This book was a complete joy. I often find that the context in which I read a book impacts my experience, and that was especially true here. I read "Something Spectacular" simultaneously with "Flowers from the Storm," which felt like the perfect balance of angst and amusement and also highlighted how each explores issues of freedom and identity. Things I thought were spectacular, in no particular order: -THE POETRY SALON. I could not stop giggling. "Ode to the Hyacinth" is an instant classic. And it just got better and better. -Peggy's parents. Parents in romance often exist on a scale of very bad/absent to neutral. I loved the Delanceys and how *they* loved: uncomplicatedly and uncompromisingly, as the book says, in their actions as well as their words. -Bonny and Valentine (Reprise). 10/10, no notes. -Sir Horley. I want to give him a hug. -And Peggy and Orfeo, together and individually, with their courage to exist in the world precisely as they are and how they find ways to make themselves free. I've also been thinking about how Peggy wants to be a parent, but not a mother, and all the ways in which the identity of "mother" is limiting in its own way. I did take note of my own unconscious bias (if that's the right term?) when it comes to the singular "they/them" in text. Apologies if I don’t express this properly, it just took me a minute to adjust and I wanted to acknowledge that, because I do think it means I need to read more diversely and create new neural pathways. It was particularly striking as I was also adjusting to the Plain Speech in FftS, which is also central to the character’s identity and freedom. ETA: I do much better with they/them verbally. I think this is due to my tween daughter and her friends, for whom this is second nature. My generation needs to do better. Thank you to NetGalley and Montlake for the ARC