It would be very, very hard not to compare this to Netflix's Bridgerton: we have several main characters of color moving in British Regency society with no issues, as with Bridgerton. But honestly, this read much more as a CW channel teen melodrama tv series akin to Gossip Girl, Mean Girls, Dawson's Creek or 90210. We have alcohol, illicit sex, and drugs (missing only the rock and roll, though the love interest plays a mean piano, of course, like a rock star). So if you want a tawdry and salacious tale of rich teens out of control, this is your story. Definitely don't expect any kind of historical accuracy at all.

Story: Georgiana lives a boring provincial life until the outrageous Frances finds her and draws her into her inner circle of wealthy dilettantes. Suddenly, life is exciting - drugs, alcohol, all night partying, and an entrée into high society. The only problem is that Georgiana finds herself attracted to the very reserved Thomas Hawksley - a young man who abhors the wild life she is living. Georgiana will soon find there is a price to pay for the rich life.

To be honest, we have seen this story before, just not in a Regency setting. Bored rich kids whose parents don't love them so they turn to alcohol, parties, and drugs to mask the pain. Add in the top clique (read: the high school cheerleaders and jocks) of 1) mean queen bee, 2) bubble headed blonde, 3) mean sidekick, and men grappling with toxic masculinity and you get the idea. Of course, our young heroine is young and fresh and gets indoctrinated into this group but will eventually realize it is not all it is cut out to be.

This will probably be a hard read for older audiences, watching the heroine be incredibly careless, mean, and selfish for most of the book. There is some reckoning at the end but it would have been nicer to have seen some moral questioning from Georgiana far earlier than at the end. She was pretty unlikable for most of the book. She's quite happy to get drunk most of the book (or take hard drugs) and it was hard to see why the love interest would be even remotely interested in her.

I listened to the audio version and the narrator did an excellent job. I can recommend the audio version. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

Oh this was fun! Mean girls of the regency era.

There were even call outs to the movie ‘get in we’re going shopping’ and ‘the limit does not exist’. Love it.

Georgiana is bored and feeling abandoned by her parents at her aunt and uncle’s home in the countryside until she makes the acquaintance of Frances.

Frances and her friends are wild, wealthy and exciting for Georgiana who is delighted to become a part of their circle.

However this group has an ugly side that Georgiana soon meets and must decide if she wants to be that nasty too.

The narrator did a great job with character voices. I particularly liked how she voiced Betty.

Reputation was an interesting mix of Bridgerton meets Mean Girls. Which is exactly what the book tells you it is. And it really, truly is.
It was a fun story following Georgiana and her lust for fun and friendship in a regency era.

Thank you to NetGalley, St Martins, and Macmillan Audio for the advance copy of this book. I listened to the audiobook. The narrator was good and easy to listen to.
I really just immediately assumed that I was going to love this book. After finishing it, I’m just kinda neutral. I haven’t read a ton of regency books so I’m not very well versed in the genre. Despite all the drama that goes down in this, I was still just kinda bored. The description that I’ve seen of this is Mean Girls meets Bridgerton and that’s a far comparison.
The release date is 4/5/22. It wasn’t for me but I think that people who are bigger fans of regency than I am. If you do decide to read it, look up tw there are a handful of sensitive topics that might upset some