Wow! What a ride!

The Trouble with Anna felt like such a fresh take on historical romance, and not just for its enticing hot pink cover. Rachel Griffiths’s writing style is contemporary, but does not feel out of place for a Regency romance. I enjoyed her shorter chapters which kept me reading. The plot had just enough events and actions to drive the story forward. There was no unnecessary wordiness or self-important filler. I don’t know how many times I found myself saying “just one more chapter,” and before I knew it, I was finished.

I’m not much of a horse girl myself. I think they’re a bit intimidating, but I loved this horse-obsessed heroine. She made me care about horses and racing. I was surprised to find myself slowing down during the riding scenes to make sure I absorbed all the details. It was clever how Anna’s character was a bit like a horse herself. Strong and fast, while also easily spooked by society and romance. The fact that Julian encouraged her passions, even as his potential Countess, was the icing on the cake.

Another unique point of this novel is the progression of the romance. Fairly early, Julian made me feel assured that they would find their happily ever after. I could just tell that Anna would be safe with him, despite his initial reactions. After anticipating a fluffy story of two people falling in love, my heart was seized and crushed by their struggles in the relationship. My eyes burned with tears during their reconciliations. How many times must this poor man propose? I let out a big sigh of relief when I realized they had overcome their challenges. My emotions could not handle anymore.

I loved that not all romantic and steamy scenes between them were these deeply passionate perfect moments. There was variety. It was so much more relatable and real to see an awkward moment between them. I think laughter or giggles during kisses makes me swoon just as much as a chin grab.

Griffith goes beyond a dual POV and I am here for it. A feisty dowager is always a favorite of mine, and Lady Charlotte is just as fun. I am thrilled that Charlotte will get a book, as well. I will need to sneak a peek at the synopsis to see if her beau is who I am hoping it is. I’m always thirsty for an “enormous” MMC.

If you enjoy a best friend’s brother romance with a take your clothes off and use my body heat for warmth scene, this is your book. I give it 4.5+ stars, but I’ll round it up to a 5 with a hope we will see more of Julian and Anna in book 2 of the series.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC. This is my honest review.

3.5 stars
I have to admit, I will almost always default to the male lead first when it comes to romance. I look at his qualities, care, and concern for others. The female lead will come after that unless he is a complete jerk.

With that said, the characters in this story fall into my normal sequence. Ramsay was definitely not looking for her but fell first, and showed care, and concern. He really wanted to support her and changed so much throughout the book. Even the nice bit of steam is a big plus.

Anna was developed to only care about horses, her property, and little else. So it is within reason that she can come off as strong-willed, defensive, and somewhat of a mess. She is a tomboy in the Regency era forced to marry to keep her property. She resists everything he does to help her.

I like the strong feisty women featured but they are also a mess. Bullying and rude behavior between them abound. I mean, who forces someone to cut their hair, wear specific clothing, and do things they are not comfortable with all for the sake of attracting others? I thought we were over that.

The Trouble with Anna is a progressive story within the time frame it is written. Ramsay deals with a lot from Anna and their conversation skills between each other stink.

There were many parts in this book that I did not care for, but overall Griffiths delivers a book that is unique. There are some love/hate qualities for Regency romance fans, but the story is entertaining and delivers a sweetheart of a male lead worth the read.

This is a debut historical romance novel by Rachel Griffiths, featuring an awkward, horse mad heroine named Anna, who finds herself in a pickle because her grandfather's will leaves her his home and stable only if she marries Earl Ramsey, who is the brother of her best friend Charlotte. Anna is wildly attracted to Julian, but also incredibly insecure and traumatized by her upbringing after the death of her beautiful mother, who was known for her affairs. Meanwhile Julian inherited his earldom young after the death of his drunken father, and had to rescue his estate after it was defrauded by a trusted steward. As a result he takes his responsibilities extremely seriously. This was a book I initially struggled through, particularly the first half. In part because there were several POVs in the novel, which is unusual for historical romance: Anna, Julian, Charlotte, and also the Dowager Countess. Also offputting was how quickly Julian decided to offer for Anna -- his sense of responsibility really hadn't also been established, and given his lack of interest in her didn't ring true. Then to have Anna constantly rebuff him and hear over and over how plain she was...as a reader, i had NO idea why Julian would be interested in her at all. She felt very much like a wet blanket, and Charlotte's vivacity didn't help matters--I wanted to read her story instead. Heck, I wanted to read the Dowager Countess's story instead! Luckily things did improve, to the point I overall recommend it. That said, this novel could have used a much thorough editing. It had weird lags and jumps in pacing, and a lot of it could have been tightened up. And in the climactic end scene where...

spoilers




Anna goes in a carriage to Julian, who has traveled to his estate, she somehow arrives WALKING IN A DOWNPOUR for him to find her whilst on horseback. WTF? Why is she walking? What happened to the carriage? Why doesn't he call off the wedding when he realizes he's marrying someone without brain cells?

Yeah, could have used an editor.

Still, there was so much promise. I was going to give it five stars, but typing out my spoiler, I can't, lol. Four stars it is.

An ARC was provided for me in exchange for an honest review by NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

This book was so fun! A historical romance romp with a rebellious FMC and a exasperated MMC that reads more like a TV show than your usual romance book.

Lady Anna Reston's grandfather has died, and has left her his estate (complete with race horse breeding stables)... on the condition that she marries. Enter the Earl, the older brother of Lady Anna's best friend and the new guardian of her estate until she marries. He wants to do right by his new "ward". Anna wants her independence and to do right by her grandfather's estate. The two goals clash, leaving us with a he-falls-first historical romance with lots of ups and downs.

This reminded me of Bridgerton- the characters are more modern than historically accurate, the clothes pretty but not period appropriate, and the banter is top-notch. Putting aside anything I knew about this time period, I had so much fun reading this book. Anna was great, but my favorite character would be either the Dowager or Charlotte, Anna's best friend. I strongly suspect that we are going to get Charlotte's book next... and I can't wait!

Recommend for anyone who enjoyed Bridgerton and is looking to capture some of that energy before the next season!

When Lady Anna’s grandfather dies, she’s angry to learn she’ll only inherit his estate and horse farm if she marries Lord Julian Ramsay within six months or lose the everything to her awful cousin. Julian is equally angry but why can’t they stop kissing in darkened corners?

This was such a fun romp, I laughed so many times and loved the characters. Anna is a total horsey girl and a firecracker who wants her independence. She longs to be respected as a person in her own right who can run her own horse farm. I love how she schemed to fund her independence through a betting ring. Julian is cool and arrogant but that stems from having to be the responsible one after inheriting the earldom at 15. They’re perfect for each other as they challenge each other. Supporting characters - Julian’s equally spirited sister Charlotte and their grandmother, the Countess Dowager - were utter hoots. I cackled so many times with their plotting and scheming to shove Julian and Anna together.

The first third of the book did drag a bit and the humour and fun tone didn't come through as strongly as the rest. I also didn't understand why Julian proposed the first time given he was going to get out of being forced to marry Anna and wasn't attracted to her. Also, when Charlotte's mother tells Anna about Julian's past, Julian explains it a way too lightly without really Julian opening up, which was Anna's final issue with him. Everything felt a bit too rushed. Overall I really enjoyed this smart, funny and sexy romp and I hope we get to see Charlotte's story.

Thanks to Gallery Books and NetGalley for the ARC.

Thanks to the publisher for the opportunity to read this. Unfortunately, I didn't really like it. The relationship between Anna and Julian was oddly blunt and ultimately a bit silly. Like, would he really become her guardian just because someone put it in their will, without his knowledge or legal consent? That doesn't seem correct. Lots of horse stuff, lots of random spitting that put me in mind of fussing 6th graders. Eh, just didn't like it.

3.5 stars. A lot of fun to be had in this book, but there were a few things that were not for me. I didn’t really mesh with the author’s writing style. Also, both MCs are very guarded — Anna would run at the first indication of conflict, and Julien would shut down and become cold. They do eventually work on this, however, but it was a bit of a struggle to cheer for them early on with these contrasting conflict styles. However! The story itself is very fun. When Anna isn’t being skittish, she’s a great, strong character. I absolutely loved the parts in the Dowager Countess’ POV — she was my favorite character. Caroline was also a great character as well.

Thanks so much to Gallery Books and NetGalley for the ARC!!