A review by beccaontheinternet
A Scholar of Beauty by Jen Lynning

4.0

I thought this was a great addition to the series! While you can certainly read it as a standalone, there are many references to the first two books that give more context to some of the plot points and characters in this one. The romance was cute, the writing was sweet and witty, and this book really expanded on the mechanics of the world building in a way that was missing in the other two and very cool. I also really appreciated the well roundedness of the characters and how much women supporting other women there was! The book passed the bechdel test which is surprisingly rare for romance novels. The couple of things I think could have been done better are, first, the fact that the jump from the FMC not being sure about the MMC wasn’t as smooth as it could have been. I wish there had been more like small moments that built up to that, as well as more building up to the big action plot point at the end. Second, I also have reservations about how often gambling is in each of the books. While this book, and the first one in the series, certainly show people who have suffered from gambling, the characters also rely on it a lot and it seems a little like glorification? On the other hand, I really love the way the author uses this and her world mechanics to discuss equity and equality.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.