beautifully bridgerton-coded

*MILD SPOILERS AHEAD*

This surpassed my expectations as the fun, fluffy, and slightly spicy romance read I needed in this current season! I seriously think once the folks over at Netflix finish all their "Bridgerton" adaptations, this book could be their next big project. Cause it reminded me of all the best parts of "Bridgerton" while going a step further and doing a lot of work to actualize what it would've been like to desire someone society deemed you couldn't have.
I thought Beth and Gwen's relationship was very nicely contrasted (and strengthened) by the necessity they saw in matchmaking their parents. I adored how it started out as a "parent trap" kind of situation that slowly but surely evolved into an affair of the girls' own. But Lord Havenfort and Lady Demeroven's tragic past and "will they, won't they" push and pull do so much for the plot. Even though they're technically the B plot romance, I absolutely loved their chemistry and was so invested in their happiness. Lady Demeroven's dramatic proposal in an epic, sweeping, joyful conclusion where all of the puzzle pieces for joint happiness fall together had me teary-eyed! Several moments in this novel had me seeing a bit blurry, like the multiple occasions Beth and Gwen think they're saying their final goodbyes, or Lady Demeroven's quiet admission to dealing with Lord Ashmond if it means that Beth and her will be provided for. 
Some of the side characters definitely got confused and mixed up in my mind (considering there's quite a lot of them milling about London society's balls and garden parties and teas), but I really enjoyed how they added to the scope of Beth and Gwen's world and society. It really got me thinking about how tiny a bubble London high society was, that the people living within it were confined to such limited roles and perceptions of how the world could operate, chiefly, who had to marry whom. By the end of this story, I was thoroughly convinced the Demerovens and Havenforts had found the perfect loophole and outcome for all of their happy endings without feeling like the writing took shallow or unbelievable shortcuts to get them there.
I also think the epilogue's setup for a second book in this matchmaking chronicle was clever and left me wanting to see how I could come to grow attached to James and Bobby as characters. 



One of my favorite quotes from Don't Want You Like a Best Friend:

"They lay them over their vanity chair. Such a simple action, but Beth feels like it speaks volumes. Their under things there, together, atop each other. They stand staring at the pile of their skirts, Beth can feel the brush of Gwen’s chemise against her own, close, but not close enough."

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