In congruence with my campaign to judge books by their covers, I requested this book because of the adorable cover and fun title. I love a Regency romp, and this story had definite YA Jane Austen vibes.

As the title implies, the book follows a similar plot to the 80s Molly Ringwald film, “Sixteen Candles”, except it’s set in 1821 England and doesn’t have an extremely racist portrayal of an Asian person. Basically, youngest child and perpetual rule-follower Primrose Ainsworth decides on her sixteenth birthday to do something rebellious. While her family is out (ignoring her and her special day) she sneaks off to Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens with her best friend Olympia for a night of fun. However, a hitch in the plan separates Primrose from Olympia, and she is forced to face the gardens alone, searching for her friend – until she encounters a handsome stranger…hijinks ensue.

This book was fun but was structured in such a way that it felt like not much happened plot-wise, despite a lot of “action” occurring throughout the story. The main romance was cute and had good banter, but it was a little too “at first sight” for my tastes. I enjoyed the between-chapter quotes from “Lady Druthers’s Guide to Perfect Deportment and Etiquette”, as I spent a lot of time researching etiquette guides for my undergrad thesis, and thought that the book contained some good commentary on flouting societal convention. It reminded me in spirit of Cindy Anstey’s books, so if you liked any of those, I would recommend “Sixteen Scandals”.

Thank you to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and NetGalley for access to this ARC!

This book I was not sure where it was going to take me. Some of it I felt was a bit out there. The beginning pulls you in because it is a mystery of where Primrose is and if she will make it out of there alive. The characters were fun and definitely up to no good. Mixed feelings on this one.

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC!

Sixteen Scandals is a delightfully silly book; about what you'd expect of a YA centric historical romance. With inspiration taken from the classic 80s movie 16 Candles, Prim wakes up on her 16th birthday and expects that she will be making her debut in society. However, her family family to appreciate the momentous day and tells prim she'll have to wait until her older sister is betrothed before "coming out". Unhappy with this answer, Prim takes it upon herself to have a 16th birthday adventure by sneaking out of her house with her BFF and spending an evening at Vauxhall. Shenanigans ensue which lead to Prim being separated from her friend and rescued by the handsome stranger, Jacob. Prim spends a night to remember with Jacob as one adventure follows the next.

As I said before, this is a silly book. The plot is extremely predictable and the shenanigans a bit out too out there. However, I read this in one sitting and was entertained the whole time.

This was so fun. I love this setting for a romance and it's cool to see it in a YA book. Both characters were really enjoyable.