bri

https://www.goodreads.com/beforeviolets

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bri is Currently Reading

bri is currently reading

On Repentance and Repair: Making Amends in an Unapologetic World

by Danya Ruttenberg (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading

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progress:

(38%)
"JKR catching strays, we love to see it!! (it’s talking about how great of a sin it is in judaism to lead others to sin, so mentioning that her actions are causing others to also be transphobic! love!!)" — Sep 23, 2026 03:55AM

Sep 20, 2026 04:00PM

bri is currently reading

The Extraordinary Untrue Life of Mirah de Rothschild

by Vivien Hart

bookshelves: friend-books, adult, historical, indie, jewish-author, jewish-mc, lgbtqia, lesbian-rep, bisexual-rep, owned, romance, sapphic, trans-author, currently-reading

Reading for the 2nd time

read in August 2025

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bri said: " THE EXTRAORDINARY UNTRUE LIFE OF MIRAH DE ROTHSCHILD is the perfect romp of a historical Jewish sapphic historical romance that I needed in my life.

One night, Mirah, a Jewish actress at a seedy music hall gets an offer from an unexpected and obviousl THE EXTRAORDINARY UNTRUE LIFE OF MIRAH DE ROTHSCHILD is the perfect romp of a historical Jewish sapphic historical romance that I needed in my life.

One night, Mirah, a Jewish actress at a seedy music hall gets an offer from an unexpected and obviously out-of place patron: a high society woman, Eloise, seeking to secure her family’s inheritance. As a woman in Victorian London, Eloise is at the mercy of the men in her life and upon her father’s impending death, her family’s estate, wealth, and reputation will be inherited by her irresponsible and reckless brother. In order to convince her father of her brother’s lack of responsibility, Eloise asks Mirah to seduce her brother in a plot that will send him into social ruin. Mirah reluctantly agrees, posing as a wealthy foreign member of the Rothchild family in order to secure some stability and financial support for her own brother. It should be easy enough: act her ass off, pretend to marry a wealthy man, cause a massive scandal, and exit unscathed and with 10% of her employer’s inheritance. But Mirah and Eloise find themselves in a tangle as the lies pile up and the plan accrues an unexpected factor: feelings.

Compulsively readable and utterly enjoyable, this book is just an absolute joy. I often read books in public, and I found it so impossible to keep myself from smiling and laughing while reading this that I noticed strangers craning their heads to peek the title. (I hope those folks pick this book up and have the absolute blast that I did.) I've been deep in dissertation writing hell and this has been the perfect book to lift my spirits and bring some fun to my days of stressing about deadlines.

The characters are bursting off the page. The shenanigans are perfectly balanced between stressful and properly entertaining. The plot is so well-woven and precise. And the thematic conversations about grief and family and wealth pair a healthy heaping of thoughtfulness with silliness. But most importantly: the romance is so compelling. The slow burn, the circumstantial obstacles, the chemistry, the pining — my god, the pining! — I was hooked the whole way through. Absolutely just a well-rounded romance and a damn good book.

Read this book if you’re interested in: sapphic yearning, historical settings with diverse casts, heartfelt portrayals of complex sibling dynamics, dogs dressed up in silly little costumes, farcical plots, critiques of Victorian classism, and historically accurate queer joy.

Also!! This book is currently donating all proceeds to various Palestinian fundraisers so you should DEFINITELY get it.

Disclaimer: I am friends with the author and was gifted a copy. All opinions are my own.

CW: death of father, death of mother (past), grief, illness, alcoholism, societal homophobia, transphobia (mention), classism, emesis, pregnancy (mention) ...more "

progress:

(page 140 of 325)
"this has been such a perfect silly shenanigans brain break while dealing with dissertation stress" — Aug 01, 2025 01:38AM

Aug 02, 2025 06:18AM · see review