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now_booking 's review for:
A Lady's Guide to Fortune-Hunting
by Sophie Irwin
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
On the balance of things I enjoyed this historical romance at in the tin. It’s been a while since I read this sub-genre, but even then this irreverent take on fortune hunting pulling in women’s agency felt fresh and unique and stood out amidst the usual historical romance where agency is usually solely tied to beauty, banter and class status.
In this romance, Kitty has been jilted after the death of her father, being now solely responsible for her 4 younger sisters and her father’s large gambling death, leaving them on the cusp of destitution, homelessness and ruin. Kitty the daughter of a disgraced son of high society who lost his standing when he married an actress, doesn’t have the required entree into the society she needs to find a rich husband. Yet despite what everyone says about the impossibility of the task, she takes it upon herself to rise to the highest levels of the ton to secure her rich husband. As a character, Kitty was incredibly driven and well-developed. Which is why I found it such a pity she ended up with Radcliffe.
The issue with Radcliffe is that he, by comparison, felt underdeveloped and immature. The only thing he had to offer was banter with the heroine. He wasn’t an “attractive” (personality-wise) hero at all. His PTSD from the war wasn’t dealt with sufficiently to match his avoidance of responsibility to his siblings beyond the bare minimum… which would have not been a problem if it hadn’t contrasted so significantly with Kitty’s dedication and high sense of responsibility. Yes in the end, they rescue one another, but you sort of think Kitty deserves more- someone who will care as deeply as she does and go as hard as she does for those she loves.
Another issue I had with this was that Kitty really had no one. Throughout the book, it’s like everyone is spoiled and thoughtless including her own sisters, her love interests, her “aunt”, her late father and mother, and at times it just felt a bit too much- like she was the only one in the book with sense, care, ideas… in that sense she was a very lonely character in this book.
I won’t talk about all the Deus ex Machina moments of incredible luck and happenstance and convenience that happen in this book to keep the plot ticking along because if anyone worked hard for those moments it was Kitty and she certainly deserved all the luck that was written for her. But there will be some need to suspend disbelief.
All this to say that while this wasn’t perfect to me, I think it’s an important addition to the genre in the way it contextualises belonging in high society in the context of social class, gender, and family responsibility while still skating within the rink of a the regency historical romance genre.
In this romance, Kitty has been jilted after the death of her father, being now solely responsible for her 4 younger sisters and her father’s large gambling death, leaving them on the cusp of destitution, homelessness and ruin. Kitty the daughter of a disgraced son of high society who lost his standing when he married an actress, doesn’t have the required entree into the society she needs to find a rich husband. Yet despite what everyone says about the impossibility of the task, she takes it upon herself to rise to the highest levels of the ton to secure her rich husband. As a character, Kitty was incredibly driven and well-developed. Which is why I found it such a pity she ended up with Radcliffe.
The issue with Radcliffe is that he, by comparison, felt underdeveloped and immature. The only thing he had to offer was banter with the heroine. He wasn’t an “attractive” (personality-wise) hero at all. His PTSD from the war wasn’t dealt with sufficiently to match his avoidance of responsibility to his siblings beyond the bare minimum… which would have not been a problem if it hadn’t contrasted so significantly with Kitty’s dedication and high sense of responsibility. Yes in the end, they rescue one another, but you sort of think Kitty deserves more- someone who will care as deeply as she does and go as hard as she does for those she loves.
Another issue I had with this was that Kitty really had no one. Throughout the book, it’s like everyone is spoiled and thoughtless including her own sisters, her love interests, her “aunt”, her late father and mother, and at times it just felt a bit too much- like she was the only one in the book with sense, care, ideas… in that sense she was a very lonely character in this book.
I won’t talk about all the Deus ex Machina moments of incredible luck and happenstance and convenience that happen in this book to keep the plot ticking along because if anyone worked hard for those moments it was Kitty and she certainly deserved all the luck that was written for her. But there will be some need to suspend disbelief.
All this to say that while this wasn’t perfect to me, I think it’s an important addition to the genre in the way it contextualises belonging in high society in the context of social class, gender, and family responsibility while still skating within the rink of a the regency historical romance genre.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, Classism
Moderate: Toxic friendship
Minor: Gun violence, Toxic relationship