Book: Reputation: A Novel by Lex Croucher
Reviewed by Desi Disassociates
Rating: 4/5
When her parents sell their home to move to the coast, Georgiana Ellers moves in with her aunt and uncle to stay closer to the city. As a young woman of little to no standing, she was extremely excited to meet and click with Frances Campbell at a party. Never one to have a large group of friends, Georgiana immediately falls into the wonder of the upper echelon and attends loads of parties and events with Frances and her friends. Always a rule follower, she doesn't expect the debauchery that they get into with minimal consequence, something she could never expect at her station.
When she meets a man at one of the parties, he stands out for more ways than one. Mr. Thomas Hawksley is quiet, doesn't engage in the parties, and is always running into Georgiana in her moments of embarrassment. But the more she spends time around him, the more she realizes she quite enjoys his company, and the more she wants to be the type of person he'd be interested in.
Bridgerton meets Mean Girls is the absolute perfect way to describe this book, with a tiny bit of Fresh Prince of Bel-Air mixed in. I have to say, while I enjoyed this novel, I wouldn't really consider this a rom-com. There were a lot of darker topics of the Regency era (check your triggers) and I didn't find myself laughing really at anything but one part. Either way, I enjoyed Georgiana's journey through high society to finding herself, but I seriously almost DNF'd this book at 80%. The patriarchal BS of the time sent me into a rage, but I quite enjoyed the ending of the story regardless. I'm glad I didn't rage quit.
This was a fun historical fiction and I'd definitely read more from this author.