Title: By Any Other Name
Author: Erin Cotter
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publication date: October 10, 2023
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Summary
It’s London 1593, and Will Hughes is a regular actor on Shakespeare’s stage. But in his personal life, he’s also pretending to be someone else: hiding the fact that he’s the son of traitors to the crown. All he wants to do is lay low and earn enough to escape back to his family.
But when his mentor, Christopher Marlowe, is murdered in front of him, his plans change. As the truth about Marlowe comes out (and the fact that he was a spy for the queen), Will gets wrapped up in solving his murder. As well as wrapped up in Lord Bloomsbury, the handsome man helping him solve Marlowe’s murder.
Review: By Any Other Name
Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for an advanced copy of By Any Other Name by Erin Cotter to review! Apparently, I was on a bit of a historical fiction kick, which is fine by me. This is another YA set in a time period that doesn’t happen often in YA. I’m loving the fact that publishers are branching out from just WWII historical fiction!
Hands down, the romance in this was the best part. Yes, it’s a bit of a mystery, a bit of a spy thriller, but the chemistry between Will and Bloomsbury is absolutely the best part of this book for me. You have two people who desperately want to be together, despite the fact that it’s basically against the law. It’s a bit of a “will they figure out a way to be together?” kind of story. I admit I’m a bit of a sucker for that.
It’s fun to see some of the historical figures that Cotter includes throughout, especially seeing Shakespeare pop as a character (who teens will definitely know the most). The book itself is a little on the long side, as I kept thinking it was done at the end but then it kept going. But it wraps itself up nicely at the end (maybe a bit too nicely for the time period, though).
If you like historical adventure with a heavy dose of queer romance, this is definitely the book for you!
4.5/5 stars