I had high hopes for this book but it fell flat. There was a serious disconnect somewhere. I felt like I was reading Mean Girls in a time warp. The author also seemed to throw in every marginalized group she could think of but didn’t build the story enough for it to matter. There was nothing “com” about this rom-com. The women were horrible human beings and bullies. Our main character just barely redeemed herself. The one redeeming quality was the narrator. I enjoyed her voice and it fit the regency setting.

DISCLAIMER: I received this book free from NETGALLEY in exchange for an honest review.

On Tuesdays, we wear stays and new ribbons to refresh old frocks.

If you loved Mean Girls and everything written by Jane Austen, you’ll LOVE Reputation as much as I did!

When Georgiana Ellers was first unceremoniously dropped off at her aunt and uncle’s house without a dime to her dowry by her parents (so that they could move to the coast without her), Miss Ellers worried that life would continue to happen in the books that she loved to read instead of with her as a part of it. Lo and behold, the fashionable and scandalous regency queen of the plastics finds “George” remarkably interesting.

Of course there was regency-style drama (oh no! She clearly intentionally showed her ankle to that rogue!!!), but also very relevant, contemporary issues that were brought up, but most with a side of a glass of sherry to avoid anyone getting the vapors.

You’ll want to grab this book that you won’t ever want to put down as soon as you can, so you can cackle and become besties with Miss Ellers and her newfound friends and true family. It’s a late-bloomer coming of age in the Regency Era but with modern twists and turns (and reticules).


Thank you so much to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing an advanced copy of this audiobook for this review.

DNF - I wasn't able to finish the book, it didn't down load correctly.

I wasn't particularly liking the story however, I thought the narration was exceptional.

4.5 stars - I felt like it stumbled a bit toward the end, but not nearly enough to spoil the other 98% of the book, which was wonderfully charming, funny, and unexpectedly heartfelt. Phenomenal narration, as well.

A smart, sexy, wild, interesting look at romance, friendship, and chasing notoriety in the regency area with a delightful and thoughtful audiobook to boot

this just sadly wasn't for me. There was nothing wrong with this book i just couldn't get into it. This is definitely a book you should read if you are into that sort or Victorian romance or if you enjoy the vibe of Hamilton. This just wasn't for me but it was still a good book.

There are a lot references in other reviews of this book to the film Mean Girls and recommended for fans of Bridgerton and that completely fits. George (Georgiana) falls in with an upper class group of friends led by Frances Campbell and her world of parties, wealth, privilege, and is very much in the style of Mean Girls - there’s even a reference to “get in loser, we’re going shopping” but with a carriage instead of a car.

Georgiana Ellers is abandoned by her parents to her aunt and uncle in the English countryside. Suffering a very limited and boring society she becomes entranced and entangled with Frances Campbell and her wealthy acquaintances. As the outsider, Georgiana is influenced by the crowd and longs to be a part of it - longs to be acknowledged and considered worthy of recognition. Having been ignored by her absent parents for the majority of her life she is desperate to be part of this crowd. Georgiana is a flawed MC and is frustrating and complicated in her attempts to find herself. She is attracted to Thomas Hawksley and the development of their relationship were some of my favorite parts in the book. Their flirty, cheeky correspondence was delightful. Thomas is part of the in-crowd but has intentionally removed himself from their recklessness because of circumstances that are revealed throughout the book.

As a 21st century novel about 19th century characters there are good explorations of female agency in this period of history where the “goal” for a young woman was to marry well and to maintain respectability at all costs. The book also explores the limitations of other marginalized communities in the Regency era.

This is generally a fun book, but there are some very dark elements in this novel and content warnings include: On-page: drinking, drug use, grief, domestic abuse, sexual assault, mentions of homophobia and racism. Off-page, unseen or alluded to: rape.

The audiobook is excellent and Bessie Carter does a wonderful job with the multiple characters. Thank you to Netgalley and MacMillan Audio for the advance listener copy of the audiobook.

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!

Thanks so much to NetGalley for providing me with this audiobook ahead of release.

I was a bit unsure when I first started reading this book; I didn’t know if it was much like “Mean Girls.” Or if it would be too mean, as I often cannot find sympathy for needlessly cruel characters. But I ended up really enjoying the story and the characters.

I even think that if “Mean Girls” was an influence, it did well in resolving some of what I’d disliked about the movie. I appreciated in this that the characters genuinely seemed to like each other. Although Francis and Jane were often biting, they also were very sweet sometimes, and George’s relationship with them all was so enjoyable (until it wasn’t). I appreciated the subtle queer representation in a time when that’s rarely acknowledged. And I also appreciated the acknowledgement that likely everyone was not such an uptight stick in the mud as today’s media/literature would have you believe. It was a believable level of debauchery.

The narrator was especially great! She committed well to the tones of the book. Covering her mouth when someone was eating, breathing in the correct places, etc. It made the story much more real. Overall, a highly enjoyable, fun, and romantic read! I definitely recommend this to anyone who likes historical period dramas, and especially to anyone that liked Baz Luhrmann’s “The Great Gatsby.” Reputation had a similar vibe: historical but make it relevant. Today’s ideas and notions but mixed in with British high society.

I absolutely loved this book. It reflected its age group and target audience perfectly. The characters were fun and free of the burden of the society they are bound by . This book felt like Mean Girls in the world of Bridgerton! Georgiana was the epitome of the new girl in school experience. She has to navigate the rigid world of English society and decorum while being influenced by a group of carefree peers. The story was fun and kept me on my toes. The romance was heartwarming.

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.

Jane Austen meets Gossip Girl

The Brontë Sisters meets Mean Girls

Basically Bridgerton kicked up a few notches - just throw in more intrigue and hallucinogens

I listened to the audiobook and let me commend the narrator, Bessie Carter (who acts on Bridgerton), for going above and beyond and doing an all around excellent job.

I had such a fun time listening to this story unfold and thought the modern thinking didn’t detract from the Regency era setting one bit. Also had to love subtle hints to Mean Girls, like “get in Georgiana, we’re going shopping” and “the limit does not exist”.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

This was a rollercoaster from beginning to end. And so much queerer than what I was expecting. It deals with heavier themes and with one I would've loved a heads up in the form of a trigger warning, because it was pretty unsettling just finding myself listening to that while goin out and about my day.
The narration makes the story super fun to listen to, and the story is captivating. I liked the characters with all their flaws and extravagances. They really were a variety of individuals that really shook the world of our MC.
It was fun and I will recommend it for sure.

Wow, this book was an absolute gem!

I will say, I wasn't quite expecting the love story to be a second storyline (being labeled as a romance novel), but it ended up being perfect for this novel.

This was such a proper blend of a historical romance meets Gossip Girl meets Mean Girls that I'm honestly blown away at the accuracy! If it were to be turned into a movie/show I imagine it being a blend of Bridgerton and Marie Antoinette (the glorious 2006 film produced by Sofia Coppola and starring Kirsten Dunst)

Reputation had a little bit of everything I didn't know I have always needed from a historical romance. I loved the scandalous nature of things (honestly, the fact that ankles were involved made me pleased as punch), plus the clique drama which I feel was a very real thing, and then the little trysts. Ugh. I can't with how much I enjoyed this.

And I laughed so much! Truly, I laughed out loud often. This factor was probably my favorite piece by far.

I commend Lex Croucher for her whit and brilliance in this novel and I am desperately hoping to see more like it in the future.

I huge thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the advance listener copy of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to like this Regency romance styled in the fashion of a naughty Jane Austen novel. Georgiana has been sent to stay with her Aunt and Uncle and is introduced to a circle of men and women who are definitely not above reproach. I made it to about 30% but I just couldn't recover from the lack of a compelling storyline and had to set it aside. The audiobook narrator was just okay. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this advance copy. Fans of Julia Quinn's Bridgertons series might enjoy this more than I did.

I think I need to give up on this.

No words against the narrator, she was so good.
BUT!

Literally nothing is happening. One third in and nothing happened apart from the main character meeting this Francis wealthy lady chick and wanting to be around her to party and drink and do all kinds of mayhem even though apart from drinking no other mayhem took place.

And there were a few scenes of open bullying weaker characters who just had the misfortune of being kind to the MC and I felt so uncomfortable at those scenes being just swept off and not addressed in any way that i have to give this up.

Reputation is a hilarious, clever, and sharply written Regency novel that reads like Mean Girls and Jane Austen hitting it off at a fancy party and it's just as enjoyable as it sounds. It carries all the delights of reading of someone coming into their own and finding their place among the cutthroat high society parties and social groups of the time. I found Georgiana Ellers to be a compelling protagonist and adored each and every one of the side characters and their complex narratives, most especially Frances Campbell and Betty Walters. A perfect recommendation for readers who want their historical fiction laced with a modern sense of debauchery. I listened to this on audio and while the prose itself was as lovely as one can expect from Lex Croucher, the narration by Bessie Carter was phenomenal and drew me into a genuinely immersive experience so if you're inclined toward audiobooks, you can't go wrong with this one.

(As a side note for those wanting to read this for the first time: many people seemed to expect this to be a sapphic romance and while there are LGBT side characters and Georgiana does show curiosity and occasional interest toward women throughout, the main romance is straight. Lex mentioned that they were writing Georgiana as they were figuring out their own attractions, and so while Georgiana is not necessarily on-page LGBT representation, she could reasonably be read as someone who is similarly exploring her own orientation.)

Note: I listened to this on audio, so I apologize if I've spelled the names wrong.

When I first began reading this story, I was enamored. The comparisons to Bridgerton are apt. It was a historical tale with a modern twist, something akin to Jane Austen with less propriety and more LGBT characters. It was a shoe-in for a 4 or 5 star rating, I thought.

I spent the first 35 percent of the book sure that I was reading about a regency era woman realizing her feelings and attraction for another women. I know I am not the only person who got this impression. I was quickly disillusioned when it is revealed that Frances was already in a pseudo-relationship and Georgiana was apparently to pine over a man who she had scarcely shared a word with. (He was a boy, she was a girl, can I make it any more obvious? 🙄)

This not only disappointed me, but it angered me slightly. There was heavy implication that Georgiana was a wlw and was attracted to Frances and then it was very suddenly dropped and never touched on again. I now realize why I saw someone put "sapphic (?) mc" in their review.

I continued on, thinking that the characters and plot would still have me in for a relatively good time, but as the story trudged forward, I realized none of Frances' group was ever going to change for the better.

And that lead me to get angry once again, because the group is 3/4 LGB characters and the 1 (assumably) straight girl was the nicest of the bunch of them. If I am being unclear: I think it is negligent at best and hateful at worst to depict all of the non-straight characters as being morally corrupt. And yes, there was a terrible straight man in the story, but that does not detract from the point.

By the time the end rolled in, which was kind of ridiculously dramatized in a way that wasn't even fun, I was so sorely over this novel. Georgiana puts in the leg work of apologizing to those around her and trying to be a better person, but somehow still wants to be friends with people who were no true friends to her. Baffling.

Also, the actual romance we got was boring. Sure, the guy is nice, but there was no tension, nothing that made me even understand why these two were so drawn to each other. Macfayden's hand clench as Mr. Darcy had more romantic tension and longing than the entirety of the relationship depicted in this book.

<b>Plot Concept:</b> 4/5
<b>Plot Execution:</b> 2/5
<b>Pacing:</b> 4/5
<b>Writing:</b> 4/5
<b>Characters:</b> 2/5
<b>Romance:</b> 1/5
<b>Narration:</b> 5/5
<b>Overall Enjoyability:</b> 2/5

Fine if you have your expectations set low. Terrible if you were expecting wlw romance, character development for the friend group, and a lead character who had a better head on her shoulders.

I was already somewhat familiar with Lex Croucher from their YouTube channel a while back. I wasn’t necessarily surprised that they’d written a book (this isn’t their first), but I was a little surprised that they’d written this particular kind of book. It isn’t a genre I read much of normally, but in the spirit of broadening my horizons I’ve been trying to expose myself to more of it. I’m glad I did. Regency romance with a modern twist is exactly the fun read my gray January needed.

***May contain spoilers***

Our protagonist, Georgiana, is a mix of both Cady Heron and Lizzie Bennet. The comps got that much right. What I’d really like to talk about though, is how Croucher has fleshed out the rest of our “Mean Girls” equivalents. I love that we get insight into the backstories of Frances (equivalent of Regina), Jane (equivalent of Gretchen), and Cecily (equivalent of Karen). In this respect, Croucher strikes the right balance of honoring their influences and creating something new. I would also like to point out that I was pleased to find that there are characters of color represented in this novel.

With regard to plot, my experience with the genre so far tells me that this is not typical regency romance fare in the least. Those looking for more of a straightforward Pride and Prejudice retelling won’t find it here. If, however, you are a fan of Mean Girls (as with most of my generation) then you’re in for a mostly fun read. That being said, this novel does touch on some sensitive topics like substance abuse, sexual assault, racism, depression, and domestic violence, so please read with care.

I did listen to the audiobook recording of this novel, so while I had no problems with the quality Bessie Carter’s voice, it did seem slow to me. I ended up bumping up the playback speed so I could focus better.

Reputation comes out stateside April 5th so you can go pre-order it now and when you’re ready, listen to the playlist inspired by it that Lex has put together on their blog! If you’re in the UK, it’s already out–enjoy!

Star Rating : 8/10
Would I recommend? Yes. Content warning for discussion of drug and alcohol misuse, domestic violence, rape, sexual assault, grief, depression, and racism.
Similar Titles? Luxe series by Anna Godbersen

I received a free digital ARC from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

I requested to read Reputation by Lex Croucher as it was one of my most anticipated books of 2022. I am a lover of historical fiction and regency romance, so the description of this book immediately appealed to me. It has been pitched as Mean Girls meets Jane Austen, whilst most “for fans of” blurbs don’t live up to expectations this really did seem like a regency rewrite of the films Mean Girls or Clueless.

We follow Georgiana Ellers, who has been left behind by her parents (with well-meaning but ill prepared relatives) as they go off to begin a new life without their only daughter. She has very little money, no marriage prospects, and longs for more excitement from life. Despite her comfortable upper middle-class upbringing she is not ready for the high society world she stumbles into after meeting the ‘spirited’ Frances and her extremely rich, yet very badly behaved friends.

The book is a fun (if a little unrealistic) look at high society regency life through the eyes of an outsider who longs for nothing more than to be an insider. It does have some real laugh out loud fish out of water moments but also explores the difficulties of life during this period for those who did not fit in to societies expectations. It was an enjoyable read and a very well narrated audiobook. I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.