I've actually been thinking really hard about why this didn't work for me, because on paper, it has things I love, but let me try to break this down.

Expectations
This one is probably on me, but I think I wasn't expecting the vibes to be as off the rails as they were. I've read at least 3 books by Alexis Hall now, and from the three I've enjoyed his serious book more than the ones that lean towards romcom. I went into this expecting something more on the serious side, but that's not what this is. Now that I know what this series is like, I am hopeful that I might enjoy the sequel more.

Pacing
The book is too long, and the story beats are kind of repetitive. There are 3 cycles of Bonny and Valentine chasing Bella, finding her, something happens, she runs off, they chase her again, and I was tired of it by the second cycle. I wish there had been more elements to the story, because that would definitely have improved my experience.

Romance
This is what kept me going, even though I should probably have DNF'd the book. The romance was really cute once it got going. I liked both Bonny and Valentine and their dynamic, although I will say I have a beef to pick with Bonny, but more about that later. Valentine spent the entire book working through his own preconceived notions of identity and sexuality, and I really appreciated the way the author handled this. There were poignant moments where he felt alone, uncertain, and insecure, and it was refreshing to see a duke act this way.

Humor
Unfortunately, the humor was a big miss for me, and I think it's mostly because I genuinely hated Arabella. I did have sympathy for her situation—there's one paragraph where Bonny points out to Valentine that he is a large man, with a temper, who has on one occasion destroyed furniture, and that it shouldn't be shocking to him that this might be scary to a woman, even if he had no intention of ever harming her. This is absolutely valid. But it doesn't excuse the way Arabella acts the entire book, and the way everyone goes along with her at Valentine's expense. Her theatrics were exhausting, and every time she was on page I just got extremely annoyed.

And the thing is, the way the story unfolds is very reminiscent of a crack fic. I've loved those before, and I can definitely get behind a ridiculous premise or execution. But the difference is, with a crack fic, I'm already invested in the characters. I already like them enough that regardless of how they act, it won't change how I feel about them. With original fiction, crack premises are a much harder sell for me, because as is the case with Arabella, I genuinely hate her guts based on her behavior. And while I liked Bonny and Valentine, I don't think I loved them enough to make it enjoyable.