The Worst Woman in London: A Victorian Romance by Julia Bennet

 

After falling in love with the author's Harcastle series, I obviously had to read everything she wrote. THE WORST WOMAN IN LONDON is quite a bit different than her more gothic side series, though. This is an angsty, friends-to-lovers romance about a woman who is in the process of divorcing from her unfaithful husband and ends up falling for their mutual male friend when he is sent to spy on her.

It's tough to say how I feel about this book because there were some things it did really, really well. Fran is a wonderful character, and I really liked the penultimate interaction she had with her husband's mistress. It was also really interesting to see the drawn-out process of what divorce looked like in the late Victorian period, and how many hoops a woman had to jump through for her freedom (not to mention the unfair standards for men versus women).

I felt rather "eh" regarding the love interest, James. Their friendship felt more like an acquaintanceship than it did a true friendship; he felt much closer to Edward than he did Fran. It also kind of bothered me that for a significant portion of the book, he was still entertaining the idea of pursing other women as wives instead of Fran. I know this is realistic but dammit, I'm a romantic, and I like it when the hero is utterly OBSESSED with the heroine and will have no other in his heart.

The worst part of the book, for me, was Edward. He is a very convincing villain and I hated him, which is why it felt odd to me that the secondary romance in this book would be his. It's a daring choice to make readers despise a character and then expect them to root for his HEA. Bennet even addresses that in the author's note, admitting that he probably didn't get the ending readers wanted (e.g. a bad one).

Overall, this felt like a really interesting and well researched premise that taught me a lot about Victorian divorce, but maybe a not-so-great romance that didn't really have me rooting for anyone except Fran (although I am awarding a bonus half-star for James's grovel at the end).

P.S. For those who were searching for her Hardcastle series, the author just got the rights back and is planning on republishing them with new covers... with a third on the way! Huzzah!

2.5 out of 5 stars