This was 💯 Mean Girls set in Regency times; a mash up of Jane Austin and Gossip Girl! The audiobook was read by Bessie Carter (Prudence Featherington in Bridgerton), which gave it an extra fun twist. I loved the Regency satire (the description of the Arctic party with blue-dyed meet had me cackling), and I always appreciate books that show Regency times as not so prim and proper as the popular imagination espouses -- and this book delivers with that. The plot was a little too predictable and at points, I felt a bit of deja vu as it echoed both Mean Girls and perhaps a bit of Bridgerton too. It was definitely a fun book for lovers of Regency romance and shows like Mean Girls and GG!

This book will be released on April 5, 2022.

Thanks to Macmillan Audio and #netgalley for an advanced audiobook copy!

Literally everyone in this book is kind of an asshole, which is, eh. I enjoyed the romance subplot a lot. I don’t watch Bridgerton or engage with a lot of Regency stuff, so I have no opinion on any of that; I thought the audiobook narrator was very good. I read about half of this via audiobook and then finished it via ebook, both of which I got from NetGalley, and I think they’re both good ways to experience the book! The narrator isn’t so incredible that you MUST read it via audiobook (UNLESS maybe you are a really intense Bridgerton fan).

Three stars because I would toss all of the characters into a lake. And not in an interesting or fun way.

Ahh, this book was so fun! I love a regency moment, and Lex Croucher queering regency is everything.

I absolutely adored the narrator (Bridgerton for the win!) and honestly, she made the book so much more enjoyable than had I just read a print copy. Most of the characters were quite unlikable. While I grew to understand each person’s motives and why they acted as they did, I still did not find myself truly attached to them. The main redeeming factor of this book was the romance subplot. Thomas was an absolute delight and he made Georgiana so much more likable. I couldn’t stand all the partying, drinking, and drugs that Georgiana got sucked into. It was honestly hard to get through. I did think that the author did a great job handling the traumatic scene that happened near the end, especially with the aftermath and how everyone else around Georgiana handled it. That definitely gave the book more depth. All in all, pretty enjoyable but a bit too much for me.

Regency era drama with a modern influence. The interesting characters round out the plot and provide plenty of drama. The writing is creative and captivating from the start. Loved this book.

This book was okay. I really enjoyed the regency era and felt the author did a good job of making it into a rom-com regency instead of just your typical regency romance. I did feel that the narrators did a fantastic job bringing this story to life!

However there were part of the book where I was bored and I felt things were over discussed. I also did not enjoy the amount of sexual assault that either happened on the pages or was eluded. Overall an entertaining book and I look forward to reading more by this author.

Thank you NetGalley for a copy of this ebook. This is my honest voluntary review.

🔊Song Pairing: End Game - Taylor Swift

This book needed T Swift.

💭What I thought would happen:

I genuinely didn’t have high hopes for this book but it was a buddy read and I loved the cover.

📖What actually happens:

Georgiana is out in society in a new place, smuggled away with her aunt and uncle while her mother and father take rest by the ocean not that they care if George joins or not.

At her first society ball Georgie meets the sensational Ms. Frances Campbell who is beyond opinionated and suffers from an attitude problem according to all those with no sense of fun. Finally! Someone George finds entertaining.

Frances quickly envelops Georgiana into her cozy circle of fabulously privileged friends and opens her eyes to what could be and what is beyond George’s grasp.

🗯Thoughts:

Let’s start with: every character in this book is an asshole. Should you care about what happens to these privileged jerks? No. Is the writing dramatic enough to carry on regardless: absolutely.

Honestly I’d probably go out looking for a bit of titillation too if the most stimulating conversation revolves around the appropriate conditions for the growth of turnips…

If gossip girl was set in a Jane Austen world and Georgina is Jenny Humphrey. (Unpopular opinion but I was rooting for Little J)

I thought Lex wrote with wit and sarcasm and don’t think I didn’t recognize the Mean Girls quote embedded in the writing! Purely coincidence? I am choosing to believe not.

Mean Girls in all centuries provide for salacious gossip

I loved the narrator, she is in Bridgerton and she did a great job.

This was an interesting story, not something I would usually pick up.

This book was just perfect! I laughed out loud, I teared up, I scoffed… I felt everything in this book. This book was smart, fun, and wholly enjoyable!

This book reminds me of a cross between Bridgerton and the Jane/Mary series by the Lady Janies. You get great plot but also some humour, heavy stuff, and pop culture references (but geared towards a regency era crowd! The Mean Girls reference had me so excited!)

There was very little romance and comedy for a rom-com, IMO. Definitely Mean Girls-ish, but less funny. The romance did make a brief appearance in the last 1/4 of the book or so.

I love historical fiction. It is my favorite genre. Perhaps the fact that this is (intentionally) far from historically accurate is part of the reason I did not enjoy it very much.

The narrator, actress Bessie Carter, did a great job with the audiobook.

I received an audio copy in exchange for an honest review.

I can usually suspend reality/history while I’m reading a book when I’m given a reason to, but I’m having a hard time with the characters’ behavior. No, that’s not quite right. With the acceptance of the behavior of Frances and company from the older set. There would have been more social consequences and less entry to polite society. I will try to read again at a future date, but right now, it’s a no.

Okay, so let me start by saying that the bulk of this review can also be found on the ebook arc page as well. What does this mean? It means I wanted so so so badly to like this that, despite struggling with the ebook, I requested the audio.

Ahhhhh geeze. I wanted to like this so much. I wanted to love it so much, I requested the audio after struggling to work through the ebook. I love regency based novels, especially when there is some fun thrown into the mix. This, however, just has me crawling in my skin. Everyone is so unlikable. Whoever described it as Mean Girls and regency meet is somewhat correct. However, I think that without the visual medium to portray the subtleties of regret, guilt, etc, all we get are rude people. At no point did I feel bad for anyone in the book or feel that they had been reasonably sucked into what they were doing as I did with the movie Mean Girls. Overall, I just found the book lacking in characters that were relatable and/or worth empathy.

Stars awarded are because I was glad to see some LGBTQ + rep. It's unfortunately still rather rare to see that representation in historical fiction, so I really appreciated it.

Audiobook specific: I did not like the narrator at all. She has a beautiful, rich voice, but it seemed horribly off for someone who was meant to be a young, naive woman. I almost found her voice for Frances more fitting for Georgiana than Georgiana's own.

This will probably be my most unique creature of the year! I have never read a period romance with quite so much drunk and disorderly behavior. Even with all the chaos the author manages to convey many emotional issues that pertain to any of us. The romance of the story was perfect and I absolutely love the hero of the story.

While I was really excited for this book, it fell a little flat. It felt a bit childish and elementary. I wasn’t able to finish the book though so I might have liked it more if I’d been able to stick with it

I received a complimentary copy of this book for review from Macmillan Audio. All opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Rating: 4.5 stars

CW for sexual assault, domestic violence, drug and alcohol abuse

This book is truly Regency-era Mean Girls. The beginning of the book was admittedly slow, but once I was hooked, I could not put it down.

Banter: 10/10
Drama: heart attack level
Romance: embarrassingly swoony

For those that can stomach the content warnings, this is a must-read.

Bridgerton vibes, which is both a good thing and a bad thing. I really like regency novels especially ones that were written during the regency. And I really liked the Bridgerton series. And this has elements of both on it as well as more modern characters. Super enthralled or drawn in. But I didn’t really like it. Fun and quirky and different. Especially because I’ve been reading a lot of dark stuff lately so this was nice.
Ultimately A fund raid 💯 as always thinking Annette netGalley for sending me this review copy all opinions are my own

This book had everything you would expect from Brönte and Austen. An abandoned young lady, discarded by her parents, sent to live with her overbearing aunt and seeming uninterested uncle.
But have you ever read a classic and while thoroughly enjoying it, wished the main character had stood up for herself.
That maybe that Sunday brunch wasn’t so innocent
That the party had a few less chaperons.
If you are looking for a Saucy Austen-Esque book, then this is for you.

This was a DNF for me unfortunately. The narration of this audiobook was fantastic. However, I found it difficult to keep track of all the characters. The wasn't much relationship building and that was most likely a reason why I wasn't engaged in the story as I normally am. There was a lot of things happening and dialogue but there wasn't any depth to it. I feel that if there was more relationship development, I would have enjoyed the story more.

The narration of this audiobook was fantastic. However, I found it difficult to keep track of all the characters. The wasn't much relationship building and that was most likely a reason why I wasn't engaged in the story as I normally am. There was a lot of things happening and dialogue but there wasn't any depth to it. I feel that if there was more relationship development, I would have enjoyed the story more.

When I heard how this book was marketed (Bridgerton meet Mean Girls) I knew I had to read it. However, I was not prepared for how dark this book got, nor how much I wouldn't care for the characters. The book is a good read if you are really into romance novels or reads with a lot of trigger warnings.