A Lady's Guide to Fortune Hunting rings very reminiscent of a Georgette Heyer book, and I mean this as the highest compliment. It captures a beautiful regency world with its independent heroine who, like many of Heyer's leading ladies, is allowed to be a bit sharper than those native to the Austen period.

The characters are all quite loveable and there is a good action climax at the end (though perhaps resolved too quickly!) - but the focus is always on the instability of Kitty's situation and her battle to rescue her sisters from penury. The central love story is a good slow burn, and quite believable.

A must-read for those who have exhausted the Heyer canon but who love a pleasant historical romance that doesn't get too steamy.

People who enjoyed Bridgerton or Jane Austen novels will love this regency romance, its definitely a long slow burn but its' so worth it. Its a quick read, and is really engaging.

Reminiscent of original regency classics like Jane Austen, and current bookish favourites like Reputation by Lex Croucher, this book doesn't have quite so much emphasis on romance and steamy scenes (the first kiss happens at the 98% mark - talk about slow burn!), but that doesn't take away from its appeal. A clever look at society at the time, and a fascinating story of the lengths a woman would go for her family, A Lady's Guide draws you along for the ride from the start - and what a ride it is! I also found the secondary characters quite charming - from the girls' aunt to the bamboozled Archie - and I am quite looking forward to Sophie's next novel, which will hopefully be set within the same world.

Can you recall a book that pulled you out the dreaded reading slump? Not only do I attribute A Lady’s Guide to Fortune Hunting doing just that, but it’s made it to one of my top reads of the year - it was just THAT good.

Set in the Regency period (think Jane Austen), the strong-headed protagonist Kitty Talbot is in trouble. With her parents deceased, debts to pay and several younger sisters to look after, she needs money and stability fast..and in the 1800s there’s only way to do that: marry rich.

As luck would have it, the season of the year where the London upper-classes open their privileged doors for select socialisation is about to begin, so off Kitty goes to use her cunning ways to find a wealthy husband. Except she wasn’t planning on an equally ingenious Lord Radcliffe to see through her plans..

Pride and Prejudice fans will see the parallels here; yes, you can predict the ending, but the writing is witty and full of fun banter, which makes it an incredibly easy read. I loved the balls and glamour and unexpected complexities of Kitty’s character - I switched from liking/disliking several times!

I absolutely recommend it if you’re looking for something light with substance. Many thanks to @netgalley and @harperfiction for the advanced copy.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the arc!

A fun regency romance for sure! Perfect for fans of bridgerton.

Kitty is a strong character and you find yourself rooting for her as she embarks on her mission. I have to say, I found the constant changing of perspectives within the same two lines confusing at times, but it was fun to see behind the actions of the various characters.

A slow burn for sure, but it suits the events well, as seeing the various balls and dinners that contribute to the peak of the story are very well done.

A fun read, recommend to any who want enemies to lovers, slow burn and a regency romance!

Kitty Talbot’s parents die and as the oldest of five daughters she is left to provide for her four younger sisters and is responsible for paying off her father's debts or they will loose their house and have nowhere to live.
As they have little time before the debts need to be paid off to save their house Kitty reasons that the only way that she can support her family's future is by marrying someone wealthy. She was engaged to a local Lord’s Son but when her Father died and it was found out she had no money it was called off.
Kitty sets off for London with one of her sisters and they stay at her ‘ Aunts’, not a blood relation but a best friend of her Mother’s who, along with her Mother was an actress. She is determined to infiltrate the higher echelons and bag herself a rich beau and this book follows how she goes about it. You will be able to know the direction it will go in but the character is so pleasing that you won’t mind.

I liked this witty, entertaining Regency romance.

This book was the perfect entertainment while COVID refused to release its stubborn grip on me! Perfect for fans of Bridgerton and Austen, this historical Regency romance is an immersive, engaging quick read.

I absolutely adore Kitty Talbot. She is manipulative, conniving and absolutely wonderful. In the book, she sets out to manipulate her way into the high reaches of society and she is damn good at it. It was also obvious from every step how much she loved her sisters and I think the fact that her motivations were to save her family were what kept her from seeming cruel. It was just so refreshing to see a character who was so set on reaching up to a level that wasn't given to her at birth.

And it was not just Kitty I loved. Cecily was also a wonderful character. I loved the richness that the two girls brought to the plot as they took the London society by storm. The way it played out was satisfying and exciting with parallels to Austen that felt right to the story, while still bringing it's own original feminist twists to the telling.

I haven't read much regency, I'll admit, but even I could tell that this one was something else.

This was a romantic tale that captured my attention from the very beginning. The characters were both engaging and entertaining. I really enjoyed the interactions between Kitty and Radcliffe.

There were some strong Pride and Prejudice vibes that I thought were great. Even though there were similarities this book held it’s own and put a different spin on things.

A Lady’s Guide to Fortune-Hunting was sweet, fun and entertaining. A truly wonderful romance!

If you're a fan of Bridgerton and other regency romances, this is a fun and well-plotted Regency romp. Elinor Tomlinson is the perfect reader, and although it's quite easy to predict what will happen from the start, the characters are so charming, it's quite easy to forgive. A light-hearted and entertaining read.

Oh I loved this book - a perfect light summer read, with more than a nod to Pride and Prejudice in plot and characters.

Funny, light hearted and romantic

This was just an absolute riot from start to finish. I had so much fun reading it. I thought every character was just brilliantly done, I was invested in them, I said "Oh, Archie..." to myself many, many times. Just brilliant. I wish I could wax poetical about it but I'm going to keep this simple: just read the dang book.

Historical romance with plenty of humour and a strong female lead character. Also a handsome Lord who is determined to thwart her plans.

I really enjoyed this one. It was funny but still had a enough of a story to get your teeth into.
What I found most enchanting to this story was the subtle links to Pride and Prejudice.
Fingers crossed there is another one to follow.

Hilarious historical novel that genuinely made me laugh out loud at times. Main character, Kitty, was engaging and unique. Her quest to find herself a husband to halt the ruin of her family was both mercenary and compelling. The characters were well rounded and worked well together and the storyline, although well worn provided a few twists and turns.

This one was a lovely read. I really enjoyed reading this one. I just love this kind of books.
3.5 stars read for me

If you have enjoyed Bridgerton and classics like Emma and Pride and Prejudice you will most certainly enjoy this. It is a lovely historical romance with great humour and a strong main character.
Kitty must save her family and in order to do this she needs to marry a rich man. Kitty is relentless and determined in her pursuit and will do anything to fit into high society in order to ensnare her husband.
This was a great read and I was pleased to see that there will be another book.

A Lady’s Guide to Fortune-Hunting is a humorous and compelling debut from Sophie Irwin that makes you look forward to reading future releases from Sophie.

A whip-smart debut that follows the adventures of an entirely unconventional heroine who throws herself into the London Season to find a wealthy husband. But the last thing she expects is to find love...

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.

I just wanted to keep reading and enjoyed every last bit of it. Very archetypical characters but they do work well and the banter between the main characters is good.

The romance part is very PG.

What can I say, this is such a lovely book. Exactly now I expected it to be.
This reads like a traditional regency tale so if you’re not a fan of slow burn/romances with no spice, this may be a struggle for you. The love interest takes until the end of the book to become official and there’s only a few kisses, again near the end. Regardless of that I absolutely loved it. Our main character carries the book so well on her own. She’s so upfront about her fortune hunting and can be quite manipulative, completely different to other females in this genre which is one of my favourite things about her. If you are thinking about reading this because you enjoyed bridgerton I think you’ll love it. There’s the same ‘pressures of the eldest child’ plus the blatant sexism of women, which is covered well in the book.
Overall - a fantastic read. I even bought myself a fancy special edition.
Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.