Fast and Fastidious: A Novel

by R. M. Caldwell

Pride and Prejudice meets The Fast and the Furious in this rollicking, romantic Regency adventure in which a meticulous young woman must abandon the rules of propriety to save Britain—and perhaps even find love along the way. . . .

England, 1810. Lucy Elliot has often been described as fastidious, given her belief that there is an objectively correct and logical way to do things. And while she strives to be proper in every way, she does have one rather scandalous Lucy, the prim and gentle lady, is  a frequent attendee of the entirely disreputable and illicit Night Races, where unchaperoned men and women from all social classes gather on dark country lanes to gamble on the outcomes of furiously fast carriage races.

But her secret might become more than just a danger to her reputation when her mysterious new neighbor, Captain Dashwood, begins partaking in the races. Lucy can’t help but feel there’s something more to the handsome Captain Dashwood than meets the eye, and she suspects that his arrival in the neighborhood in the midst of a spate of curious and alarming carriage robberies is no mere coincidence—something is most certainly afoot in the county, and it’s a mystery Lucy intends to solve.

 Though Lucy prides herself on her preparedness, she never could have anticipated the web of lies, deceit, and espionage that she finds herself and Captain Dashwood entangled in; nor could she have known that the very fate of Britain would hang in the balance. But will her meticulous nature be the very thing that saves her, or will it be her—and England's—undoing?

Genres: Historical Fiction

Kindle Edition

Expected publication April 14, 2026

Reviews

[Andi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me a chance at reading the book.

I really, really enjoyed the plot of this. I love that it was a regency story where the girl was interested in cars... er, carriages? And I loved that she knew what she was talking about. On top of that, I love that she was paired with a gentleman who was just as into them as she was (and was akin to an undercover cop).

BUT THE ROMANCE. WHERE WAS IT? It was so hard to see it. Like sure, there was glances and brief touching, but there was literally no 'admittance' of feelings, flirting, hot moments of kisses (not asking for anything beyond that). It really sank the book down for me and given that she was a girl who was not quite following the rules and wanting to be unrefined in areas that most are not, I expected more. Since this co-labeled as a romance.

So if you go in thinking you're gonna get a romance you're really not. But if you like a clean story about a girl and a guy catching coach thieves, you'll get it.

[Heather Moll · Rating 2 out of 5]

The beginning is a lot of third person telling to set the stage and between that and the extremely short chapters, it felt like forever before anything happened. I almost gave up at %8. At some point, I just started skimming.

The concept is fun, but the third person dry narration was just too detached for me. I liked Lucy’s worldview and that she’s neurospicy coded. Her exactness and social challenges didn’t bother me. And while this is technically a romance in that they’re together happily at the end, there’s really no romance here. Carriage race descriptions? Yes? Interiority and chemistry? No.

This wasn’t for me, but if you like third person in a historical mystery and don’t want your romance to have romance, you might like this one

I received an arc from NetGalley

[Kelsey Fredericks · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was such a fun surprise! This overlaps many genres including romance, mystery, suspense and historical fiction.

Lucy Elliot is a very intelligent young woman and enthralled with how carriages work. Captain James Dashwood moves to the property next to the Elliot's and recognizes and admires Lucy's intelligence and her knowledge of carriages. Lucy and James work together trying to piece together carriage robberies that have been happening in the district. This book started out a little slow for me, but as you get to know Lucy it speeds up an ended with a BANG!

This book has:
- a very intelligent FMC and MMC who admires her intelligence
- mystery/suspense
- a great sister relationship between Lucy and her sister Margaret
- found family with Lucy, James and their night racing family

If you love historical fiction and suspense you will love this book! The romance is subdued, but this fits the characters and anymore wouldn't be true to Lucy or James. I only wish we got to see their wedding or and epilogue of some kind!

Highly recommend- one of my favorite reads of the year! Thank you Harper Perennial and NetGalley for the ARC!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Courtney Pityer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fast and Fastidious is a regency novel which gives off the vibes of Jane Austen and Fast and Furious. I will say that I was very intrigued with how this novel turned out. The main fmc wasn't going to let the rules of society get in the way she wanted to live her life. I will say that while sneaking out to watch high speed carriage races probably isn't the most ideal rebellion story but I guess for the time period it's enough for some.

Our main character Lucy is a gem who is but misunderstood. She has always believed in using common sense as a reasonable tool. She has decided to take her rebellion to a new level when sneaking out at night to watch high speed carriage races which people gamble on. Overall this routine has played out pretty well for her.

However, when it is discovered that her new neighbor Captain Dashwood partakes in these events Lucy fears that she will be revealed. But there are other thibgs to worry about as there start to be a string of carriage robberies. Lucy then decides to take up the hobby of investigating not knowing what it will lead her to.

[Rebekah Santoro · Rating 5 out of 5]

I so appreciated receiving an ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher. As soon as I saw the combination of regency romance and the Fast and the Furious I said sign me up. It was everything I could have hoped. It started off a bit slow but as soon as James Dashwood came onto the scene, I was hooked. Though autism is not a word used during this time period, I feel confident that the author intended our main character Lucy to be perceived as such and I think she did a fantastic job of representing that character. The mystery was intriguing and the characters all likable. I hope to read another book by this author in the same fashion.

[Beth S · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book so much. If I could give it 11/10 stars I would. As a fan of both Jane Austen and Fast and Furious, this book was so much fun to read. A romance/mystery set around carriage race, I loved every page. Both Lucy (FMM) and Captain Dashwood (MCC) were likeable and fun to get to know. I can’t recommend this book enough. I have told all my friends to preorder this. This is R.M. Caldwell’s debut novel and they have a fan for life.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Perennial for the ARC. Opinions are my own.

[Lovely Loveday]

Fast and Fastidious by R. M. Caldwell was such an unexpectedly fun ride. I loved the sharp banter and the way the characters’ personalities clashed and clicked in equal measure, which kept me fully invested from the start. The pacing pulled me along quickly, but there was still plenty of heart woven into the story, and I appreciated those quieter moments just as much as the fast ones. I caught myself smiling more than once at the humor and chemistry on the page. By the end, it felt like spending time with characters I didn’t want to say goodbye to.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

If The Fast and the Furious and Pride and Prejudice had a baby, this would be it. Every TFATF rewatch from my teenage years finally paid off because watching those references unfold, with carriages, was awesome. This book delivers on all fronts… murder, mystery, carriage racing, found family, low angst, and fun witty side characters. I had an absolute blast reading this and couldn’t put it down. A must-add to your April TBR.

Thank you Harper Perennial for a copy for review.