Reviews

Sixteen Scandals by Sophie Jordan

redheadlibrarian979's review against another edition

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4.0

Thank you NetGalley for the eArc! Sixteen Scandals was a cute, clean, fast read. The cover is what originally caught my attention, and it sounded like a cute book, so I gave it a chance. I was not disappointed.

Primrose is the youngest of 4 daughters, she is looking forward to her 16th birthday, so she can finally enter society. However, on the morning of her birthday, it is announced that her entrance into society will have to wait. Along with this disappointment, it is made clear that there will be no celebration of her birthday. So, Primrose decides to take matters into her own hands, and sneak our with a friend. She gets into all kinds of trouble, and even finds a little romance.

The majority of this book takes place during one night, the night of Prim's birthday. This is not a typical romance, it is obviously written for younger readers, but I thought it was a fun read.

esmewasreading's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

4.0

 THIS WAS SO MUCH FUN!! I had an absolute blast reading this! This will 100% be on my re-reads pile.
it was cute and chaotic, such a great fast read 

frankenstens13's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

It's kinda like a Cinderella remix 

kasey223's review against another edition

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lighthearted medium-paced

3.75

kbrekkes's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

andrea_author's review against another edition

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4.0

When her parents refuse to allow Primrose to come out as promised on her sixteenth birthday, she rebels. She sneaks out that night and goes to Vauxhall Gardens with her BFF. The two get separated during a tavern brawl, and Prim ends up under the protection of a handsome, mysterious stranger. Falling into one adventure after another, can Prim keep her identity secret and her reputation intact?

It takes a bit of hubris to compare this YA Regency romp to Austen and Shakespeare, but whatever. Aside from being utterly implausible, it's pretty standard Regency fare—but probably educational and a bit of fun for young teen readers new to the genre.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

hmeier's review against another edition

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3.0

In congruence with my campaign to judge books by their covers, I requested this book because of the adorable cover and fun title. I love a Regency romp, and this story had definite YA Jane Austen vibes.

As the title implies, the book follows a similar plot to the 80s Molly Ringwald film, “Sixteen Candles”, except it’s set in 1821 England and doesn’t have an extremely racist portrayal of an Asian person. Basically, youngest child and perpetual rule-follower Primrose Ainsworth decides on her sixteenth birthday to do something rebellious. While her family is out (ignoring her and her special day) she sneaks off to Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens with her best friend Olympia for a night of fun. However, a hitch in the plan separates Primrose from Olympia, and she is forced to face the gardens alone, searching for her friend – until she encounters a handsome stranger…hijinks ensue.

This book was fun but was structured in such a way that it felt like not much happened plot-wise, despite a lot of “action” occurring throughout the story. The main romance was cute and had good banter, but it was a little too “at first sight” for my tastes. I enjoyed the between-chapter quotes from “Lady Druthers’s Guide to Perfect Deportment and Etiquette”, as I spent a lot of time researching etiquette guides for my undergrad thesis, and thought that the book contained some good commentary on flouting societal convention. It reminded me in spirit of Cindy Anstey’s books, so if you liked any of those, I would recommend “Sixteen Scandals”.

Thank you to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and NetGalley for access to this ARC!

lonelyhuman's review against another edition

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3.0

This book was actually pretty cute but the romance just happened too fast for me. You’ll probably like this book a lot more if you enjoy instalove.

cvlitt's review against another edition

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3.0

Absolutely nothing special or original but still a very fun read that reminded me a lot of Bridgerton. The characters were pretty two dimensional but their cliches played well off each other and it made for an enjoyable story.

wolfdyke's review against another edition

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2.0

This is a book that has a LOT of potential, but ultimately fell flat because it's so short. It would have benefited greatly from being longer, and from taking place over multiple nights rather than the majority of the story happening over the course of one singular night. And, because it's so short, the romance felt like it moved far too fast.