A Lady's Guide to Fortune Hunting by Sophie Irwin

Some Regency romances start off by establishing the scene, gently acquainting you with the main characters around a pianoforte, and then introduce the main story problem once you have settled in with your teacup and a biscuit. Not so Lady's Guide. Within the first few paragraphs the problem facing our heroine is as thoroughly in our face as it is in hers. And yes, there's effective scene-setting, including the pianoforte. It is a quick and effective hook rendered in decisive, character laden language that feels appropriate to the era.

 

Having cut my teeth on Georgette Heyer's groundbreaking Regency romances, I am not an easy mark for modern clones. But this book, which in some ways seems an homage to that august author’s classic tale of a managing elder sister and beautiful younger, has held my attention and defied a direct comparison. There's also a nod to that most famous of all Regencies, Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice, in the family with five dowerless daughters at risk of losing the only home they've ever known.

The main characters are consistent, their dialogue witty, and the situation comedy more than entertaining enough to allow the relationships to develop in an authentic manner almost in the background. By the halfway point I was compelled to keep reading even though, as usual with romance , the outcome was already clear. My commitment was rewarded by a most satisfactory new complication that involved deep games both social and monetary.

A few small elements marred my overall enjoyment.  Since when is it necessary for every elder brother to have a sad or tragic past event repeatedly dragged up when it's not truly needed to explain a later choice? (I know, I know: since Season 1 of Bridgerton hit the streaming services). At another point, when the reader is already quite sure what’s going to happen, the author feels the need to foreshadow it with an unusually heavy hand. The early thorough grounding in setting became slightly spongy in later scenes, and some threads that early on promised a fair bit of drama in their conclusion were rather quickly and tamely wrapped up.

 

But these are small flaws indeed in what was an otherwise most enjoyable read, with balls aplenty, scheming matrons, sweet side romances, and a primary relationship with snap and crackle of the non-steamy variety, its dialogue more enjoyably witty than sappy.  If you like your heroines to give as good as they get, and your heroes slightly flawed, this is a great way to spend a weekend.

Recommended.

Thanks to #Netgalley for the ARC

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