Beautiful writing mix of past and present times. Very reminiscent of Bridgerton and a new age Jane Austin. Fun story with love, laughter, and drama..

I read this book twice....as soon as I finished it, I started it over because I loved it THAT much. I certainly read it at the perfect time with the release of the second season of Bridgerton, all things regency-era are *extra* exciting right now! The hype notwithstanding, I loved the wit of the characters - it was the perfect blend of Mean Girls / Gossip Girl meets any Jane Austen novel. Even some of the lines, "Get into the carriage, we're going shopping" were included and it was iconic. As far as representation, I'm glad this book followed Bridgerton's lead in adding more diversity in the characters with their race, skin tone, and background. And while it was not the center of action, I enjoyed the little bit of sapphic romance that was thrown in there (hoping there will be more of that in subsequent books...fingers crossed).

The focus of the book felt to be more on the friendship between Georgiana and Frances, rather than just focused on Frances and her romantic love interest, which I really appreciated. And when showing the relationship between Frances and her love interest, I enjoyed seeing the male character show great vulnerability and even crying - that doesn't always happen in romance novels and it needs to be more normalized.

I cannot recommend this book enough - while there were some serious topics covered, it was overall a lighter, happy, quick read and I enjoyed it just as thoroughly the second time through. I cannot wait to read anything and everything that Lex writes!

TW: sexual assault, drinking, drugs

I really enjoyed the beginning and characters of this funny, witty book. I will say the plot became a little less engaging as the book went on but I still enjoyed reading the regency romance part with a fun twist.

When her parents move to a seaside resort for her mother's health, Georgiana is sent to stay with her old-fashioned aunt and uncle in a quiet village. Bored out of her mind, with little company but books, George is thrilled to meet Frances, a young woman of aristocratic birth with a flair for having fun. George soon becomes caught up in a whirlwind of unchaperoned parties where wine and other substances flow freely. She becomes enamored with Thomas, a young man on the fringes of Frances's set, who gave up the wild lifestyle after the death of his brother. Can she convince him she's not the frivolous girl she seems?

This is a wildly funny Regency new adult coming-of-age rom com. The voice sucked me in from the very first sentence, and I literally stayed up all night finishing it. It's easy to see how George quickly gets in over her head, making not-so-great choices in her desperation to make friends who can rescue her from her dull, circumscribed life. The love story is secondary to the friendship between George and Frances, but still strong.

The audio narration was brilliant and added to the enjoyment of the story. Don't miss this book!

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Reputation by Lex Croucher
Audiobook edition, narrated by Bessie Carter (Prudence Featherington in Bridgerton)

**Special thanks to Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for providing me with an advanced reader's copy of this book, in exchange for my honest review.

Rating: 4.5 🌟

Narration rating: 5 🌟

The premise & comps: Reputation is comped as a Regency-era Gossip Girls x Bridgerton. It does exactly what it sets out to do. It combines drama, witty dialogue and narration, and a lush and exciting setting in a fun and enjoyable package, and lives up to its comparisons.

Characters: Characters are lively and diverse. It echoes Mean Girls and other similar stories very well at a certain point, when the protagonist gets caught up in the world they’ve been drawn into and makes poor decisions in a desperate attempt to hold on to it. Even in these moments when the characters are unlikeable, the story is compelling and your distaste for them is deliberate.


Topics/Themes: The book incorporates a rather serious consideration of several heavy topics, including sexual assault. There are several incidents related to sexual assault in the novel, and it is not only discussed in narration or thoughts but also in the plot itself. Outside of this, the story considers the implications of high society and money being used to pay away mistakes.

Plot: I found the plot to be very compelling, if a little slow to get started. I appreciated that despite several subplots running at once, they are all resolved well by the end.

Conclusions: Overall, the story is compelling, complete with a lively cast of characters and a rich setting. Perfect for fans of Bridgerton that have renewed their obsessions after the Season 2 drop and want content to fill the void until the next season. Bonus points for how funny the dialogue and narration are throughout the book. There are more than handful of lines, especially in Georgiana's (the main character's) narration, that genuinely had me laughing out loud.

Narration conclusions: The narration is wonderful and breathes life into every aspect of the book. This is a novel that I would absolutely recommend the audiobook for over any other edition, simply because of the richness her narration adds to the book.

Reputation
A Novel
by Lex Croucher
Narrated by Bessie Carter

I received a digital copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

My personal philosophy is that there is a book for every person and a person for every book. I am personally not a person for this book but I know many people have greatly enjoyed it so it’s just a matter of taste etc. not quality. This had a feeling of ‘peer pressure/I want to be liked’ mixed in with substance use that was just not my thing.

I read a lot of regency romance - Julia Quinn, Eloisa James, Elizabeth Hoyt, Lisa Kleypas. They all have slightly different feels and styles but to me this was not in the same family of flavors.

Sound quality was fantastic and narration was perfection. The narrator is the actress who plays Prudence Featherington in the Netflix Bridgerton series so that in and of itself is very cool.

3/5

Thank you to Netgalley, Macmillan Audio for the ALC in return for my honest review.

A 2.5 stars read for me. I did not enjoy this one and did not see the comedy at all. A lot of drugs, alcohol, abuse in many forms. More Mean Girls than Jane Austen.

I wanted to DNF many times but stuck through until the end which was chaotic and confusing. I thought Georgiana was into Frances and then another romance happens so I’m not sure what was going on.

“𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐩 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐝𝐚𝐬𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐉𝐚𝐧𝐞 𝐀𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧” oh have I never been so intrigued! Sign me up!

I really enjoyed this historical romantic comedy plot and was excited to read it leading up to today’s release of the Bridgerton season two!

I found this one to be such a fun and modern day take on your typical regency romances and I absolutely relished in how witty and entertaining it was!

I got total Mean Girl vibes from this one and ultimately just found it such a breathe if fresh air!

Currently this audio-ARC is DNF @ ~20%
I was intrigued by the description as I love romcom and regency storylines- but unfortunately I just can't get into it. I can't pinpoint if it is the narrator, the characters or the storyline.. it is unbearably slow, for me. From other reviews it seems it picks up more like 60% in, so perhaps I'll give it another try later on.

Thank you Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for the opportunity to listen to this book!

This book was so fun! whoever marketed this as mean girls meets bridgerton hit the nail on the head!
Full of amazing (and by amazing i mean some of these people were terrible to each other) friendships, perfect embodiment of Regency society, and this air of poshness that made Reputation amazing to read.
I also loved so many characters and they all felt so tangible and real.
1000% would recommend :)

Reputation by Lex Croucher is a drama filled story set in the regency era. However, the number of scandals, the language, and the shear amount of debauchery is far removed from the literature of that era. It starts off slow and builds to utter chaos. Georgiana is a middle class girl whose parents' send her to live with her aunt and uncle.

Though she starts off a lonely, good girl she soon meets a gang of privileged aristocrats and gets pulled into a life of parties and flirtations. Things go too far and she starts to lose sight of who she is as well as starts to get a reputation.

Although it is said to be a romance, I would classify it as a coming of age drama light on romance and heavy on scandal. Georgiana does have a romance, but he is a classic good guy behind a brooding exterior, and she is the young heroine he needs to save from all manners of foolishness.

Throughout the book though it isn't just the men who save the day, there are strong female characters who speak out for what is right. Unfortunately, we spend very little time with these characters and instead focus on the popular, posh people.

This book also deals heavily with the aftermath of topics like sexual assault and ones Reputation. A good third of the book is focused on that. The author does have a content warning for this.

Overall, I rated it 3.5 stars as it was enjoyable, unbearable (oh how stupidly these people act), and generally entertaining.

The narration of the audiobook, I give 5 stars. Bessie Carter does an incredible job of making it feel both formal and fun.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this advanced reader copy. These are my honest opinions.

Thank you to Netgalley, Macmillan Audio for the ALC in return for my honest review.

I was looking forward to this one because I like listening to British accents. And, it had a cute cover and I was expecting it to be funny, since it was categorized as romcom as well.

Unfortunately, this wasn’t for me. The story dragged for me and I didn’t really like any of the characters. They just seemed rude and mean that just got too much. Also, I wouldn’t call this a romcom, since it didn’t seem humorous to me..

There are positive reviews if you like light regency type books. I do, but this just wasn’t for me.

Lonely and vulnerable, Georgiana quickly falls in with Frances and her wealthy, wild, and deeply improper friends, who introduce her to the upper echelons of Regency aristocracy, and a world of drunken debauchery, frivolous spending, and mysterious young men. One, in particular, stands out from the rest: Thomas Hawksley, who has a tendency to cross paths with Georgiana in her most embarrassing moments. Sparks fly, but Thomas seems unimpressed with the company she is keeping. And soon, Georgiana begins to wonder whether she’ll ever feel like she fits in––or if the price of entry into Frances’s gilded world will ultimately be higher than she is willing to pay.

3.25 stars
Trigger warnings: https://www.lexcroucher.co.uk/reputat...

I wanted to listen to this one because I am a fan of Bridgerton and Gossip Girl type shows. I found it to be well written, however it was a bit draggy for me. It did end up picking up the pace maybe 2/3 in.
I didn't really connect with any of the characters either. I guess girls are mean no matter what era they grow up in. Frances is terrible. Georgiana's parents are terrible. I did like Thomas, but wish there was more of him.

I'm not sure I'd put this in the rom-com catergory - did I miss something? I barely cracked a smile let alone a laugh. Unless I was supposed to laugh at all the meanness.

So I've never read Jane Austin ~ classics are just not my thing. But if I had to guess what someone would sound like in one of her books it would be exactly how Bessie Carter sounds, so I was quite pleased with the narration.

Overall, this one was not for me, but I could see the appeal for Regency era lovers who enjoy an excessive amount of partying..

*Thanks to Netgalley, Macmillan Audio USA and Lex Croucher for the advance audiobook. I am voluntarily leaving my honest review*

Truly, I loved this book. From start to finish I was thoroughly entertained! My only critique is that I didn't want it to end, I wanted, no NEEDED more.

The things this group of people got up to were ridiculous! I loved every second of it. And the romance!!! LOVED the romance in this book. The chemistry felt so real to me and the fact that it didn't come so easily and took some work made me love it all the more. I also liked how the romance really wasn't the main thing of the book, but it did add so much more to the story!

As I wait for Bridgerton to come out this Friday, this was the perfect thing to hold me over. I'd imagine it'll be the perfect thing to read after everyone has finished watching the new season of Bridgerton, and craving something like it.

I really don't have a bad thing to say about this book. It was entertaining from start to finish and so easy to binge read! I'll definitely be picking up more books in the future by this author!!

Georgiana is brought to her aunt and uncles house after her parents decide to leave the city. At a party, she meets Francis a rich socialite with a flair for dramatics and rule breaking. Georgiana falls in with the crowd and finds herself doing these things to fit in. Can she trust these people? Or will they stab her in the back at the right moment?

If Mean Girls and Bridgerton had a baby it would be Reputation! I enjoyed the hijinks between friends, although if a "friend" did any of that to me, I'd probably drop her fast! This book was enjoyable but nothing substantial. It's about female friends and breaking the rules in the days of notoriety, and Georgiana trying to find the right crowd to hang out with, Frances and her band of baddies, or Betty and Thomas who are her metaphorical angel to Frances' devil.

Thanks Netgalley, and the publisher for the arc. This book publishes 4/5!

Bridgerton meets Riverdale meets Cruel Intentions meets Mean Girls. This was a delight.

Georgiana Ellers moves in with her Aunt and Uncle in a new town and her social future seems dim. Forced to attend a seemingly horrid party, she meets Frances Campbell. Her world is never the same! Frances is the "it girl" of the town and immediately welcomes, lures?, Georgiana into her life of debauchery. Uncahperoned parties... oh my! Alcohol... scandalous! And flirting with men who are not courting you... unheard of! Georgiana revels in her newfound "popularity" but fast realizes it's not all glitz and glamor at the top.

Witty, funny, poignant, and unexpectedly heartfelt at times. I might even say it has a hint of feminism? I enjoyed this debut novel by Lex Croucher immensely. The fact that the word "mustachioed" was used more than once was a real treat.

Of note, I loved the narration. It was brilliant. I was enraptured by her voice and storytelling.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for providing this ARC! Very cute! This was a fun story, very Mean Girls meets Jane Austen.

Definitely check TWS before reading, some heavy topics are covered.

I enjoyed the book! Lots of great representation as well!

Bridgerton meets mean girls meets pride and prejudice! This was cute. A lot of drama and a lot of dramatics but it was delicious in all the right ways.

I was drawn to the cover, the premise and title of this book. I love Regency romances and I'm all for Regency romcoms plus mixing a little Mean Girls would be so fun. Ultimately, I wanted more romance and more light comedy. The narrator did great!

I was not expecting the amount of drinking, smoking and drugs taking place in this YA. This is a dark teen drama, I don't know if this should be classified as YA/teen because the themes are very adult/mature. I think this book will gain popularity with shows like Bridgerton becoming popular but this book had hardly anything that made it regency. I appreciated more POC characters.

I know many drank then but this seemed excessive. 35% and all they did was drink and smoke. I wanted more to hold my interest than its tag line. This was a miss for me, the romance plot was too slow to start to keep me interested. The continued drinking turned me off from the characters.

Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for the audiobook copy, these are my own thoughts and opinions.

Content: extreme drinking, smoking, LGBT+, physical abuse, rape and assault