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A review by amyvl93
Reputation by Lex Croucher
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I wanted to love this so much more than I did, Bridgerton is a guilty pleasure and I was hoping that this would fill its gap in my life and I've followed Lex online for years so was quite optimistic. However, Reputation didn't quite hit for me.
Our protagonist is Georgiana Ellers, a young woman of mediocre means who has moved in with her aunt and uncle, the Burtons, as her hands-off parents move to the coast to help with her mother's ill health. Georgiana is taken under the wing of local wealthy party girl Frances Campbell and is transported into a world of wild parties alongside Frances' friends, but (as is always the way) it turns out there are costs to popularity.
I think my main issue with Reputation is that it didn't really seem to know its audience. A lot of this novel reads like YA fiction (which the cover would probably better suit), which would have been fine if it was marketed at younger readers. It also attempts to tackle some quite dark issues - but these are only very lightly touched upon - again, making it feel both more like it was aimed at younger readers and also like Croucher slightly forgot the amount of threads she was opening. The anachronisms in here in terms of speech and partying didn't bother me as much as other readers - but I do agree that the no consequences vibes of the lives of the wealthy felt a little extreme - whilst it is true that wealth does protect some actions, many wealthy women would still be married off to avoid a scandal for their families.
Speaking of wealthy women, in terms of characters - Croucher does play with a more diverse cast of characters, both in terms of race and sexuality. As a protagonist Georgiana is a tad beige, we're told she's incredibly well read and witty but we don't see very much of that outside of her letters to her love interest - however, even with her infuriating behaviour I didn't dislike her. Frances is by far the most interesting character, even if there are aspects of her personality that we only scrub the surface of. The rest of the supporting cast feel a tad underwritten - we've got a clutzy, cringey neighbour, airhead friend, bitter lesbian, lonely gay man, various cads and a quiet gentleman.
Saying all this, it was a fun enough read and definitely went some way to filling the fun historical drama hole in my life, but you could always just re-watch Mean Girls.
Our protagonist is Georgiana Ellers, a young woman of mediocre means who has moved in with her aunt and uncle, the Burtons, as her hands-off parents move to the coast to help with her mother's ill health. Georgiana is taken under the wing of local wealthy party girl Frances Campbell and is transported into a world of wild parties alongside Frances' friends, but (as is always the way) it turns out there are costs to popularity.
I think my main issue with Reputation is that it didn't really seem to know its audience. A lot of this novel reads like YA fiction (which the cover would probably better suit), which would have been fine if it was marketed at younger readers. It also attempts to tackle some quite dark issues - but these are only very lightly touched upon - again, making it feel both more like it was aimed at younger readers and also like Croucher slightly forgot the amount of threads she was opening. The anachronisms in here in terms of speech and partying didn't bother me as much as other readers - but I do agree that the no consequences vibes of the lives of the wealthy felt a little extreme - whilst it is true that wealth does protect some actions, many wealthy women would still be married off to avoid a scandal for their families.
Speaking of wealthy women, in terms of characters - Croucher does play with a more diverse cast of characters, both in terms of race and sexuality. As a protagonist Georgiana is a tad beige, we're told she's incredibly well read and witty but we don't see very much of that outside of her letters to her love interest - however, even with her infuriating behaviour I didn't dislike her. Frances is by far the most interesting character, even if there are aspects of her personality that we only scrub the surface of. The rest of the supporting cast feel a tad underwritten - we've got a clutzy, cringey neighbour, airhead friend, bitter lesbian, lonely gay man, various cads and a quiet gentleman.
Saying all this, it was a fun enough read and definitely went some way to filling the fun historical drama hole in my life, but you could always just re-watch Mean Girls.