A Lady's Guide to Fortune-Hunting by Sophie Irwin.
This was an audiobook version, with narrator Eleanor Tomlinson given to me for an unbiased review from Netgalley UK.
My sister and I grew up with Georgette Heyer books surrounding us! I immediately thought this sounded promising and in a similar vein.
This indeed was the case. Some of the prose wasn't quite from the era as you might expect, but it didn't detract.
The basic premise is Kitty, as the eldest of 5 daughters, discovered the estate they believed they would be inheriting, is in fact heavily in debt. Unless she can secure a wealthy husband in a set timescale they lose it all. The man she believed she would be marrying, ends the rather informal agreement in place that he would marry Kitty.
Kitty and her sister Cecily head to London, where they are welcomed by 'Aunt' Dorothy, who herself reinvented her life to now be accepted within polite circles.
The story is pretty much what you'd expect. While out walking with Kitty, Cecile sees an old friend Amelia, and with her is an unknown man. Kitty takes it upon herself to engineer a trip, so they are stopped and help Kitty.
Once they meet, Amelia introduces her brother, Archie. Needless to say, Kitty takes it upon herself to become his bride by whatever means necessary.
It was going smoothly until their brother Radcliffe arrives in London.
He and Kitty are at odds from that moment on.
I loved the interactions between them. One particular one had me giggling.
'They paused there for a beat, looking at each other with mutual calculation. It occurred to both then, though of course they did not know it, that they might equally have agreed to pistols at dawn.'
The story doesn't have any real surprises and it all developed as I expected from start to finish.
This was a light, fun read. It is definitely one I'd recommend if you want to either try your hand at some historical fiction, or if you love Georgette Heyer as much as I do. I'm certainly hoping for more like this from Sophie Irwin, particularly as there are more sisters. A series around them wouldn't be far fetched at all. Cecily has a potential story already set up if this does occur.
The narrator is good and solid for the audiobook. Nothing too much that stood out for me but someone who delivered it all well enough.
A solid 5/5 stars for me. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
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