Emily Laurence's sister is very ill and cannot fulfill the position as a governess to
Captain Edwards at Fairmont Hall. They need the money, so Emily takes Amy's place. Confronted with a fourteen and sixteen year old, Emily's next dilemma is what does a governess do? Be clever! Unfortunately that doesn't extend to being blackmailed. Captain Edwards has secrets concerning his relationship with the Royal Navy and the blackmailer wants to know what they are. There in lies the trouble. Unexpected revelations may surprise you and leave you with more questions. An interesting read. Implied sex.
I voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this book from NetGalley.

Once SMP get's it together, then I'll post my real and full review because I had many thoughts and opinions!!!!

I requested this for consideration for Book Riot's All the Books podcast for its release date. After sampling several books out this week, I decided to go with a different book for my review.

Book 17 of 2024 - ☑️! Thank you so much to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, St. Martin's Griffin & Lex Croucher for the ARC of Trouble by Lex Croucher in exchange for my honest review.

I’ve seen Lex Croucher’s books at many book stores, and have always been intrigued by their covers. This Regency-era rom-com was inspired by The Sound of Music, with a feminist and queer spin + throw in some found family, forbidden romance (class differences) and a grumpy/grumpy relationship between the main characters. In an effort to help her sister Amy, who is chronically ill, Emily Laurence pretends to be Amy at Amy’s new job - the governess at Fairmont House. Emily also happens to be a thief, a liar and all-around unpleasant. In attempting to not get close to the family and do whatever it takes to get money & whatever she needs back to Amy, she continually finds herself in trouble - either directly in it, or surrounded by it. Despite her attempts to not get close to Edwards family, she does — and must figure out how to get out of trouble before it’s too late. The banter in the book between all of the characters is top-notch. Bonus points for representation - LGBTQIA+ (both the FMC & MMC + many of the supporting characters), race & ethnicity as well as chronic illness.

Croucher is a very vivid writer. As someone who doesn’t generally love slow-burn romances, I very much enjoyed this. 3/5 🌟 overall, and this was generally closed-door, save a scene toward the end of the book, so I’ll give a 1.5 on the 🌶️ scale. 🐎 💐 📚 #NetGalley #Trouble

I loved loved loved this book. The FMC is grumpy with an absolutely loyal marshmallow center and the MMC loves that about her. A fabulous supporting cast and an all-around fabulous read.

My favorite Lex Croucher book to date! I loved the cast of characters and how they all got on with one another. I was worried at first that the protagonist was a little too similar to a lot of Croucher’s characters from past books and while I think they do like to write to a specific type of person it didn’t take away at all from the story or my enjoyment of it. Overall a really exciting read and I can’t wait for their next book.

More in depth review to come on my site/goodreads.

Absolutely loved this one. Emily is a complicated protagonist to love, but I still found her endearing nonetheless and Captain Edwards was the perfect love interest. I loved this cast of characters, I loved the queer themes woven throughout, as well as thoughtful commentary on class that was important to this story. And what an absolute slow-burn of an enemies-to-lovers romance (my favorite). The character development that accompanies both of them through this story made it easy to root for their romance and for them as characters as the story continued and they grew as people. Lex Croucher continues to write witty historical fiction that captures the time and feels devastatingly modern all at once. Highly recommend this one to all.

**Many thanks to the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I loved Gwen and Art are not in love but this one by the same author was not as absorbing of a read and I found more characters to be unlike able.

Super super cute and fun! The regency era romance (Jane Austen and Bridgerton-eque books) is a sub-genre that I don't normally seek out but I'm now realizing that I should definitely be reading more like this because I love the vibes in this book so much! I loved the slow-burn romance and I loved all of the characters in this book so much. I loved both of the kids and I thought Aster's coming out story was so interesting and it was an aspect of the book I wasn't expecting. I also liked how as the book goes on you realize that this unassuming house by the ocean is nearly full of queer people which I thought was such a fun touch. This is my second book by Lex Croucher and I would definitely read more by them in the future. These romance books are very well done and have hints of silliness which I like. I also feel like the books don't take themselves too seriously when it comes to the historical accuracy of the setting. Like, could you poke some holes in the historical accuracy of the setting and behaviors in this book? Probably. But with it being a light-hearted romance, there is really no need to. I also really liked how Emily's main physical descriptor was her "big lampy eyes." I don't know why but I just feel like it is a very unique descriptor that I haven't really seen before that paints a very distinct picture of the protagonist. This was such an easy book to fall into and devour in a few sittings.
Also, one of my favorite lines in the book that I just have to share: "Captain Edwards, and the idea the he might feel anything beyond vaguely attracted to her as a person-shaped diversion was fanciful at best."
Overall, such a fun read!

Trouble is a Regency historical romance novel about Emily Laurence, who pretends to be her sister, Amy, in a new governess position when her sister is too unwell to take the job. Amy is mild mannered, has experience as a governess, and loves children. Emily is anything but. After arriving at her new post, she meets the handsome and mysterious Captain Edwards, former naval captain and the father of her charges. Although they do not like each other upon meeting, they end up realizing that they have more common ground than previously expected. My favorite Jane Austen novel is Persuasion, so I LOVE a good slow burn, pining, thousand-yard-stare, and a handsome captain, so I was excited to read this book!

It definitely did not disappoint! It did remind me a lot of Persuasion (in a really good way) and reminded me why I like slow burn romances, particularly in historical time periods. The romantic tension really worked for me! The overall spice levels are pretty low, but the tension!!!! I love it. I really liked Emily, Captain Edwards, the rest of the staff, and the children. This is the second book that I have read by the author and the humorous/slightly modern writing style worked really well here. There is also some great queer and chronic illness representation, which I really liked. There's also a shipwreck! A shipwreck!!! I need more naval action in my Regency novels from now on because it's apparently the key to my heart!

If you're at all interested in historical romance, I highly recommend this book! 4.5 stars from me rounded up to 5 from me. Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the eARC of this book, my thoughts are my own!

I have previously really enjoyed Lex Croucher's novels, but this was just a dissapointement to me. I mean, it wasn't a bad book, don't get me wrong. It just didn't really work for me. I do have to say that I really enjoyed the cast of side characters. They were a lot of fun, and honeslty quite funny as well. I also really like the discussions around chronic illness within the book as well. I thought it was done with a lot of care, and love.
However, I just wasn't a huge fan of our main character, Emily. I do love how much she loves her sister, and how her love for her family really drove her actions throughout the novel. However, I just thought she was a bit too prickly of a main character. The way she kept herself deattached from everyone in this novel was really annoying, and just lasted a bit too long for me. I think I could have liked this more if we saw her open up before the third act conflict, but that just didn't happen. She also could be incredibly stupid at times, and it just made it a bit annoying to read at times.
I also wasn't a fan of the romance. It just came a bit out of nowhere. Emily and her love interest had barely any scenes together, and most of them were spend arguing. I truly do not understand how we are supposed to believe they are actually in love. I mean, they did have a few cute moments together. That actually makes things worse for me. That means this could have been a great romance, if there was just a bit more effort put into developing it. However, that just sadly wasn't the case. I also thought Captain Edwards was a bit of an ass, and I just wish we got to see him develop a bit more throughout the novel as well. So yeah, I didn't hate this but it also didn't work for me.

I normally consider myself a Lex Croucher stan. I have read all of Croucher's novels, and I was excited to read another regency novel after adoring Reputation and Infamous. Croucher's humor with regency hijinks is a combination I usually love so I was so ecited to read Trouble.

I do have to say I was very disappointed in this novel. While Croucher's humor was still apparent, I quickly found myself bored. I started by thinking Emily (our female main character) hilarious but then she just became boring. Her two charges as a governess seemed like they would cause some promising hijinks, but they were also boring. Emily also seemed to not have that much chemistry with her love interest, the girls' father. I just couldn't find myself liking the characters, interested in their hijinks, or buying the love story. There was a lot of promise and there was still come of Croucher's humor but it just did not work in this book in my opinion.

Did I like this book? No not really. Will I continue to read Lex Croucher books? Absolutely, I still think Croucher is a great author but not every book has to be a banger.

Thank you Netgalley for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I hadn’t heard of Lex Croucher until Gwen and Art, but they blew up on tiktok and I saw there was a chance to review this book. With the popularity of regency books and stories (which is a common thread thanks to the Austen and Brontë tales, as well as the resurgence of Brigerton), I feel like ones like this would be lost. But that would be a travesty, as this story was so fast paced, easy to read, light hearted, and had great representation to it. I borrowed one of Lex’s books recently from the library because I had such a great time reading this one! I hope this helps others fine their books as well!

Lex's writing is always so smooth and the characters so likable. I loved all the found family vibes and how everyone's differences are no big deal. If you like books that are cute, and fun, and easy pick this up.

Miss Emily Laurence has agreed to take a position as governess in her sister, Amy’s, place when the girl becomes ill. Although Emily has little interest in caring for children, she does it for her sister. When the sisters and their mother lost their father, they had to scramble for any way to make money to support themselves. With the thought of stealing items from her place of employment and selling them for money to help Amy, Emily is ready to go.

Fairmont House is the home of the widowed Captain Edwards and his daughters, Aster and Grace. Aster is a real pill and Grace is a sweet girl who is also frequently ill.

The staff members are all a mixed lot and Emily, despite her tendency to be standoff, does her best to fit in until Amy is well and able to take over the job.

As I read this book, I became more and more bored and totally uninterested in the characters and the plot. So, unfortunately., as I did when I read this author’s book “Reputation,” I have to again give this book one-star. So sorry. Just not my cup of tea.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

3.75 stars

I liked but didn’t love this book. While I always appreciate the writer and the way they incorporate diverse gender identities and specialities into historical fiction, this book just wasn’t my favourite of theirs. I enjoyed the story, liked the range of characters, and appreciated the Jane Eyre vibes, but I just couldn’t get into it the same way I did with their other novels. But, ah well. I’m still looking forward to seeing what they write into the world next!

I thoroughly enjoyed Croucher’s other two Regency-era novels, so I was very excited about the opportunity to read this one. If anything, my high expectations were exceeded: this delightful homage to The Sound of Music is full of queer joy and acceptance.

From the very first pages, Emily won me over, although I’m sure she’d be annoyed by my admiration. She spends a good deal of time engaged in duplicity, but that doesn’t make her any less endearing. After all, she’s only pretending to be a governess to earn money to pay for medicine for her sister, so she’s lying for a GOOD reason, right?

The narrative unfolds from a single perspective (Emily) and this is usually the point in the review where I say something about single perspective being necessary because sometimes when the reader knows more than the protagonist, it diminishes the effect of Big Moments. However, in this case, Captain Ben Edwards’ perspective would be far too gloomy and brooding. It would throw off the vibe, as the kids say, with the brooding and the angst. So much brooding. Brooding for days.

Ultimately, this is a beautiful tale of love and acceptance. The servants, who are fully rounded enough to support a spinoff, accept Emily almost as soon as she arrives at the house. Captain Edwards accepts his children for who they are. And of course, he also accepts Emily even though she doesn’t think she deserves acceptance or love, but the captain will not be dissuaded from declaring his love.

I would absolutely recommend Trouble. While this book does deal with some serious issues, its light tone is what makes the book so enjoyable. Croucher’s books are all funny, and this book is no exception. The banter is top notch, and it’s so refreshing to read a Regency era book in which the characters are not always polite and defy the rigid conventions imposed upon them based on those who would naively believe that any deviation from Austen and Heyer is anachronistic. I am already looking forward to Croucher’s next book.




I received a digital ARC of this book from St. Martin’s/NetGalley

Really enjoyed this new Lex Croucher title. Amy Laurence has just accepted a postion at Fairmont House as a governess, but before she can assume the title, her chronic illness prevents her. Her sister, Emily agrees to take her place as a governess, only she doesn't tell the Edwards Family or their staff that's she's Emily. In order to get the money her family needs to care for Amy, Emily is willing to lie to her sister and her new employers. Things get messy quick as Emily's lies start catch up with her especially when her initial plans of stealing from the rich to help her sister become increasingly more difficult as she grows close to the Edwards and their staff.

When I initially started this title, I was thrown by our main protagnists being seemingly a heterosexual presenting couple, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that was not the case. I love Croucher's ability to demostrate the spectrum of sexuality and gender identity in her stories in ways that feel so genuine. There's this misconception that queer people are a 20th century phenomenon or something that just happened one day so I like that Croucher's historical romances have them at the forefront of the story thriving and living lives.

Not my favourite Lex Croucher book unfortunately! I didn't love the actual pairing I felt they weren't very well suited but that's okay!

This was a good Regency Romance book but I think that Ben Could have been more developed and his relationshwith Emily more described. But other than that it was a good book with some amazing scenes.
4 stars for this book. It kept me entertained.
I just reviewed Trouble by Lex Croucher. #NetGalley
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