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aeopritchard's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Grief, Sexual assault, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Death of parent, Vomit, Blood, Rape, and Drug use
allisonwonderlandreads's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Inspired by Mean Girls, this regency story has all the casual cruelty and grappling for social currency that one would expect. The references are complete with a chapter that begins, "Get in, Georgiana. We're going shopping." Frances Campbell is our Queen Bee, and protagonist Georgiana is eager to become her latest sycophant, wanting an injection of reckless fun into her boring summer. The book showcases characters with a complete disregard for social norms whereas most regency romps only manage tepid or pointed departures from what is socially acceptable. Envision illicit drugs of all types, nude frolicking, and a complete lack of chaperones. The story takes a look at how a certain level of class and money excuses all else. The constraints on the behavior of middle and lower-class persons are mere suggestions for the elite, easy to ignore when the consequences are so ephemeral. This is another way it sets itself apart from historical fiction that emphasizes social pressures on aristocrats.
The story has a quick, biting wit akin to Georgiana's own subversive, barbed remarks. Several funny asides made me laugh aloud. Also, letter banter is the BEST banter, and this one delivers in that category 100%. I was unconvinced of the central romance plot til the correspondence started up halfway through, and then I suddenly found myself on board. It was that high quality.
While reading, my stress level was high, even though I knew all the bad decisions and situations were building up to a lesson to be learned. It comes at a steep price for many characters involved. The emphasis on needing to be cool or seem above everyone else made me cringe, with side helpings of peer pressure and harassment, bullying and exclusionary tactics. Add in quick judgments and nasty put-downs to make oneself feel superior. It offers a deep view of the root causes of the characters' behaviors. For example, our protagonist Georgiana is spinning out in bitter rebellion after being abandoned by cold, distant parents. She seeks affection and belonging at any cost.
There are several content warnings of note for this story: sexual assault on-page and other incidents that occur off-page with physical and psychological harm explored, gaslighting and victim-blaming following claims of assault, racism and slavery, homophobia/lesbophobia, domestic abuse, toxic relationships, a lot of alcohol and other substance abuse, and parental neglect. The author takes a worthy stand on the proper response to assault claims and offers a glimpse into a diverse regency world hampered by prejudice but not whitewashed or offering queer characters as mere sidekicks. It's an interesting book that manages to be difficult to read at some points, uproariously funny at others, sometimes reflective and other times barreling forward. It was a compelling read, and I am curious to see what the author does next.
The story has a quick, biting wit akin to Georgiana's own subversive, barbed remarks. Several funny asides made me laugh aloud. Also, letter banter is the BEST banter, and this one delivers in that category 100%. I was unconvinced of the central romance plot til the correspondence started up halfway through, and then I suddenly found myself on board. It was that high quality.
While reading, my stress level was high, even though I knew all the bad decisions and situations were building up to a lesson to be learned. It comes at a steep price for many characters involved. The emphasis on needing to be cool or seem above everyone else made me cringe, with side helpings of peer pressure and harassment, bullying and exclusionary tactics. Add in quick judgments and nasty put-downs to make oneself feel superior. It offers a deep view of the root causes of the characters' behaviors. For example, our protagonist Georgiana is spinning out in bitter rebellion after being abandoned by cold, distant parents. She seeks affection and belonging at any cost.
There are several content warnings of note for this story: sexual assault on-page and other incidents that occur off-page with physical and psychological harm explored, gaslighting and victim-blaming following claims of assault, racism and slavery, homophobia/lesbophobia, domestic abuse, toxic relationships, a lot of alcohol and other substance abuse, and parental neglect. The author takes a worthy stand on the proper response to assault claims and offers a glimpse into a diverse regency world hampered by prejudice but not whitewashed or offering queer characters as mere sidekicks. It's an interesting book that manages to be difficult to read at some points, uproariously funny at others, sometimes reflective and other times barreling forward. It was a compelling read, and I am curious to see what the author does next.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, Bullying, Classism, Sexual assault, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Domestic abuse, and Homophobia
Minor: Colonisation, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Slavery, and Animal cruelty
theinkedpath's review against another edition
dark
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
ES:
Me hubiera gustado que me encantase, pero no ha sido así.
EN:
I feel very disappointed. I was struggling to finish it.
Me hubiera gustado que me encantase, pero no ha sido así.
EN:
I feel very disappointed. I was struggling to finish it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Drug use, Homophobia, Racism, Rape, and Toxic friendship
jacq_benoit's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Bullying, Sexual violence, Drug use, and Sexual assault
Minor: Abandonment, Rape, and Domestic abuse
briannareads1342's review against another edition
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Drug use, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Rape, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
km_loves_books's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
If you ever wondered what it would be like if Mean Girls was set in Regency England, this book is for you.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Drug abuse, Alcohol, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Cursing
Minor: Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual harassment
spaghettireads's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Thank you to Netgalley & St. Martin's Press for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
This is the sort of book that I did relatively enjoy while reading it, but when I think back to it, it really doesn't hold up. This book tries to cover a lot, and I think it doing so it falls short on covering big plot points meaningfully. It is advertised as being a queer and diverse regency era rom-com, however the diversity in the story really felt quite surface level. It doesn't feel like the author really looked into the experiences of BIPOC people in regency era to be able to write their experiences meaningfully in this book. The queer representation was better but still falls short in my opinion (one of the queer characters is probably the least developed in the whole friend group).
Not being an expert in the time period, this still really felt like there was no desire to make the world historically accurate at all. It just doesn't seem believable that there would be no consequences to the main characters' actions, especially regarding the amount of drug use and unsupervised outings. It felt like modern times basically just set in the English countryside wearing regency dresses and where the characters are on a social media break.
I don't want to get into spoilers, but I don't feel like the sexual assault plot was handled very well either. Again, it is very surface level and doesn't do justice to the severity of the topic.
I would not recommend this, there must be other fun historical romances that would be better.
This is the sort of book that I did relatively enjoy while reading it, but when I think back to it, it really doesn't hold up. This book tries to cover a lot, and I think it doing so it falls short on covering big plot points meaningfully. It is advertised as being a queer and diverse regency era rom-com, however the diversity in the story really felt quite surface level. It doesn't feel like the author really looked into the experiences of BIPOC people in regency era to be able to write their experiences meaningfully in this book. The queer representation was better but still falls short in my opinion (one of the queer characters is probably the least developed in the whole friend group).
Not being an expert in the time period, this still really felt like there was no desire to make the world historically accurate at all. It just doesn't seem believable that there would be no consequences to the main characters' actions, especially regarding the amount of drug use and unsupervised outings. It felt like modern times basically just set in the English countryside wearing regency dresses and where the characters are on a social media break.
I don't want to get into spoilers, but I don't feel like the sexual assault plot was handled very well either. Again, it is very surface level and doesn't do justice to the severity of the topic.
I would not recommend this, there must be other fun historical romances that would be better.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
Moderate: Rape
afarinfallahi's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This is not the genre of book I would usually go for (romance just isn’t my thing, and I feel like I was the only woman on the planet who just couldn’t get into Bridgerton) so I approached this with a combination of curiosity and trepidation. And I was pleasantly surprised to find that I thoroughly enjoyed it and could not put it down.
I think it’s a testament to Lex Croucher’s writing that I found myself rooting for such a flawed main character (and her very swoon-worthy love interest!), and despite the fact that the book uses quite a few predictable romcom tropes throughout, it felt like a refreshing, funny, clever take on the genre.
I also really appreciated the feminist retelling of some of the conflicts that happened throughout the novel, as well as the (albeit brief) mentions of British history that didn’t try to sugar-coat the role the British Empire played in colonialism and the slave trade.
The fact that this book is marketed as a Regency-era Mean Girls - while very accurate in some respects - does it a bit of a disservice, in my opinion, as it goes much deeper than your typical Jane Austen-inspired romance novel or teen movie. I’m really looking forward to seeing what Lex Croucher comes up with next.
I think it’s a testament to Lex Croucher’s writing that I found myself rooting for such a flawed main character (and her very swoon-worthy love interest!), and despite the fact that the book uses quite a few predictable romcom tropes throughout, it felt like a refreshing, funny, clever take on the genre.
I also really appreciated the feminist retelling of some of the conflicts that happened throughout the novel, as well as the (albeit brief) mentions of British history that didn’t try to sugar-coat the role the British Empire played in colonialism and the slave trade.
The fact that this book is marketed as a Regency-era Mean Girls - while very accurate in some respects - does it a bit of a disservice, in my opinion, as it goes much deeper than your typical Jane Austen-inspired romance novel or teen movie. I’m really looking forward to seeing what Lex Croucher comes up with next.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment
pipn_t's review against another edition
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
It was well written, but it wasn’t really my sort of thing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Alcohol, and Classism
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Domestic abuse and Infidelity
tc_booksandmore's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol and Drug use
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Toxic friendship, Rape, and Cursing
Minor: Abandonment, Emotional abuse, and Racism