This was cute, a little drawn out at the end. Not groundbreaking, but it was a nice, easy weekend read.

I really wanted to like this book, but it ended up falling flat for me. The voice was just a little bit off; it didn't ride the social commentary to witty line well. Plus the characters just weren't that great. A swing and a miss for me.

Unfortunately, I couldn't finish Mr. Malcolm's List. I found the writing to be fast paced, and the characters too unrelatable and hollow. I just couldn't get into the story.

Not what I anticipated. I think it had the potential for more, but it was entertaining. It's an easy read. It has wit and funny moments but it could've come off the page more.

I really didn’t like this one.
Mr. Malcom was honestly just awful. The setting didn’t mesh with the writing. Julia was a bad friend. Miscommunication storylines are my least favorite and really drag a book down.

A humorous romantic comedy with plenty of "Pride & Prejudice" overtones, "Mr. Malcolm's List" is something of a comedy of errors when two people who are right for each other keep getting tangled in the schemes of others. Selina Dalton's friend Julia is a spoiled brat who doesn't catch the eye of the Season's most eligible bachelor- Mr, Malcolm. So Julia brings Selina to London with the scheme of tricking Malcolm into falling in love with Selina, who will then refuse him. Selina and Malcolm click right away, which only aggravates Julia more. Schemes and heartache ensue, with everyone trying to 'help' the two lovers get back together.

Malcolm is clearly a 'what if' character based on Mr. Darcy. His problem is he doesn't listen to his instincts, and doesn't unbend when he realizes he's wrong. He's used to being a matrimonial catch, and is both spoiled by and proud of the position in society it gives him. He tries to judge others by standards even he doesn't reach. Even when he knows Selina is the one for him he tests her against his list of requirements in a wife. Some of it felt pretty forced, like the story had wanted to go one way but kept being beaten back into it's original path. Malcolm falls in love but keeps testing Selina instead of accepting his emotions (we never find out why Malcolm won't accept his emotions either, which I think would have helped a lot). Julia wants Selina and Malcolm to hit it off but doesn't want Selina to be the center of any attention. Misunderstandings should cause heartbreak to both Selina and Malcolm, but all we really focus on is hurt pride. It felt to me like if the book had been allowed to follow its own path, we might have gotten a more convincing and emotionally satisfying, story, but instead it was kept to a determined outline. This still made for a light and entertaining, if often annoying, story, but I felt like it could have become something much better.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC.

I had really really high hopes when I read the blurb for this book. I had visions of a tantalizing, funny story in the vein of Sarah Maclean or Evie Dunmore. The premise of this book is so intriguing: A woman scorned by the most desired man of the season discovers that the man in question has a list of traits that his future spouse must possess. And what does a woman scorned do? She enlists her friend to charm him, fulfill all the qualifications of his list and then turn around and declare him unfit for her list. So good right?

You're sitting there thinking this is going to be SO amazing.

Unfortunately there is a major disclaimer missing from the blurb. This book is a complete farce. It is not meant to be serious or at all realistic. The characters speak in relatively modern english (there are a few moments that sound time period adjacent) and act in entirely unrealistic ways. All the characters are very broad and extreme in their characteristics.
The scorned woman, Julia, is so horrible and the author really digs in to these traits, overplaying them and exaggerating them to a grating degree. She schemes for most of the book, never caring about the consequences of her actions, never taking no for an answer and acting like a spoiled child when she doesn't get her way. There are a few moments of where she seems to take a turn towards reforming her personality but it seems this is push out in favour of the farce.

Mr. Malcolm is odd; nothing to really recommend him as a romance hero. He never bends in his belief that he is right and that his list will ensure a successful marriage, which does work for character growth. There are moments with him too, like with Julia, that see glimmers of growth but again here it seems like for the sake of the farce he is stuck in his rigidity.

This book does move quite quickly which makes it feel like more of romp and fun. However having the main reveal occur at 50% of the book was jarring as a reader. In some ways it made sense; Selina and Malcolm have to find their way back to each other and time is needed for this. However in this book, given the levity with which it was written, the reveal easily could happened at closer to 80% and everything would have felt okay.

This book felt like I was reading 'The Importance of Being Earnest' and others similar to it; critiquing social norms and practices, gender roles and so on. Had I known upfront that this is what the book was - a farce, a fun romp and poking fun at the romance genre, the regency era and their courting practices - I would have enjoyed it. There is a wonderful lightness to this book that is charming. But I would argue it is only charming if you know what you are walking in to. Mr. Malcolm's List been wrapped in a regency romance covering, suggesting that it is similar to other titles in this very popular genre and I worry that readers will be sorely disappointed when they don't receive what they expected.

This was a sweet and light romantic comedy. The characters are the usual cliched and the plot is very standard. I was hoping for a bit more fleshing out of the characters but many of them were the standard back of the room and step forward when a quip or throwaway comment is needed. This was a fun and quick read.

Mr. Malcom has a list of requirements he feels a future bride must meet. After her friend fails to meet the requirements of the list, Selina agrees to a plot: make Mr. Malcolm fall for her, and then present her own list which he has failed to meet.

This book was fun. It had an overall tone of a feel-good rom com, and it actually really reminded me of Austenland.
There was some fun banter between Selina and Jeremy, but I found most of the side characters were pretty two dimensional.
Also, it took several chapters for the conflict to be resolved. Just when I thought they were about to talk through the miscommunication, it just escalated further.
*Review copy provided via NetGalley.

A fun romance that will make a fantastic film. Mr. Malcolm's List is definitely worth picking up. The characters are flawed but endearing and this book will capture your interest from the beginning.

A fun premise with some engaging moments, but I was ultimately letdown by the execution of this novel. It's not very historically accurate, particularly in the way the characters spoke to each other, which threw me off. The characters are hastily introduced and don't see much development so I didn't connect with them as much as I'd like to. Character and plot development is further letdown by the very fast pacing; it felt like the author was trying to include as many romance cliches (not a bad thing!) as possible but without thinking the actual romance through. Overall, this is a tame, quick breeze of a novel that may interest more casual romance readers.

Mr. Malcolm's List is a fun and enjoyable read, if a bit predictable. It is much tamer than I generally like in historical romance, but while that was a disappointment for me it is surely a selling feature for some,

This was a light, fluffy (in a positive way) regency romance novel and overall I enjoyed it! I didn't fully connect with the characters as much as I may have liked and found myself not overly invested in their story, but it was a quick and pleasant read with minimal angst, which I appreciate.

Somewhere between 2.5 and 3 stars... there is something that is very bingeable about this book, so I had a pleasant enough time in the middle of it. It kind of reminded me of fanfiction in its structure and tone, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. However, there's a lot lacking in character development, plot pacing, and consistency in voice. I personally don't care that much about "historical accuracy" (for those who do, this is not going to be a book for you :)), but I do want the author to sell me on their version of the setting that they've constructed. In this case, it didn't convince me of its vision of historical setting it picked
All in all, not my favorite or very memorable, but a fine enough way to pass some time

This is an fair regency romance. It was a bit formulaic, but I did like the main character. There are many misunderstandings and schemes between the characters that are entertaining. If you like chaste historical romances that read fast this is just the book for you.

Do you know those books that make your toes curl up, you clutch the book to your heart, and swoon a little? Based on the summary, I thought that was what I was in for. There were fun moments, but it needed to be fleshed out a bit. It's a quick mindless read, but I'm not sure if I'll remember this a week from now. However, if you do want a light book filled with all the cliches, this is a good choice.

This novel has all the right parts to make up a good regency romance, but it doesn't live up to its promise. The characters, situations, and prose all fall a bit flat. It's missing the sparks of animation, originality, and warmth that could have made it more than a paint by numbers novel of the genre.

I wanted to like this book. The premise had me excited. But it is just not very good. The characters are all one-dimensional and as deep as a puddle on the sidewalk. There is no development between the Hero and Heroine, supposedly they like each other but I couldn't tell you why other than he is H.O.T. and has some money. Also I have no idea why, or even how, Selina and Julia are friends. Julia obviously doesn't even like her and they are just using each other. Julia, who is selfish and petty, gets a man to marry her, even though she absolutely does not deserve anything without some serious soul searching and growing up. Oh, and the mysterious list that really should have been in the first chapter of the book, is the very last page. I think this story could have been good, if the characters had been given some depth. I will give the author another chance, because I think she could have something.

This book would be a delight if it were to be considered as anything other than a historical romance aimed at adults. The characters are borderline comical archetypes. With most of them acting immaturely and being very one dimensional, it is a hard sell as an adult novel. The plot itself isn't overwhelmingly well developed. As a lot of flurried action with not much actually going on, it doesn't read well as a novel. As a YA historical romance, it would be fair to middling. However, as a basis for a play in the vein of “The Importance of Being Earnest” it has potential. In short, that the author is shopping this book as a screenplay answers a lot of my questions about this novel. While this book didn't thrill me as a traditional book, I think it will be a fluffy treat as a play, movie or mini-series.

This didn't work for me at all. The main couple both feel immature and spoiled. It was like reading a drama set in high school with all the he said she said and scheming. I also didn't like that this is a republication but marketed as if it was brand new...this seemed somewhat dishonest.