Reputation: ‘If Bridgerton and Fleabag had a book baby’ Sarra Manning, perfect for fans of 'Mean Girls'

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This all leaves you to think that this book is character-driven rather than plot-driven, but as I’ve already said, the characters are all two dimensional. Sure, Georgiana learns a lot and has her own growth as a person, but despite being the protagonist, I’m not sure I really even know that much about her… Georgiana Ellers is eager to find a society as exciting and glamorous as her favorite books, but her expectations are low. With neither money nor connections, her social opportunities are limited to what her aunt and uncle can provide, and their idea of excitement differs dramatically from hers. She is suffering through a dreadful party with bad lighting, worse punch and dismal company when in steps Frances Campbell. From that moment, nothing is ever dull again. But Amy is unwell and needs a doctor, their father is gone and their mother is useless, so here Emily is, pretending to be something she's not. Sebastian is in love with brilliant, beautiful Grace, but their bargain is complete, and she desires another. Yet when he’s faced with losing her forever, Sebastian will do whatever it takes to tell her the truth, even if it means risking his own future-and his heart.

Whilst Georgiana and Thomas's relationship was one of my favourite aspects of the novel, perhaps the most interesting dynamic is between Georgiana and Frances. Croucher captures the dizzying excitement of a new friendship, especially with someone you regard as outgoing and popular, and the way this can crumble from beneath you if there's a misunderstanding about who the other person really is. We delve into the dangers on transactional friendship, and the way that aspects like class and hierarchy come between them. It's frenemies excellence.Croucher infuses this energetic Regency era friends-to-lovers sapphic romance with zany wit, joie de vivre, and a distinctive literary bent." –– Publishers Weekly I really enjoyed my time with this story, the only reason I couldn't quite give it 5 stars was that I would have liked the relationship between Emily and Captain Edwards to have been fleshed out just a tiny bit more. They barely had any interactions up to the 50% mark — and I do understand that that time was spent establishing Emily's relationship with Grace and Aster (their dynamic btw, 10/10) — I just felt that that caused the romantic aspect of the story to fall a tiny bit flat. The characters are fantastic! I enjoyed the main character and the storyline with the love interest, but there is also some diverse representation which was refreshing to see.

The book follows our main character Georgiana as she lives with her aunt and uncle and makes some new friends. However, her new friends are very different to the very good ladies and gents that are expected of that time. The story sees our main character enter an exciting but dangerous new world and all of the good and bad consequences of doing so.Until that fine day graces us with its presence, we’ve rounded up the best Bridgerton-esque books to fill the Shondaland-shaped hole in our lives. Handsome, wealthy, kind young men aren’t that easy to come by. Especially not ones who are . . . good with their hands. there were certain darker themes and inclusions that i felt were a bit unnecessary given the overall tone and vibe of the story buuuuut Cecily, Jane, and Jonathan feature heavily but are so flimsy characteristically that they serve no purpose beyond showing that Frances is popular. Did Cecily need to exist at all? Plot? What plot? What would happen if 19th century maidens, instead of being obedient and extremely bored, would crazily misbehave?!

Without giving too much away, it was particularly refreshing that our heroine doesn't have a complete personality change over the course of the novel as she discovers her feelings. She's still abrasive at times and can seem harsh to those unfamiliar with her, but underneath that spikey exterior is a big heart that was always there. Perhaps I found her particularly relatable because I saw a little of myself in her? The members of the Edwards Family soon endear themselves to the reader, even troubled Aster, and the rest of the supporting cast have so much personality they probably all deserve their own stories - I know I’d read them. EstavaIf Bridgerton and Sex Education had a book baby, it would be Reputation. A classic rom-com with a feminist Regency twist, the debut novel from Lex Croucher is this season’s incomparable diamond.