There definitely needs to be some sort of trigger warnings about this book but overall, it was a really good book. I enjoyed the audiobook version. It was funny and a delight to listen to.

REPUTATION is a refreshing and enjoyable read, especially for those who are new to historical romance. Bessie Carter's narration is an absolute delight, adding depth and levels to the narrative as a result! Bridgerton fans and longtime romance readers alike will have a delightful time with this romp!

This was not a good fit for me. Georgianna goes to live with her aunt and uncle who are prim and boring. She attends fancy parties at British estates but nothing really happens. I abandoned this after a few hours because there was no plot or character development. Perhaps this just want the right book for me at this time. I thank NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to listen to this ARC audiobook.

I have seen lots of different references for what this book brings to mind for readers. Personally, I would say that regency Mean Girls is a more accurate description than either Jane Austen or the Bridgertons. That suited me fine, as I love Mean Girls.

Georgiana has moved in with her aunt and uncle because her father chose a new position as sxhoolmaster. She attends her first party knowing no one in society until Lady Frances approaches her and offers to share her flask of cognac. From there, Georgiana is swept up into a fast crowd with Frances and her friends.

This is as much a coming of age story for Georgiana as it is a romance. There's a large cast of characters, many of whom are quite dreadful. The book touches on racism and misogyny as well as drug and alcohol abuse.

The audio narration by Bessie Carter was especially good for this book. I was impressed by the voices and by how well I could differentiate letters from other text.

Thank you to SMP Romance, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for the advanced copy. These opinions are my own.

TW: sexual assault, drug and alcohol abuse

3.5 stars rounded up

Narration was fantastic - no complaints there. The story, well, was somewhat problematic. There's a lot of not much happening in the first half of the book, and then the ending feels rushed. I also have some issues with the main character, because I found her amazingly naive and quite boring. Still enjoyed it, and would probably recommend to anyone who doesn't mind a thick-as-a-plank heroine who only redeems herself in the last few chapters.

I liked this book well enough but it did not at all (at least to me) match with the book synopsis. This was made out to be a Regency-era romantic comedy but I really didn’t see much comedy in it at all and there were actually some really dark and intense scenes towards the end of the book. So just know that going in if you plan on reading it!

Georgiana is spending her summer with her aunt and uncle and is without friends her own age until she meets Frances. Suddenly she’s catapulted into France’s fancy life of parties, drinking, lavish spending and improper connections with men. One of those men is Thomas Hawksley. They strike up a connection but Georgiana isn’t sure if she’ll ever feel like she’s enough since she doesn’t have the money and status that the rest of the people in their friend group have. Georgiana’s aunt and uncle try to convince her to spend more time with their friend’s granddaughter, but Georgiana just joins right in with the rest of the gang when they terrorize that poor girl.

I kept thinking about Mean Girls while I was reading this book (Frances being Regina George and Georgiana being Cady) except it lacked the humor and just all felt mean. I really didn’t enjoy the spirit of most of the group’s interactions, including the heroine. And I’m not sure it would have bothered me as much except that I went into this ready for a regency romcom.

I did listen to this audiobook and the narration was great. Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review. This book releases April 5th, 2022.

Content warning: rape (happens off-page), attempted rape, violence

I went into this audiobook excited about listening to a book marketed as “Bridgerton meets Gossip Girl” but was sincerely disappointed. Almost nothing at all happens in the first 30% of this book which is several hours of listening time spent setting up the exposition. I gave up on this audio at 50% because I found it very uninteresting. The story never seemed to pick up steam for me. A lot of the narrative is just inside the main character’s head as she describes how boring her life is and how much she wants to be friends with this other girl she just met. I think if you are really interested in historical fiction that is light on plot and heavy on internal dwellings and superfluous descriptions you will enjoy this book, but it simply was not for me.

Bessie Carter did a beautiful job of narrating. She is very pleasant to listen too and really brought life to the story.

I'm a huge fan of Jane Austen so the beginning of this one really caught me off guard. I started to get annoyed with how stupid George was behaving despite seeming to be a fairly intelligent person. I pushed through though and it got way better. It is very feminist for a regency era book but I loved it.

Definitely worth a read for anyone who wants more Bridgerton type books in their life.

I have to say this isn’t wasn’t what I was expecting. I was expecting more of a historical fiction romcom. I felt like we got more of a darker mean girl book. And I feel like you really should have the book in front of you while reading. At times I felt like it was hard to follow and I wish I had the book to go back for reference. I didn’t hate this book. My opinion is to not go in thinking this is a love story and buy the hard copy.

The book reveled in the bad choices. You could see the consequences coming for the protagonist a long way off, and for awhile I was wanting the author to really take them down. The outcomes though showed more grace than anticipated which turned out to be more interesting than sermonizing. I do wish that the protagonist would just use her words more often though. While it is realistic to be stymied when nervous or scared, it is still frustrating to witness.

This story gave me anxiety needed to know what was going to happen - whoever said this was a Bridgeton cross with gossip girl - that description was spot on.

George was taking a step on the wild side with Francis and her group. She is realizing all the glamour and glitz is way more than meets the eye.

The story took a sad turn with a justified ending but still a deep, entertaining, and sad story overall. I can see this as a TV series one day. I would for sure watch it.

The thing George has to manage is to not lose herself in the mix of things and the recognize the snakes for who they are

I think George loses herself for a while but grows and becomes better with everything after it all. Bessie Carter kills it with the accents and the other characters voices - great job

Reputation was a highly anticipated release for me, but I couldn't get into it. Two of the main characters spend the first chapter of the book meeting at a ball and then immediately gossiping and mocking the (admittedly terrible) people around them. Maybe it's the pandemic, maybe it's the setting, but I'm so tired of catty nonsense. In the year 2022, I'm unable to wait for the book to prove to me that the characters aren't who they appear to be.
That said, I've heard that the book has queer rep and is a lot of fun, so I assume I'm going to be in the minority here. Maybe I'll try it again at a later date. "Regency Mean Girls" sounds like a fun premise, I'm probably just a grump. :)
Audio notes: Bessie Carter is a pleasure to listen to and I'm sure I pushed further into this novel than I would have otherwise.

Reputation
By Lex Croucher
Narrated by Bessie Carter
Romance - Regency

Middle-class Georgiana Ellers is abandoned by her parents. Sent to live with her stuffy aunt and uncle in the English countryside. She is at a extremely dull party when she meets the life loving Frances Campbell a wealthy women of “polite society.” Georgiana soon finds that Frances and her friends are not who she thinks they are. Living a life of impropriety in the Regency aristocracy is not what she had thought these people would be like. She soon meets Thomas Hawksley. He immediately stands out to Georgiana because he is around Frances and her friends all the time but does not partake in any of the debauchery they are doing.

The narrator was great in this audio. She has a very authentic British accent which makes a person feel like they are really there in the English countryside. This is only the third book she has narrated but I would definitely listen to her again.

This book is a Bridgerton meets Mean Girls type of book. There are some parts that are very sticky and some that will have you laughing so hard your sides hurt. I would definitely recommend this book in audiobook or any other format you choose to read. Lex Croucher is a fairly new author and I already am anxiously awaiting her next book.

I loved this audiobook!! The descriptions I’ve seen of Mean Girls-meets-Bridgerton are apt. It has a sweet romance and tons of genuinely funny moments, but this book gets very dark.
The story centers on the friendships that lonely Georgiana Ellers makes after being sent to live with her aunt and uncle in the English countryside. She finds herself on the ins with a group of girls who she realizes can be rather mean, and things deteriorate from there.
What’s interesting, though, is that these girls aren’t necessarily the villains—there is some flat out cruelty in these pages, but there is still the ability to care about these characters. I found myself disappointed in their actions, and hoping for better judgement on their part.
The lighter moments surrounding the story felt like a balm to the sharper parts: Georgiana’s slow-formed bond with her aunt, Mrs. Burton, and gradual softening toward another friend, Betty, were some of my favorite parts. Note: I LOVE Betty, and want an entire book for her story!
The romance with Thomas Hawksley absolutely shines. Admittedly, I was kind of on the fence with this book, but their brief correspondence that occurs about halfway through really tipped me towards being all-in.
The narration by Bessie Carter (Prudence Featherington in Bridgerton) is phenomenal!! She so perfectly captures each character, and really brought this book to life for me. I want to buy a copy, because there were so many lines I wanted to highlight. But, I still absolutely recommend the audiobook—for me, it’s one of the best audiobooks I’ve listened to.
Content warnings include on-page drinking, drug use, grief, domestic abuse, sexual assault, mentions of homophobia and racism, and off page references to rape.

Mean Girls really said to Jane Austen, "Hold my sherry, b*tch."

When her parents abscond to the coast for her mother's health, Georgiana Ellers is shipped off to her tedious aunt and uncle. They have very different ideas of what constitutes as fun and good company, so when Georgiana meets the vibrant and confident Frances Campbell, she becomes enamoured by her and her rich life. To her great surprise and happiness, Frances takes an interest in her and invites her to raucous, unchaperoned and wine-drenched parties and outings with her equally as vivacious friends. But being hip with the in-crowd isn't all fun and games, and Georgiana has to decide what kind of person she wants to be in the presence of such social goddesses.

To say this was amusing is an understatement. This was an incredibly witty and entertaining novel with some of the most colourful and cruel characters ever to be portrayed in Regency England. A true historical romp of shocking proportions. The line "Get in, Georgiana. We're going shopping" alone had me in stitches. I really must commend the author for taking such a risk with this book but still absolutely nailing the historical context and language. Reading a few lines out loud, I felt like Keira Knightly as Lizzie Bennett. I realize that makes me seem unhinged, but it's a compliment. Perfect tone and delivery and enough to have me reading whatever Lex Croucher wants to publish in future.

The characters are what really make the Mean Girls comp sing, and I'll admit I did struggle a little to jive with them. If you're expecting the demure society ladies from Bridgerton, best you not. These young ladies and gentlemen are cruel, selfish, and believe themselves above it all. They have reputations to uphold, after all, and your little opinion does not matter when mother can send a letter and have you sent off to a convent. Frances is the most vicious of them all; the true queen bee of this group of friends Georgiana finds herself desperate to fit into. Part of what made me struggle with this in the beginning was how Georgiana acted in said desperation. She became someone she really wasn't, and there's a lot of collateral damage along the way to figuring out how she wants to behave. The character development is truly worth talking about though, and I am so, so satisfied by the ending. Think Jane Austen's Emma with an excellent stance on feminism. Regardless of what anyone thinks, Frances truly is a wretch of a young woman and I wish her nothing but the worst.

I feel like such a cad saying this, but I've read enough of both age groups to confidently say that this would be better shelved as upper YA rather than Adult, strictly because of the content and characters. They're all around the age of twenty, but they do seem more teenaged with first loves and heartbreaks, the desire to fit in and be liked, raucous parties filled with alcohol and drugs where they try to find themselves, catty bullying to feel better about one's self. It's all very reminiscent of high school instead of college. Does that conclusion minimize how great this book was to read? Absolutely not!

At one point I was going to give this three stars, but this book won me over in the end hard. The character development is top-notch, so my rating is four point five rounded up.

This book was a miss for me, It started off to slow and by the time I got into it I had a hard time enjoying the characters story. The narrator did a great job and I loved the banter between the characters. Overall it was not the romance read I was hoping for.

What would have happened if Lizzie Bennet met Mr. Darcy while she was stoned?

What I thought was going to be a fluffy regency romance ended up being hilarious, charming, and surprising substantial.

Whether you like Austen, romance, historical fiction, feminist fiction or just a good old-fashioned fun read, this book is for you! Keep an eye open for it in stores starting on April 5th, 2022 (US).

The audiobook version was a joy to listen to, especially for Bridgerton fans, as it is narrated by Bessie Carter (yay!)

If you enjoy both Bridgerton and Mean Girls, this is the book for you! It's a period piece presented in the most refreshing way and although the mean girls thing annoyed me at times, it was also extremely fun and I understood the need to the main character to belong. The story was fun, the romantic interest was dreamy and it was hilarious while touching important subjects like sexual assault and homosexuality in the 19th century.
I was given an advance listening copy by macmillan audio and netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

What a fun audiobook!

Reputation gets off to a slow start, but it lives up to its billing of being a historical romantic comedy. But, don’t let the term romcom fool you, there are some deep issues encountered in this story.

I wouldn’t say it is historically accurate, but it is a fun story. I thought it was a little like a spring break/youth gone wild during the regency period.

Georgiana is the poor girl among a group of new rich friends. She is a little lost and trying to fit in so she adopts their destructive lifestyle. Thomas Hawksley is the perfect Darcy with his brooding judgment. What ensues is Georgiana’s coming of age story culminating in a HEA.

The narrator does an excellent job voicing the characters with unique voices for each. She also pulls off the comedy in this book.

Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the gifted ARC of this audiobook.

CW: rape, sexual assault, regular assault, lots of drinking, and drug use.

I enjoyed this! It was a bit slow to get going, but then things picked up.
It’s basically Regency Mean Girls, which is pretty great. The MC is Georgiana, who is staying with her aunt and uncle for the summer while her parents move to a new house. Overall, her parents are pretty terrible people, and that is revealed more and more as the book progresses.
Not long after coming to stay with her aunt and uncle Georgiana meets Francis, who then brings her into her friend group of hard partying gentry.
I really liked the relationship between Georgiana and Thomas that develops over the course of the book, I love how they interacted with each other. I especially liked their correspondence in the middle of the book.
While things definitely got dark in the latter part of the book, it was still a fun read and I’ll be on the lookout for Lex Croucher’s next release.