Reputation, by Lex Croucher, follows Georgiana, who has just been sent to live with her aunt and uncle after her parents sell their house to move to the seaside for her mother’s health. She resigns herself to spending a summer alone with her aunt, but soon finds herself drawn into a group of much richer friends, which she soon finds to be leading her to become somebody that she isn’t sure she wants to be.

Georgiana is an extremely likeable protagonist who makes a plethora of mistakes throughout the book. She is naive and sheltered and, like many people her age, willing to do whatever it takes to fit in. I really enjoyed reading her character development and how her relationships with various people in her life grow and morph as she goes through several stages of figuring out who she wants to be.

The absolute highlight of the book for me is the relationship between Georgiana and her love interest, Thomas Hawksley. There’s so much banter and flirting and it is so cute and shippable; I would honestly reread the book just for their romance.

The rest of the book left something to be desired. There are a lot of side characters, particularly in the group that Georgiana becomes part of, but none of them are as developed as they ought to be. Even Frances, the leader of the group and easily the most developed of them, could have used a little more backstory. It’s a pretty lengthy book for the scope of the story, so I definitely would have expected a little more work on these side characters; when I still can’t really tell the difference between several of the friends towards the end of the book, then there’s a definite problem there.

However, there were also some really enjoyable side characters. My favorite (other than Thomas Hawksley) was Betty Walters, a girl who Georgiana’s aunt wants her to be friends with that she originally resists. Other characters of note are Georgiana’s aunt and uncle, as well as Thomas’ father.

Another thing that I wish this book had done was devote a little more space to the diversity that it has in terms of race and sexual orientation. It has a few small excahnges on those topics, but I think that it would have been a more interesting book for devoting more page time to those aspects of some of its characters’ identities.

I will say that anybody considering this book should be aware of the trigger warnings, particularly related to alcoholism and sexual assault, since those are discussed in relatively large amounts of detail (most of the sexual assault isn’t explicit, but it is discussed often for the latter half of the book).

Overall, I did really enjoy Reputation. It’s lighthearted and fun while still dealing with some pretty heavy topics. The people describing it as “Regency-era Mean Girls” are absolutely correct in tone, though I think this story does have more nuance than Mean Girls does. It’s perfect for fans of Bridgerton, but also just for anybody who loves that sort of coming-of-age Mean Girls-esque vibe. Reputation is extremely fun, has an adorable romance, and nuanaced relationships that will make you feel invested in the characters and their struggles and lives. I’m giving Reputation 4.5/5 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a free ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.