rating: ★★★★
spice: 🌶️🌶️½

Honestly, I was struggling what to think about this book because it made me feel so many things at the same time. But then again, it’s been quite a while since a book had taken me to a rollercoaster of emotions as much as this one did.

Hurt. Anger. Pride. Sympathy. It was a whole new combination of these. I’m not really a historical fiction lover, but I do enjoy this genre then and now, and I thoroughly liked it here. The banter between the characters was so cute and yummy, including the weaponised parasol (umbrella) thingy LMAO. tbh, i was confused what the heck happened but it didn’t take me long to figure out. It was real funny. Another reason why this is not my go-to genre is the writing. As much as I love a tasteful choice of words, it tires me just as much to not to be able to read without reading everything twice to make sense of it. But surprisingly, it wasn’t the problem here at all. I did kinda went lazy with the beginning because I had problem getting into the story, but after almost 20%, things began to loosen up and I could see the whole picture—just what went wrong with Francesca’s marriage, and her will to fight for her freedom.

I really loved how much depth the characters had, it was almost moving. Above all, what I really admired about the story was how deeper the author went with why Francesca wanted an out from her marriage. Majority of the times, this is where any plot lacks the most and everybody believes the husband to be the evil. Don’t get me wrong, the husband here was wicked too(and i still hate him) but I can’t wrong him entirely because more or less, it was a matter of indifference here. Edward Thorne (her husband) was indeed, a flawed character. All of them were, but I just couldn’t quite understand him. His personality altogether made me roll my eyes and wanted to smack him right in the face. The whole divorce thing actually succeeded into angering my feminist side to the core, and as much as I hate everything about the system, it’s useless because the book was obviously not from the modern times😭.

And can we take a minute for Mr Standish here?? Charming. Hilarious. A perfect friend and a lover. And an absolute sweetheart! Additionally, I don’t usually expect much when it comes to smut from this genre, but to my surprise, it was very interesting. I really prefer the characters mature and aware of what they are doing because if you don’t you might cover the headlines of tomorrow’s paper!

Had it been any other timezone, I’d have been thoroughly disappointed with how things ended for every character. But given that, and the issue the whole book was about, I believe it was justified and most rational thing to happen.

Thankyou so much Xpresso Book tours and netgalley for sending the e-copy my way!! I appreciate it!

[THE WORST WOMAN IN LONDON COMES FEB 2, 2023!!]

I wanted to enjoy this but was overly unimpressed with the relationships, the dynamic, and the plot felt convoluted.

This was not what I expected.
Contains spoilers.
This book was not the romance I expected at all. I read the description, but I still, for some reason, thought this would be a heart warming tale of happy ever after. There were two happy endings, but the way to get there was so round about. I was looking for a nice romance which was light hearted, and this book was more of a drama or historical fiction.
The story opened with the hero being invited to his best friend's fiance's house to meet her. He thinks that he was not impressed by the fiance'. He describes her as being a typical young lady, dressed as a doll. And he is actually more interested in her aunt, because he usually dallies with older woman. But as he speaks to his friend's fiance', he thinks that they do not go well together and do not know each other. He actually changes his opinion about the fiance', and sees a different side to her.
I did not like the infidelity of this story. A couple falls in love and within two years, they are unable to be in the same room. They both have affairs and both have bad reputations. Of course, it is okay for the man to have affairs, but not the women. The hero in this case, is actually the best friend of the groom. The heroine is the bride. The groom does find love, but only after they both go through a horrible and public divorce. The heroine will not be received in polite society any more, and her ex husband is able to find a young lady he wants to marry. The ex husband had to create another scandal to get the young lady of his dreams and when she asks about all of his affairs, he says, "it will be different with you." What a line!!
But some people may feel that this is a good story because both the bride and the groom were able to find happiness with different spouses. I did not like this. I want to read a story where the couple is able to work together to keep their love and attraction alive. I gave this 2.5 stars. I do not recommend reading, unless you are in the mood for a very drama filled, intense story.

This is a new writer for me and I really loved her book . It has amazing charachers and plot . We have a couple in 1882 who after ten years of marriage the wife want a divorce because her husband was unfaithful from the beggining of their marriage . When her husband sends his best friend to talk to her insted of him she and James form a friendship . While they try to be friendly they can't stop their real feeling . Will she be able to divorce and get her happy end or not ?
I received this book from net galley and the publisher as an ARC. Thank you! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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!

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