Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted over at Wishful Endings to spotlight and discuss the books we’re excited about but haven’t yet read. Most of the time they’re books that have yet to be released, but not always. It’s based on the Waiting on Wednesday meme, which was originally hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.
This week my Can’t-Wait-For Book is The Scandalous Letters of V and J by Felicia Davin!
Genres: Fantasy, Historical Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Nonbinary MCs, NB/NB
Published on: 16th May 2023
Goodreads
Paris, 1823. Victor Beauchêne has led a stifling existence, unrecognized for both his cleverness and his gender, except in the pages of his meticulous diary. Abruptly cut off from his family’s fortune, he takes the opportunity to start a new life in a shabby boarding house with his beloved spinster aunt Sophie. There, he stumbles upon two kinds of magic: a pen with eerie powers of persuasion and a reserved, alluring art student named Julien.
Brilliant, unconventional Julien is also Julie, a person whose magical paintings can transform their body or enchant viewers. Haunted by a terrible episode in their past, they’ve come to Paris for artistic success—the ordinary, non-magical kind. Victor, too handsome and far too inquisitive, is a dangerous distraction from their ambitions.
Drawn to each other, Victor and Julie strike up a cautious correspondence of notes slid under doors. It soon unfolds into a passionate romance. Outside the bedroom, their desires clash: Julie wants to distance herself from the world of magic and Victor wants to delve deeper. When the ruthless abuser from Julie’s past resurfaces, he aims to take control of her powers and ruin more lives. Victor and Julie are the only ones who can stop him. Do they trust each other enough to survive the threat to their love and their lives?
The Scandalous Letters of V and J is a historical fantasy romance with two nonbinary main characters, told primarily in letters and diary entries. It is approximately 100,000 words long and sexually explicit.
I have consistently been blown away by every book of Davin’s, and I have no reason to think The Scandalous Letters of V and J is going to be the exception! Which is why I preordered it before even reading the blurb – there are some authors you can trust that much, you know?
But the blurb delights me – I love epistolary books, and I can’t stop grinning at the idea of letters slipped under doors rather than being posted. There’s just something sweet and fun about it, like passing notes in class – sneaky and cute at the same time. And then the magic! Surely storytellers and story-lovers alike must sit up and pay attention to the thought of a magic pen? What kind of stories might you tell with that? And paintings that let an enby shapeshift as they please? HI, I COVET THAT SUPERPOWER, PLEASE AND THANK YOU!
I admit I can’t imagine wanting to walk away from magic, but I’m sure Julie and Victor will figure out a compromise eventually! And defeat whatever asshole crawls out of poor Julie’s past.
If The Scandalous Letters of V and J interests you at all, you can actually check it out for free immediately! Davin is sending out the whole novel, piece by piece, to subscribers, so you don’t have to wait for pub day to read it. (Although it’s not all out yet – I think it’s being timed so the last bit goes out just before release day.) If you scroll to the bottom of the book’s page on Davin’s website, you can sign up right away, and catch up on the earlier parts you’ve missed!
I’m holding off – I know better than to think I could survive not having the entirety of the book at once, to devour all in one go! – but it’s a brilliant way to try it out before ordering a copy to keep!
Give it a go, or make like me and wait impatiently for May!
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