A Lady’s Guide to Fortune-Hunting by Sophie Irwin

Genre: Historical, Romance

Publishing Info: Audiobook by Harper Collins UK Audio, narrated by Eleanor Tomlinson  

Star Rating: 4/5

Back Cover Summary:

When Kitty Talbot is jilted by her fiancé three months before their wedding, the future looks dark. Without his fortune to pay off her late father’s gambling debts, she and her four sisters face certain ruin.

But Kitty has never backed down from a challenge, so she leaves the countryside and heads toward the most dangerous battleground in all of Regency England: The London Season.

The aim is simplee: find a wealthy bachelor to wed in order save the Talbot family from destitution.

Kitty is neither accomplished nor all that genteel, but she is utterly single-minded; imbued with her father’s gambling spirit, Kitty knows that risk is just part of the game. What she doesn’t anticipate is Lord Radcliffe, elder brother of the deliciously wealthy Archibald de Lacy. Radcliffe sees Kitty for the fortune-hunter that she really is, and is determined to scotch her plans at all costs…

Thank you so much to Harper Collins UK and NetGalley for providing an audio ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Historical romance is, admittedly, not my usual reading genre. However, I have for many years enjoyed period romance films and TV shows, including the recent Netflix phenomenon Bridgerton. I decided it was finally time to step into the Regency world in book form. A Lady’s Guide to Fortune-Hunting is a delight and I am so glad I decided to give it a go.

Kitty is such a fun protagonist and I loved seeing her use her wit and cunning to try and secure a match. Her love for her sisters and the home they risk losing is the driving force behind her actions, putting their security over her own wants. She’s fiercely determined to achieve her goal, whatever it takes.

The interactions between Kitty and Radcliffe made me smile every time and I eagerly awaited every verbal sparring match. It takes a little while for Radcliffe to appear which, having read the description, did leave me a little confused at first since I was expecting him to make an appearance sooner. However, all quickly became clear and while I did enjoy the opening section, my enjoyment increased once Radcliffe was introduced to the story.

A Lady’s Guide for Fortune-Hunting is a fun read with plenty of humour, a slowly developed and satisfying romance, and an overall great cast of characters. It does what it says on the tin, and it’s exactly what I was looking for. While the novel follows a familiar formula, Sophie Irwin executes it very well. I’ll be looking out for her next book.