Miss Newbury’s List by Megan Walker is a sweet clean regency romance. I was really excited to get an ARC of this book because I absolutely adored Megan’s earlier novel Lakeshire Park. While this book was a cute story it didn’t quite measure up for me.

Rosalind Newbury is engaged to a duke that she barely knows. She decides that is she could just complete a bucket list, that she made when she is 12 years old, she would then be ready to marry the duke. Little did she know that meeting Charlie would change everything.

I liked the idea of completing a bucket list, but the things on the list were a little silly and sometimes a little boring. I loved Charlie as the hero of the story. He was sweet and supportive and very swoon worthy. I didn’t care for the heroine of the story Ros. She was immature and didn’t seem to care about anyone else as long as she got what she wanted.

Overall the story was fun to read and I enjoyed it. I especially liked the last 3rd of the book when things started picking up and moving at a faster pace. It is a book I would recommend to regency lovers.

Miss Newbury’s list was written well enough that if you enjoy regency romance (in particular ones that focus on the bucket list trope), I would feel comfortable recommending this to you for a sweet, cozy read.

But this book unfortunately stops right there at being only marginally interesting.

Rosalind, who is engaged to a Duke, has given herself a list of things she wants to accomplish before getting married. On her quest to fulfill the list, she meets the cousin of her lifelong best friend and neighbor (how has she never met him before??) Rosalind twists the arms of Liza and Charlie to help her with the list and she falls in love with Charlie along the way.

I will try and be succinct with the reasons I didn’t care for this book because I don’t want to drag it through the mud…

1. I found the bucket list to be tediously boring. So boring in fact that if I hadn’t been reading this for netgalley, I would have not finished it.

2. The relationships between everyone were very weakly written.
A. Rosalind’s mother was demanding, uncaring, and petty. Rosalind was never honest with her. But suddenly in the end her mother changes to a completely different person and becomes very caring and is completely accepting of Rosalind calling off the wedding??? This woman yelled at the dress maker over the lace being the wrong shade of white!
B. We are constantly told that Rosalind and Liza are so close and did so much together growing up but honestly they seem like acquaintances. Same goes for Rosalind and her brother Benjamin…we are TOLD over and over how close they are but there was never any evidence SHOWN on the page.
C. And finally the romance between Rosalind and Charlie was way too quick to be believable. And honestly the whole time I felt like she was cheating on her fiancé which felt weird for a book published by Shadow Mountain.

3. Lastly, the pacing of the book was uneven. The first 2/3 of the book was super slow. Seriously snail’s pace. Then all of the sudden some crazy action gets thrown in and everything goes full throttle to the ending.

Thank you to Shadow Mountain and Netgalley for the advanced reader’s copy of this book. I truly love most of your Proper Romances but unfortunately this one was a bit of a miss for me.

I'll start off by saying that I adore Lakeshire Park and this was a most anticipated release. I've really enjoyed Megan's writing before including her indie releases and I know that I will eagerly try anything she publishes in the future.
I may have had too high of expectations because this one didn't hit the mark for me. It was a like and not the adore I was hoping for. One of the things I had a hard time with was how long the love triangle-that-wasn't lasted. It's not my cup of tea in any novel and I find myself wanting to give the character a good thump on the head to get it together. Mostly though, I struggled with Ros's immaturity and lack of character arc.
What I did like: Charlie! Whenever there's a yummy and loyal hero, I want to wrap him in a hug and get his own POV. His character is really well written even through Ros's initially disgruntled eyes. Megan has a quality to her sentencing and how she strings them together to give beauty and enjoyment to the reader. So while the main character has her flaws, the rest of the story kept me engaged through to the ending.
Thank you to Shadow Mountain and Netgalley for the advanced copy. All thoughts in this review are my own.

Miss Newbury’s List by Megan Walker is a sweet regency romance that follows Rosalind (Ros) as she completes her “bucket list” before getting married.

Ros is engaged to a duke that she hardly knows. She loves her family, and they have always wanted a title in the family. So when the opportunity arose to marry a duke, Ros could not turn it down. She wants to add to her family legacy and isn’t too bothered with not being in love. However, before she gets married she needs to complete her list. When her aunt Alice got married, she told Ros that she made a list of 10 things she wanted to accomplish and she made sure she did them before she was married. Ros of course made a list and then put it away until she was getting married.

With her marriage to the duke getting closer she decides to check some things off her list. She tries to bring in her best friend, Liza but runs into Charles Winston. Charlie is her best friend’s cousin who has been cut off from his family due to his poor choices. He ends up helping Ros accomplish items on her list. Some items were simple and fun, while others were more meaningful. I loved watching Charlie and Ros form a friendship and get to know each other as they crossed items off her list.

I loved the characters in this story and the friendships they had. It was fun to get to know Ros as Charlie got to know her by checking things off of her list. Her best friend, Liza, and brother, Ben, were also great characters who helped Ros on her adventures. There is great banter between all of the characters and memorable moments.

If you love a sweet, swoony, regency romance this book is for you!

Thank you to NetGalley and Shadow Mountain Publishing for providing me with an eARC of this novel! All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Rosalind is set to marry a duke—the ultimate wish fulfillment of every regency girl. Though she feels unsettled, she believes this is due to not completing a bucket list written as a young girl. If she can successfully accomplish this list, she will be ready to become a duchess. What she finds instead is a self awareness that changes her perspective.

This is a sweet, and at times silly story. Though there is an inordinate amount of lip chewing, I found the characters enjoyable. The quick pace and vivid detail make for an absorbing read. I was sucked right in. This is a lovely addition to the proper romance line which will be sure to delight its fans.

I loved her journey of discovering herself and changing her life through her list. I loved how her friendship with him grew and blossomed. It felt real and deep and meaningful. The way love is supposed to be. Friendship and love and helping each other be a better person. I love the forgiveness in the book of both self and others.

"I have traveled a long way to be exactly where I want to be."

This book! I adore this book! I adore it so much that I will reread and reread and reread it as a comfort read. I have read it twice so far and I am not ashamed to read it 100 times. It has everything I love in a book. Everything!!!! Yes I realize I am a certified "book gusher." I gush about books that I love and honestly it's a lot of them. Yet this one... people...this one is like the Darcy walk in the field at sunrise. This one is like Elizabeth Bennett holding her breath as he walks nearer. This one is the moment the audience catches their breath when Elizabeth says "your hands are cold." And *sigh* this one is the moment you know you need to watch Pride and Prejudice again for the thousandth time.

Miss Newbury's List does not follow Pride and Prejudice's guideline. Nooo it just has the feeling! The moment you find the lasting feeling of a book friend. Ugh it's pure sunshine and bliss.

My hope is when you pick this one up, you'll love it as much as I do.

'Miss Newbury's List' is a unique book that touches on issues of family, loss and self-worth in a charming and often humorous way. I enjoyed that the author gave the reader enough time to have the main characters unfold and grow. Although I couldn't see how it could be accomplished the ending of this book was one of the most heartwarming and satisfying affirmations I'd read in a long time. This is the first book I have read by this author and I will be looking for more.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

Today I give you another sweet historical romance by @authormeganwalker! I absolutely adore Lakeshire Park so I was eager to pick this one up!

Miss Newbury's List follows a young lady who desires to finish a list of things she wanted to accomplish before she got married. With three weeks left before she must wed a Duke out of marriage of convenience for her family, she is determined to check each box, fulfilling her childhood bucket list. But while doing so, she meets her best friends' cousin who ruins her carefully made plans.

Read if you like...
🥰 A swoony hunk of a hero
💓A girl who longs for adventure
🥊Boxing
👫 Brother and sister bonding
🍰 Sweets
🤩 Close proximity
🖌️Painting
♥️Charlie ( a hero so nice, I listed him twice)

I think the vast majority of historical romance readers who like sweet romance will love this book. I however struggled a bit. I think the writing was fine but I didn't enjoy some of the main plot points.

I'm not a fan of people who are engaged to someone else while pining for another man. Even though this character didn't know the Duke, she still waited almost right up until her wedding to break it off. I just don't like those tropes. Feels like cheating.

I also didn't care for a heroine who decided to do a bucket list 3 weeks before her wedding when she wrote it when she was 12. Just seemed a little out of place. And her decision making along with it made her not likeable.

Love the bother and sister bonding. Her brother is so cute and funny. Loved watching them together.

Charlie is one fantastic hero. I loved his overall character growth, personality, and swooniness. He was my favorite part of the book. Watching him grow through his grief was heartbreaking and realistic. I could totally see him acting that way because of his brother.

I wished the ending wrapped up better especially for her family. Things just seemed to just end...I guess I expected more push back from her family?

Overall it's a sweet read but not so much for me. I like this author a lot and will continue to read her books.

3.5 stars
This book releases Feb. 7th! Excited to see what Megan writes next. Thank you @shadowmountainpub for the early copy! All thoughts and words are my own.

*Romance-kisses

#properromance #meganwalker
#shadowmountain #missnewburyslist #earlycopy
#arcreads #pubday #friendstolovers #bucketlist #februaryrelease #2023reads #januarytbr #lovestories

Oh what a fun story by Megan Walker and wonderful addition to the Proper Romance series. The idea of the list before marriage is such a great idea! While this book is from the Regency era I feel all young ladies even of current age, could do this before they get married. I really enjoyed the characters and found them to be fun and relatable. I really enjoyed the writing style of this book and how it was all in Rosalind’s point of view. I loved the humor and effortless flow of the story as we embark on the 3 week journey to mark off all of the items on Rosalind’s list.
Multiple times during the story I did wonder how the book was going to end, that was one of the great parts that kept the pages turning. I also, kept asking myself if I were in her position would I choose Love or Duty?

Miss Newbury's 'before marriage' List was such a clever premise for a story.

I liked the background info given on why Ros was so set on finishing this list before getting married. I think it's relatable to all reader types to want to do certain things before a major life change-like a marriage. I liked that the list covered a wide variety of to-do's. It kept the pages turning and held my interest with what item would be crossed off next.

I loved the side characters. Liza was delightful (please tell me she is getting a story ASAP!). I loved Ros' brother and of course Charlie entering into this book was laugh out loud funny.

I loved the banter, the challenges and the romance was swoony...just like I like it. I really liked watching the familial relationships progress and grow. Character ARCs abound in this book with so many. I liked how it showed the historical expectations around marriage and that it was more of a duty than a whirlwind romance - or lack thereof.

I will tell you I did not see how this story was going to end with a HEA, but I should never expect anything less from this author :) She knows what us readers want in an ending and I soaked up every single word!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the copy. All thoughts in this review are my own.

#BookRevew: MISS NEWBURY'S LIST by Megan Walker

Rosalind (Ros) was engaged to marry a duke. A union that would be beneficial for her family. Despite the busyness of the wedding preparations, she felt unsettled. But she was determined to do everything in her list before the wedding.

Ros was a likeable character so her list seemed silly to me at the beginning. Then she met Charlie. Charlie seemed dangerous so I didn’t want him for Ros. Well, they became friends. Then Charlie surprised me. He had really good words for Ros to ponder upon. They have good chemistry and conversations. As Ros checked off her list, the mood changed in the book. I didn’t know how the story would end, but I enjoyed the second half of the book. I also appreciate Liza’s friendship and support of Ros.

The romance was sweet but what stood out to me the most was the family bond. The family’s study scene was unexpected but a favorite. Some regency books have disturbing family stories. Though it seemed to be similar for Charlie and Ros, it turned out their family loved them so much. Their happiness and safety were of utmost importance. Their circumstances were different, but because of that love, forgiveness was easy. All the sacrifices were worth it. All the changes were welcome.

Rating: 4 stars
Pub Date: 07 Feb 2023

Thank you Shadow Mountain Publishing for the complimentary copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

Do you have a bucket list? I do not. I am not a great planner. Well, no that's not right. I plan beautifully. I execute plans poorly. But in terms of traveling, outings, doing anything out of the ordinary, I'm better with impulse.

If you like bucket lists, regencies, younger brothers, best friends brother (but really cousin) trope, proper romances and shenanigans, check this one out. It is a love triangle, technically, but it's really not. I don't know. Just read it. You'll know what I mean.

Coming in February!

Thank you to @shadowmountainpub and @netgalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

- Charlie. He's gonna stress me out. Guaranteed.
- I love the list. It's reminds me of The List by Melanie Jacobson.
- was pugilism really illegal?
- fencing intrigues me
- the watercolor. Inventive. I wouldn't have come up with that
- okay, what's up with her mom? I feel like something else is going on. I hope.
- oh goodness. That is a lot of food
- “What will you do if, after all your efforts, you still feel as you do now?”
- the word shrieked is awful
- you know what I love about regency books? They understand how truly awful headaches are. They get you out of anything and I entirely support that
- I like Ben. He's a good brother
- grandparents are so good
- I love darling. It's just so sigh worthy
- the cliff. Charlie- stressful in a good way.
- the alcove 🔥
- do I love letters as much as text strands? I think I do.
- I enjoyed that epilogue.

Rosalind Newbury is engaged to marry a duke. An opportunity that will make her family reach new heights. But before she marries, she’s determined to complete a bucket list from her childhood. She thinks this will better prepare her for marriage.

With her nearest friend Liza and the addition of Charlie, Liza’s cousin, Rosalind sets out to accomplish the items of her list. But as items are ticked off, Rosalind begins to understand more about the life she hasn’t lived. Can she make a decision that is right for her and her family?

I loved Charlie and Rosalind’s friendship from the beginning. They each had something to teach one another when it came to life. They both were flawed characters who grew and changed as the book progressed but remained themselves to the then. I had my doubts about a bucket list made as a 12-year-old but it was exactly what adult Rosalind needed.

I absolutely loved the fact that both Charlie and Rosalind put forward their sense of duty towards their family over their own feeling and were rewarded at the end for their sacrifice. It was an absolute joy to read this book!

**Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.**

I don't always pick up regency romances but when I saw the early reviews coming back for this one I picked it up and my goodness I am SO glad I did!

This book was a complete delight! I so enjoyed going on an adventure with Ros, Charlie and Liza. I was worried the list aspect could have gotten boring but it never did, Megan Walker put together the perfect list and the perfect circumstances surrounding the list to make it fun and compulsively readable!

I also really enjoyed that this book was sweet (no steam at all) but had all the good tension you want in a romance!

Without spoiling anything, something in particular happened during the resolution of the book that I haven't necessarily seen in another book and I LOVED how that played out! I will absolutely be reading more Megan Walker in the future!

This was a sweet historical romance and I fell in love with Charlie. I loved his character and the growth and understanding we get from his past to his improvements. I just had a slight problem with Rosalind. She seems like a very dutiful daughter and she is willingly marrying a Duke. I felt like her behavior to fulfill her list before she is married was reckless. She does finally admit that she doesn’t want to marry the Duke (but was it because she met Charlie?). I don’t know. I still enjoyed the story and I’m happy with the HEA.

Lovely Regency era proper romance. Miss Rosalind Newbury is engaged to marry a Duke. She is 18 and never had a season as the marriage is arranged by her father. With only three weeks left to the wedding Ros wants to experience a few new things. She remembers and finds a list she created years before of Ten Things To Do before she marries. Some are easy and others a little more of a challenge. She knows her best friend Liza will help her accomplish the tasks. Liza is willing but along with her comes Charlie her cousin. Charlie is sweet and provoking. He is cut off from his parents at the moment for not falling in line when he became the unexpected heir to his father. He is gentleman but not titled.

The threesome is fun as is much of their innocent adventures. Of course as the wedding looms closer Rosalind must reckon with her feelings toward Charles compared to the advantages the Duke can bring to her family. And does she really have any choice? I enjoyed the story and the main characters. The counting down to the wedding brings an urgency to check off the list but also to the developing feelings. At times I wish Charlie wasn’t so much a gentleman. Secondary characters add to the story but don’t have much depth. I didn’t know which side her parents would come down on when Rosalind makes up her mind.

This is a clean romance with only a few kisses. And is appropriate for any romance reader. Thank you to NetGalley and Shadow Mountain Publishing for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Yes - read it.

Publishers description provides almost too much information. However, it was still a nice read. Characters you root for, a few unexpected twists and HEA ending.

I liked that if I set it aside for a few days, I didn't have to wonder to myself "now what was happening here?" Very easy to pick right back and get into the story again.

I received an ARC to help me prepare my honest review.

Absolutely magical. Charlie...swoon! That man is everything you could want in regency and in a book boyfriend. The writing is phenomenal and engaging. I was hooked from the very beginning!! I thought I loved her first book, but somehow she outdid herself.

VERDICT Walker (Lakeshire Park) creates a winning champion in Charlie, who grows from a tempestuous man to one of restraint without losing his mischievousness. The easy friendship and slow-burning chemistry between Charlie and Ros will warm readers’ hearts.

The full review was originally published in Library Journal, January 2023, v. 148, no. 1, p. 80. Or see the full review online at Library Journal.