Paris, at the dawn of the modern age: Prince Sebastian is looking for a bride―or rather, his parents are looking for one for him. Sebastian is too busy hiding his secret life from everyone. At night he puts on daring dresses and takes Paris by storm as the fabulous Lady Crystallia―the hottest fashion icon in the world capital of fashion!

Sebastian’s secret weapon (and best friend) is the brilliant dressmaker Frances―one of only two people who know the truth: sometimes this boy wears dresses. But Frances dreams of greatness, and being someone’s secret weapon means being a secret. Forever. How long can Frances defer her dreams to protect a friend? Jen Wang weaves an exuberantly romantic tale of identity, young love, art, and family. A fairy tale for any age, The Prince and the Dressmaker will steal your heart. (via Goodreads)

I received an eARC through Rich in Variety Tours in exchange for an honest review.

There is an unwilling outing,transmisogyny, trans hatred, self loathing around gender, and shaming for gender nonconformity, so please be careful with your mental health while you read, friends.

I follow Jen Wang on twitter, and when I heard she was writing a graphic novel, I was over the moon! I love her art and her writing is just really great. I particularly loved the colors that Wang wove into every piece of fabric and character.

I also loved the ending, which I shan’t spoil for you, because it is delightful.

I loved that Sebastian was genderfluid/genderqueer/nonbinary and wanted to be nonconforming – the words are never used on the page. I loved that he got to be accepted for being himself finally, because who he is is beautiful.

You can read Corey’s, a trans reviewer’s, thoughts on the rep here.

I also love that Frances got to live her dream as well. I’d love to see the future for these two. You can pick up a copy on Amazon or Indiebound! I highly recommend it.