Name: maia's review of Reputation by Lex Croucher
Item: Reputation
Rating: 4
Author: maia

Lex Croucher

Abandoned by her parents, middle-class Georgiana Ellers has moved to a new town to live with her dreary aunt and uncle. At a particularly dull party, she meets the enigmatic Frances Campbell, a wealthy member of the in-crowd who lives a life Georgiana couldn't have imagined in her wildest dreams.

Lonely and vulnerable, Georgiana falls in with Frances and her unfathomably rich, deeply improper friends. Georgiana is introduced to a new world: drunken debauchery, mysterious young men with strangely arresting hands, and the upper echelons of Regency society.

But the price of entry to high society might just be higher than Georgiana is willing to pay ...

A Novel

Reputation

Abandoned by her parents, middle-class Georgiana Ellers has moved to a new town to live with her dreary aunt and uncle. At a particularly dull party, she meets the enigmatic Frances Campbell, a wealthy member of the in-crowd who lives a life Georgiana couldn't have imagined in her wildest dreams. Lonely and vulnerable, Georgiana falls in with Frances and her unfathomably rich, deeply improper friends. Georgiana is introduced to a new world: drunken debauchery, mysterious young men with strangely arresting hands, and the upper echelons of Regency society. But the price of entry to high society might just be higher than Georgiana is willing to pay.

fira

‘Georgiana—’ he began, but Georgiana cut him short. 

Mr Burton looked perplexed. ‘George?’

‘Yes, I would like to be addressed as George. That is what my friends call me, in any case.’

‘I can’t call you George,’ said Mr Burton incredulously. ‘The King’s name is George, for goodness’ sake!’

‘Never heard of him,’ said Georgiana, taking her apple with her as she left the table.

Genesis (@whisperingchapters)

maia

Francesca G

I just realised I didn't leave a review for this book when, in all honesty, I feel like everybody should know that this is most likely one of my favourite books EVER and most definitely my favourite book of the year so far

Joana da Silva

Ok, this was fun! I bought this one because one of the blurbs said that it seemed like Bridgerton and Fleabag had a kid, but I didn't find the Fleabag part. It's very Bridgerton meets Mean Girls and Pride and Prejudice, I'll give you that. I don't usually go for regency romances (although I did love Bridgerton, the tv show), but this one was so much fun. The characters were very interesting and so were their storylines. Although it's a period piece, it has some contemporary takes that really made this story much richer. A nice surprise!

Latitude Tamarind

Literally everyone in this book is kind of an asshole, which is, eh. I enjoyed the romance subplot a lot. I don’t watch Bridgerton or engage with a lot of Regency stuff, so I have no opinion on any of that; I thought the audiobook narrator was very good. I read about half of this via audiobook and then finished it via ebook, both of which I got from NetGalley, and I think they’re both good ways to experience the book! The narrator isn’t so incredible that you MUST read it via audiobook (UNLESS maybe you are a really intense Bridgerton fan).

Three stars because I would toss all of the characters into a lake. And not in an interesting or fun way.

evy 

Eliza Gonzalez

Note: I listened to this on audio, so I apologize if I've spelled the names wrong.

When I first began reading this story, I was enamored. The comparisons to Bridgerton are apt. It was a historical tale with a modern twist, something akin to Jane Austen with less propriety and more LGBT characters. It was a shoe-in for a 4 or 5 star rating, I thought.

I spent the first 35 percent of the book sure that I was reading about a regency era woman realizing her feelings and attraction for another woman. I know I am not the only person who got this impression. I was quickly disillusioned when it is revealed that Frances was already in a pseudo-relationship and Georgiana was apparently to pine over a man who she had scarcely shared a word with. (He was a boy, she was a girl, can I make it any more obvious? 🙄)

This not only disappointed me, but it angered me slightly. There was heavy implication that Georgiana was a wlw and was attracted to Frances and then it was very suddenly dropped and never touched on again. I now realize why I saw someone put "sapphic (?) mc" in their review.

I continued on, thinking that the characters and plot would still have me in for a relatively good time, but as the story trudged forward, I realized none of Frances' group was ever going to change for the better.

And that lead me to get angry once again, because the group is 3/4 LGB characters and the 1 (assumably) straight girl was the nicest of the bunch of them. If I am being unclear: I think it is negligent at best and hateful at worst to depict all of the non-straight characters as being morally corrupt. And yes, there was a terrible straight man in the story, but that does not detract from the point.

By the time the end rolled in, which was kind of ridiculously dramatized in a way that wasn't even fun, I was so sorely over this novel. Georgiana puts in the leg work of apologizing to those around her and trying to be a better person, but somehow still wants to be friends with people who were no true friends to her. Baffling.

Also, the actual romance we got was boring. Sure, the guy is nice, but there was no tension, nothing that made me even understand why these two were so drawn to each other. Macfadyen's hand clench as Mr. Darcy had more romantic tension and longing than the entirety of the relationship depicted in this book.

Plot Concept: 4/5
Plot Execution: 2/5
Pacing: 4/5
Writing: 4/5
Characters: 2/5
Romance: 1/5
Narration: 5/5
Overall Enjoyability: 2/5

Fine if you have your expectations set low. Terrible if you were expecting wlw romance, character development for the friend group, and a lead character who had a better head on her shoulders. 

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this novel in return for an honest review.

Heather Harrington

If you were to take Mean Girls mix it with Gossip Girl and set it in Victorian London, you would get this book. Croucher's writing style is very cheeky and easy to read. I went into this thinking it would be a breezy read and was surprised when it was a bit darker than I anticipated. Character-wise, I thought Georgiana came across as very young and impressionable. She was so willing to go along with whatever Francis did, even if that meant being rude or mean towards those who didn't deserve it. Due to this, I had a hard time warming up to her and didn't feel much of a connection. Despite that, I did still enjoy this. It didn't blow me away, but it was a fun time.

Liv R

When it says Mean Girls meets Bridgerton…100% correct. This book was entertaining, and felt very modern, despite not taking place in the modern day. I haven’t read many books that are more of a regency era/period drama, but this book definitely has pushed me in the direction to read more. 

Parties, friendships, lunches, and even more parties. The parties that Georgiana attends seem like the kind of parties that I would love to attend. The friendships made would not always be exactly what I would want, but if I were in Georgiana’s shoes, I would gladly except to be apart of that group. The characters were interesting and I found that I wanted to know more. Following Georgiana from the beginning of the story to the end was an amazing journey, and it was constantly on my mind while reading it, and even in the days following. 

I throughly enjoyed this book, from the stories of friendships and romance, it was so enjoyable. I would definitely read this again and recommend to others. 

Although there are no explicit or overly descriptive scenes, there are some heavier themes that occur through the book.

Tatiana Alvarez 

Actual rating: 4.5

The best way I can describe Reputation is Bridgerton meets Mean Girls and it really worked for me!

This story follows Georgiana, George for short, as she moves in with her aunt and uncle for a few months while her parents get settled in a new place. Really George knows that her parents just want her away. 

In her new home, George meets a young woman from a high class society and George is amazed when Francis takes her under her wing. George is swept up in an entirely new world of parties, drinks, and learning all about men and the things couples do behind closed doors.

Of course, soon her new and fast life style catches up with her and she not only has to put up with her parents, but save her reputation as well.

I devoured this book! I have never read anything like this and now I'm hooked! The writing was amazing and the dialogue was so witty! I didn't know what to expect going into this book, but it surpassed anything I could ever dream up!

This is one that I will be purchasing as soon as it releases.

Iris vd S

Harriet Moar-Smith

I fully started this because I thought it would be some light 'holiday' reading but I ended up loving it. It really does feel so much like what Austen would have wanted to write about and it is probably a much more realistic portrayal of the era than a lot of books. There was absolutely some wishful thinking about how everyone would have reacted to her sexual abuse but I'm glad that it ended up the way that it did. 

Glad I did pick this up, it was a great light novel amidst everything else on my bookshelf at the moment.

Emily 

If you love regency books with a twist you will love it 

Beth G

Annabelle Lamont

This was reaaaally good! Much better than I expected. Would recommend to everyone who enjoys chick-lit, historical-fiction (specifically Regency), Bridgerton, Mean Girls vibes. There is also a major twist in this that had me FUMING. So enjoy that.

Deanna Howley

LOVE LOVE LOVE this book. Georgiana is such a lovable character and you can relate to her thoughts and feelings from start to finish, the character growth is palpable & the entire book is so well written, I was absolutely hooked from the start. Thank you for relighting my passion for reading Lex!

Genesis (@whisperingchapters) &
Reputation by Lex Croucher

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Genesis (@whisperingchapters) &Reputation by Lex Croucher

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Genesis (@whisperingchapters) &
Reputation by Lex Croucher