Welcome to the Takeover + Review Blitz for Pride & Practicality by Pepper Basham, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!
About the Book
Title: Pride & Practicality
Author: Pepper Basham
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Release Date: November 3, 2026
Genre: Clean Regency Romantic Comedy
In a world ruled by reputation, compassion may be the most scandalous act of all.
Arianna Reeves knows how quickly admiration can turn into exile. One poorly placed trust, one disastrously charming rake, and she is no longer society’s darling–but its favorite cautionary tale.
Now returned home–uninvited and unmistakably whispered about–Arianna is determined to make amends with her estranged family and do something useful with her thoroughly ruined life. Even if polite society would prefer she did it at a very great distance from anyone respectable.
Thomas Bridges, a principled clergyman with an inconvenient habit of thinking for himself, is already walking a narrow line. His congregation expects propriety, his mother expects matrimony, and both have very firm opinions about his future. Thomas, however, would prefer a life guided by conviction . . . even when it proves impractical.
When Arianna repeatedly–and quite disruptively–crosses his path, Thomas faces a dilemma no sermon prepared him for. She is not at all what she ought to be: not dull, not foolish, and–most dangerously–not someone he can overlook, but a kindred spirit who shares his passion for service and his troubling habit of defying society’s expectations . . . all with good intentions, of course.
As their forbidden acquaintance deepens into something far more perilous than friendship, Arianna and Thomas must decide: preserve their reputations, or risk them entirely for the good of others—–and their own hearts.
Because in a society that measures worth by perfection, choosing grace, mercy, and love may cost them everything–and give them more than they ever hoped to find.
PURCHASE LINKS: Goodreads | Faith Gateway | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Christianbook | Bookshop | BookBub
Also Available
About the Author
Pepper Basham is an award-winning author who writes romance “peppered” with grace and humor. Writing both historical and contemporary novels, she loves to incorporate her native Appalachian culture and/or her unabashed adoration of the UK into her stories. She currently resides in the lovely mountains of southwestern VA, where she is a wife, mom to five great kids, a speech-language pathologist, and a lover of chocolate, jazz, hats, and Jesus.
Connect with Pepper by visiting PepperdBasham.com to follow her on social media or subscribe to email newsletter updates.
My Review
Pride and Practicality begins with Thomas Bridges helping an unknown young lady in distress find shelter and protection–and accidentally kissing her, much to his bewilderment. The young lady–Arianna Reeves, takes his help and becomes a companion to a kind and wealthy older lady–who, upon her death, bequeaths Arianna much of her fortune. The possession of this fortune finally convinces Arianna to return to her family after her scandalous disappearance with a young man, hoping her fortune might ease her financially struggling family’s anger and prejudice towards her for the shame her actions brought upon them.
Arianna was a main character I enjoyed reading about, especially as she learns to overcome her struggles. For one, Arianna learns that she cannot buy forgiveness; instead, her family loves her, (most) are just happy she is back, and they have forgiven her for her actions, especially when they learn she was actually a victim rather than a willing participant in the affair. I quite enjoyed seeing this forgiveness play out even before they knew her innocence in the matter, and Arianna’s brother Simon and sister-in-law Emme were quite a fun and cute couple to feature in the novel.
This forgiveness and lack of necessity to use her fortune to buy her way back into her family’s good graces also showed some of Arianna’s good traits. She looks to use her fortune in some way which will help others less fortunate–a class of people she grew quite acquainted with during her sojourn away from her family. Her stubbornness and goodheartedness in her endeavors to help these less fortunate were sweet (and sometimes funny) to watch, despite the fact that they did little to improve her social reputation back in her hometown–but they did serve to draw her closer to the town’s new vicar, Thomas Bridges.
Thomas, of course, recognizes Arianna right away as the girl he helped (and kissed) months before, and his desires to help the poorer members of his congregation also align with Arianna’s vision to help them–and serve to deepen his interest in her. However, the previous vicar of his parish was dismissed after a scandal involving a woman, and Thomas’s employer–his wealthy uncle–wants him to avoid any and all scandals to rebuild trust in the church, and in the town, Arianna Reeves is the biggest and newest scandal around. Yet Thomas’s kindness, desire to do right and see past people’s labels and classes, and propensity to stumble upon Arianna when she needs help most thwarts most of his resolve to remove Arianna from his mind.
Of course, I enjoyed seeing Thomas and Arianna’s relationship grow from their initial attraction and banter to something deeper and self-sacrificial. I also enjoyed watching them work together, from helping the less fortunate to starting a school for poor and orphaned children. The couple sharing a longterm vision and goal for their lives is not something I see in too many romances, thus it was quite refreshing to view here.
I also enjoyed how they portrayed all of the side characters. Thomas’s social life was well rounded, with friends, his mother, and his uncle, all who had their own unique temperaments and traits. I especially liked Jasper, a little street boy he took in (street boys seem to always become my favorite characters in stories, haha!) Arianna too, had relationships outside of Thomas–her siblings, sister-in-law, and friends and relationships from her time in distress. The villain who victimized Arianna was quite villainous in a charming deceiving way, and I liked how he was connected both to her, Thomas, and another antagonist in the novel. And I especially liked how the girl Thomas’s mother tried to set up with him actually became a friend to Arianna, rather than a rival.
The dialogue was quite good–it gave the vibes of a regency romance rather than something contemporary and never drew me out of the story. The wit and humor was also present which I enjoyed most of the time (only once did I feel it was unrealistic, when two characters are having fun banter while a child is literally struggling not to die in front of them).
As mentioned above, I actually enjoyed the romance, which as anyone who’s read any of my reviews before knows, is usually the hardest part of a book for me to enjoy. My only complaint with it was Arianna occasionally felt like a “I’m special because I’m different” girl in regards to her impropriety, and once more, I felt, on Thomas’s part, that he put his feelings for Arianna above his God-given calling to be a vicar; however, this was handled much better than in some other novels I’ve read, and the situation worked out well, so I can still say I enjoyed it quite well.
In light of all of this, I’m going to have to give Pride and Practicality four and three-fourths stars. Despite a couple hiccups, I really enjoyed all the characters (especially the side characters), most of the wit and banter, the connections between many of the characters, and even the romance, so I’d highly recommend this to readers who are looking for a good clean, humorous regency romance with great Christian principles and lovable characters!
Rating: 4.75/5 Stars
I received a complimentary copy of this book and a positive review was not required. All views expressed are my honest opinions.
Tour Giveaway
(1) winner will receive a Cranford Collection copy of Pride and Prejudice, a matching journal, four Pride and Prejudice inspired bookmarks, and a copy of Pride & Practicality!
(1) additional winner will receive a signed copy of Pride & Practicality!
Be sure to check out each stop on the tour for more chances to win. Full tour schedule linked below. Giveaway began at midnight November 4, 2026 and lasts through 11:59 PM EST on November 11, 2026. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.
Giveaway is subject to the policies found here.
Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!
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