Oh my, this was SUCH a fun read!!! Definitely Bridgerton-like and Austenesque (and actually reminded me of Little Women as well!), but still with so many twists and turns. I love Phoebe, she was definitely such a spunky delightful heroine. And her sisters---can we get some sequels please? The tone, style of writing was witty and captivating, I devoured The Mismatch of the Season in an afternoon.
Thanks to #NetGalley and #HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for the ARC.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley.

While I hoped to absolutely love this book, I, sadly, was not a huge fan.

I love the theory behind the book - having one last adventure before being forced to marry one of your father’s friends, however I started having doubts around the time they discussed the Earl’s “moist purple lips”. From there I just enjoyed it less and less. One part I did throughly enjoy, however, was the bond between the sisters. I think it may have been my favorite part of the whole book.

While it was entertaining to read, it was not a “must have” for myself.

If you love BOTH Pride and Prejudice the novel, and Pride and Prejudice the movie…I think you will be bewitched body and soul by The Mismatch of the Season. This Austen-esque regency takes a few liberties with the Era that end up feeling like a wink to modern Jane fans without distracting at all from a rich plot with a broody viscount and adventurous heroine-to-be. I sped through the last 75% and enjoyed the very satisfying conclusion. The characters are detailed, endearing and the relationship between the Fairfax sisters feels reminiscent of Little Women in the best way possible. I would call this a cozy historical romance, and I really hope this author continues in this genre! Grateful to Michelle Kenney, Harper Collin’s/One More Chapter for this early copy to review!

Sometimes you just need a really good historical romance and this was no exception. I loved the characters, I thought they had fantastic chemistry and as someone who's still kinda new when it comes to historical romance, this was sooo good and I will 100% be reading anything Kenney puts out.

This book wasn’t for me unfortunately. The plot and pacing are all over the place. The main characters lacked chemistry, and FMC had a tendency to repeat herself over and over again.
Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for the opportunity to read this ARC.

We stan a grumpy, ungovernable queen! The Mismatch of the Season gives 10 Things I Hate About You in a Pride and Prejudice clothing, and I was here for it! Fantastic. Five stars!!

If you loved Bridgerton than you should definitely read this book! First of all the cover is so pretty! And I really loved the romance in this book!

Well, this was a wild ride of a historical romance! It was pacy and fun but also beyond belief at times. Did I mind? Not a bit.

Unfortunately I did DNF this book, the premise of the book was promising, the plot seemed interesting and the writing style did intrigue me. This book was just not for me, I love a period drama but maybe I just love it when it’s a tv show/film. I may revisit this book at a later date and give it another go!

This Regency era romance was okay but overall disappointing. The premise sounded fun and the cover caught my eye, but I doubt this will be a memorable read for me. To be fair, I don't personally love the trope of messy FMC with a MMC who has to save her from herself and lecture her. I appreciated that the author was making a concerted effort to comment on women's limited freedoms in this era, but it was pretty heavy-handed and seemed contradictory when the FMC was saved by the MMC in every turn. It's a tough balancing act for modern authors to write historical romances without depressing repressive women narratives of the time while still writing historical romances. The mean girl antagonist of the story not being much more than The Mean Girl felt contradictory to the main theme of women making their own way and not giving her a redemption of some sort was a missed opportunity in my opinion. I didn't feel strongly for the FMC or MMC and preferred the FMC's sisters and MMC's brother. The FMC and MMC romance was fine and predictable, and they didn't much opportunity to develop their relationship beyond him saving the day and her being bitter about it.

The chapter epigraphs were helpful to signpost the timeline because it was hard to follow the plot with the uneven pacing. The prose itself was good, but some editing is necessary. Some of the overly repeated phrases (e.g. comparing FMC to an ox, calling everything 'droll') were very annoying to encounter constantly. The repetition was a major issue with this being single POV; if there was another POV, the repetition may not have been as obvious. The FMC's thoughts were very rambling and always circling back to the same conclusions and phrases. Every minor situation was revisited multiple times through the book in the thoughts of the FMC, even whole pieces of dialogue verbatim repeated for the FMC to obsess over.

I think the author has skill and a clear voice, and the core plot idea is good, but there were a few too many stumbling points for me. In any case, it'll be a quick and easy read for any historical romance reader.

Thank you, Harper Collins, for the arc!

This was a fine book. It wasn't great, it wasn't terrible. I liked that it was set in 1820! Still clinging onto the idea of Regency but at least there was clear reference to the change of King (if not really a change of reign but that's not really relevant). I didn't mind this book at all, I just thought the main characters lacked chemistry. I wasn't invested in their romance because they never had any fun, cute, flirty scenes. The narrative would've been greatly helped by a little more flirting!

I was intrigued by the synopsis so I hoped to like this novel, but sadly this wasn’t for me. I can’t say I really liked the main protagonist: I found her quite self-absorbed and, even though I could understand her refusal to marry an old man and her desire for equality between men and women, I didn’t find it necessary to be repeated every single page. Also, the story felt all over the place and I think there were quite a few historical inaccuracies.

1.5 stars

"The Mismatch of the Season" by Michelle Kenney promises a delightful Regency romance for fans of *Bridgerton* and Jane Austen. Miss Phoebe Fairfax, longing for the freedom her brothers enjoy, finds herself betrothed to an elderly, repugnant earl. Determined to escape her fate, she sets out on a bold adventure—only to cross paths with the insufferably handsome Viscount Damerel.

While the synopsis is intriguing, this book simply wasn’t for me. By the fourth chapter, I realized I wasn’t connecting with the story. The writing style and the introduction of the heroine failed to grab my attention, and despite my initial interest, I couldn’t immerse myself in the narrative. To avoid falling into a reading slump, I decided to set it aside altogether and bury it in my dnf graveyard.

If you’re drawn to Regency romance and enjoy tales of headstrong heroines defying societal norms, this might be worth a try. But for me, it was a mismatch.

The Mismatch for the Season is a fantastic read for those that love Jane Austen’s stories or are fans of the movie adaptations. While reading this story I was able to visualize every scene and I felt like I was watching a new movie or miniseries. I also like how this book had some elements of romance but was clean enough for a young teen to read. Even though there were some predictable moments in the story there were some modern elements intertwined that kept the reader engaged and wanting to read some more.

Miss Phoebe Fairfax is a very loveable character looking for adventure. The second she snuck out wearing her brother’s clothing, I knew she would be badass. This story felt like less of a romance and more of a story about Phoebe and her family, which is definitely not a bad thing. The slow burn between Phoebe and the viscount kept me coming back for more, I just wish it was a bigger part of the story.

I hope Michelle Kenney has plans to turn this into a series, because I loved Phoebe’s relationship with her sisters and would be interested in their stories.

This was a fun read!

Thanks to NetGalley, One More Chapter, and Michelle Kenney for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

My Rating: 2.5 stars out of 5

I had a really hard time with this one for a few reasons, both with the author's writing techniques, and with the characters and story itself.

Let me start with the author/story as this one is the hardest for me. The author definitely has a solid idea and a strong writing style. However, the repetition starts to wear on a reader after awhile. For example (and out of sheer curiosity), I wonder how many times the words "bourgeois" and "droll" appear as it seems to me as though they were definitely overused.

Also, I get it. The highway man was disappointing, and Phoebe wishes she had the same freedom as her brothers. It did not need to be repeated over and over again. In addition to these instances, I also grew tired of reading the same passages over and over again. Seriously, there were several times throughout the novel where Phoebe (granted in her own thoughts) not only recounted all of her unfortunate adventures up until that point, but also remembered things that had been said to her by the Viscount, word-for-word. And while I will admit these things could have worked if they were used sparingly, they weren't. In fact, during a moment near the end of the book when all of Phoebe's attention should have been on what was happening in the moment, she was too busy remembering word-for-word, nearly every encounter she had ever had with the Viscount.

To be fair, I think it was the author's intention with that to show just how over time the Viscount had come to fall in love with Phoebe and vice versa, however, I never bought into it. The Viscount (aka Alexander) is so hot and cold with Phoebe that I found myself rooting for his brother over him. Seriously, most of the time he's berating her for her (admittedly) stupid choices, then he's nice to her, then he pretends she doesn't exist. It gave me whiplash to be honest. I had started to like him a little bit during the garden scene, but that was quickly ruined by their very next meeting when he was once again yelling at her instead of listening to her.

Moving on to the characters, I really didn't like any of the main ones (except maybe Alexander's brother Elliot, and the other Fairfax girls). As I said previously Alex gave me whiplash with his hot and cold behavior towards Phoebe, and she was just so darn stupid at times that I almost wished she would be ruined. Honestly, how many times do her plans have to go awry before she starts to realize that she is the problem?

Her brother Thomas was absolutely insufferable, never once questioning why his father wanted Phoebe to marry a man old enough to be her grandfather (and the reason was dumb to the point I literally rolled my eyes). He just forced his will upon everyone, which made him an easily dislikeable tyrant. Aurelia however (the resident society mean girl), was probably the biggest let down character wise as there were moments when you got a glimpse of the person she could be if only she would find a way to let go of all that mean spiritedness. I kept hoping there would be some sort of redemption for her, although I am curious what she thinks of her new arrangements that we are told of at the end of the story. Is she still claiming to be playing the game, or does she now see what Phoebe was trying to tell her all along?

Despite the issues I had with this one, I feel like this author has a lot of potential to become one of my favorites, so I would read more from them in the future.

DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this novel from the publisher. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own.

This had the potential to be really cute, but the plot and the pacing are all over the place. Every Regency reader knows that Pride and Prejudice was released before Persuasion or Frankenstein, so I’m not sure how that error got through. The writing style is delightful, but this book would benefit from a major developmental edit. I’m shocked that it’s traditionally published.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

If you’ve ever wished for the charm of Pride and Prejudice with the playful spirit of an early 2000s Regency movie, look no further than The Mismatch of the Season.

The main character, Phoebe Fairfax, is an absolute delight. She's humorous, spirited and endlessly entertaining! Her refusal to settle for a dusty, dreadful marriage arrangement leads to a cascade of misadventures, each more amusing than the last. Phoebe’s antics had me laughing out loud and rooting for her from the very first chapter.

While I enjoyed the bits of banter between Phoebe and Damarel, I think the romance element isn't super strong in the book. I found the true heart of the story was with the Fairfax sisters (and I'm totally ok with that!). Their camaraderie and unconditional support feel so genuine and rich, it’s impossible not to be charmed.

If you're a fan of Bridgerton or just need a good dose of Regency escapism, this book is a real winner!

A mashup of <i>Pride and Prejudice</i> and <i>Sense and Sensibility</i> - the movie more than the book - with a dollop of Lex Croucher's ahistorical attitude and Eloise Bridgerton's feminist stridency (again, screen more than page). Phoebe's madcap adventures were entertaining, and I loved how well-developed her sisters' characters were and how important those relationships were to Phoebe and to the story.

But Phoebe's desire for "heroism" and "adventure," while theoretically feminist and spunky, led her to make any number of choices that were more silly than brave. Her degree of naivete might have been sympathetic in a modern eighteen-year-old or a novel classified as YA, but read as selfish and immature in this adult regency romance. 3.5 stars.

I just can't with this book. The pacing is awful, the characters are boring, and historical inaccuracy is painful. I love regency romance books, but this just made me cringe and was hard to read due to it's poor writing.