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4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
I enjoyed the previous ones in this series, but I preferred Althea to her sisters. She was much more dramatic but much more entertaining. I felt so bad for St. James this whole read, I was so thrilled when he found a way to save himself with Althea's help. But Roly and Thumper win favorite characters by far! The end where Roly is so excited to be a family- my heart!
Thanks so much to NetGalley for a copy of this read!
Thanks so much to NetGalley for a copy of this read!
4.5 stars rounded up.
Thank you to Netgalley and the published for an advanced e-copy of this book.
I adore Lorret’s writing and the chemistry between the characters was outstanding.
Without any spoilers, Lorret used my absolute least favorite troupe for the third act breakup and when reconciling the characters didn’t address my concern.
Otherwise it was a perfect book.
Thank you to Netgalley and the published for an advanced e-copy of this book.
I adore Lorret’s writing and the chemistry between the characters was outstanding.
Without any spoilers, Lorret used my absolute least favorite troupe for the third act breakup and when reconciling the characters didn’t address my concern.
Otherwise it was a perfect book.
4 ⭐️
Quippy, clever sentences that always have me cracking up! I enjoy Vivienne Lorret's writing so much. I think she does an excellent job of blending humorous situations with clever protagonists that always make reading her books such a joy. This is the third in the Liars Club series (and potentially final?! What about Tristan?!) which has featured each of the three Hartley sisters. The Hartley family has been so much fun and I love the concept of a theater-obsessed family (or mostly obsessed) with so much love for each other. This novel features the youngest and final sister, playwright Althea.
Althea is probably my favorite of the Hartley sisters in terms of her internal monologues and ennui- she's so funny and it's no wonder she comes from this absurd (and lovely) family. Her melodrama is so endearing and something I enjoy in a protagonist's internal narration (very youngest child energy). At the start of the novel Thea is suffering from a lack of inspiration and this comes largely due to her ex-suitor, who belittled her own talents in an effort to boost his own ego. I've definitely read this type of character arc in books before, so it's not the most original, but I love the way that Thea deals with this problem throughout the novel. And her overcoming it is a big part of what makes me like her as a character.
Inspiration strikes when she meets and has a few chance encounters with a mysterious highwayman and a fellow member of the ton Jasper. Now Jasper is an intriguing character at the start, and he took me a little while to come around to. He's got a bit of a Robin Hood complex while also pretending to be a clumsy and useless oaf in the eyes of the ton. But this is all an act, even down to his fake stutter and spectacles. This was a really interesting dichotomy and I'm not sure I've read a character like this before (at least with this type of dual persona), so I appreciated that he was a surprise throughout. Also when we finally learn his motivations and reasonings behind this dual persona, he becomes an even more endearing character. I love a pining hero- and the fact that Jasper has been entranced by Thea for so long without doing anything was very swoon-worthy.
Lorret does a great job of creating obstacles that feel very insurmountable and also realistic. Throughout most of the book I'm wondering "how will they ever make this work?!" and that creates such nice tension and angst for our lovers. Sometimes in these types of books, the obstacles can be overdramatized and not in a good way. They're things I'm always rolling my eyes that the protagonists should get over, but this novel didn't feel like that at all. For Jasper and Thea there's some very real problems that are holding them back from being together throughout most of the novel. This created such a romantic story and good dramatic tension.
I loved the characters, the villain plot, the sexy romance, and quirky dialogue of this book so much! But while the stakes were so very high, the resolution felt super rushed in the last chapter and for that I wish we'd get a bit more time in our happy ending with Thea and Jasper. An epilogue could have been a nice solution for this- especially to really say goodbye to the hilarious Hartleys. Regardless, I've enjoyed this series a bunch and would recommend it for anyone who loves fun, sexy regency romances that feature the most charming family. And for anyone who has a theater background! Honestly as an ex-theater kid there were so many things in this series that had me giggling purely due to the THEATRE of it all.
Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for providing me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review! The expected publication date for this book is July 1, 2025.
Quippy, clever sentences that always have me cracking up! I enjoy Vivienne Lorret's writing so much. I think she does an excellent job of blending humorous situations with clever protagonists that always make reading her books such a joy. This is the third in the Liars Club series (and potentially final?! What about Tristan?!) which has featured each of the three Hartley sisters. The Hartley family has been so much fun and I love the concept of a theater-obsessed family (or mostly obsessed) with so much love for each other. This novel features the youngest and final sister, playwright Althea.
Althea is probably my favorite of the Hartley sisters in terms of her internal monologues and ennui- she's so funny and it's no wonder she comes from this absurd (and lovely) family. Her melodrama is so endearing and something I enjoy in a protagonist's internal narration (very youngest child energy). At the start of the novel Thea is suffering from a lack of inspiration and this comes largely due to her ex-suitor, who belittled her own talents in an effort to boost his own ego. I've definitely read this type of character arc in books before, so it's not the most original, but I love the way that Thea deals with this problem throughout the novel. And her overcoming it is a big part of what makes me like her as a character.
Inspiration strikes when she meets and has a few chance encounters with a mysterious highwayman and a fellow member of the ton Jasper. Now Jasper is an intriguing character at the start, and he took me a little while to come around to. He's got a bit of a Robin Hood complex while also pretending to be a clumsy and useless oaf in the eyes of the ton. But this is all an act, even down to his fake stutter and spectacles. This was a really interesting dichotomy and I'm not sure I've read a character like this before (at least with this type of dual persona), so I appreciated that he was a surprise throughout. Also when we finally learn his motivations and reasonings behind this dual persona, he becomes an even more endearing character. I love a pining hero- and the fact that Jasper has been entranced by Thea for so long without doing anything was very swoon-worthy.
Lorret does a great job of creating obstacles that feel very insurmountable and also realistic. Throughout most of the book I'm wondering "how will they ever make this work?!" and that creates such nice tension and angst for our lovers. Sometimes in these types of books, the obstacles can be overdramatized and not in a good way. They're things I'm always rolling my eyes that the protagonists should get over, but this novel didn't feel like that at all. For Jasper and Thea there's some very real problems that are holding them back from being together throughout most of the novel. This created such a romantic story and good dramatic tension.
I loved the characters, the villain plot, the sexy romance, and quirky dialogue of this book so much! But while the stakes were so very high, the resolution felt super rushed in the last chapter and for that I wish we'd get a bit more time in our happy ending with Thea and Jasper. An epilogue could have been a nice solution for this- especially to really say goodbye to the hilarious Hartleys. Regardless, I've enjoyed this series a bunch and would recommend it for anyone who loves fun, sexy regency romances that feature the most charming family. And for anyone who has a theater background! Honestly as an ex-theater kid there were so many things in this series that had me giggling purely due to the THEATRE of it all.
Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for providing me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review! The expected publication date for this book is July 1, 2025.
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Great thank you to the author and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review the ARC
Love this book! The two leads had me feeling the passion, the love and the ANGST. This book definitely filled the gaps that were missing in the last historical romance that I was reading.
Althea is such a lovable female lead. You find that she's down in spirits because of an asshat (I hope you step in multiple piles of horseshit Kellum) but throughout the book she realizes that there are so many people supporting her and you see her gain confidence back into her writing. She's definitely someone not scared to act first about things which I like about her. You do see doubts in her mind sometimes but that is to be expected from her experience last season.
Jasper, how I love this man but also want punt a ball to his head sometimes. Also hug him a gazillion times over. You can't really help fall in love with him just like Thea does too. He's literally quite honorable and protective of the people he loves. Honestly, he's the character that I most relate too, so I understand some of his faults.
There is quite a plot to this but the conclusions seems a bit rushed to me. Honestly wish there was or is going to be an epilogue in the final publication because I really want to know more about what happened afterwards.
The spice is spicing in this book considering the genre. Thea definitely perceived Lady Content wrong about Lord Turgid.
Overall, this is definitely a book I would read again. The main characters are both fantastic, the supporting cast is favorable, and the villains definitely people I would want to pummel.
Love this book! The two leads had me feeling the passion, the love and the ANGST. This book definitely filled the gaps that were missing in the last historical romance that I was reading.
Althea is such a lovable female lead. You find that she's down in spirits because of an asshat (I hope you step in multiple piles of horseshit Kellum) but throughout the book she realizes that there are so many people supporting her and you see her gain confidence back into her writing. She's definitely someone not scared to act first about things which I like about her. You do see doubts in her mind sometimes but that is to be expected from her experience last season.
Jasper, how I love this man but also want punt a ball to his head sometimes. Also hug him a gazillion times over. You can't really help fall in love with him just like Thea does too. He's literally quite honorable and protective of the people he loves. Honestly, he's the character that I most relate too, so I understand some of his faults.
There is quite a plot to this but the conclusions seems a bit rushed to me. Honestly wish there was or is going to be an epilogue in the final publication because I really want to know more about what happened afterwards.
The spice is spicing in this book considering the genre. Thea definitely perceived Lady Content wrong about Lord Turgid.
Overall, this is definitely a book I would read again. The main characters are both fantastic, the supporting cast is favorable, and the villains definitely people I would want to pummel.