1. If you like the Bridgerton books but wish there was a little more scandal involved, you’ll love The Worst Woman in London. Julia Bennet writes a complex friends-to-lovers romance that was so difficult to put down once started. Social ostracism and disinheritance are some of the struggles faced by the couple, but the main barrier is that Francesca is unhappily married to James’s best friend.
Imperfect characters show how human they are, and themes of freedom and feminism are strong - some aspects that aren’t always seen in historical romances.
Francesca and James are delightfully engaging as individuals and as a couple, and seeing Edward’s character grow was a happy surprise.
Definitely recommend to anyone who’s a fan of regency-era romances that have some spice!

this does a great job as both a historical novel and a great romance novel, I loved the way Julia Bennet wrote this. It had a great plot going on and the romance worked out in a way that was interesting and unique. The characters did everything that I wanted and wanted to stay in this world. Overall this was what I was hoping for.

"Laughter bubbled up from somewhere deep within her. Of course he didn’t want to go on paying her bills. Why should he? Oh, well played, Edward. If she didn’t want to throttle him so much, she might have spoken the praise aloud. “You look pleased with yourself,” she said instead. How calm and quiet she sounded; she rather admired herself for it."

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC. I really enjoyed this one. I found Francesca to be a great character. She’s intelligent, self assured and determined. She’s also so relatable in her desire to be respected (don’t we all want that in our relationships?). She’s not hungry for status or money or even a different husband; she just wants to be treated fairly.
I loved how her relationship with James developed. We all know the 19th century wasn’t exactly the best for women so there was definitely still that theme of women being less than men but that vein of feminism that ran through this story left me feeling pretty good by the end. Great dialogue and decent amount of spice. I had a lot of fun reading this book.

#TheWorstWomaninLondon is a well-written tale of unexpected second chances. After 10 years of marriage—eight of them separated from her philandering husband Edward--Francesca Thorne has made the difficult decision to end this miserable relationship and seek a divorce—a scandalous thing to do in London in 1882. Edward has no problem with he and Francesca continuing to live separate lives, but wants to avoid the notoriety that a divorce trial will bring. Unsuccessful at persuading Francesca to change her mind, Edward sends his childhood friend, James Standish, to present his final offer of financial support to Francesca if she agrees to not pursue this. If she doesn’t agree, Edward will cut her off financially.

James is in his thirties, unmarried and the heir apparent to his Aunt Miriam’s fortune, if he follows her wishes and marries a woman that meets with his aunt’s approval. From her slight acquaintance with James during her marriage, Francesca believes him to be charming but shallow—a typical upper-class gentleman, unconcerned with anything beyond his own desires.

James and Francesca each find the other surprisingly interesting and begin a tentative friendship. Francesca’s honesty and willingness to risk security for her freedom eventually shakes James out of his complaisance and leads him to question his priorities. Despite the fact that it is especially risky for Francesca to begin a relationship while still legally married to Edward and with a divorce trial pending, the attraction between them grows and they begin an affair.

There are numerous obstacles to a HEA for James and Francesca, including social ostracism and disinheritance, but Julia Bennet manages to believably navigate this couple through these barriers to a future together.

Even Edward begins to show signs of growth at the end, which leads to a second chance at happiness for him as well.

The story was engaging and despite their all-too-human imperfections, James and Francesca were an appealing couple. The book also includes some interesting insights into what happened during a divorce trial in the late 1800s.

Thanks to #NetGalley for the ARC!

Francesca Thorne wants a divorce from her unfaithful husband and faces backlash from both him and society. James Standish has known Francesca since the beginning of her marriage and has started to see her in a new light following their recent reconnection.

I enjoyed reading! I felt that the characters were complex and the historical setting allowed for the exploration of social issues regarding the status of women. An aspect that I felt could use improvement in some places was the changes in scenes. Especially toward the beginning, some of the breaks felt abrupt or I wanted a bit more context of the scene. However, I think the story was well-developed overall and had strong romance throughout.

Francesca is struck in a bad marriage with a cheating husband. James needs to play by the society's rules to inherit a big fortune. Of course, they fall in love....

An interesting plot. Divorce wasn't really acceptable back then. Love Francesca a lot and lots of sympathy for her. James is great. Love both of them together.

Thanks to the publisher for the arc.

You will fall in love with the characters and laugh and cry with them. I will have to say this could be my new favorite book . So if you want a fun fast read check it out.

Oh my, what a wonderful surprise this book was! Julia Bennett is a new-to-me author & I requested this book mostly based on the cover art. I read a LOT of regency & Victorian England set historical romances, literally hundreds of them, & I’m always in search of more historical romances written with a feminist lens (disturbingly difficult to find, though it’s slowly getting better). I’ve been disappointed MANY times but this book was not a disappointment. It was great. Very gripping, from the first page onwards, with a great cast of complexly drawn characters & fulfilling relationship & character development. It has great depth & never resorted to silliness or gothic dramatics. I loved it & hope Julia Bennett’s writes tons more in this vein, they’ll be auto-buys for me.

Fans of feminist historical romances will enjoy it. Read if you like books by Sherry Thomas, Evie Dunmore, Scarlett Peckham, Courtney Milan, Diana Biller, Harper St. George, etc