I was provided a complimentary copy of this book by NetGalley. I was not compensated for this review and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own. I was not required to write a positive review.
Pride and Practicality by Pepper Basham Published by Thomas Nelson on November 3, 2026
Genres: Fiction / Christian / Romance / Historical, Regency
Pages: 398
Format: ARC, eBook
Source: NetGalley
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A newly appointed rector and a woman whose reputation is in ruins work together to save the orphaned children of St. Groves while fighting an attraction that could ruin his career and her restored future. An opposites-attract Regency rom-com, Pride and Practicality will delight fans of Eloisa James and Julia Quinn looking for a low-spice alternative.
Thomas Bridges, the new rector of St. Groves, has a simple gain the support of local wealthy parishioners to finance a boarding school for the orphans of St. Groves. With his stellar reputation and good heart, everything seems to be working well, even if he has to avoid his mother's matchmaking with the eligible ladies of the town. But his plans are rerouted when the "lost" sister of Lord Ravenscross returns and she happens to be the same woman in which he shared a secret and unexpected kiss eight months before.
Arianna Reeves has returned home a secret heiress, trying to redeem her past. With money to spare, a desire to earn back the favor of those she loves, and a hope of being useful she not only puts herself in harm's way to help the children of St. Groves but creates an "anonymous benefactress" to support Thomas Bridges' plan. However, their mutual attraction threatens to not only defrock Thomas but also ruin all their best-laid plans for the children.
When a man from Arianna's past comes to St. Groves with a plan to expose Thomas and Arianna's secret, their characters and hearts are tested. Could the truth about one unexpected kiss ruin their futures? After all . . . it was just a kiss, right?
Ya’ll, mistakes were made. Maybe not huge, life-altering mistakes, but mistakes that absolutely messed with my mind. You see, while I’ve been reading this book, I made the mistake of listening to another book that is super similar. Regency, set in New York, romance . . . do you see the mistake? I had to vibe-check myself when switching from daytime listening to nighttime reading. I mean, while not the same, not different enough either, as I tend to choose wildly different genres when I’m double stacking. Mistakes were made. But I made it work and here we are finally finished . . . possibly the longest finish for a book this year. And that’s nothing about the author or the book but more about my attention span and life crunching in.
Setting aside the mistakes, I had other struggles. You can probably pull up the usual list of suspects and tick them off, but I’ll go first. Too many characters for my wee brain. I would frequently find myself trying to remember who was friend and who was foe. Add to that some of the characters I didn’t really understand why they were there; I mean, at some point they served a purpose, but then they hung around without a ‘reason’, looking at you, Miss Finch. And honestly, I wouldn’t mind seeing Lottie get her own storyline, as I felt like she was interesting but treated as filler. I love Pepper Basham’s personality and quirkiness, but it felt weird applied to this time period. Which brings me to the fact that I was concerned we were going to be deep into the Jane Austen vibes, which I am not an Austen girlie, and that was not the case. It was a concern, but it’s also a Basham book, so I had to risk it!
Overall, a fun story! Yes, there were excesses I could have done without (casual storylines that didn’t progress, too many characters), but overall, I really did enjoy the story of Thomas and Arianna. Weakness in their respective strength felt so very human. The faith throughout felt so very natural (I mean, he’s a rector; for goodness sake, I’d hope so!). It didn’t feel like an afterthought or preachy, which is a common thing I find in Christian Romance. If you like historical romance, specifically Regency, then this is a great book to check out. Basham has yet to disappoint me, even with the perfectly bowed endings of happily ever after. She crafts fun characters with intriguing personalities and interesting scenarios.
About Pepper Basham
I wrote my first story when I was a nine year- old, freckled-faced tomboy in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains (my earlier writings wouldn’t have been considered “books”, more like short stories). Coming from a long line of oral storytellers, weaving a good yarn seemed a typical part of my life. It wasn’t until I finished college, had two children, and a full-time job before I began to study the ‘craft’ of writing (you know when I had plenty of time).
She lives in the beautiful mountains of southwestern, VA where I work as a speech-language pathologist by day and author by night 🙂
So…now I’m an older, freckled-faced mommy enjoying life, learning to write, and laughing often. My mom says that I must have a small bit of insanity because I don’t realize how stressed I ought to be.
I write historical and contemporary romances which, many times, include my love of Appalachia, Britain, and family.
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