I’ll admit it Bridgerton has gotten me back into Regency era historical romance. I’ve really enjoyed recent stories from Evie Dunmore and Martha Waters who put a new spin on an Austen-esque opinionated women who aren’t living their life for just marriage. Our heroine in A Lady’s Guide to Fortune Hunting, Kitty, is not that. Her main aim is marriage, and one to a man who is loaded. She cares little for their personality or her feelings but whether she can save her family from financial ruin. Both parents have passed and she and her four sisters are about to lose their home. She has mere weeks to craft a way to save them. She and one sister head to London for the “season” so she can scheme and manipulate her way into the right match. She has few connections and boy does she use every trick she can think of to attach herself to the Radcliffe family whose second son is her initial target. When the eldest son comes home and uncovers her scheme, he’ll do anything to stop it, until she blackmails him into helping her secure a place with a worthy match.
We see some of the glitz and glam of the Bridgerton-type season but get a different perspective as Kitty’s family have some scandalous baggage and little wealth. I admit at first, like Radcliffe, I was quite annoyed with her gold digging but it’s easy to see her motivations as the story progresses. Sister Cecy was an easier character to love. This one is a bit more scheme-y than romance-y, so don’t expect a lot of steam or even much angst. I hoped for some more witty banter but we didn’t get that til the last few chapters. Some nice girl power moments, my favorite scene is quite a jaw dropper when Kitty uses her power in an unexpected way towards the end of the story. A solid story but needed a little more in a few areas to be a shelf worthy choice for me. ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Thanks to Netgalley for advanced access to this novel. All opinions above are my own.
Did finances play into your choice of partner at all?
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