly brash trans hero, the beguiling botanist who captures his heart, and a buoyant bicycle race by the British seaside”? Because I don’t. I requested to read the book on NetGalley. (Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy. This is my honest opinion!)

Review #insixwords: The queer historical romance you need!

More:

• There’s so much care that went into Kit’s character and his identity. The Victorians didn’t have a word for transgender people. Kit says that he is a man with a girlhood.

• (Read the author’s note. It is good.)

• Kit needs Muriel to show the bicycling club (all men, of course) that women can ride, too. Muriel needs Kit to illustrate seaweed for a presentation she’s doing.

• Did Kit goad the leader of the bicycling club into the wager? Yes. Did the leader need goading? Also yes.

• The only thing better than a road trip book is a road trip book with an only-one-bed situation. Yes, the road trip is via bicycle. It counts.

• Underneath a lot of Kit’s bravado is what he’s lost to live his truth. Some of it he knew might happen—his sisterhood, for example—and some of it he is still struggling to come to terms with—losing his ability to paint.

• Muriel is happy to be out from under the thumb of her late husband, but there are still plenty of ways that men hold her back from accomplishing what she wants.

Recommendation: An excellent historical romance! Read it for Muriel, the woman who’s trying to make a name for herself in the scientific community. Read it for Kit, who is utterly delightful and equal parts self-assured and unsure of himself (a combination that is both loveable and relatable). Read it for bicycles and wagers and one-bed situations!

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