Book Reviews

Miss Newbury’s List by Megan Walker – Book Review

The book cover of Miss Newbury's List by Megan Walker

Warning – possible spoilers! (Tiny ones, though, and I’ll try to avoid even those; I swear I’ll give my best not to ruin it for you… :-))

Miss Newbury’s List by Megan Walker – Book Details

TITLE – Miss Newbury’s List

AUTHOR – Megan Walker

CATEGORY/GENREromance, historical, regency

YEAR PUBLISHED – 2023

PAGE COUNT – 320

MY RATING – 4 of 5

RATED ON GOODREADS – 4.59 of 5

A huge thank you to Shadow Mountain Publishing and Edelweiss+ for providing me with an ARC of Miss Newbury’s List by Megan Walker in exchange for an honest review.

What It Is About

My future happiness depended upon completing this list. I couldn’t explain it, but somehow I knew that once I’d finished, that awful feeling would subside. I’d feel whole. I’d be ready.

Miss Rosalind Newbury has many reasons to be looking forward to her future. She has accomplished what many girls dream of – she is engaged to be married to the Duke of Marlow, which would open many happy prospects now only for her, but for her parents and younger brothers.

Yet, she feels like something is missing.

Ros thinks that fulfilling a list of her childhood dreams might prepare her better for her future role as a wife and duchess. Her best friend Liza and Liza’s wayward cousin Charlie are to help.

Except – while checking boxes on her list, she gets to know Charlie better. And soon realizes that what she really needs can’t be so easily crossed off a list.


Read it if you like:

    • proper regency romance
    • slowburn
    • bucket lists
    • single POV
    • friends-to-lovers

Miss Newbury’s List by Megan Walker – My Review

* Mild spoilers up ahead! *

Perfection means having an expected outcome. Perfect lines, perfect colors, perfect brushstrokes. But perfection is unachievable. Indeed, it is the attempt, the strokes we did not mean to make, that leaves us with an unexpected beauty.

I haven’t read a regency romance in ages, so this felt like a breath of fresh air to me. I almost forgot how much I loved it all – the settings, the dresses, propriety, and of course – swoon-worthy romance.

As always, to me the characters are the most important part of the story. And I am glad to say in this case there were many great characters to get to know.

Charlie was such a sweetheart. His kind nature, the way he felt lost and as if he was not good enough, as well as how dedicated he was to helping Ros with her list… It all made him wonderfully strong and relatable, but vulnerable at the same time.

Maybe he even felt a bit too good to be true at times. But not to the point when it gets irritating.

But I needed to forget that Charlie had a heart. That he could be more the handsome gentleman and less the brooding boxer. That he was kind and insightful. That he somehow, without even trying, saw more of me than I allowed anyone else to see.

I also loved Ros’ family. They had their ambitions and agendas, but at the end of the day, they were a loving, tight-knitted family anyone would be happy to have.

And, of course, Ros. She felt so real to me. I loved how loyal and dedicated to her family she was. How aware of what her marriage to a duke might mean for all of them. But also, that in the end her heart made the final decision.

True love really does have the power to change everything. And Ros, who was so sure of her choices, suddenly has to question everything. I tend to agree with her conclusion – that the best person to spend your life with is someone who knows the real you, who cares enough to try and get to know you just the way you are and who encourages you as well to get to know yourself better.

But finding your identity when the future already seems mapped out is not only hard – it can also seem pointless and discouraging. Unless you have something important to fight for.

I wonder if anyone is ever truly ready for marriage. Is it not a choice that we make based on trust and hope for the future?

I think Ros could feel all along that loveless marriage would never be enough for her. But she needed some help to truly understand and accept that fact. Especially considering that her decision wouldn’t only affect her, but all the people she cared about the most. And making a choice under such circumstances can never be easy.

She thought that making a list of ten things she wanted to do before her wedding would help her get into the marriage better prepared for what was coming. And it worked, only not in a way she anticipated.

The whole crossing experiences off a list thing made everything more fun. It added some playfulness to the story and helped the romance develop more naturally.

So, there were quite a few things that helped me enjoy Miss Newbury’s List, and I am really glad I stumbled upon this read.

Charlie’s hand fell to the space between us. […] My skin prickled and heated, and I feared if I moved in the slightest, we would touch, and then what might happen?

If there was something I would change, it would have to be the lack of angst. I needed some more of that giddy first love chemistry.

Ros and Charlie were clearly perfect for each other. And yes – they obviously were very much in love. But, I guess I needed a bit more sparks, a bit more angst. This way, it almost felt too safe.

At least things did get more exciting towards the end. I’m not sure it completely made up for most of the book being (just a bit) bland, but the story did end lovely in my opinion.

If you are in the mood for a nice, fun and lighthearted historical romance, definitely give this one a chance. It has to offer several things I’m sure you’ll enjoy as much as I did, including good writing, lovable characters and a very sweet slowburn romance.

Miss Newbury’s List by Megan Walker is set to be published on February 7, 2023.

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