Mismatch of the Season by Michelle Kenney aimed to captivate fans of Bridgerton and Jane Austen with a Regency romance full of adventure and societal rebellion. While the premise of Miss Phoebe Fairfax fighting for freedom and escaping an undesirable match had potential, the execution fell short for me.

The story felt predictable, and the chemistry between Phoebe and Viscount Damerel lacked the spark needed to make their dynamic engaging. The characters leaned heavily on tropes without adding much depth, and the writing, while charming in places, didn’t fully deliver the immersive Regency experience I was hoping for.

Despite its nods to classics like Austen, the book didn’t quite live up to the high bar set by other Regency romances in this genre. It might appeal to readers looking for a light, surface-level historical romance, but it didn’t leave a lasting impression on me.

Thank you to NetGalley, Michelle Kenney, and HarperCollins One More Chapter for the eARC of this book.

A lighthearted historical romcom with a clever chapter countdown. Who wouldn't want a bit of fun before an unwanted marriage. A touch light on the romance but higher on the attempted adventure.

Thank you NetGalley & Michelle Kenney for the ARC.

Phoebe was destined to marry an old Earl. Obviously not what she wanted, so like any of us would do, she ran dressed in her brother's clothes.

I felt like the story was more about the sisters than the romance between Phoebe and Alexander. But it was a fun, quick read. I would say it's a romcom tho, I would've loved to have more romance in it.

I loved the countdown at every chapters.
3 stars

I genuinely thought this was such a sweet book! I"m such a sucker for a historical romance even though the plots are never all that different and the ending always feels like a foregone conclusion. Greatly enjoyed getting to spend some time in Phoebe and Viscount Damerel's world, and seeing how it all played out. It felt a little bit of a mix of Pride and Prejudice and Little Women, and it was so fun to see the characters interact. I would have loved a little more depth to each of them and seeing a bit more of their emotional journeys, but for the most part, a very delightful and charming read!

Standout quote: "who'd been pinked by the most unimpressive highwayman south of Bristol."

I so wanted to love this Regency romp, but the pacing was off and it lacked historical accuracy. I felt for Phoebe, destined by her father's will to marry an ancient earl, but felt the societal inequality between men and women was hammered home too much. Other histrom fans may indeed love it, but it was not for me.

This book started off promising. A heroine who decides to sneak away in her brother's clothes so she can seek adventure had me instantly interested. Unfortunately, it tapered off around the 25% mark. It was a quick fun read, but it felt much more like a book about the heroine and her sisters than a romance. The basis for Phoebe and Alexanders romance felt slim, and I didn't feel they really knew anything about each other. Alexander was still a mystery to me by the end. I was also disappointed in the turn Aurelia's character took. She seemed very promising at first, and I hated to see her be nothing more than a villain. It felt in contrast with the message of the novel. I think if the book was longer we could have learned more about the characters and had a really full story, but I was left unsatisfied. This one just wasn't for me.


Thank you to One More Chapter, HarperCollins, and Netgalley for the ARC.

Phoebe is a fun FMC and this is pacy. Readers who appreciate historical accuracy will find little of it here, but those it wanting a historical-vibe, like bridgerton, with a modern outlook, rather than a true historical romance will enjoy this one.

This was a fun little Regency-era romance but I really am sick of every single historical book being marketed as "for fans of Bridgerton." Just a little pet-peeve of mine.

There is a lot of commentary about the double standard of the era, how men can do whatever they want but women are judged so harshly for doing the exact same thing (or less). But that's still very prevalent today too. Gross.

Our FMC has to marry an old man (typical and gross) and is obviously not into this idea.

I did think it was fun that each chapter header was a count down to the wedding but also had a funny little something else to it. A count down and something relevant to her personal life and inner struggles.

A very cutesy romance (not spicy - for those wondering).

I did find this to be very repetitive at times though. I am aware of the sexism and the double-standard, I don't need to be told that it exists in the exact same phrasing multiple times a chapter. That was a bit annoying to me. I like subtlety and lyrical writing when you're telling me about how garbage the world is.

Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review! My Goodreads review is up and my TikTok (Zoe_Lipman) review will be up at the end of the month with my monthly reading wrap-up.

Enemies to lovers with a Bridgerton style twist!

Phoebe is not your average heroine. She's not going to be married off to an old (albeit wealthy) earl. No, she's going to do everything in her power to avoid it.

Her antics keep forcing her into the path of a very disagreeable viscount, seemingly determined to spoil her fun at every turn.

Loved every single page of this and couldn't put it down! Funny, poignant, inspiring, and meticulously researched, it's a must read!

I understood where the FMC was coming from - the complete hypocrisy of the era that allowed men to get away with almost anything, saying boys will be boys, but young women forcibly held almost hostage by her family until she marries. So I get the longing for freedom and adventure. What didn’t work for me was the way the revelations were presented. It was very quick, very anticlimactic, and with little follow up. Thanks to One More Chapter/HarperCollins for the ARC.

The plot sounded so cute but the numerous inaccuracies, repetition, and pacing left a lot to be desired for me.

Other readers may love this but it wasn’t for me.



Thank you to One More Chapter and NetGalley for the DRC

I wanted to quit when a character reading Sense and Sensibility said how swoony Colonel Brandon was when he rescued Marianne and carried her in from the rain. That was in a movie not the book.

This was a romp with little historical accuracy that struggled with pacing. Phoebe constantly reflected on wanting male freedoms and an adventure. I was felt beaten over the head with it.

If you like introspective romcoms, this is for you. I couldn’t buy into the regency setting or Phoebe’s chaotic thoughts and actions.

The premise of this book kept reminding me of a few paintings from the 1800s that depict sad, young brides standing next to old men, their grooms. There’s also a painting of a young woman in a wedding gown bookended by two sisters who are consoling her as she looks completely blank at the viewer. A younger sister is trying on her floral crown behind them.

This book fulfills the voice inside us as modern women when we look at these paintings and think “run!”

Phoebe’s father stipulated in his will that his daughter would marry the elderly Earl of Cumberland. Phoebe’s brother sees no reason to give her a season as Phoebe’s future has been determined. She is desperate for the freedom and adventure that her brothers have in the four months before the wedding. So she runs.

Phoebe’s first adventure is short-lived, but it does introduce her to Alexander, a Viscount who becomes her love interest and nemesis when Phoebe and her sisters are sent to Bath for a little bit of a social season with an aunt. Phoebe gets caught up in some wild escapades, mostly because of her friendship with another debutante who has been engaged to Alexander since birth.

In addition to this main plot about Phoebe’s adventuring, we have her three sisters, Alexander’s two siblings, a love interest for Alexander’s brother, and look at how asthma was being treated in this time.

There are times when Alexander seems like a Darcy character and his brother seems like Bingley. They are the grumpy/sunshine brothers. Phoebe and her closest sister Sophie definitely seem like Elizabeth and Jane Bennet.

There’s a big reveal towards the end about that father’s will and why he wanted his first born daughter to marry the Earl of Cumberland. It’s maddening and sadly realistic.

Overall, this was a romcom, but it dealt with some really heavy themes. It was a fun and interesting read.

The Mismatch of the Season is like a Regency-set comedy-of-errors, with the main character, Phoebe, falling from one escapade to the next in pursuit of adventure before her unwanted marriage to an old Earl. Phoebe has three months until the wedding, and the timer is ticking with every chapter. It has an authentic, formal style to the writing that fans of classic Regency romances might really enjoy, combined with a young, chaotic main character in a story that I've definitely never seen before. The romance is clean/non-explicit.

Disclaimer: I received an Advance Reader Copy from NetGalley but this is my voluntary and honest review.