In Which Margo Halifax Earns Her Shocking Reputation
Alexandra Vasti
Publisher: Self-published
Publication Date: Septmeber 19, 2022
Series or Standalone: Halifax Hellions #1
Links: Goodreads – StoryGraph – Alexandra Vasti’s website
Rating:

MY REVIEW

In Which Margo Halifax Earns Her Shocking Reputation was such a cute and spicy little novella that managed to cram a great romance in a short amount of pages! I’m not usually a big reader of novellas, but I saw everyone raving about this on Instagram, so I had to pick it up! 

Margo and Matilda, better known as the Halifax Hellions, are London’s most scandalous, outrageous, ungovernable ladies. But when Matilda runs off to elope with a dangerous aristocrat, Margo must stop her sister before Matilda can say, “I do.” For help, Margo turns to her brother’s best friend, starchy solicitor Henry Mortimer. The only problem is Henry’s been harboring a secret in his otherwise buttoned-up life: he’s been in love with Margo for seven wonderful, agonizing years. Hopefully, he can survive a road trip to Scotland with her sitting just feet away. But their road trip does not go to plan, with the elements constantly forcing Margo into Henry’s arms.

This book gave me all the emotions – I was laughing, swooning, happy and sad at different points while reading. The plot was tight and concise, yet Vasti managed to cram a lot into it without the pacing feeling rushed. And I was shocked at how sexy this was! I always expect novellas to have less sexy times since there is limited space to tell the story, but Vasti gets it done, and it works perfectly!

The characters shine in this – particularly Henry. My lord, I love Henry. This starchy, buttoned-up man has been pining after Margo for years but keeps all those feelings bottled up inside. He would do anything for Margo, and I love watching a man who holds his emotions close to his chest come undone by the woman he loves. He really steals the show in this novella.

I liked Margo, but some of her decisions made her feel a little childish, even if I could understand where she was coming from. But she can admit and own up to her flaws which made me like and sympathize with her. Plus, I can relate to her because I, too, would bring money, a book and cheese with me on a long carriage journey.

I also really liked Vasti’s writing style. Her characters’ voices came through immediately, helping form a quick connection to Henry and Margo, which is important in a novella. The dialogue flowed naturally, and I loved all the little bits of humor woven into the story. Vasti also crams a ton of fan-favorite romantic tropes into this book, and because of her strong characters and plotting, it works perfectly! None of the tropes feel forced, and the romance shines. I was so invested in Henry and Margo’s relationship incredibly quickly, and I wanted Henry to get his happily ever after with Margo so badly!

If you’re looking for a short, engaging historical romance novella, look no further than In Which Margo Halifax Earns Her Shocking Reputation. Plus, you can get this novella for FREE by signing up for Alexandra’s newsletter on her site here: https://www.alexandravasti.com/

I’m hoping we will get Margo’s sister Matalida’s story, as I can see that being very, very sexy, and I loved Vasti’s writing style, so I will definitely be checking out more things she writes in the future!