Author: Lex Croucher
Pub Date: 5 April 2022
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Page Count: 336
Dates Read: April 4 – 5
Reading Method: Physical ARC [thank you to the publisher!]
Review
Did anyone else binge watch Bridgerton season two and then feel empty inside because you just need MORE?? Let me introduce you to Reputation!
Georgiana is sent to live with her aunt and uncle with the hope that she will fall in with the right crowd and find a marriage match. But when Georgiana meets Frances at one of the boring parties her aunt drags her to, she falls in with a much rougher crowd than anticipated. Frances and her friends are the life of every party, high energy, and incredibly mischievous. Drugs, alcohol, wild parties with outrageous costumes… Georgiana finds herself doing things she never thought she would to keep up with the group.
The story was really great and the characters were larger than life, but the endless partying in the middle did become a little redundant and made the mid-section drag a bit. No real progress was made between Georgiana and Thomas (the mysterious, brooding love interest) until the last 1/3 of the book, but once Thomas started to open up, I did enjoy his character. He has a complicated backstory and I was glad we got to explore it more.
There are a lot of complexities to each of the characters in the story. Though they appear to have the very best of everything there is to offer, each character has a reason for behaving the way they do, and I think Croucher did a grerat job of giving them depth. The shining star of the story was, of course, Betty. Anyone would be lucky to have a friend like her. And Mr. and Mrs. Burton surprised me as well.
Overall an enjoyable read, and the perfect remedy for the post-Bridgerton blues. I look forward to seeing what Croucher releases in the future.
// It’s important to note that this book contains sexual assault, drug abuse, and alcohol abuse. I recommend checking TW before reading.
About the Book
Abandoned by her parents, bookish and sheltered Georgiana Ellers is spending the summer with her stodgy aunt and uncle at their home in the English countryside. At a particularly dull party, she meets the enigmatic Frances Campbell, a wealthy member of the in-crowd who delights Georgiana with her disregard for so-called “polite society.”
Lonely and vulnerable, Georgiana quickly falls in with Frances and her wealthy, wild, and deeply improper friends, who introduce her to the upper echelons of Regency aristocracy, and a world of drunken debauchery, frivolous spending, and mysterious young men. One, in particular, stands out from the rest: Thomas Hawksley, who has a tendency to cross paths with Georgiana in her most embarrassing moments. Sparks fly, but Thomas seems unimpressed with the company she is keeping. And soon, Georgiana begins to wonder whether she’ll ever feel like she fits in––or if the price of entry into Frances’s gilded world will ultimately be higher than she is willing to pay.
Set against a backdrop of lavish parties, handsome men on horseback––and in a time when one’s reputation was everything––this edgy, hilarious romantic comedy explores sex, consent, belonging, and status through the eyes of an unforgettable heroine that Austen herself would have cheered for.
About the Author
Lex Croucher grew up in Surrey, reading a lot of books and making friends with strangers on the internet, and now lives in London with an elderly cat. REPUTATION is Lex’s debut adult novel, followed by INFAMOUS in 2022. Their debut YA novel GWEN AND ART ARE NOT IN LOVE is coming in 2023.
