What a sllloooowww burn romance. This may just not be my genre but nothing interesting happened until the last 30% of the book. I did enjoy the characters themselves and the ending enough but ehhhh. I was hoping for more action throughout the book.

If you want to smile - just READ THIS ASAP! You'd be extremely hard pressed to find a better grumpy-sunshine spicy historical rom-com than this utter GEM from Virginia Heath! How has Hollywood not realized the utter goldmine her books are? I could not put this book down! It totally captured me and I am jealous of everyone who gets to read it for the first time!

Lottie and Guy have a mesmerizing love-hate relationship with so many meet cutes and romantic foibles. After running into each other (literally) in Hyde Park and again when Lottie is hired as his aunt's companion, Guy starts to feel his ice-cold heart warm up. After embarrassing himself years ago with a public proposal and being refused he's built-up walls and hidden from society by burying himself in his country estate work and horse breeding. Lottie takes a job as a lady's companion to help her family's failing farm and is surprised to find the very same man she fought with in Hyde Park is a kind, hunky Viscount and nephew to her employer.

When Guy's mother, Aunt and (under duress) Lottie decide to plan him a surprise birthday party and invite a bunch of eligible young ladies in hope of tempting him to the alter and out from under his gloomy cloud - hilarious and spicy shenanigans ensue. What follows is a wonderful story of finding the right person and learning to trust your heart again. The secondary characters are all wonderfully written and like co-conspirators with the reader - totally rooting for a HEA for the couple. I especially appreciated Guy's head groom Bill and his aunt's butler Longbottom.

I cannot stress enough how GREAT of a historical rom-com this is. Like all of Heath's books - it will not let you down and will leave you sighing for more.

This book perfectly fits with what I have come to expect from Virginia Heath - funny and clever banter, excellent side characters who enrich the overall story, and sexy, swoony romance that manages to be open door without getting too explicit. This is a great addition to 2025's "Horse Girl Summer" as well, with a great subplot around Guy and Lottie's mutual love and appreciation for horses. Great fun and strongly recommended!

This series reminds me why I absolutely love historical romance! There’s something about a forbidden or secret relationship that gets me every time!

This story follows Lottie who is a student at Miss Prentice’s school for young Ladies. She tries to be the perfect governess but somehow continues to not live up to her employers standards. Until she meets Lady Almeria. Lottie’s forth rite, impulsive behavior makes a great impression and leads her right into Viscount Guy Harrowby’s house.

Guy and Lottie’s interactions even from the beginning were intense. The attraction was undeniable and their banter filled conversations were so fun. The side characters added the perfect amount of drama and entertainment. Guys mom and aunts meddling was the perfect addition to the story.

As the next book in this series, Lottie and Guy make a fantastic couple. Not many men can handle a strong willed woman and Guy does so with finesse.

4⭐️
A country girl turned ladies companion whose trying to conform to the strict rules of the Ton (and failing) and a Viscount who eschews all society and much prefers the country, find themselves stuck under the same roof when his mother decides it’s well past time for him to find a wife. A little bit of mischief, a house full of eligible young ladies, some meddling relations, a shared love of horses and a good bit of banter brings these opposites together.

I love a book with a well written and well rounded female lead (something that doesn’t always happen in a historical) and this book provides that. I really appreciated that Lottie was fully aware of her own strengths and shortcomings and unafraid to verbally spar with her “betters.” What I enjoy maybe even more is a feisty (read: gives zero F’s) older woman who’s so over everyone else’s nonsense she’s going to take matters into her own hands. Aunt Almeria played the part to perfection. She’s blunt to the point of rudeness but also sees exactly what’s going on and secretly has a soft spot for those she loves.
I mean, the way I snorted…
“Horses I can stand. The fetid aroma of burning martyr I cannot. Now get your moping carcass out of that chair and go be the host your mother’s efforts deserve.”
I also enjoyed her long suffering butler who I kept hoping would turn out to be her longtime secret lover- this didn’t happen and I’m a little sad about it.
Anyway… the cast of side characters was great including Bill, the groom, and even the insufferable “sycophantic, thwarted, scheming, abhorrent social climbers.”
The book was a quick fun read with great banter.

This book just didn’t work for me. The surprise party seemed out of place and the main conflict just needed a solid conversation.
It’s well written and many of the side characters are great. It just went for me.

What an absolute delight this novel was. Wonderful tension, phenomenal banter, a headstrong female lead, and a grumpy secret soft boy male lead.

We follow Lottie Travers, the youngest in her family full of brothers, and a daughter of a farmer. She has recently been let go from yet another governess position after joy riding on one of her employers horses...again. She lands herself as a lady's companion to Lady Frinton, a delightfully crotchety older woman who knows what she likes and dislikes. A quick change in plans has Lottie and Lady Frinton heading to the house of Lady Frinton's sister and nephew, Guy Harrowby, to help plan a surprise 30th birthday for him in the hopes of finding him a wife.

I had such a fun time with Lottie and Guy! Their bickering and banter provided the perfect string of tension that you were just waiting to snap. Lottie is confident and bucks against the system while Guy holds a viscount status while wishing he could just be a farmer. This grumpy/sunshine dynamic was so fun to watch unfold.

There were some modern idioms that were used that took me out of this story slightly and the ending felt a little rushed after an incredible tension build, but overall this was a delightful read and I am looking forward to reading more from Virginia Health.

Thank you to NetGalley, Virginia Health, and St. Martin's Press for this ARC!

Thank you to UpLit Reads and SMP Romance for the free book. These opinions are my own.

This rom com made me laugh out loud so many times. From the initial meet disaster to the many machinations of family, Look Before You Leap was absolutely hilarious.

Guy is a nobleman who tries to avoid society after a disastrously embarrassing proposal gone wrong when he was a young man. Now his mother is determined to get him married and starting to give her grandchildren for his thirtieth party. She plots and plans with her sister Lady Frinton. And Lottie is along for the ride as Lady Frinton's companion.

I loved the feeling that the two main characters really did connect emotionally. They had such shared values and interests (horses!!!). And I loved seeing those grow over time. And the ending of this book was absolute perfection. This brought such a smile to my face, and I highly recommend it.

It's the second book in Miss Prentice's Protegees. It's fun to revisit Miss Prentice and other previous characters, but this can be read as a stand alone.

4.5 stars rounded up

I adore Virginia Heath's writing and this was no exception. Though I missed the first in this series I will be going back and I can't wait to see what comes next for this wonderful ladies!

Lottie and Guy appear to vastly different on the surface: sunshine/stormy, servant/viscount, and poor/wealthy, but where it counts they lined up. Their love of horses, Kent, and people brought them together. The daughter of a farmer, Lottie is perfect for the country-focused Guy who works alongside his tenants and fights for them. Their banter is delightful and the smile I had on my face for the last 100 pages of this book will not be assuaged.

Even Guy's meddling mother and vicious Aunt were beyond delightful by the end. I hope we get snippets of these two in other books as I don't want to leave them after this one.

4/4.5 stars

This is the second in a series but can be read as standalones. I didn’t read the first book and had no problems following in this book.

What a meet cute, I find myself becoming an increasing fan of the not so meet cute and this was one of my favorites. Lord Guy and Lottie were well written and entertaining characters. Especially Lottie, I loved seeing such a strong confident female character especially in this time period. Their banter was top notch and loved how perfectly their opposites attracted.

Overall a really cute and entertaining read, especially for banter lovers.

Read if you love:
❤️ Enemies to lover
☀️ Grumpy / sunshine
🐴 Horses
⭐️ Regency era

Thank you Uplit, SMP Romance and Netgalley for my review copies!

I adored this regency romance filled with banter and main characters that have independent streaks. This is filled with everything I like in a book, enemies to lovers, banter, and interesting characters and situations that made me laugh. Lottie and Guy were main characters that I liked, independent from the rules of Society, kind, and close to their family. Their connection was apparent from their very first encounter and watching it grow and evolve gave me all the feels. The additional characters added depth and interest. I especially enjoyed Lady Almeria Winthrop, the Dowager Viscountess of Frinton, her gruffness, meddling, and the interactions with her staff made me smile. This is part of the Miss Prentice’s Protegees series but works as a stand alone. I highly recommend this book to readers that enjoy Regency romance that make them smile.

n this regency romance (and the second book in the series, Miss Prentice's Protegees), we have Lord Guy Harrowby and his Aunt's companion Lottie Travers. Guy has had his heart broken in a most humiliating way. Lottie however is a bit unconventional, she grew up on a farm and loves horses - but she does not let herself get pushed around by anyone (which sometimes gets her into trouble), not the best person for a wealthy woman’s companion who is supposed to be a perfect lady at all times. Of course these two feel sparks fly between them and try to fight their feelings (because otherwise would this even be a regency romance?).

I don't read a lot of this particular genre but I did read the first in the series and thought it was cute, and I will eagerly read the next in the series (if there is one) as well. Since Bridgerton is going to take its sweet time coming back to Netflix, this was the perfect fix for me. I loved all of the characters and their intra dynamics and read this one so quickly I was surprised when it was over. I listened to about 1/4 of it and the narrators were great (you always need a male and a female narrator for these types of books) I would have happily listened to more but it was a poolside reading day (and my husband gets annoyed if my airpods are in and he's trying to have an actual conversation with me).

Thank you to St Martins and NetGalley for the ARC to review

Virginia Heath is such a master of the historical romcom, and Look Before You Leap maintains her status as one of my favorite historical romance authors!

This novel is the second in her series centering around a close friend group of protégées of the famous governess trainer Miss Prentice. This novel stars Lottie Travers, who grew up among her brothers on their farm in Kent where she developed her love of horse riding—a love that has landed her in trouble many times over. In that vein, she encounters the Viscount Lord Guy Harrowby when the two riders collide on an early morning ride. Tensions are high, and Guy and Lottie exchange barbs in the heat of the moment, seeding an animosity that becomes a real problem when Lottie is hired as a lady’s maid to Guy’s notoriously difficult aunt, the widow Lady Frinton.

In her new employment, Lottie is roped into a scheme to force Lord Harrowby to marry when his mother and aunt invite dozens of eligible debutantes to his Kent estate to win his hand. As in any great Virginia Heath romance, shenanigans ensue, but so do many moments that force Lottie and Guy to drop their facade of animosity and become vulnerable enough with each other to let real feelings grow.

I really loved this romance—the characters are fully fleshed out, the plot is fun, the humor is genuinely funny, and the romance is so swoony and sweet. It was a really solid 4.5 star romance for me and I can’t wait to continue reading the rest of this series!

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for a free eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you @uplitreads @virginiaheathwrites and @stmartinspress for the gifted book!

𝗧𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲: Look Before You Leap (Miss Prentice’s Protegees 2)
𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿: Virginia Heath
𝗣𝘂𝗯 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗲: June 24, 2025
5⭐️

🩵 𝙈𝙮 𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 🩵
This was such a fun, lighthearted regency era read! It has enemies to lovers, hilarious moments, and a fun storyline. Lottie is a governess from the well respected school of Miss Prentice’s School for Girls. She is a wild, tall young lady who would rather be riding horses than being a proper lady. She gets caught riding horses one too many times and ends up with a job as a companion to a particular older lady, who is venturing to her nephews estate to help his mother.

Enter the nephew, grumpy Viscount Guy. He is turning 30 and his mother is determined to throw him a party. When Lottie shows up, he is thrown for a loop and tensions run high. Lottie has to help his mom and aunt with the secret party plans while avoiding the grumpy Viscount.

I loved the fun tension between Lottie and Guy, and all their hilarious, messy run ins. Lottie has a fun spirited personality, and Guy has been so withdrawn from people for almost a decade that he is pulled to it.

I love the horse adventures in this story, they were a fun complement to the main characters. The debutantes vying for Guys attention were also hilarious and I could picture them vividly as they would do whatever to attract him.

I love the sweet moments between the two and then fun ending. This story was a great mix of hilarious romcom moments and sweet moments!

I can’t wait for the next book in this fun Regency series!

𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚:
💚 Regency Era Romance
🩵 Governess/Viscount
💚 Enemies to Lovers
🩵 Grumpy Sunshine
💚 Wild, Horse-Riding FMC

➡️ Instagram Book Review to be shared by July 24

The second in the Miss Prentice's Protegees series, Look Before You Leap is full of witty banter, humor, and a fun romance. Lottie and Guy were made for each other, and there simmering sexual tension GULP!

Fans of historical romances will enjoy this steamy love story.

Thank you St. Martin's Press | St. Martin's Griffin

This second romance in the “Miss Prentice’s Protégées” series has it all, including class differences, attraction between opposites, & love of horses and horseback riding! Lottie and Guy are delightful main characters and it was a pleasure to follow the twists and turns on their journey to a happy ending.

Look Before You Leap was such a breath of fresh air!

To start, Guy is unlike any HistRom hero I’ve read lately. Sure, he is misguided and tortured and believes he doesn’t deserve love - just like the rest of them.

Sure, he is not interested in silly debutantes that he can’t have a conversation with and only wants a feisty woman who will challenge him - just like the rest of them.

BUT the moment Guy realizes the depth of his feelings for Lottie: he acts. Not only that, but he immediately recognizes her worth and pays no heed to their class differences. He’s a man that knows what he wants and I was charmed by it.

Lottie is bold, unapologetic and the perfect companion for the eccentric Lady Frinton. Like Guy, I found her character so genuine - the perfect combination of the characteristics we love in a HistRom FMC - that I couldn’t help but adore her and wish her happiness.

Look Before You Leap is primarily set at a house party in Kent and continues the Miss Prentice’s Protégés series.

Here’s what you can expect from this read:

- Slow Burn
- “Enemies” to lovers
- Found family
- Meddling aunt and mama
- Shared love of horses/racing
- Focus on farming and the agricultural side of running an estate (think West Ravenel, you’re welcome!)
- Accidental drenching in a lake
- Some of the most delightful side characters I’ve read in years (I’m looking at you, Bill and Aunt Almeria)

Growing up on a farm with her brothers, Lottie has never been able to control her wild side. Lottie has once again found herself disgraced from another governess position and as a last resort has reluctantly agreed to be Lady Almeria Winthrop’s companion, whose nephew just happens to be Viscount Wennington. The man who Lottie just had a dawn riding collision with in the park. When Guy agrees to celebrate his thirtieth birthday at his country estate his mother and aunt invite debutantes and their mothers to help coerce Guy into marrying. As Lottie entertains herself preparing for Guy’s birthday and inserting herself into the debutant drama, Guy realizes how much he has fallen for Lottie and her wild side. But will Guy be ruthlessly ensnared by one of the other debutants? Or will he follow his heart?

As expected Virginia Heath delivers a witty and humorous historical romance that is endlessly entertaining.

As a disclaimer, I DNFed this book so my review is based off of what I did read. I was honestly just not hooked by what I did read and really wasn't encouraged to continue.