Astra Davies finds herself with next to nothing after the sudden death of both her parents. As she works to lessen her debts, she uncovers family secrets that only add to her troubles. To add to all this, she turns twenty-four at the start of 1931 and she is still unmarried, something almost unheard of at the time, but the only man who is even worth her time, Jeremy Harris, is also out on his luck.

With her best friend’s sister blackmailing her and her business partner drinking himself into failure, she has to find a way to succeed by teaching herself how to be a businesswoman. Over the course of the novel, she proves she’s not just “a bright young thing.” Instead, she is a determined woman who realizes that hard work can make anything possible.

The book ends with her picking up her pen and returning to her work (after selling her family home in order to put the past behind her and make new memories), but not before Jeremy proposes in a way that would leave even Mr. Darcy without words.

This book gives such Pride and Prejudice vibes, but during the Great Depression era. Such an amazing read!!

If you want to read about a young woman rising to the challenge and taking control of her life on her own terms, then this is the book for you! I really loved how the author balanced Astra's quest to take care of herself and her romance with Jeremy. There was laughter, there was heartbreak, there was romance and there were some great twists. I liked the book's dive into how our homes, and the people in them, shape who we become. It was refreshing to read a book set in the early 1930's rather than WWI or WWII. I really enjoyed this one!

Thank you to NetGalley and Alcove Press for access to this arc.

Book Review for A Bright Young Thing by Brianne Moore
Full review for this title can be found at: @fyebooks on Instagram!