In this irreverent regency romp by New York Times best-selling author Sophie Jordan, newly minted sixteen-year-old Primrose Ainsworth finds herself on a wayward birthday adventure through London with a mysterious hero—perfect for fans of My Lady Jane. The youngest of four daughters, Primrose Ainsworth is used to getting lost in the shuffle. But when her parents decide to delay her debut into … when her parents decide to delay her debut into English society, Prim hatches a plan to go rogue on the night of her sixteenth birthday.
Donning a mask, Prim escapes to the infamous Vauxhall Gardens for one wild night. When her cover is nearly blown, a mysterious stranger intercedes, and Prim finds an unexpected partner in mischief . . . and romance. But when it’s revealed her new ally isn’t who he says he is, her one night of fun may last past dawn.
In this frothy regency romp perfect for fans of Austen-esque flirtation and Shakespearean hijinks, sometimes a little scandal can be a good thing.
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I do not usually read Young Adult books, but I decided to try this one since I have enjoyed other regency romance books by this author. I’m so glad I did! This is a delightful story about sixteen-year-old Primrose who decides to sneak out of her house to celebrate her birthday. Prim gets into many scrapes that night at Vauxhall and is helped by Jacob, a young man that she meets. This story does not have very steamy scenes, as in most adult romance books, but the writing is so good that I hardly missed them! I received an ARC from NetGalley and HMH Books for Young Readers for my honest review.
Who’s ready for a little YA Bridgeton? That would be me, all day every day, and that’s exactly what Sophie Jordan gives us in SIXTEEN SCANDALS. Like the John Hughes movie the title pays homage to, Primrose finds herself forgotten on her 16th birthday and ends up having a night she will never forget. There’s a dashing young gentleman, secret identities, and streamy stolen kisses. This whole book is frothy fun, with plenty of witty dialogue worthy of Jane Austen herself. Brilliant.
Sixteen Candles with a dash of Ferris Buller’s Day Off but make it Regency = Regency YA Perfection!
Primrose had such high expectations for her sixteenth birthday until her family seemed to barely remember it even was her birthday and informed her that her coming out would be delayed. Determined to snatch a little slice of happiness and adventure on her special day, her and her best friend decide to sneak out to Vauxhall Gardens…unchaperoned!
Jacob and Olympia were absolutely perfect as Prim’s partners in adventure and my heart broke for Prim when confronted with her mother’s indifference and disdain in turns. But this is also a ya romance so in the end we get the kiss, the ball, and the romance that Prim deserves (for me it was even better than Jake Ryan outside the church!)
The adventure, the romance, the difficult mother-daughter relationship, the friendship, and the sisterhood were so well balanced and created a story that felt at once like a classic historical romance and a modern set YA. It just goes to show that Sophie Jordan can write any genre and I’m going to love it (as long as there’s a little kissing!)
And the nods to Sixteen Candles made my heart so happy!
I received a complimentary review copy of this book but all opinions are my own.
I don’t know how it didn’t hit me from the title alone, Sixteen Scandals totally has plot or story-lines from the movie Sixteen Candles. Which, as I am a child of the 80s and of course loved most of the John Hughes movies universe, I am loving those bits! Also with the popularity of Bridgerton this past year, this book is definitely one that I think is going to be a huge hit. By the end of the book I was totally in love with the whole story! It was so much fun! I also had the final song from the Sixteen Candles movie, If You Were Here by the Thompson Twins, going through my head when I finished the book and put my e-reader away.
The story took place over one day/night really for the most part, again like the movie. And of course the reader knows who Prim’s secret ally is in the story, even if she doesn’t quite put it together till the very end. All the adventures that Prim has during the night, not all good of course, there are the people out to pick pockets and other things in the mysterious and infamous Vauxhall Gardens. I really enjoyed all the different things that went on, getting a look at what people of the time might have found amusing, whether it be actually interesting, or somewhat upsetting. It was nice to see that Primrose really did have more people in her corner in the end than she assumed, but man did I want to slap her mother so much! I also wonder what happened to her friend Olympia during the time they were separated, and wonder if the author could possibly do a companion story about her night.
I’ve been a fan of Sophie Jordan’s YA books for a long time, and this one makes me think I need to read some of her adult romances that might be similar to this one. I’ll probably end up adding this to my new school library next year.