An Improbable Season / Rosalyn Eves / Book Review

Thalia, Kalliope, and Charis have big plans for their debut Season in London--plans that don't necessarily involve finding a husband. Thalia has heard all about the literary salons of London, and that's where she wants to be: among the intelligentsia, reading and publishing her own poetry. Kalliope might have a husband and family as her end goal, but she won't be settling for the first beau to offer. She wants to take the Ton by storm, gowns and parties and dancing and all. And Charis has her eyes set on the scientific world, even if that world isn't quite ready to embrace her. 

But when Kalli finds herself embroiled in scandal, her perfect Season--and perfect future--are called into question. Thalia finds herself ensnared by a charming rake with more than her poetry on his mind. And Charis might not care for the social elite, but even one blunder can hurt her cause. Nobody will make it through this Season unscathed. 

Thoughts

At the end of the day, this book is just fun. It has all the right regency trappings to make it perfectly escapist, even if some of the little details wouldn't hold up under harsh scrutiny. It's made for regency romance fans, and it does its job well. 

Pros

• Bumbling: The very first thing that I love about this book is just how awkward the characters are in their social interactions. They are teenagers after all, and that young-adult-trying-to-flirt energy comes through strong. The first few interactions with suitable gentlemen are utterly embarrassing (but not so much in a secondhand embarrassment way), and I love that. These little social foibles are terrible in hindsight and are part of the character growth. 

• All the Tropes: Are you tired of regency romances picking just one or two of your favorite archetypes? Well, Roslyn Eves has your back! This book contains a bit of it all--in a good way. There's an aspiring young (woman) poet who wants to make her mark in the world. There's a rather aloof (and incredibly wealthy) eligible gentleman who finds himself unexpectedly attracted to an unusual woman. There are nighttime garden scandals. People are caught in innocent situations that don't look so innocent from the outside, and every little bit of a good Regency romp makes its way into these pages. It's fun. 

• No Mr. Right Guy: Eves offers several good potential matches, not just one "right" guy and several wrong ones. While it was obvious, to me, who would end up with whom, I didn't find myself rooting for any particular match along the way. It was nice to have plenty of good matches in the mix here. 

Cons

• Vicar's Daughters: This isn't really a book meant to be picked apart, so this isn't really a problem. But some of the little details felt... off. It's nice that these girls have the wealthy connections to get them to London for the Season, but these smart, educated vicar's daughters might not fit in with the Ton as well as this book makes it appear. They're just not quite the same archetype. Sure, they're not mingling with dukes and landed gentry, but it still seems a little odd. Where are their funds coming from? The new dresses, the plentiful invites, the social confidence to buck against the perceived rules all have to come from somewhere, right? These questions can be put aside for the romp of it all, but there are several little needling questions that persist if you stop to think. 

• Indiscretion: I know we're writing backwards here--writing history for a modern audience--but all of these girls seem so willing to throw caution to the wind. They're all quite willing to kiss people when they get the chance, and that feels unlikely. I get it. It's part of our modern expectation for romance literature, but still. Would these girls be so willing to risk their whole reputation for alleyway kisses? 

• Mr. Perfects: While there wasn't necessarily a "right" guy versus a "wrong" guy, there were still very obvious "good" guys versus "bad" guys. The Perfect matches were all great options, options that any of these girls could have been happy with. But the bad eggs are really rotten, and that's abundantly clear. And it just made me sad to see one particular educated, smart character falling for such an obviously bad choice in this book because, unlike the more ambiguous good matches, he was clearly wrong, wrong, wrong. The right choices are interchangeable. The wrong choices are obvious. And that's unfortunate, reader-experience-wise. 

Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

8/10

Fans of Sophie Jordan's Sixteen Scandals will love this new regency romp. Those who enjoyed Sophie Irwin's A Lady's Guide to Fortune-Hunting will appreciate these independent young regency ladies. 

Details

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
Date: April 25, 2023
Series: Unexpected Season

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Note: I was provided with an ARC by the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions here are my own.