This book surprised me more than any other historical romance I've ever read. This book very nearly bucks the conventions and expectations of romance (but in a good way). Lex Croucher's debut is billed as a Jane Austen Mean Girls, and I couldn't describe it any better. It really IS the Mean Girls of Regency Romance. George is a rather unlikeable heroine, but I found myself rooting for her, anyway. This book is well-written and laugh-out-loud funny. Betty and Thomas are absolutely the best characters in the book. It's outrageous and over the top, and once I was about a third of the way through it, I absolutely devoured this story. It's witty and sympathetic. George's journey in the last part of the book is immensely satisfying.

I can't wait to see what she comes up with next.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. I really wanted to like this book, but I couldn't really get into it. The writing was well done. But the plot was repetitive, and almost all of the characters are very unlikable.

I enjoyed this book! I’ve read a lot of historical books and Reputation was new and fresh and I loved every minute of it!

Oh dear, this book has a mean streak. I wanted to love this. I really really wanted to love this. And it must be said there is character development but wow, some of these people are so cruel and it was very uncomfortable to read. I can't recommend this one.

This Mean Girls meets Jane Austen story is so far from your average historical romance. What this book gets so right is the timelessness of floundering in early adulthood- to find your place, to find love, to find community and connection and looking in all the wrong places. Georgiana is desperately seeking a life beyond the world in books she's long experienced, and when she falls in with a privileged group her own age, she's exposed to a great deal more than she'd ever dreamed. Don't miss the author's important note at the end about the tendency of the genre to whitewash the era's history. This story is a fresh and significant breath.

Described as "Gossip Girl meets Jane Austen," I was excited to read this irreverent take on the traditional regency romance. I'm not sure what I think about the result, though. The first third almost had me putting it down, and yet I kept reading despite how much I loathed almost every single character. The writing is quite good, and I actually like how Lex Croucher turned the traditional regency romp upside down. Georgiana is a young woman who longs for friendship and adventure, and when she befriends Frances, the wild child of the ton, she falls headfirst into a world of dazzling parties, handsome men, and illicit assignations. But is this life everything she'd hoped it would be?

Georgiana does eventually find her redemption and gets her happily ever after, but the journey there was fairly terrible. I think if I'd read this ten or even five years ago, I would have found it funny and enjoyable. But I was just bothered by how terrible the ton treated people they believed to be below them. I know it happened but the cuts were vicious, like Mean Girls on steroids.

I would give it 4 stars for the quality of writing, but 2 stars for plot, so maybe it all evens out at 3 stars?

Trigger warnings for rape, attempted rape, drug use, alcoholism, absentee parents, assault

If Skins were a CW-drama set in 19th-century England (think Netflix's Bridgerton meets Riverdale), I might like it more than I did this novel. Reputation had so much potential but, filled with unlikeable characters making bad choices and a drama-filled plot (which also touches on sexual assault), it was a slog to get through. When all was said and done, I didn't even think Georgiana deserved her happy ending.

I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about this one, but since it had two of my favorite genres/themes (Regency-esque setting and Mean Girls), I thought I would give it a try. To be honest, the first twenty pages took me a few times to get into, but I pushed through and did not regret it! Did I find Frances and Georgiana absolutely frustrating for large parts of the novel? Yes. But did that stop me from turning pages quickly to see what happened next? No!

The basic premise of this book is that Georgiana is sent to live with her well meaning aunt and uncle. She is solidly middle class, but earns the appreciation of Frances, who is basically Serena van der Woodsen — beautiful, master manipulator, queen bee. Georgiana is left trying to fit in with Frances and her friend group, even though sometimes she finds their behavior absolutely appalling (warning: some of the activities the gang engages in do not feel like they were Regency-era). Her friendship with Frances — where she is constantly trying to impress Frances — is juxtaposed with that of her friendship with Betty — a sweet neighbor that Georgiana’s aunt wants her to befriend. There’s also a lukewarm romance side story, but the main feature of this one is a tale of friendships gone right and wrong and whether we stay true to what we know to be right or wrong.

I grew very invested in seeing on which side Georgiana would end up on. I agree with many prior reviews that this book is definitely a bit darker and thought provoking than one would think, but I think the complexity for me was a positive. I expected it to be a lighter read from the pastel colored cover and description as a “romantic comedy”, and it wasn’t, but I walked away thinking about this book for longer than I thought I would.

Thanks to Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press and Lex Croucher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Reputation reads like Jane Austen set in a CW universe. Think of Jane Austen's naive, thoughtless, and self-centered heroine Emma, in a fish-out-of-water situation like Austen's other heroine Catherine Morland, except instead of the mostly decent Tilneys, we get a cast full of Wickhams. It's a bit of a mish-mash of a novel that seems to be going for witty social commentary, but ultimately (to me anyway) falls short. The humour isn't quite sharp enough to bite; the more earnest explorations of deeper social issues like rape, sexist double standards, and sexual assault aren't quite developed enough to really land its mark; and with the exception of a few scenes, the characters feel more like roles than fully developed human beings. The romance subplot between Georgiana and Thomas is a highlight, mostly because of their witty banter over letters, and because Thomas seems genuinely sweet, but it was a minor thread in a more glossy story that never quite find its heart.   

Middle-class heroine Georgiana Ellers gets drawn into a world of parties, drinking, and drugs when she meets the beautiful and charismatic Frances Campbell. Frances and her friends are all super wealthy; while enjoying a bit of snuff, one of them enthuses about how much better "peasant drugs" are, because the misery of poor people's lives require much stronger doses to escape from. One of Frances' friends Jane bluntly tells Georgiana that she doesn't belong; all the super wealthy people at the parties can get as hedonistic as they want because their wealth will protect them from consequences, but Georgiana's circumstances don't offer her the same protection. A rude remark, but actually with a kernel of truth, and it's a shame the story didn't quite explore that as much as it could have. There's a shopping scene where Georgiana feels the stark difference between her and Frances' finances, but mostly, we don't see much of how Georgiana's partying affects her any worse than it does Frances.

That shopping scene was also a bit meh for another reason: the narration makes a big deal of how Georgiana gives what little money she has to a beggar, while Frances buys a million new outfits. And then Georgiana suggests they help the poor and Frances kinda brushes it off. Because of the novel's confusing tone, I'm not quite sure how to read that scene: this is probably the only time Georgiana shows any interest in a social conscience, and despite giving alms to the beggar, it's not like she suddenly goes off to volunteer at soup kitchens afterwards. So: is this scene meant to be satirical, poking gentle fun at Georgiana's faux-conscience? Or is it meant to be earnest, like, look how much more superficial Frances and her friends are. I wasn't sure, and so the scene just made me roll my eyes, but had little impact otherwise.

I think part of the confusion as well is that in many ways, the novel reads like a contemporary. The characters' dialogue, their attitudes, even so much of how they approach things, feels contemporary. I know it's Regency-era because of some nominal scenes where Georgiana's aunt and uncle mention marriage and reputation, and because of how formal Thomas and Georgiana are with each other. But I can't help feeling that we could transplant this novel into the 21st century without changing much. And it's not that I don't think heroines in the Regency era can have modern values. But I've read lots of historical romances where those modern values were portrayed really well within the atmosphere of the time period. I'm thinking of Courtney Milan and Tessa Dare's books as examples, and there are lots of Harlequin historical romances that have forward-thinking heroines and on-point social commentary, while still very much feeling like a historical novel. In the case of Reputation, it feels like a CW adaptation where the CW elements took over.

All that being said, there are some things I did really like about this novel. I already mentioned enjoying the romance between Georgiana and Thomas; it's sweet, it's clever, and I looked forward to any scene where Thomas appeared. I also really like that Frances was bisexual, and that we actually see her in a romantic moment with another woman. The ending to Frances' story was coyly done, but also really nice. 

And finally, the cover art is fantastic! It's the kind of art that I can imagine will translate very well to a poster, if this book does get picked up for a show.

+

Thank you to St Martin's Press for an e-galley of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Love that the cover includes a person of color. This story reminded me of Bridgerton (Netflix) and Mean Girls.

There is definitely a repetitive nature to the scenes. Girl lies to guardians regarding her whereabouts or the presence of chaperones, girl gets sloshed, girl regrets actions the following day but continues to repeat these actions. Unfortunately, she continually places herself in precarious situations. It is even more unfortunate that Georgiana decides hanging with the popular kids and excessive alcohol are no longer her main priorities at the expense of a sexual assault incident. I do commend her for standing up for herself.

It's still quite a mystery how she develops a love interest in all of this because she does not spend much time with male suitors.

A smart, sexy, wild, interesting look at romance, friendship, and chasing notoriety in the regency area with thoughtful character development, world-building, and believable friendships and romance

Calling all Regency-era fans, here is your Mean Girls version of this timeframe. Wow, this book was so entertaining especially for a debut author. Georgianna is a character to love, and Frances is a character to hate! The character development was fantastic and this was a fun book to read or listen to! I recommend it to historical romance fans!

Grab a regency fan and your pearls before accompanying these ladies in the tea room for gossip! I simply adored these characters and applaud the author for such a wonderful read.

I wrote a short review of this book. It was fun, but the modern tone did not fit well with the historical setting.

<i>*I received an eARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*</i>

Described as "a classic romcom with a Regency-era twist, for fans of Mean Girls and/or Jane Austen," Lex Croucher's debut Reputation was a fun read but I think some of the marketing is a little misleading.

For one, I wouldn't necessarily call this a romcom and I'm not sure how Jane Austen-esque the book is other than having a Regency setting. The Mean Girls comparison is spot on though. There was even a "Get in loser we're going shopping" line.

All of the characters in this book are really messy, which I like and thought made them feel authentic. Also, I like that Lex Croucher combats the whitewashing of the era by purposefully including Black and Indian characters and noting that though they existed in "high society" that doesn't mean they were always accepted. There is a lot of drug and alcohol use throughout the book and the plot does feature sexual assault.

While I enjoyed my reading experience, I think going in with the right expectations is key and if you wanted a light, fluffy romcom maybe skip this one for now.

For transparency, I used to watch the author's youtube videos when she was active and remember when she announced that this book was coming out. I was so excited for it because it seemed like it would be such a fun novel. That said, I just don't think this book was for me. While the writing was well done, and I did feel like I was in a regency novel, I just couldn't stand our primary characters. I know that they aren't suppose to be likable and that the friend group is suppose to be modeled off of an almost Mean Girls-esque cast, but I just found them so horrible. The only two character's I liked were Betty and Thomas (Which again were suppose to be likable characters.) But I couldn't understand why they liked Georgina, when she was so terrible the whole time. I think there is an audience for this book, but as someone who identifies as a straight edge punk, I couldn't find their drinking and drug abuse fun nor their antics entertaining.

Reputation is a unique novel among the many set in Regency London. The first I have read that includes a POC as a main character, as well as the first to show the seamier side of life among the elite young adults of the day. It isn't all teas and chaste dances! This made for a quick read, that kept my interest, even though it wasn't what I was expecting.

From the cover of the book and the bit of the blurb I read about Reputation, I went in expecting a romcom, but after the first chapter or so, this is definitely not what I got. At the back of my mind the whole time I read this book was that I knew these kids in high school. The story has a a very Mean Girls vibe, set in Regency London. The further in the darker it became.

Georgiana has been left at her childless aunt and uncle's home, while her parents go elsewhere to "take the air" due to her mother's "bad health." While there she meets Frances, a popular upper crust young biracial woman and is flattered by being accepted into her group of entitled friends. Left to her own devices by guardians who don't know better and/or believe her lies about where she is and what she is doing with her new friends, she is introduced to drugs, alcohol abuse, and men who are definitely not gentlemen. The combination can only lead to trouble.

Thanks to #netgalley for a digital review copy. The opinions expressed are my own.

I was really hoping this would be a YA version of Bridgeton (without all the spicy scenes basically). Unfortunately I was disappointed. I did not like the characters and I feel like they did more whining than anything else. This was a miss for me.

Rating: Did not Finish. I will be giving this two stars on NetGalley because I can see why it would work for some

I got 15% into this and have decided not to continue. I was thinking that it would be a more salacious take on Jane Austen, but it didn't read that way to me at all. I did not care at all about the main character. She and the group of friends that she hooks up with are pretty full of themselves and rather cruel to the people around them, but it wasn't clever or quippy or amusing, so it was just not an enjoyable reading experience up to this point.

It also didn't read at all like an Austen story, which was what I was promised. Mean Girls meets Austen I think is how it was pitched. But the main character in Mean Girls starts out a decent person that you can root for, even when she becomes the worst.

Overall, I just didn't care at all about where this was going and have no desire to continue to see what happens to the main character. There are hints that there are a better group of people she could hook up with, but like I said, I just wasn't interested in getting to that point.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for a copy of an eARC in exchange for an honest review. Reputation by Lex Croucher releases 4/5/22

I couldn’t finish reading. Maybe I read it at the wrong time. I wanted to love this book so much but maybe it will do better in my head next time.

Thank you SMP Romance for my copy!