A Lady’s Guide to Fortune Hunting
By Sophie Irwin

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was an unexpected surprise! Regency romances tend to be very formulaic, which is all part of the fun of them, I guess. So I was expecting this to be at least a tolerable read.

But I was absolutely swept away by the dry, humorous prose, the full and vivid characters and the incredible premise!

Kitty is recently orphaned, but as the eldest of five girls with a small mountain of debt left by a gambling addict father and payment due, she’s got no time to grieve when she’s suddenly jilted by her fiancé.

Fortunately enough, Kitty’s a practical girl through and through, so instead of sinking into despair, she quickly comes up with a plan!

She sets off to London with her most attractive and eligible sister in tow! The plan, a simple, desperate one: to snag a rich husband before the season even starts and before her debt is due!

A determined young lady such as herself can do anything she sets her mind to and it was going all well and good until a hiccup arrived in the form of the reclusive (aren’t they always?!?) Lord Radcliffe!

The Earl sees through her every scheme and they face off at a battle field and end in a draw. But never fear, Kitty has as many lives as her namesake! They strike a bargain with the Earl and it’s from here that Kitty and her sister are swept into the world of the rich and frivolous; gilded staircases, high ceilings and dancing the night away in ballrooms.

The two get closer and closer even as Kitty diligently applies to the task at hand!

But is forsaking love in the name of money what kitty truly desires? Is it so hard for a girl to have it all?

I loved that this story touched on female agency in this time period and inequality behind the glitz and glamor

This book was a true delight! Filled to the brim with delicious banter, that dislike at first sight changing to something more and the most practical and scheming of little misses definitely check this one!

Definitely one of my top read of the year and I very much look forward to reading it when my copy arrives!!!

A LADY’S GUIDE TO FORTUNE HUNTING by Sophie Irwin


I love historical fiction, but I don’t usually gravitate toward ones under the romance genre. Then again, I also love silly shows like Bridgerton. When I came across this upcoming book I had to request it. Sometimes you just need an easy, fun, light-hearted read, y’know?

The main character, Kitty Talbot, is smart, ambitious and clever. I liked her right away. She is unapologetic about seeking a rich husband to save her and her sisters from destitution. No shame in her game! It also really sucked to be a woman in those days so I don’t fault her for being practical.

I figured out the end very early on as the story follows a very typical romance plot line. I did enjoy the some of the banter between Kitty and Radcliffe. They were the only characters I liked, the rest were unimaginative.

Overall, this was an OK story. I wasn’t expecting anything too involved and was pleasantly entertained. If you’re looking for a summer read, this would be a good choice.


**ARC courtesy of @NetGalley & Penguin Group

Rating: 3/5 ⭐️
Release Date: July 12, 2022

#ALadysGuideToFortuneHunting

*I received this book as a digital ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

Thank you NetGalley, Sophie Irwin, and Penguin for the approving my request for this book.

This was a very cute book! Kitty, our main heroine, is determined to snag a man above her station to save her sisters from the horrors of having to find employment. Why didn’t my sister do that for me, I ask?!

Anyway, this book has a pretty standard regency setup: gentle born woman falls on hard times and being the eldest sister with no parents/uncles/brothers/etcc to look after her sisters, she takes it upon herself to find a sugar daddy - uh, I mean well-situated husband - to fix up her financials. Tale as old as time.

Of course, it’s the richest and most eligible man who sees through her attempts and tries to get in the way of her gold digging plans. But, ooo lala what’s this? Constantly being in one anothers’ paths leads to affection? Enemies to lovers wins again.

All joking aside, this is a very cute novel that utilizes some of my favorite regency fiction tropes. I wasn’t super attached to any of the characters, but I also didn’t dislike them. As such, this was a nice, quick read.

Irwin’s right style is very enjoyable, mixing that Austen-esque prose with some more blatantly witty in a way that an author of the time could simply never dream of doing without basically being condemned as a witch.

Worth a read if you’re a regency buff!

4/5

A Lady's Guide to Fortune-Hunting is a fun romance along the lines of the Bridgerton and Jane Austen novels. Kitty Talbot was looking forward to a leisurely life until her beloved mother passed away and she discovered her father has huge debts. Now her only recourse is to find a good marriage and quickly. Kitty and her sisters have to travel to London to be presented in the current season and find a wealthy match for Kitty or lose everything. They have twelve weeks to accomplish this monumental task with the help of a family friend with a dubious reputation. Kitty is beautiful and incredibly smart, if not particularly well bred, and she's willing to pull out all the stops to save her family. Unfortunately the savvy Lord Radcliffe is on to her and is bound to foil her plans. What neither plan for is the attraction that grows between them. This was such a fun read! Many thanks to NetGalley for the chance to read an ARC.

~2.5 stars~

A Lady’s Guide to Fortune-Hunting was a fun, if simple, regency romance. It was amusing, sassy, and the plot moved quickly. However, the characters were one-dimensional and not a lot happened when all was said and done. It was very straightforward, which would certainly appear to readers new to the historical romance genre. Overall, this was fun, but not a standout read for me.

~Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a free eArc of this book!~

Fortune hunters: what so many historical romance novels hinge upon, vilifying these grasping women. However, in this, Sophie Irwin has spun this trope around making the reader not only like this dastardly woman but root for her success! Kitty’s family is in dire straits: her mother and father both dead from typhoid within a year, leaving Kitty with a mountain of debt, a rapidly approaching deadline to pay it off and 4 sisters' futures to worry about. Thus, Kitty does what any responsible older sister would: heads off to London for the season in order to entrap some poor man with deep pockets. When she arrives, she quickly realizes the men in her aunt’s set are not wealthy enough to save her family. Thus she sets her sights on the ton and with cleverness and cunning she gains entre to the upper echelons of London society. But not without suspicion, primarily from Lord Radcliffe whose brother she has set her sights upon.

Witty and fun to read, Irwin has switched up what I thought was going to be your classic romance novel. There were no scandalous sex scenes to be had but rather a tantalizing build up to a heartwarming romance. I loved the characters and I hope that we will see more of Kitty’s sisters in future novels by Irwin!

I have given this book a “5+ star” rating because it is the best book I've read so far this year. It is well written, has great characterization, unique plot, wit and humor. What it doesn't have is gratuitous sex. I usually like a sexy scene in my romance books but this one didn't need it to prove that there was an attachment between the heroine Kitty and our reluctant hero, Lord Radcliffe. They were enemies to begin and then they were helpmates. The reader is never sure who will have the fortune that Kitty aspires to snare. If you want a stay-up-all-night read, this is it.

I really just don’t think this one was for me. Whilst I enjoyed the concept, I found it a slog to get through. I immediately forgot everything I’d read a few pages later and none of the characters were compelling enough to revive the slog for me.

I requested this after watching Bridgerton Season 2 and this just wasn't' for me. I just wasn't interested in anything going on with the story but however the edition that Illumicrate is doing of this book is beautiful.

super super vanilla and formulaic regency era romance
i found kitty's character to not be some fiery spitball but just like an ordinary girl?? who doesn't do a lot of scheming???
jane boring booooo if you're gonna make a character that's the namesake of austen's p&p girl at least make her good
romance was fine eh eh whatever not really a plot either and i found the events to get really repetitive around the 60% mark
read if you want to turn off your brain

What you should expect: steam free, predictable, Georgette Hayer-style regency story. There is nothing wrong with any of those things, but it wasn't what I was sold lol. I've seen people compare this to Bridgerton, and that is true only in so far as it takes place in the same time period. I don't mind my romances formulaic, but this had hardly any romance to speak of, so it felt more like a formulaic historical fiction, which is less forgivable. I think one's enjoyment of this book comes down to managing your expectations.

Thank you Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for my review.

Sophie Irwin's debut book, A Lady's Guide to Fortune-Hunting, is a fun and fresh take on a classic trope. A Lady's Guide to Fortune-Hunting has the backbone of favorite regency literary classics while introducing a strong heroine with questionable choices.

Kitty Talbot is so fearlessly herself, that you can't help but love her, faults and all. While there are moments when Kitty comes across as single-minded and devious, Irwin shows a clear picture of why Kitty must do the things she does. The urgency, the desperation, the grief, and the love she has for her family are firmly ingrained in all of Kitty's decisions. Katherine Talbot will do anything and everything she must do to secure her family's future, and as a reader, it's an absolute treat to watch her in action.

While the story focuses on the lengths one can go to for love, that doesn't mean it's a story focused on romance. I did find myself wishing for more moments between Kitty and Radcliffe and found the actual romance storyline a little thin. That being said, tons of moments reflect the strength and love found in families.
I look forward to seeing more from Sophie Irwin and her lovable characters.

Thank you to Viking Press and NetGalley for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I really liked the banter between Kitty and Radcliffe and the slow burn of their feelings for each other. Sometimes the burn was a little too slow, though - I don’t even think they met until about 1/3 of the way through the book. This was a book about a woman in a tough position, that had romance in it, rather than a classic romance structure. But I also found it refreshing, since so many romance novels are about the ton, to read one where the heroine was an outsider and needed to have so many things explained and had to work so much harder for what she wanted.

Kitty Talbot needs a fortune. Or rather, she needs a husband who has a fortune. Left with her father’s massive debts, she has only twelve weeks to save her family from ruin.

Kitty has never been one to back down from a challenge, so she leaves home and heads toward the most dangerous battleground in all of England: the London season.

Kitty may be neither accomplished nor especially genteel—but she is utterly single-minded; imbued with cunning and ingenuity, she knows that risk is just part of the game.

The only thing she doesn’t anticipate is Lord Radcliffe. The worldly Radcliffe sees Kitty for the mercenary fortune-hunter that she really is and is determined to scotch her plans at all costs, until their parrying takes a completely different turn….

kitty is a gold digger, she knows it & owns it. She is looking for a rich husband asap. Kitty has reasons and a backstory on doing what she does.

Kitty is honest to James on why she wants to marry a rich man in order to help with the debts. He is amazed at her honesty.

a fun historical slow burn read.

Kitty is an unapologetic fortune hunter trying to save her younger sisters from ruin when her family is saddled with a mountain of debt. Radcliffe sees through her charade when she first targets his younger brother. He in turn tries to steer her towards other potential suitors and help her navigate Society. During the course of their time together, Kitty finds that she can also have love as well as fulfilling her duty to her family.
It’s a fun enemies to lovers take set in the London season.

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!

I didn’t think I would love this book as much as I did!

If you are a fan of Bridgerton then this book is for you!

I couldn’t get enough of Kitty and Radcliffe and the back and forth between them! I literally laughed out loud at some points!

I loved this ARC so much I just ordered a physical copy for my bookshelf!!

I had no idea what to expect when I requested this book, but the cover was cute and the story sounded intriguing. I'm glad that I did though! Fortune-Hunting was a cute, quick read that was fun and enjoyable. Once I started it, I couldn't put it down.

The book doesn't follow what I would call modern-day historical romance beats. There's no active relationship on page until the last chapter, there's no sex, and any kissing doesn't appear to the end. The banter between Lord Radcliffe and Kitty was entertaining and engaging. The times they interacted were my favorite parts of the book.

The book appeared to be well-researched and the author did a great job of making what could be an unlikeable character, extremely likable in the end.

If you're looking for a Regency romance that has the witty banter of the genre without the sex, I recommend picking up this book.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Kitty has a problem. Her parents have died, there's no money left, and the debts are so enormous her family is endanger of losing their house! There is, essentially, 1 option open to her - marry a rich husband!

This book was so so delightful. Definitely has the regency flavor. In fact, it reminded of Georgette Heyer's The Grand Sophy in some respects. Kitty has Sophy flair for planning and scheming, although Kitty doesn't seem to encounter quite as much chaos. This quote perfectly describes Kitty though: "It is not uncommon to encounter persons who are in the habit of making outlandish claims. It is rarer still to meet persons who are also in the habit of fulfilling them, and it was to this second group that Miss Kitty Talbot belonged."

James, on the other hand, thinks of Kitty as the villain. She is out to ruin his family's good name and cause scandal! Yet, these 2 can't help but try to help the other. The must each decide if what they think they want is truly what the heart wants.

Do NOT miss this book. One of the best books of 2022!!

A Lady's Guide to Fortune-Hunting gives us Kitty, a woman so focused on making a wealthy match during the London season that she seems almost mercenary. When the older brother of her first intended groom sees right through her, she enlists his help to maneuver through the complex world of London society in order to find another suitable candidate for marriage. With each ball and social event where they interact, Radcliffe and Kitty grow to a much deeper understanding of each other's actions and motivations, until <spoiler> suddenly it becomes apparent that they are very well suited for each other.

I wanted to read this after seeing it on social media and went in with little expectation. I really enjoyed the fresh take on the genre and thought it was fun to see where the book went with the premise. I do think some of the plot points did not come across as clear and I had to reorient myself while reading, but I enjoyed seeing the relationship grow. Some of the romantic tension could have been more, but I had a fun time reading this. Thank you Netgalley!