3.75 stars

if you're looking for a book that follows the plot of "How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days" then this book might not be for you. if you're looking for a book that embodies the spirit and the comedy of the movie while also realistically tackling what it was like to marry in the regency era, then this book is for you.

this book was definitely more of a comedy with a side of romance for me. while it did cover topics like gay relationships, partrairchy, and class differences, there many parts of it that made me laugh and cringe. Irwin does a really good job of creating a cast of characters that have their own personalities.

i was worried in the beginning that we were going to have to see the two mcs magically fall in love after pranking each other for a week and they all would be good and they would still be engaged. i felt that there was a severe lack of chemistry in the beginning and this was really only solved when we saw lydia and ashford start to have real conversations with each other. but the ending really solved this for me! i thought it was going to be typical, where ashford chases lydia down, confesses, and the proposes again. and while he did chase her down, i thought it was so refreshing and so sweet for both of them to take it slow, "properly" court, and actually get to know one another.

overall i really enjoyed this book and will very likely read the other books in the series. thank you to netgalley for providing me a copy to review!