Review – The Education of Bet by Lauren Baratz-Logsted (4.5/5 stars)

I have a soft spot of historical novels where a young girl goes against convention to fight for what she wants.  This book was a sweet and wonderful novel about a girl (Bet) going the extra mile to get what she yearns for most…an education.  I got an advanced reading copy of this novel through the Amazon Vine program.

Bet is the daughter of a maid and is being raised along with William who is the son of a lord.  William hates school and wants to join the military, Bet wants to go to school more than anything.  So they devise a plan, Bet takes Will’s place at his new school and Will joins the military.

This is a slim novel and the story isn’t maybe as realistic as one would hope, but that being said it is an incredibly sweet story and very fun.  Bet is witty and just plain old amusing, I loved her character.  William is another wonderful character.  And I am sure everyone will get a bit swoony over James, Bet’s male roommate.   Many of the situations Bet runs into at the boarding school are hilarious and watching her squirm her way out of them is a lot of fun.

This is a story that will make you feel happy when you read it, it doesn’t push you mentally and the characters don’t go through so much trauma that you cringe.  It is an easy read and a fun one. A nice, sweet, romantic historical fiction that I think all ages can get into (although it is definitely aimed at the female set).

I really enjoyed it a lot.  My only complaint is that I thought some parts were a bit too positive and unrealistic.  All the women who found out Bet’s secret were willing to help her out and the way things went with James in the end was a bit too convenient.   Still, Bet deserved all the help she got and the niceness of it all made it a joy to read.

Overall, I liked this book a lot.  It is a quick, fun, sweet read.  Bet is a character you have to love and watching her go through her antics was a lot of fun.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– The Young Adult Reading Challenge
– The 100+ Book Reading Challenge
– Summer Romance Reading Challenge