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booksalacarte's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
3.5⭐️ 3🌶️(spice)
A defiant Victorian wife fights to escape a bad marriage but her love for a forbidden man jeopardizes her chance at freedom.
Francesca is determined to flout convention and divorce her philandering husband. When James, her husband’s oldest friend, sweet talks his way into her life tasked with convincing her to abandon her dream of freedom, she’s unprepared for the passion that flares between them.
Torn apart by conflicting desires, James and Francesca must choose whether to keep chasing the lives they’ve always wanted or take a chance on a new and forbidden love
——————
✨My Opinion✨
The worst woman in London was a friends to lovers, regency romance that features the love story of the main characters as well as showing a side of history that isn’t in historical romance novels often. Never did I think reading about a historical romance novel about divorce would actually be enjoyable, but the main characters were well written. Their flaws and character arcs were relatable and real, giving modern sensibilities to historical characters.
This almost felt like 2 books in one, with the secondary couple’s romance happening alongside the FMC and MMC. While the happy ever after wasn’t necessarily deserved all around, It was really well done and placed societal expectations as the true “big bad”. It showed some idiocy through the process of a marriage ending that felt modern and accurate without being over the top. It seemed as if it was well researched and that the plot was pointing out the issues of historical marriage law without changing the realism of the character’s situations. I liked seeing things play out for both couples and didn’t feel as if I missed any plot because of it.
Thank you NetGalley and Julia Bennett for the advanced reader copy of The Worst Woman in London in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Infidelity, and Misogyny
Minor: Infertility
sophs_mood_reading's review
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
In Victorian London a unhappy wife in high society is expected to suffer her lot and make the most of her marriage. Francesca, however, has decided she is not this woman and has risked scandal and being cast out by society and family in order to divorce her adulterous husband Edward.
When James is sent by Edward to attempt to bribe Francesca to end this silly idea of divorce, he didn’t expect to fall for this strong headed woman. But can he risk his social standing and looming inheritance for such a woman.
Thus begins a tale of forbidden love and struggle for freedom.
A nice love story that highlights the lack of freedom and inequality faced by women of society in Victorian London.
Unfortunately for me although the story had bones I found it was very slow moving and couldn’t grip my attention. The side characters point of views broke up the main story and seemed more of a late add in. Plus it made me feel even more icky about Edward when I think the author may have wanted us to find ourselves more sympathetic towards him by the end of the novel.
I did enjoy Frans friendship with Caroline and her husband and their discussions. I just wished the book has a slightly faster pace to keep the reader focused.
In Victorian London a unhappy wife in high society is expected to suffer her lot and make the most of her marriage. Francesca, however, has decided she is not this woman and has risked scandal and being cast out by society and family in order to divorce her adulterous husband Edward.
When James is sent by Edward to attempt to bribe Francesca to end this silly idea of divorce, he didn’t expect to fall for this strong headed woman. But can he risk his social standing and looming inheritance for such a woman.
Thus begins a tale of forbidden love and struggle for freedom.
A nice love story that highlights the lack of freedom and inequality faced by women of society in Victorian London.
Unfortunately for me although the story had bones I found it was very slow moving and couldn’t grip my attention. The side characters point of views broke up the main story and seemed more of a late add in. Plus it made me feel even more icky about Edward when I think the author may have wanted us to find ourselves more sympathetic towards him by the end of the novel.
I did enjoy Frans friendship with Caroline and her husband and their discussions. I just wished the book has a slightly faster pace to keep the reader focused.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Infidelity and Infertility
Minor: Violence
nydhoggyr's review against another edition
challenging
funny
3.75
The Worst Woman in London is a friends-to-lovers story about Francesca, a scandalized lady who is fighting for a divorce in a bad marriage, and connects with her estranged husband's lackadaisical friend, James. It has MCs over 30, great banter, and a strong heroine for sure.
This may or may not be your kind of story, since it involves a husband, who, while estranged (and despicable in my opinion), is quite central and present in the story. On the other hand, it is fantastically written and fresh.
It started off strong in the first 30%, and I was really loving it. But then drags along past 35%, and starts to follow a 2nd couple, who... I don't know how the reader is supposed to be invested in at this point. One of the characters is very explicitly the antagonist of the story, and he wasn't written with redeeming qualities. And the other his literally half his age.
I really did enjoy the characters of James and Fran. The dialogue and banter between them was great. I liked the topics of divorce and independence, which you don't really get in historical romances. Overall the writing was very well done and engaging.
This may or may not be your kind of story, since it involves a husband, who, while estranged (and despicable in my opinion), is quite central and present in the story. On the other hand, it is fantastically written and fresh.
It started off strong in the first 30%, and I was really loving it. But then drags along past 35%, and starts to follow a 2nd couple, who... I don't know how the reader is supposed to be invested in at this point. One of the characters is very explicitly the antagonist of the story, and he wasn't written with redeeming qualities. And the other his literally half his age.
I really did enjoy the characters of James and Fran. The dialogue and banter between them was great. I liked the topics of divorce and independence, which you don't really get in historical romances. Overall the writing was very well done and engaging.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Infidelity
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