REPUTATION | Lex Croucher

 

It is a truth universally acknowledged that when a book is advertised as ‘for fans of Mean Girls and/or Jane Austen’, one must pick it up and devour it as soon as possible.

Reputation follows Georgiana Ellers, who has moved in with her boring (her words, not mine) aunt and uncle while her parents are off taking some healthful sea air. Everything in Georgiana’s new life is dreary: the house is dull, her aunt and uncle are mundane, the activities they do are uninteresting and monotonous – Georgiana is itching for some fun and excitement.

Enter Frances Campbell. She and her posse of alcohol-swilling, party-going, chaperone-free friends befriend Georgiana and drag her (willingly) into their world of wealth and few consequences. Well… they have wealth, and therefore few consequences. Georgiana isn’t so lucky.

The fluffy world of ballgowns and chaste dances Reputation is not. If I was the one writing the blurb, I would probably describe it as Gossip Girl meets Mean Girls meets Pride & Prejudice meets The Secret History – there’s even a bacchanal, for heaven’s sake. Frances and her friends are glamorous partiers on the outside, but each of them has their own struggle, and there’s an unavoidable darkness to the group which, admittedly, does make them all the more alluring, especially to Georgiana, whose life, up until this point, has been filled with reading books and doing needlework.

I will say from the outset that I do think this book was a little darker than its ‘romcom with a twist!’ blurb would probably have people believe. It deals with some pretty heavy subjects, including alcoholism, racism, sexual assault, and rape, as well as the fall-out of these things and their impacts on the characters (full list of TW/CWs are on the author’s website here: https://www.lexcroucher.co.uk/reputat...). I thought it was all dealt with very well, but please be aware going in that these characters do get involved in some pretty confronting situations.

Reputation is a perfect book for those wanting a little more substance with their regency fluff. It’s a must-read for fans of historical romance and romcoms and ensemble casts, as well as those who love flawed female characters, and women who own their mistakes. I, for one, thoroughly enjoyed this book, and am truly looking forward to Croucher’s next release, Gwen and Art Are Not in Love.