This was a charming, light, and funny read, perfect if you enjoy grumpy-sunshine dynamics, witty banter, and Regency romance with a romcom vibe.

Lottie is a bold, horse-loving heroine, and Guy, the broody viscount, slowly reveals his softer side. Their chemistry is lovely, focusing more on companionship and emotional connection than steam, which might disappoint readers looking for more heat.

The playful tone and sharp dialogue shine, especially with side characters like Lady Frinton and her butler Bill adding warmth and humor.

That said, the plot felt a bit thin, with slow pacing in the middle and a silly resolution. Some secondary characters, like the rival debutantes, were flat caricatures, weakening the conflict.

I preferred the first book, which was more engaging, but this still makes a fun, heartfelt comfort read that works well as a standalone.

I adore the Miss Prentice’s Protegees series. Each character is unique and I love how their stories develop. Also, I am a huge fan of Virginia Heaths’ writing and she is one of my favourite authors when it comes to historical romance.

Look Before You Leap is the second book in this delightful series whose protagonists are the pupils educated at the prestigious school of Miss Prentice where they can learn to become governesses or lady’s companions. Charlotte “Lottie” Travers grew up on her family farm in Kent with her father and her four brothers, so she was quite surprised when she received the letter inviting her to attend the school. Over the years she may have adapted to city life, but her love for horses hasn’t diminished and she “borrows” a horse to go riding in the park whenever she can even if it gets her in trouble or fired. The hero of the story is Lord Guy Harrowby, Viscount of Wennington, who, after a humiliating and public declaration of love went horribly wrong, has retired to the family estate, refusing any attempts to find a suitable wife by his interfering mother. I love how these two characters clash from their first disastrous meeting riding in Hyde Park to Lottie’s getting involved in organizing his surprise birthday party full of debutantes hoping to become his wife.

Look Before You Leap is such a witty, delightful, and fun read featuring a grumpy vs sunshine romance, an interfering and headstrong mother-aunt duo, lots of banter, and wonderful side characters that made me laugh out loud. A fantastic addiction to this entertaining series that left me already looking forward to the next one!

Lottie Travers just can’t keep a job despite being one of Miss Pretence’s special protégés, her wild and reckless ways refuse to be curbed along with her nasty habit of “borrowing” other people horses for early morning Hyde Park gallops. With the family farm at risk she takes a last ditch job as a lady’s companion to aunt of Viscount Guy Harrowby. Harrowby’s mother decides at the grand old age of 30 he must marry and start producing grandchildren so she forces him to open his house to all the eligibale debutants she can rustle up, his idea of hell, can Lottie save him?
This was a lot of fun, I liked both main characters although I am a Guy more than I am a Lottie so got frustrated that Guy was steam rolled a lot of the time by both Lottie and his female relatives, they were not afraid to emotionally manipulate him. I always find this difficult with grumpy/sunshine books it’s a fine line to tread and I often end up finding the sunshine character grating. There is also a fine line between “teasing” and low key bullying which I thought this book at times crossed. However Lottie and Guy were adorable and I like the ice cream covered denouement.
As life long horse person I did find most of the horse related stuff cringey. This is pure pedantry on my part but honestly you can’t have two dominant stallions and a mare group, there will be blood shed and I find myself rolling my eyes whenever someone has “way” with horses that consists of them talking in a soothing manner. It’s petty I know but there it is.

Lottie was raised with 4 bigger brothers and a father after the death of her mother at her age of 10 years old and is a farmer kid . Now is working as governess until she loses her job . Now she get a new one as a companion to an old Lady and they have to travel to Kent to visit her nephew Viscount of Wennington son of her half sister which will have a party for his 30 birthday . Lord Guy doesn't love London and prefers to work with his horses and his land . Nine years ago when he was celebrating his 21 birthday he proposed to a young lady and she rejected him so she could marry an older Duke . From then he become closed and never interested in getting married . Now his mother and aunt will through him a surprise party with 15 eligible women he can choose from . But the only woman he is only interest is Lottie the woman who had an accident while their both riding in London . They always argue but their love for the horses brings them closer . Will Lottie heal his broken heart ?
I received this book from netgalley , the author and the publisher as an ARC . Thank you . All thoughts and opinions are my own .

4 ⭐️

If there is one thing I live for in a regency romance, it is meddling older ladies with a reputation for being difficult to deal with.

I had such a fun time with this one. I laughed out loud several times. Lottie and Guy are clearly so well suited, and their tension was very well done. They did throw all caution to the wind rather swiftly towards the end there, but I enjoyed the drama of it.

I especially loved that the way the way the book is written heavily implies to the reader something that the main characters themselves haven't caught onto. It's almost like we are part of the scheme, and it was very enjoyable.

As someone who is not a horse girl, I actually really enjoyed that aspect of the book. It was a great way to show lottie the side of guy she wasn't seeing. It was nice to have a regency romance that's taking place outside of the London season, too. The aspect of the race for a husband is, of course, still there but it's not the main storyline.

I would have liked to see a little more of lottie with her family and some more emotional conversations between her and guy. At times, it was feeling a little lust over love. But overall I really enjoyed it and I look forward to a possible book for her other friends.

I received an advance review copy of this book, and this review represents my honest opinion. Thank you to netgalley, the author, and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

this book had me doing a big ear to ear grin more than once throughout my read. loved this regency romance and all the fun it brought to me.
i was fully immersed in this historical romance and our two main characters lives. two very engaging characters who had that fab witty banter together that make you toes tingle and help you root for them from the beginning. there is also a great cast of other characters who you immediately warm to and all have their pride of place.
This book kept me entertained from beginning to end and had all i wanted from a book of this type.

I adored this book it was amazing to read after the first in the series. Heath just has a way of making me obsessed with her characters and this was the same as usual. I adored Lottie and Guy and could not put this book down.

Nine years ago, Lord Guy Harrowby, Viscount of Wennington, had his heart broken, his heart now lies with his land and work is his life. His mother decides that if he refuses to venture back into society to find her future daughter-in-law, the only solution is to bring society to him via a weeklong house party. The first Guy knows about her plan is when her hand-picked gaggle of debutantes arrive at his estate, all competing to be his wife. After failing miserably as a governess, Lottie Travers isn’t proving to be any better at being a lady’s companion. As the only girl in an all-male household growing up, she’s developed several bad habits she can’t shake and keep getting her dismissed. Even after years of Miss Prentice’s teachings, Lottie is still a tomboy at heart. But with the family farm in trouble, and her father now in dire need of her wages to keep it afloat, she’s determined to conquer her wildness once and for all and concentrate on her career.
The second protegee from Miss P’s academy & what a delightful romcom it was. I absolutely loved Guy & Lottie, enemies to lovers, grumpy meets sunshine. Their attraction sizzled but it was their banter which was a joy. I loved how their first impressions of each other changed. I laughed, I smiled & I wiped away a tear whilst engrossed in this well written romance. The secondary characters were also well portrayed, who doesn’t love an irascible female elderly relative & scheming debutantes? My only quibble was there wasn’t an epilogue as I didn’t want to leave this couple
I voluntarily read and reviewed a special copy of this book; all thoughts and opinions are my own

A very funny tale of a lord, his mother’s attempts to encourage him into marriage and is set during a house party. Enter his aunt and her companion and things warm up. A lovely romance with a predictable ending but an. Excellent read nonetheless.

I loved this book. The characters were both really likeable and interesting, and I appreciated how it was a dual POV so you could see why certain things were taken a certain way etc. I ended up reading the whole book in 1 day, frantically getting pages in in between work and other tasks etc, as I couldn’t put it down. My only grievance was there was no epilogue, as it felt like there were unanswered questions to do with Lottie’s family, and it would’ve been nice to catch up with everyone a few years down the line. All in all a great read though

Excellent fun as I knew it would be. I loved Lottie and Drew straight away - although I could have done with fewer uses of the word Valkyrie!

I quite enjoyed other books by Virginia Heath and also this one for the first half of it. But with a mother pulling such a stunt regarding Guy's birthday and then the stereotypical debutantes, I wasn't interested in reading until the happy ending I assumed to be there. I gave up at 68%.