Alexandra Vasti: Ladies in Hating

Celebrated authoress Lady Georgiana Cleeve has achieved fame and fortune. Unfortunately, she’s
also acquired an enemy: the enigmatic Lady Darling, whose spine-tingling plots appear to be pulled
straight from Georgiana’s own manuscripts. What’s a stubborn, steely writer to do? Unmask her
rival, of course.

But unmasking doesn’t go according to plan—because Lady Darling is actually Cat Lacey, the
butler’s daughter and object of Georgiana’s very secret, very embarrassing teenage infatuation.
Cat Lacey has spent a decade clawing her family out of poverty. The last thing she needs is to be
distracted by the stunning(ly pretentious) Lady Georgiana Cleeve. But Cat can’t seem to escape her
infuriatingly beautiful rival—including at the eerie manor where they both plan to set their next books.

The plot unexpectedly thickens, however, when the novelists find themselves trapped in the manor
together. In between ghostly moans and spectral staff, Cat and Georgiana come face-to-face with
real danger: the scorching passion that’s been haunting their rivalry all along.

CW: homophobia, physical/emotional abuse, grief, estrangement/abandonment, death

Sometimes a book finds you at the right moment, the universe delighting in a little synchronicity to give you a treat.  This was that book.

My research, which you will get to see in a year (book 2)  and then another year (book 3), has been centering quite a bit on the gothic girlies of the Regency.  And for a 19th Century British Literature Professor that Alexandra Vasti is, it’s so well steeped in gothic literature but with that fun, rompish tone her books feature.

That is to say, the history here is near perfect and if you have doubts, her author’s note share some insights. But there are other pieces in the book that will come up in my books that are on point and you may miss, that I would love to come back and talk about so you can appreciate just how much of the history she nails in this third installment to the Belvoir Library series.

I love how many new authors have been giving us sapphic Regency romances, adding that representation but in a way that also feel consistent with the era. Vasti does it beautifully and balanced, not skirting around homophobia and some of the taboos, but carving out an HEA for her MCs that is truly beautiful and so satisfying as a reader. It was almost a cover to cover read for me (come on, a girl has to take her walks and eat meals now and then) because I enjoyed so much about this book: the enemies to lovers tease, the well drawn secondary characters, the creepy gothic setting that was lightened by a precocious little pup, and lots of nods to gothic stories. Also two rival authors who love research? The jammiest of jams for me; you know I am a Northanger Abbey lover as well as an academics in love stan. This hit those notes.

There is on the page intimacy, mentions of physical abuse, some mentions of homophobia, a death and some other mature subject matter so while this was mostly fun in tone, despite the gothic setting, I wouldn’t recommend for kisses only readers.

And while there are some very light supernatural elements, and a bit of mystery to unravel, the book felt cozier than angsty.  The character arcs are great, and really healing in the end, and there is a nice emphasis on found family which I always enjoy.  I don’t think the MCs will be everyone’s cup of tea, because Lady Georgiana can be very formal and stiff, but I thought it was handled really smartly by Vasti who must understand something about how trauma manifests. They are a little grumpy/sunshine although perhaps not as overt, so I think if you read with that mindset you will really enjoy.

More of a 4.8 than a 4.5, there were a few things that knocked it down from a perfect book for me.  I think the pacing, or the scenes emphasized, were a bit undercooked. Mostly, I wanted more time in the haunted mansion. A few of the components of said mansion, and their contribution to the resolution, confused me. This is probably a me thing, but honestly I wanted a bit more exploration of the place and the gothic themes. Maybe had we heard some of the stories from villagers that were mentioned, that would have filled in some gaps.  I am okay with it not being gothic, but I wanted more tweaking of the gothic tropes — especially with such a great set up. I do think the romance could’ve used just a touch more finesse, because while true to the romance formula it felt a little circular in the crisis point.

But that is just nitpicking, really.  On the whole, this was a joy of a book that I will probably remember well after I turn the page of another 10 books.  There were some great yearning moments (yearning being a big word right now in the histro world) and overall the craft of Vasti’s writing is fantastic and I think has gotten even better from her earlier work.  While not as frolicking fun as Earl Crush, this book has rompish elements and some really amusing moments that were a joy to read. The strength really is the romance, and telling us something new about the Regency era that feels fresh and just downright fun.

I am going to go back and read the first in this series, and then maybe re-read them all in order, but it worked great as a standalone so do not feel the need.

I would recommend this for readers looking for a funnier Regency with gothic elements and a grumpy-sunshine wlw romance.