Happy Wednesday Scribblers. I hope you’re having a wonderful week. Back in February 2026, I told to you BJ Sikes had a new book out, Her Runaway Lady (find it here). Today I’m thrilled to be here with my review of the story.
Her Runaway Lady by BJ Sikes
An ambitious young milliner. A shy noblewoman fleeing an arranged marriage. Love is a risk neither can afford.
Solange doesn’t have time for love. She’s too busy working her way up in the Parisian millinery trade. Her goal: to become rich and lift her family out of poverty. So when a beautiful aristo whirls into the millinery fascinated by hat making, Solange isn’t interested. Or so she tells herself.
Louise-Marie hates the fancy parties she’s dragged to at Versailles and never wanted to marry. She just wanted to be left alone, making hats. Running away from home to become a milliner seemed like a good idea but the life of a working-class shop girl is harder than she imagined. And her new coworker doesn’t seem to like her much.
When they’re thrown together in the cramped backroom of a millinery shop and a shared garret room, tensions fray.
Buy the book now and immerse yourself in this cozy, low-spice historical sapphic romance set in a Belle Epoque That Never Was, 19th century Paris with a hint of steampunk.
Here is my review:
There is so much I never knew about hat making… and now I know. Her Runaway Lady by BJ Sikes is a wonderful historical slow burn sapphic romance. The story is set in an alternate France (think steampunk) but in this world, technology is now outlawed by the new King. The ‘technology’ elements take a back seat to the story, so if you’re looking for a steampunk adventure, this isn’t the book for you. What this story is about is Louise-Marie, a woman trapped in a time when even rich and noble women were limited in what they could do with their lives. Louise-Marie doesn’t want to be a dress up doll for a man to show off. She wants her own life. To make her own choices, even if she doesn’t fully understand what that entails.
Louise-Marie is a talented milliner, much to her parent’s chagrin. Her parents want Louise-Marie to marry up and secure the family's standing in the French court. When Louise-Marie sees her opportunity to run away and start a new life, she takes it. She meets Solange, a milliner who doesn’t have time for anything but making a name for herself and making as much money as possible to help her family.
Once these two meet, you can guess the rest. The story isn’t as much about the romance as it is about watching these two women grow and learn about each other and the lives they live. Each thinking the other is foolish for not seeing what they have (which was humorous to read). Sikes could give a master class on building a rich world of millinery (hat making), there are times I felt like the story was a backdrop for a class on millinery, but not in a boring way. I found all the details interesting and helped to move the story forward.
As this is a romance, all the beats are hit, and the ending is satisfying. I loved the adventure in getting from the start of the novel to the end of the story. And I loved the slow burn, and by slow burn, I mean slow. What this added to the story was getting to know the characters and seeing how they grow and change, and how because of all that change, love comes. My only bug is the use of the term ‘tender friend’ or ‘tender feelings’ (or whatever it was) every time I came to those phrases in the story I rolled my eyes and shook my head. There is just something about it that annoyed me. Other than that, this is a great book. Give it a read.
Well, there ya go. My thoughts on Her Runaway Lady. I hope you’ll get out and give it a read. You won’t be disappointed. Until next time have a great week.
