Look Before You Leap is a sweet and light-hearted Regency rom com that is a great way to spend a cosy afternoon. Guy and Lottie are both very likeable characters, and I appreciated how upfront they were with themselves - not with each other, of course - about their feelings, as it's refreshing to see characters who are self-aware enough to recognise that they're falling in love rather than being all "oh no what is this strange feeling". I had a few niggles with the writing, as I often do with Virginia Heath (too many exclamation marks, not enough commas, and a frustrating misuse of "discrete" where she means "discreet") but the main reason I've knocked a star off here is because Guy's mother goes from straight-up emotionally abusive to cute meddling matron in the blink of an eye between scenes. There's no comeuppance for the awful things she says to him, and no development in their relationship to move them towards more of an understanding; he just gets a dressing down from his aunt mid-book for not respecting his mother and then suddenly the narrative no longer makes her out to be horrible and manipulative? It's a bit of a mess - either character archetype would have been great, but the abrupt change felt really wrong. Apart from that, this was a good read.

In Look Before You Leap, the second book in Virginia Heath's delightful Regency romance series, readers are treated to a charming tale of love, wit, and unexpected sparks. This book expertly balances humor and heart, with a grumpy lord and an adventurous lady’s companion who are both forced to confront their own preconceived notions about life and love.

Lord Guy Harrowby, Viscount Wennington, has lived a life of self-imposed solitude and work since a public romantic debacle nearly a decade ago. As his thirtieth birthday approaches, his mother insists that he fulfill the promise he made to her years ago—having a house full of grandchildren by his milestone birthday. His response? A weeklong house party full of eager debutantes vying for his attention, all of whom Guy would rather avoid. Enter Lottie Travers, a spirited lady’s companion with a wild streak and a strong sense of independence.

Lottie, who struggles with fitting into the constraints of proper society, is a breath of fresh air. Raised in an all-male household, she’s a woman ahead of her time, more comfortable riding horses in breeches than attending to embroidery. Her journey to conquer her "wildness" and find stability for her family is a deeply engaging one, filled with moments of both humor and emotional depth. Lottie’s quirky nature and unyielding spirit make her a standout character, and the chemistry between her and the reluctant Guy is undeniably magnetic.

The relationship between Guy and Lottie is a slow burn, filled with tension, misunderstandings, and moments of genuine tenderness. As Guy tries to resist his growing attraction to her, he slowly unravels his own heart and learns that love doesn’t always follow the path one expects. Their dynamic is both entertaining and heartwarming, as they challenge one another to grow and embrace change.

Virginia Heath’s writing shines with wit and warmth. The dialogue sparkles, and the Regency setting provides the perfect backdrop for this lighthearted yet emotionally rich story. The house party itself is the perfect setting for chaos, comedy, and romantic tension, and it’s impossible not to root for Guy and Lottie to overcome their differences and find happiness together.

Look Before You Leap is a delightful, feel-good read that will leave you smiling long after the last page. With its wonderful characters, humorous moments, and heartwarming romance, it’s a must-read for fans of Regency romance. Virginia Heath continues to prove herself as a master of blending humor and heart, and this book is sure to be a favorite among readers.

I absolutely adored Look Before You Leap!! From beginning to end, it is a humorous, zippy, champagne bubble of read. I am a huge fan of Virginia Heath's books, and Look Before You Leap is up there in my favorites of her's.

Lottie, our FMC, is a farmer's youngest and only daughter, who has been chosen to attend Miss Prentice's School for Young Ladies. She is impulsive, prone to being outdoors and riding rather than demurely pursuing more ladylike pursuits, and therefore has struggled her entire time as a student and as a young governess. After being dismissed for her latest riding debacle, she is hired by Lady Fenton, a sassy, curmudgeon of an older lady to be her companion. Lady Fenton decides to make a last-minute decision to go and help her sister plan her nephew's birthday party, where Lottie meets Guy. Or rather-- meets Guy again, for they had a chaotic not-so-meet-cute a few days prior after their horses collide.

Guy, our MMC is a viscount, who for the last nine years has been burying himself in estate work, after being publicly humiliated at his 21st birthday ball. He begrudgingly lets his mother plan a birthday dinner for him, He is equally as curmudgeonly as his aunt, and has built walls up to protect his heart from ever being hurt and humiliated again. Lottie's sunshiny personality and Guy's dark raincloud personality collide, and we get a funny, wonderful romcom of a story!!

From start to finish, Look Before You Leap is such a fun read! The chemistry between Lottie and Guy is fantastic, the dialogue is fantastic, and all the side characters are so much fun. Lottie's friends from MPSYL are hilarious (can't wait for more of their stories), dragon Lady Fenton's one-liners, her irascible butler's comebacks-- the surrounding characters are so humorous and so much fun to read, I kept reading pages and paragraphs over because I they were so good and I didn't want the book to end!

I highly recommend Look Before You Leap if you enjoy historical romance, romcoms, or anything with fast-paced, full-of-descriptive-adjective writing, this book will be for you. I received this book as an ARC for my honest opinion, and I can't stop raving about it!

Thank you for providing this copy for me to read and review. I love regency romance, especially when it is a bit of a comedy as well. The leading female is a bit reckless but it suits her. Historical romance with a bit of humor made for an enjoyable evening read.

This book was so fun! I just adore Virginia Heath's MMCs, they are so addicting! Guy was so romantic, he was slightly clueless and kind of terrible at communicating for a good portion of the book, but was so obsessed with Lottie and so in love with her that it terrified him. Lottie was headstrong and witty, a very lovable FMC. I liked her relationship with her family and Guy's family, too. The yearning between them was everything! I loved the slow burn nature of it. Both of them were so stubborn which led to Guy's hilarious mama and aunt meddling, meddling, and meddling some more. This entire cast of characters were so entertaining! I laughed out loud multiple times due to their antics.

The only critique I have for this book was that there was a ton of dialogue, especially in the beginning, that was a bit repetitive. There was one chapter which was basically just a conversation between Guy and his mother in which they discussed how much of a hermit he'd become, except the conversation seemed to go in circles for about 10 pages and I was like, "WE GET IT! HIS LIFE IS BORING, CAN WE MOVE ON NOW?" So I think it just needed a teensy bit more editing there. Other than that, this book was an absolute joy!

Read if you love:
- Historical romance
- Grumpy x Sunshine
- Enemies to lovers
- Slow burn
- Boy obsessed/he falls first
- Forced proximity
- Hilarious side characters

Thank you so much to Virginia Heath, St. Martins, and NetGalley for the ARC! Congrats on the upcoming release. :)

Does Virginia Heath ever miss? Perhaps, but if she has, I haven't ever caught her slipping.

I do hate these covers, though. HR publishers, please. Let's do better.

This was fun!! I thought the relationship between our two main characters progressed really well, and there were no pacing issues. I'm definitely going to be on the lookout for other titles by this author in the future.

This book was SO FUN TO READ! I have never read a Virginia Heath regency romance and this will not be my last. Lottie was such a fun, refreshing character. This is about Lottie, a ladies companion(Guy's aunt's) and Guy a viscount who is jaded from a previous romantic entanglement. His mother guilts him into a party for his 30th birthday and use it as a matchmaking opportunity.

In regency romance, I feel like you either have a very aristocratic heroine or someone in poverty or who comes from poverty(I enjoy both). Lottie was fun because she was more of a middle class character. I loved her spirit and the way she just couldn't keep herself out of trouble. Guy was also a delightful grump and I loved watching his character transform from. This book was such a blast to read that I could not put it down. I didn't want to stop reading because I wanted to know what trouble Lottie would get into next and how guy would react. Guy's mother and aunt are a hoot and make this even more fun!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins Publishing for the ARC!

so cutesy!!!! i read this in no time! if you are in the mood for a quick, fast paced, and atmospheric romcom look no further!!! i think i finished this in a solid sitting and it was very bingeable! i think that speaks to the writing and as this was my first book by heath, i quite enjoyed the romantic development- i can’t wait to read more!

It took a little for me to get into, but once I got about 40% of the way in I didn’t want to stop. I think it just took me a while to warm up to the vernacular, but overall It was a fun read! Loved the characters and their families.

This was a cute little palate cleanser for me! Really enjoyed the characters, and found Lottie to be incredibly relatable.

Virginia Heath is always a request for me. Look Before You Leap is another of Heath's regency romance books that is just at cozy, fun read. Not a huge amount of tension, easy weekend read for me. Love a grump love interest against a tough protagonist.

First, thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for this eARC!

I absolutely adored this book! I adored the first one in the series, and this one is even better. This grumpy sunshine historical romance will make you laugh and fall in love with the characters right from the jump. You will easily devour the whole story because it just keeps getting better. All the side characters are incredibly spirited and the perfect foils for our hero and heroine, and the banter is just A+. 5🌟s I will definitely be reading this again I loved it so much.

Absolutely loved it. Lottie was PERFECT, the right amount of headstrong and vulnerable as to not come off as jaded. I may have even enjoyed this book more than the first, this series is such a hit! I am more in love with the Prentice Girls with every story!

title: Look Before You Leap

author: Virginia Heath

publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

publication date: June 24, 2025

pages: 320

peppers: 3 (on this scale)

warnings: none

summary: Lottie, a farmer's daughter from Kent, was raised by her father and four brothers. Rather than work as a farmer, she's brought into London to train as a governess. When she can't control her urges to ride horses, even after crashing into a Viscount and knocking him off his horse, or to defend her honor from her employer's jerky son, she gets fired...and then hired as a lady's companion to a grumpy older woman who actually appreciates Lottie's honesty and sass. Her new employer, who turns out to be the aunt of the viscount from her riding accident, ends up bringing Lottie with her to Kent to arrange an over-the-top house party to try to marry off her nephew, who, having been burned by love before, wants no part of the match-making scheme of his mother and aunt.

tropes:

grumpy-sunshine
grumpy older woman with a heart of gold
don't marry the wrong girl
mixed-level love
vapid suitors

what I liked: her sassiness and humor

what I didn’t like: none of it

overall rating: 5 (of 5 stars)

I loved the sunshine, hope, and horses in this story. The love between family members and chosen family (e.g., Miss P and all of her girls; Lottie’s family) are my favorite parts of the book, and Almeria’s wisecracks were great sometimes. There are some funny moments and some heartwarming moments as well. However, some of the humor was too slapstick for me, and sometimes I found it hard to believe Lottie and Guy would be happy together (a habit of lying and unresolved anger issues, on top of knowing each other for a month, don't seem the most promising start to a marriage). Overall though, still a fun read! 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the free eARC! I post this review with my honest opinions.

Content notes for people who want to know: I did not know when I requested it, but this is a spicy book. There’s also profanity.

Set in the weeks ahead of his birthday on his estate in Kent, lady's companion Lottie Travers and Lord Guy Harrowby, Viscount of Wennington, are drawn together, especially when his house is overrun with debutantes.

Loved the grand gesture! Just wish we got a little more afterwards. Hoping we see more from Lottie and Guy in the rest of the series!

🐎 Grumpy / Sunshine
🐎 7 year age gap (heroine 23 / hero turning 30)
🐎 Historical rom-com
🐎 Slow-burn
🐎 Horse training
🐎 "Peas"
🐎 Aug / Sept 1820 in Kent, England
🐎 Interfering mother
🐎 Youngest girl with four older brothers and father
🐎 Lady Frinton and her long suffering butler Longbottom
🐎 Second in series following four best friends (can't wait for Portia and Kitty)

4.5 / 5 stars

Open door / spicy (one main spicy scene with other smaller moments)

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for this eARC!

I adore Virginia Heath's novels and this one was no different! I am a forever fan.

Guy and Lottie were two smart and stubborn individuals who had incredibly chemistry from day one. Despite her being a lady's companion with a wild streak and him being a Viscount who has sworn off the idea of any kind of relationship, they are drawn to one another like moths to a flame. And not even a household full of vapid debutantes looking to woo the lord of the manor will get in the way of their clandestine courtship.

As soon as I saw the set up for the final scene I gasped with delight. My only complaint is that it ended too soon!

CHEFS.KISS.

5⭐️

Wow! Wow! I absolutely adored this book! The grumpy-sunshine trope was executed perfectly, and I couldn’t get enough of Lottie and Guy’s banter.

Lottie’s warmth and charm was the perfect contrast to Guy’s broody, reluctant attitude, making their slow-burn romance all the more satisfying. The dialogue was witty, the tension was delicious, and the emotional depth caught me off guard in the best way.

If you love a romance filled with playful bickering, undeniable chemistry, and characters you can’t help but root for, this is the book for you.

One of my favorite historical romance authors for making historical scenes come alive. Love the characters, loved the romance, just a great book.