Hi y’all!

It just keeps getting hotter and hotter around here. Hope you’re keeping cool wherever you are.

Today I am excited to share my review of A Lady’s Guide to Fortune Hunting by Sophie Irwin. I really enjoyed the premise of this book — a historical fiction novel from the point of view of a Regency fortune hunter. It’s a clever way to tell a story in this genre and such a fun read!

Book Summary: “Kitty Talbot needs a fortune. Or rather, she needs a husband who has a fortune. Left with her father’s massive debts, she has only twelve weeks to save her family from ruin.

Kitty has never been one to back down from a challenge, so she leaves home and heads toward the most dangerous battleground in all of England: the London season. Kitty may be neither accomplished nor especially genteel—but she is utterly single-minded; imbued with cunning and ingenuity, she knows that risk is just part of the game

The only thing she doesn’t anticipate is Lord Radcliffe. The worldly Radcliffe sees Kitty for the mercenary fortune-hunter that she really is and is determined to scotch her plans at all costs, until their parrying takes a completely different turn…

This is a frothy pleasure, full of brilliant repartee and enticing wit—one that readers will find an irresistible delight.”

Kitty is vibrant, witty, and so much fun to read about. She is likable protagonist and such a fun spin on the average historical heroine. Her clever schemes to find a rich husband were fun to read about and refreshingly original. And yet she isn’t just a fortune hunter out to find the richest man for his money. She cares deeply about her family and in many ways has noble reasons for needing a rich husband. I loved her loyalty to her family and her determination to do right by them — even with some serious secrets that she is also carefully hiding. Seeing how her schemes succeed and backfire while watching Kitty’s opinions of society shift.

The story is clever and I enjoyed the different perspectives we get in varying scenes and locations. It took a little bit for me to get used to the style of switching point of view within a scene or chapter but it wasn’t too disorienting. I love getting scenes from different characters so that was a fun style. I also really enjoy epistolary novels so the letters were also fun from Kitty and her sisters. It helped piece together the story from other parts of England without complicating the plot with lots of back and forth. Mainly, the focus is on Kitty and her many schemes to find a rich man to marry. I loved how creative she became but also how difficult the process becomes for her as she falls in love.

This story has about every Regency trope in the book — elopement, engagements, balls, clever meetings, gambling and fortune hunting of various sorts, close families and dramatic families, unique illnesses, titles, and love. I enjoyed the slow burn romance and the unexpected ways that Kitty and Lord Radcliffe find themselves in love with each other. It sneaks up on both of them. And it’s so fun to see how the react to that realization. Love is sometimes unexpected and inconvenient. But what a delight to see how everything comes together for them. Some characters are delightful dramatic, others willfully naive. There is nearly a set of scandals and several clever and perfectly proper rendezvous. While sometimes a bit overly dramatized with a lot going on, this story is a delight to read and fun to see how everything comes together.

I enjoyed this unique Regency romance with clever characters, creative plots, and surprising twists. Getting to know Kitty, her sisters and friends was a delight. A fun read!

What are some of your favorite Regency set novels?
Who are your favorite historical romance authors?