‘There's a new governess at Fairmont House, and she's going to be nothing but …’ - cover tag line.

My thanks to Bonnier Books UK Zaffre for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘Trouble’ by Lex Croucher.

Having read both of Croucher’s earlier Regency romances, I knew that in terms of social etiquette and language that there would be little connection to its period setting.

Emily Laurence is not refined or polite and is very different to her kind, gentle sister, Amy. Yet just as Amy is about to take up her new position as a governess she becomes unwell. While Emily has no experience with teaching children and doesn’t particularly like them, she decides to go in her sister’s place. She expects that she will be able to get away with the deception at least temporarily, which should allow her to earn a few months wages and slip some expensive trinkets into her pockets along the way. What could possibly go wrong?

Emily travels to Fairmont House, which is close to the sea. Her charges are the daughters of Captain Edwards. They are not quite children - fourteen-year-old Grace is bookish, talkative and open; while sixteen-year-old Aster is witty, intelligent, and not at all interested in having a governess. Then there are the servants, who are very informal, addressing each other by their first names. The horror!

Emily begins to find it harder than she had anticipated to maintain her cover. She has to answer to ‘Any’ rather than the expected Miss Laurence. She also discovers that while Fairmont House is huge, it’s clear that the family are not as wealthy as Emily had imagined. Then there’s Captain Edwards, who is handsome and broody and looks rather fetching in his shirt. It’s not long until Emily’s web of lies are in danger of collapse… no further details to avoid spoilers.

Informal modes of address and a swear jar aside, ‘Trouble’ does conform to some of the familiar tropes of the historical romance genre; especially those in which a plain yet spirited governess enters a household and find themselves initiating change and being changed by the experience.

There is also the matter of Emily’s scheme to steal from the family. It did feel a quite shortsighted plan as it could easily have ruined Amy’s reputation and future employment prospects.

While I prefer historical fiction that is well grounded in its period setting, I read ‘Trouble’ fully aware of the authors’ style and that time and even place were going to be blurry. So, I was able to set aside my usual niggles about anachronisms and enjoy the story.

I was pleased that a set of bonus reading group questions were again included. One mentions comparisons to ‘The Sound of Music’, which is certainly a story that came to my mind more than once while reading. At least there were no breaking into spontaneous musical numbers.


Overall, I found ‘Trouble’ a fun, engaging read.

I see a Lex Croucher book and I immediately know I'm going to love it.
"Trouble" proved me right once again as I loved every single second of this book and need more stars to shower it with the praise it so thoroughly deserves.

Easily my favourite book of the year so far!

Thank you Netgalley and Bonnie's Books UK for providing me with a free digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

A fun, fresh, fabulous regency romp - the perfect holiday-reading book. I devoured this in two greedy sittings and went on a rollercoaster of emotions. As always, Lex has crafted an unputdownable adventure where the characters are flawed and relatable, and you are rooting for them to make it to their happy ending - and that happy ending may look quite different from what you'd usually expect in a romcom, but it works so well. Deeply satisfying, compelling, chortling-on-the-plane kind of funny, this is a book you don't want to miss.

This was SO SWEET!! I was sold on it when the main relationship was described to me as having Maria/Captain Von Trapp/Sound of Music vibes and, although it took a while to get going, my heart was aflutter like you wouldn't believe!

I saw so much of myself in Emily - it was scary! I loved her attitude to teaching/interacting with Grace and Aster to start with, and to see the slow change was a joy to behold! Her interactions with Captain Edwards (Ben) also absolutely made my heart sing, especially them dancing at the ball 😍

An awesome surprise was the amount of representation in this book - stand ours for me being the chronic illness, bisexual and trans rep. We love to see it!

My first Lex Croucher but definitely not my last!!!

I've heard a lot of good things about Croucher's books, so I was excited to dive into Trouble - especially when I saw that it wasn't in the same series as any of her other works, as I do enjoy those interconnected series very much, but have been wanting a bit of a break from these bigger character universes. This was such a nice twist on historical fiction, giving all the characters their own distinctive personalities without it feeling too forced into working for a modern reader, and while it was a bit of a slow start for me, I ended up really enjoying it. I found the dialogue in particular to be so witty, and I loved the banter between all of the staff at Fairmont House, with how informal the household was, and how they accepted Emily into the fold immediately. The slow-burn between Emily and the Captain was great, as was the character development of his children, and I just thoroughly enjoyed it!

Thank you so much Netgalley for a copy of Trouble.

As everyone knows I absolutely love Lex Croucher. I also adore The Sound of Music. So this book was the perfect book for me. I wish it was less of a slow-burn than it was. It was just a bit too slow and then all of a sudden they were together. But I still had a great time, of course.

Okay… I will try and make this review as ‘serious’ as I can but ughhh!! Just love it, please more! I am sad that this book has ended! Lex croucher writes in the way my brain just breathes, the humour, the inner turmoil, the bantering conversational jousting and the hopeless romantic!

This book focused on Emily, whose sister, Amy, was supposed to be staring a new employment as a governess for Captain Edward’s children. But Amy is ill and the family needs money, so Emily goes instead but under the disguise of her sister. Emily has a firey temper, has next to no knowledge about teaching and has no plans to get to know the family and all the plans to make some money to help look after her sister.

What I loved most about this book is the way that all the people around Emily loved her fierce character and her love but the book focuses on the inner turmoil of never feeling good enough, diminishing one’s character as a joke to others but inside thinking that how could anyone like you. The book is so much about love and open your heart to others, and not being afraid to let your guards down. Oh yes and it does help that Captain Edwards is somewhat rugged and handsome…

I loved all the characters in the story and how their own personalities shone through. I love how Lex does a great job at creating historical fiction with that modern twist… but let’s be honest the modern twist is so modern… it just depends on the narratives written. I liked that the focus of chronic illness was talked about throughout, something that needs to be talked about more. I also loved how the frustration and anger and inner turmoil was something I could feel too. Lex has done a great job at portraying the emotions of her characters and I feel like the come alive so easily. Now if you want me, I will be on the Porpoise.

If you liked Lex Croucher's previous books, then you will like this - it's hugely enjoyable. Emily arrives as a governess for the Edwards family, but she's pretending to be her sister, who is too unwell to go herself. She's having to keep up a masquerade whilst trying to avoid getting to know the (somewhat unconventional) household and trying to work out what she can take from them to help make ends meet when she goes home. Captain Edwards is distant and with secrets, The older of her two charges Aster is terrifying and sees straight through her, while the younger one Grace talks all the time and wants to be loved. All Emily wants to do is steal something valuable and make sure she can pay her sister's medical bills.

Emily is pretty spiky, but her personality makes more sense as we get to know her and there's no sudden change in her. I really liked her! The household staff were brilliant, and I loved the Edwards family. The LGBTQ+ themes were done really well - yes, they could be a little anachronistic, but so is the whole plot really, and it's no less fun to read for all that. And the characters are all great, so it works!

Thank you Netgalley for the early access to Trouble by Lex Croucher!

Now normally i'm not a fan of books not set in the modern day but i loved this book!

Emily is a character I grew to like very quickly and couldn't put this book down because i just needed to know what happened next in the story. The way she changed throughout the book in terms of her opinion of Captain Edwards really showed her character development and how external factors influenced her.

I particularly enjoyed how Croucher explored different topics, that were rather sensitive at the set time of the story. As well as the character connections being absolutely amazing.

Happy release day to this great book!

There aren’t enough words to describe how much I loved this book. But I’ll try anyway 😂

Amy Laurence, the new governess to Grace and Aster Edwards, is hiding something. That something being that she is in fact, EMILY Laurence, taking up the position in the home of Captain Edwards while her gravely ill sister (the real Amy) is bedbound. She’s also hiding her true reasons for taking the job - Emily is planning to steal as much as she can from the family to help pay for Amy’s medical bills… and she also HATES children!

The writing is hilarious, witty and so honest. The characters are funny, diverse and flawed. The setting of Fairmont House was perfect being so close to the rough sea and long stretches on beach. Anything written by this author is pure gold and if you need to read something to make you laugh just buy this book!

Thank you to Zaffre (Bonnier Books) and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. This review contains spoilers throughout so read at your own peril.

Wake up besties, a new book in the ‘Nash Nicholson Is A Bastard Literary Universe’ just dropped and I feel soooo normal about it!!!

Trouble is about a lot of things but the main plot is this: a woman called Emily who, despite being spiky, rude, and averse to spending time with children (or anyone, really), takes a job as a governess at sad and decaying coastal manor Fairmont House in order to pay for a doctor for her cinnamon roll sister, Amy, who is unwell. Emily’s plan is to either earn the money or acquire it through less than legal means - she’s not particularly fussed either way. She certainly doesn’t plan on growing fond of the family she’s working for, which includes two very different (and slightly difficult) siblings, Aster and Grace. Unfortunately for Emily, the family and staff at Fairmont House have other ideas, and for reasons Emily can’t understand, seem to quite like her. And she didn’t count on her employer, the dreadful and brooding Captain Edwards, being quite so handsome…

The sexy Regency pining and romance between Emily and Captain Edwards had me giggling and twirling my hair and kicking my feet. It’s like if that bit in Pride and Prejudice where Mr Darcy flexes his hand were a whole book (but not Pride and Prejudice). Emily and Captain Edwards have both closed their hearts off to love for different reasons, and reading about how they break down the walls the other has put up was delicious. I genuinely feel ridiculous about them; I pretty much highlighted every scene that they were in together so I could go back to it and scream, because the romance and the flirty banter and the bickering was just SO good.

As a fan of Ghosts and Our Flag Means Death* I'm a huge fan of grumpy captains, so I knew I’d be obsessed with Captain Edwards before I even started the book. He definitely lived up to my excitement, probably even exceeding it. Lex handled Captain Edwards’ and the children’s grief over losing his wife/their mother beautifully, and their emotions felt so real. I also loved that Captain Edwards was bi and thought this part of his story was really interesting. The LGBTQ+ characters in Lex’s books are always incredibly well written and nuanced, but I definitely have a soft spot for Captain Edwards (sorry Art).

Speaking of LGBTQ+ characters, Aster’s character arc was excellent. At first I thought I wouldn’t be able to warm to him because he was so horrible to Emily, but once Lex artfully peeled back his onion layers to reveal a character who was determined, intelligent, and protective of his family, he grew on me. Aster being a trans man endeared him to me immensely, and when I recognised the little clues to his behaviour I got excited about where his story would be going. The scene where Emily cut his hair to give him his first ever boy haircut made me cry, and I loved how accepting everyone at Fairmont House was of him.

Aster’s sister Grace is essentially Aster’s opposite in that she’s *too* nice and friendly towards Emily. She’s so desperate to be loved that my heart broke for her. Grace’s emotions are so huge and overwhelming, while Aster bottles his up and takes them out on other people (Emily), and it was great to read how they all grew to understand each other and become a family. Grace’s character arc involved chronic illness, and although I don’t have experience of chronic illness like Grace and Amy so won’t speak about the representation of it, I hope it made people feel seen and understood.

While Trouble, like Lex’s other books, can broadly be categorised as an historical romantic comedy, it feels slightly different to their other books. It shares the same Regency setting, their trademark witty comedy is there in abundance, and the romance made me want to pull out my hair but in a good way, but the vibe was different. I think this is because, to me, Trouble feels full of rage and pain in a way that is present in Lex’s other books, but not to this level. It felt grittier and less escapist, while also still being a wonderful and enjoyable read.

Emily’s anger at the world is palpable and at times I felt like I could glimpse inside the transparent tube and see Lex’s anger fuelling their writing. This allowed for an even deeper exploration of class and women’s rights during the Regency era than we’ve seen in Lex’s previous work, and it made this book even stronger. As a working class person who is always angry about capitalism, I thought the observations around the class divide and the way it impacted Emily’s relationships with the members of the Edwards family was particularly well done.

Emily doesn’t trust anyone at Fairmont House and sees them all as a means to an end. This results in her does something she eventually comes to regret. Lex did an amazing job at showing how Emily’s cold exterior gradually thawed, and all the conflicting emotions that came along with it.

Unlike Emily, who was determined to hate everyone from the start, I loved everyone at Fairmont House (except Aster at first, but we’ve made up). Trouble is full of an amazing cast of witty and compelling characters, especially the staff who work for the Edwards family, who are all brilliant; I hope Lex writes a sequel about their adventures one day. I loved them all so much and want to keep reading about them!

This review has taken me so long to write because I loved Trouble so much, and I hope everyone else who reads it loves it too. This is a wonderful book that deserves to be cherished.

*It might just be the gay pirate brain rot but I think I spotted quite a few OFMD references throughout the book and each one made me feel insane.

The world need more funny Regency romps or, better, I need more Regency romp and had a lot of fun in reading this.
Well plotted, fast paced, it made me laught a lot.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

In need of money after leaving her job suddenly, and with her sister Amy falling more ill every day, Emily decides to take her place in Amy's new job as the governess in the house of Captain Edwards.
She has no experience working with children, and doesn't particularly like them, so keeping up the charade of being Amy was difficult, especially when she starts to have feelings for the Captain.

Trouble was my first Lex Croucher book, and it won't be my last. I flew through the book and it gave me everything I wanted. Deception, rule breaking, forbidden love and  sassy teens. It gave me all the cosy feelings and a proper escape from reality which meant I couldn't put it down until it was finished!

I loved Emily from the very first page. She is no sunshine heroine, being in fact, so grumpy as to be practically anti-social. She considers herself totally unsuitable to be a governess having an obvious distaste for children, and a complete lack of preparedness for her pretend role, but she is doing this for her sister, so she is prepared to do what she can. Within limits.

Love is the major theme, but not necessarily romantic love (although as Akia says, Captain Edwards looks good without his shirt...). There is real devotion between both sets of siblings Emily and Amy, Aster and Grace. There is a wonderful found-family love amongst the servants, and they welcome Emily into their group. And of course there is romance, because otherwise Trouble would not be a romance!

This book is quite openly a romcom, not correct history, but I think that's the point, and there's always going to be a place for a book as laugh-out-loud funny as this one. I love that Lex Croucher's books are standalones, I love that you care about her difficult, realistic characters, I really do not mind the anachronisms at all.

4.5 stars

TROUBLE is another hilarious Regency romance about the word's worst governess and a very taciturn captain.

I laughed so much reading this book. Emily's attempts to be a governess as well as how often her impulsive speech gets her into tricky situations often causes funny situations. And then her way of getting out of them is usually to double down and keep digging.

This book touches on chronic illness through two characters - Grace and Amy. It was so nice to see two women who weren't letting it define them and who weren't fainting violets in need of someone else to rescue them. It's a book that examines how it impacts life, and how others making it define you affects you.

It is also a book about found family. The household of Fairmont House are more like a family than anything else, bickering and bullying each other good naturedly as they pull together - and determinedly pull Emily into their grasp. I loved how much they cared about one another and embraced their idiosyncrasies.

These books continue to pull me in with their warmth and wit. Honestly, if you'd told me in January that within 6 months, I'd have devoured three historical romances, I would have blinked at you, but here we are.

I have no idea how much is my own aceness, but this book (and REPUTATION) feel like the romance is very much the secondary part of the story, coming later like a little surprise. Instead, this book feels like it's more about one woman letting herself be accepted and believe herself not so very horrid after all. I think that's what keeps pulling me back to these stories - I don't have to understand why there might be an attraction between these people to invest in the plot.

Brilliant book. The chemistry between the two main characters gave me shivers.
Brilliant and funny well written character dynamics stole the show despite a slow start. But once you’re in you’re in.

I said in my review for Gwen and Art that Lex Croucher was quickly becoming my favourite author. Well, I can confirm that they have done it!

Trouble is so amazing and I am so in love. Croucher's characters are incredible, as always. The found family in this book made my heart melt. I'm honestly in love with everyone (minus one particular asshole who I won't even name!) and I want more of them so badly.

I'm writing this review in bed at almost 1am right after finishing because I just have to express how much I love this book. I knew I was going to love it before I started reading (I pre-ordered a signed copy before even reading the first page and I'm going to be the proud owner of signed copies of all of Lex's books when the book comes out ❤️) but I was not prepared for how much. This book is everything and you should read it right now! I know that I'm going to be reading it again and recommending it to everyone possible!

Trouble is certainly the case when it comes to the main character Emily and other characters within the novel. Captain Edwards also really came into his own throughout the story. I really enjoyed my time with these characters and the relationships they developed.

With depictions of chronic illness and discovering your identity, to secrets being revealed and the characters supporting each other through thick and thin, this book was a delight!

I did feel that some of the plot points perhaps could have had a bit more detail. I also struggled to remember who was who/how they were portrayed due to the number of characters. But the characters were well written and the book certainly wouldn’t have been the same without them all!

Thank you to NetGalley and Bonnier Books for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I think this is a 'me right now' issue, rather than the book being bad issue - and so it's a DNF for now, not forever. Probably. I'll see if I can get the audiobook. I just found physically reading this to be exhausting. And yes, my general mood is exhausted at the moment. 'Trouble' is clearly quite heavily inspired by the Sound of Music (at least, that's how I read it), and I found Emily - the main character - insufferable. I felt the 'sister is evil and bitchy because there needs to be a villain here' trope uninspired. Also, they kept being referred to as children, but the two girls are written as basically full grown women? Either age them down in the writing or just have them as older.

Basically, I got a quarter of the way through this book and I just didn't care about anyone. The writing had settled into a rut where the same things were happening over and over and nothing was changing. There was no action, just pages of descriptions about people who weren't developed enough for me to care. I enjoyed Croucher's last two books, but this one wasn't it. Maybe I'll come back to it, but having been thoroughly disappointed by 'Gwen and Art are Not In Love', this might be the last one I pick up.

I remember reading Lex Croucher’s first book and thinking it was good but being vaguely irritated by it at the same time so I passed on the second book. I read the blurb for this one and thought it sounded good so I’d give it a go. Emily’s perfect sister is sick and can’t take up her position as governess to two young ladies but they need money so Emily decides to take her place even though she hates children and knows nothing about anything. I very quickly remembered all the things that irritated/frustrated me about Croucher’s books. They are well written and they are funny that part I enjoyed. I don’t even mind that much about shoe horning modern ideology into ye olden times but what I do find annoying is that Emily at various points in the narrative becomes completely alien to her context. She struggles to comprehend a culture that she has been brought up in, she looks at it as if she is a modern woman who has time travelled to the past. She reviles the families privilege (which is not that privileged) even though she was brought up as a middle class lady for a good part of her life. It’s bizarre that she suddenly doesn’t seem to know how the world functions. It’s just odd.