Cover Image: Reputation

Reputation

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Member Reviews

Delightful!

I'd give this book 10 stars if I could, it was delicious and perfect and hard to put down. I loved the humor and I loved the characters. Big fan, highly recommend, and I look forward to other books by this author.

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I love, love, love Pride and Prejudice and I really wanted to feel the same way about this book, but I really couldn't. I can totally see how other people could get on board with this, because it's a fun story that does have strong Mean Girls vibes. However, I found Georgina to be an incredibly unlikable main character that I had a hard time rooting for.

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Reputation is a Regency Era Romantic Comedy with an interesting cast of characters involved in drinking, lazing around, and disappointing their parents. Georgiana, left with her aunt and uncle while her parents travel, meets Francis, queen of the clique, at a party she attends with her aunt. They quickly become friends, until slowly Georgiana realizes these aren’t the best friends to have. For a debut, I liked this just fine, but it had some parts that dragged and lost my interest a bit. I didn’t love any of the chapters much and feel they could have been a little more developed.

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This book was everything I wanted it to be. It had me turned pages without even realizing. It was so good!

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I enjoyed this unusual historical romance with its diverse characters. It depicted the not-so-proper side of society that you don't usually see in these novels. The main character, Georgiana, grows a lot in self awareness. This is a novel I would highly recommend to readers who enjoy this genre.

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I liked the premise of the book. I struggled with it and picked it up several times. I think I may have just read too many like this at the time. It is well written!

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This was a DNF for me sadly. It reminded me of a "bad" review I read of Pride and Prejudice that said it was literally just people going to parties and talking a lot. This was pretty much the same, but with a gratuitous F/F scene and an unexpected sexual assault.

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It’s a DNF for me dawg.

I started this one and only got 3 chapters in so yes I know not really giving it a fair shot but life’s short.

I just was soooooooo bored. I thought this was a romance but it was just Georgina going on and on about how bored she was and trying to make this girl her new bestie. But that’s every single thought for the first three chapters. I just couldn’t take it.

The short attention span really popped off here 🤣

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This was a really fun, quick read for anyone who likes Jane Austen, Bridgerton, and the Regency Era. I think it's a YA novel, and if it's not, it's appropriate for older teenaged readers.

There were quite a few darker themes, but overall, the story is light and humorous. Croucher manages to set a story in the Regency Era, but still make it feel current and relevant, which I think is a gift. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys Austen novels and a whole lot of scandal.

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This delightful regency romp is Mean Girls meets Austen. Georgiana is such a fun and interesting protagonist to root for (she's clearly inspired at least in part by Harriet Smith, but much more compelling), and I genuinely laughed out loud while following along with her adventures. Very much in the historic style of Bridgerton, so purists need not bother, but if you're not nitpicking for accuracy, the regency setting makes a delightful backdrop for social politics and young adult antics.

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This period piece with a Bridgerton feel has some wild misbehavior and when class lines get crossed, Georgiana’s summer is like no other before. Quickly captivating, this tale held me through to the end. One caveat however, I was disappointed a bit at the bitter end, as it ended abruptly, but not with an unwanted surprise. In all, a great read that entertained.

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This book is definitely not what I would call historically accurate, but that's the fun of it! It has a modern tone and gives you all the fun of historical romance.

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This book was fun!

Based on nothing but the cover at all I was ready for some Schuyler sister-esque shenanigans. It didn't disappoint but I will say that I was expecting the romance to be more of the focus. I'm not sure if that's a marketing issue or if I missed that somewhere. Regardless, I enjoyed the diversity and humor throughout.

TWs: death, SA, alcoholism, drugs

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*Arc provided by Netgalley and St. Martin's Press in exchange for an honest review.*

Billed as Bridgerton meets Gossip Girl with a hint of Jane Austen Reputation checks all of those boxes. Reputation is the story of Georgiana Ellers (the slight Austen reference) as she navigates the complex social hierarchy of the English countryside during a summer with her aunt and uncle. Frances Campbell is the the Serena of the area, constantly up to no good and pushing Georgiana's boundaries. Reputation has just the right amount of drama to keep things interesting without going overboard. I didn't see much of a Bridgerton comparison overall except the time period. Overall, a quick, entertaining read.

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Despite not having seen “Mean Girls,” I know “Reputation” follows the 21st century vibe of the film, rather than a Regency-Era rom-com. This book is a little too edgy for a rom-com. Even the language slips from time to time to use phrases and words I can’t imagine being uttered 200+ years ago, and a fair number of social mores have been given the modern treatment. Basically a bunch of young, bored, upper class 20-somethings(? late teens?) drink and drug their days away—unchaperoned, their conduct at times heavily rumored if not an outright open secret—until there are serious repercussions (CW for sexual assault and domestic violence). Georgiana, hiding away in her boredom at a dreadful house party, is discovered by and quickly enamored with the enigmatic Queen Bee, Frances Campbell. Georgiana quickly winds up hanging with—well, what would’ve been considered an “in” crowd in the 21st century, but are just especially scandalous here. Georgiana, however, takes to their vices a little too easily and with gusto. The only person who hangs uncomfortably along the edges is the Darcy-like Thomas Hawksley, who has grown tired of witnessing all of it.
I can’t recall if any of them are of even the most minor of nobility to get away with what they do. Just by a third of the way in all the said drinking, drugging, (getting violently sick from such drinking and drugging) and bored cattiness from the group became tedious, and I had to skip forward. The #metoo moment the last quarter of the book again rang too modern—even if there were people 200 years ago who knew it wasn’t a woman’s fault that she was assaulted, everyone was so obsessed with propriety and social standing that overall the woman and her family would be looked down upon regardless, and overall it was still “boys will be boys.” Just wasn’t a fan.

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I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley.

Georgiana Ellers has been left by her parents at her aunt and uncles house in a new town due to her mothers health. Keep in mind, Georgiana is an adult woman; however, since she is not married, she cannot live alone. Her parents have never been involved in Georgiana's life, they are just kind of there and have always treated her like a roommate, or another adult in the house. So when Georgiana's aunt starts acting like a mom - Georgiana pushes back.

The aunt and uncle live a quiet life and Georgiana is not happy with sitting around and doing needlepoint, she wants to experience life. At a party shortly after her arrival, she meets Frances and quickly realizes that Frances is her way out of boredom. Georgiana is treated to a completely different way of life - drugs, booze, late nights, strange people, etc. While Georgiana progresses through the summer, she realizes that maybe this is not the life for her.

Written in the similar vein as Jane Austen - this is a great debut novel for Lex Croucher.

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The bridgerton x mean girls aspect had me immediately dying to dive right in, so it was really a bit deflating to see how slow the first half is. The characters felt like they ran together and that initial spark of intrigue and drama I hereby in both bridgerton and mean girls just didn’t materials you give this the dramatic spark it needed. I wanted more quick wit and cattiness, more glamour against a backdrop of gossip.

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This was not what I was expecting at all. Good girl from a modest background meets rich and dissolute friends and engages in all sorts of shady behavior until she’s in serious trouble. At least she meets a respectable man during it all.
It was kind of sad, quite honestly. 2.5 stars.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed as in this review are completely my own.

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This was totally Mean Girls crossed with Gossip Girl and Bridgerton! The writing is sharp, clever and very saucy, and wow, are the parties out of control. I loved every second of this scandalous regency romp and I really hope it gets made into a TV series!

Thanks to St. Martin's Press for the copy to review.

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I struggled - big time - in the beginning with this one. Maybe it was just my mood at the time? However, I'm not the type of person that can start something and not see it through to the end. I'm glad that I did. It did get better. This was funny with 'Mean Girls' vibes.

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