Queen of Lombard Street

by Lisa Kleypas

From New York Times bestselling author Lisa Kleypas—a sweeping, richly layered Victorian novel about a trailblazing female economist who’s determined to build Britain’s first women’s bank, but she must fight both financial corruption and a system intent on destroying the newly found family she’s created.

In Victorian England, no woman—not even a brilliant economist like Reina Martin—is allowed to open her own bank account. Men will take care of everything, women are told. But Reina knows better. As the illegitimate daughter of a Spanish immigrant mother, she’s haunted by the memory of living with unpaid grocer’s bills and no coal for the hearth.

So together with her mentor, the powerful banker William Farlow, Reina will build the first all-women’s bank, where women can manage their own financial security.

At home, Reina’s domestic staff of recently paroled prisoners are building new lives and becoming a found family. But soon Reina is shocked to discover that her enigmatic butler, John Pembroke, is an undercover police detective. He’s been assigned to investigate Farlow, who’s suspected of financial crime on a scale so massive, it could destabilize the British economy. Pembroke needs Reina’s expertise for a high-stakes nighttime heist to obtain incriminating evidence.

Now Reina faces the agonizing choice of betraying her mentor or turning her back on thousands of working-class families who stand to lose everything. Either way, her dream of the women’s bank may be over.

But courage and sacrifice aren’t limited to the battlefield—they also occur at the kitchen table, where women who believe in compassion and community are working to remake the future. And when the stakes are highest, Reina knows to trust her heart as well as her intellect.

Based on real-life trailblazers such as Mary Paley Marshall, Britain’s first female economist, and financial titan Hetty Green, Queen of Lombard Street brings to light the hidden history of extraordinary women whose achievements should be celebrated. How can we know who we are, if we don’t know who we were?

Genres: Historical Fiction, Romance, Historical Romance, Historical, Fiction, Adult, Mystery

448 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication October 20, 2026

About the author

LISA KLEYPAS is the RITA award-winning author of 21 novels. Her books are published in fourteen languages and are bestsellers all over the world. She lives in Washington State with her husband and two children.

Reviews

[Kristina]

🚨 THIS IS NOT A DRILL, I REPEAT, THIS IS NOT A DRILL!

I GOT APPROVED FOR THE ARC! 🚨




***************************



OH MY GOD, GUYS! SHE’S BAAAAAAACK! 🚨

[♥ℳelody]

Is the queen herself coming back to writing? WHAT IS HAPPENING? 😭👀 I'm not a Historical Fiction girlie and I'm sad this isn't HR but at this point I guess I'll read a damn phone book written by Lisa Kleypas.

[Dab]

Look who’s back! Can’t wait 💗💗💗

[☀︎El In Oz☀︎ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25/5

Thank you so much to the publishers and Netgalley for this e-arc!

Lisa Kleypas, Queen of Historical Romance, has returned to publishing after a five year hiatus with a stellar novel that will delight her fans and hopefully gain her some new ones! As one of my favourite authors, and my favourite ever in writing style, reading a new Lisa book early gave me ALL the feelings. Her writing is immaculate as always, filled with rich descriptions of Victorian England and all its inhabitants. She balances two romantic arcs with a decently sized plot, and the highlight of this book is, for me, the found family aspect. Lisa's humour shines here as always and I was laughing out loud.

I do think that this is basically a historical romance with more domestic focus than one with a huge external plot, it's what I imagine Alice Coldbreath's novels to be (I still need to read her haha). I don't think lovers of Lisa's stories should worry about this being too different from her previous works! The large cast of characters is something Lisa always balances well, this novel being no exception. I fell in love with all of them. And the cameos from Ravenels series?!! Even when they mentioned Winterborne's I was like heheh.

Reina is a really lovely FMC. She's strong willed and emotionally vulnerable. John is a great match for her, similar in so many ways, and their relationship was so CUTE. I just didn't completely fall in love with them. I think there is less focus on romance in this novel than most of Lisa's previous works due to the focus more on domestic life. I think I did prefer the secondary romance between June and Maddock (!!!). June is probably my favourite character in this novel. She's bold and funny and so full of life. Both romances are low angst and very sweet, which isn't entirely my taste I'll admit.

The side characters all have my HEART. Norman! Belinda! Tuppence! Maddock! Such a well developed cast, with so much banter and funny situations arising. This novel also has some very sad scenes and they were written beautifully. It's more explicit than any of Lisa's to date in the sense that it's full of swearing (a delight!) and does not shy away from the brutality that women face in the world. It does have much less spice than most of her novels though I'd say. I thought that overall, this was a really great step forward in the type of stories Lisa wants to tell.

The plot of this novel is excellent. There are so many fun threads that all connect together really well. The social commentary is on point and interesting, and this novel is quite educational about so many aspects of Victorian life. The examination of power imbalances is done with care and the inclusions of the Spanish community was something I loved. I almost wished the scope was larger, though, since the novel is pretty limited to Reina's house lol. The slice of life moments will likely appeal more to other readers. The pacing can also be a bit slow, but that also might just be the slice of life moments not having as much momentum.

Lisa Kleypas delivers with this novel, but it certainly has less angst and drama in the romantic arcs than I prefer personally. It's a lovely addition to her catalogue, and will certainly be a hit for historical fiction and romance fans. Now having read this early I have to wait for whatever she does next (please join me for manifesting a 2nd generation Hathaways series every day at noon as I have done since I first read that series in 2021).

[Stella]

RETURN OF THE QUEEN.

You found me at a very Historical Romance time in my life.

[Rachael · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Queen is back and she has truly outdone herself 5 massive stars to Lisa Kleypas
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I’m starting this off by saying that this is a romance (there’s two in fact) and it’s fleshed out extremely well, so for the fellow Capital R Romance girlies fear not Lisa would never leave us hanging for a HEA!

There’s truly not much I can say without spoiling this book because it’s a RIDE. It’s funny (I literally was laughing out loud at parts) it’s heartbreaking, but it gets the balance down so so well. There’s also a found family aspect and my god is this done brilliantly. Every single character was so well thought out and given distinct personalities and characteristics.

The romance(s). Winterborne girlies RISE!!!! One thing Lisa Kleypas can write is a hard working man and John Pembroke is for us!! Reina and John have solidified themselves into one of my top 3 favourite LK couples (yes the other two are Helen and Rhys and Cassandra and Tom), their romance is super slowburn which I absolutely LOVE!! John is so protective of Reina from the minute he meets her and it’s so precious. These two are pretty steadfast when it comes to their relationship, a lot of the conflict in the book comes from other subplots which I felt suited the story best and made sense for these two.
Okay June and Maddoch. I loved these two and I was so glad they had a little romance going of their own it was so beautiful to see these two slowly open up and for June to trust someone other than Reina. Just such a delight.

There is some historical fiction mixed in but not too much that it felt completely out of the romance realm. I really think every word and every page here counted. There’s some emotional moments that had me gasping and I’d be lying if I said my eyes weren’t basically swollen in my head from writing this review.

you can tell Lisa worked hard on this and that she was writing something she really loved and believed we would love too.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for sending me the arc. All opinions are my own.

Potential spoilers? Idk I’m just being safe here
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If you haven’t read The Ravenels series I highly recommend reading them, not only because it’s a great series but because there’s some Easter eggs in this and big cameos so 🤷‍♀️

[Medollga]

WHAT IS THIS???? IS SHE BACK????

[Caroline Reads Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have no words. This book exceeded my expectations in the very best ways.

Longer review to come once I can formulate my thoughts.

——————————————————————————-

📖: Queen of Lombard Street
✍🏼: Lisa Kleypas
⭐️: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Lisa Kleypas is back and better than ever! I am unwell. What a read. Crying because it’s over!!!

This book has it all.
Powerhouse FMC ✔️
Undercover Hero ✔️
High stakes tension ✔️
Emotional damage ✔️
Slow burn romance ✔️
Two different love stories ✔️

I cannot even BEGIN to tell you how excited and I was when Lisa Kleypas announced her new book. And then I got the ARC??? I almost passed away.

Upon finishing the book, I had no words. I cried so hard during parts of it, I was giggling and kicking my feet at other parts, I cheered all the characters on throughout the book.

Reina Martin, what an amazing FMC. I loved her from page one. She’s smart, witty, kind. She’s now my favorite FMC of the Kleypas characters.

While there is two romances in this book, it reads more as historical fiction then historical romance. However, Kleypas knocks this out of the park. I could not put the book down.

I preordered this as soon as I was finished, and I cannot wait to have the physical copy on my shelf.

Thank you so much to Lisa Kleypas, Avon Books, and NetGalley for this fabulous book.

[Caroro 🌸 · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Después de 5 años, Lisa Kleypas vuelve reinventándose.
Queen of Lombard Street no es el libro que esperábamos, pero sí el libro que necesitábamos. Prepárense, porque probablemente es el libro más feminista de la autora.

La historia se sitúa a finales de la época victoriana y sigue a Reina Martín, una protagonista rodeada de adversidad: una mujer economista en un mundo dominado por hombres, e hija ilegítima de una inmigrante.

Desde el inicio, queda claro que esta no es solo una historia de romance. Es la historia de una mujer que lucha por abrirse camino en un sistema que constantemente intenta cerrarle las puertas. Y eso es precisamente lo que hace que este libro se sienta distinto. La lucha constante de Reina no es tan diferente a las cosas por las que pasamos las mujeres en la actualidad.

Aunque el romance está presente (y es hermoso), por momentos pasa a segundo plano para darle espacio al crecimiento de Reina. Incluso puede sentirse como un coming of age, y eso es una de las decisiones más acertadas de la novela. Su evolución, su fuerza y su determinación son el verdadero corazón de la historia.

Al mismo tiempo, el libro aborda temas como la clase social, los derechos de las mujeres, la identidad y la inmigración de una forma que se siente sorprendentemente actual.

Aún así, no se preocupen: el romance sigue siendo hermoso y cálido. John Pembroke es todo lo que se puede pedir en un protagonista romántico: noble, constante y profundamente enamorado. Su dinámica con Reina está llena de tensión, ternura y respeto.

Pero algo que realmente eleva la historia es lo viva que se siente. Los personajes que rodean a Reina no son solo secundarios: cada uno tiene su propia historia, sus propias luchas, y juntos construyen algo que se siente como una familia real, imperfecta pero profundamente unida. Los elementos de found family hacen que el libro se sienta cálido y reconfortante.

Como alguien que lleva muchos años leyendo a Lisa Kleypas, quiero decir que las conexiones con otras historias se sienten como una recompensa. Volvemos a ver a personajes de otras series y se siente como reencontrarse con viejos amigos a los que extrañabas.

Ya quiero que puedan leer este libro y ansío ver cómo sigue evolucionando Lisa Kleypas como escritora.

(Gracias a Harper Collins y Avon books por un early copy de este libro)
ENG

After 5 years, Lisa Kleypas returns, reinventing herself.
Queen of Lombard Street is not the book we expected, but it is the book we needed. Get ready, because this is probably her most feminist work yet.

The story is set in the late Victorian era and follows Reina Martín, a protagonist surrounded by adversity: a female economist in a male-dominated world, and the illegitimate daughter of an immigrant.

From the very beginning, it becomes clear that this is not just a romance. It is the story of a woman fighting to make her place in a system that constantly tries to shut her out. And that is exactly what makes this book feel different. Reina’s constant struggle is not so different from what women still experience today.

Although the romance is present (and beautiful), at times it takes a step back to give space to Reina’s growth. It can even feel like a coming-of-age story, and that is one of the novel’s strongest choices. Her evolution, her strength, and her determination are the true heart of the story.

At the same time, the book explores themes such as class, women’s rights, identity, and immigration in a way that feels surprisingly current.

Even so, don’t worry—the romance remains warm and satisfying. John Pembroke is everything you could want in a romantic hero: kind, steady, and deeply in love. His dynamic with Reina is full of tension, tenderness, and respect.

What truly elevates the story, however, is how alive it feels. The characters surrounding Reina are not just secondary—they each have their own stories, their own struggles, and together they form something that feels like a real family: imperfect, but deeply caring. The found family elements make the book feel warm and comforting.

As someone who has been reading Lisa Kleypas for years, I can say that the connections to her previous works feel like a reward. Seeing characters from other series again feels like reuniting with old friends you’ve truly missed.

I can’t wait for everyone to read this book, and I’m so excited to see how Lisa Kleypas continues to evolve as a writer.

[CynnieRose · Rating 5 out of 5]

This fabulous book was worth the wait. My excitement when I saw this prepub ebook.

I don't read a lot of historical romance. Many times the lack of historic framework, too many handsome dukes, upstairs never downstairs, whiteness, and too modern FMCs grate on me. Never Lisa Kleypas. Her research is always impeccable.

I am here for competence porn, capers, found family, snark, and pathos.

I had to slow down and reread this:
"As adults, however we can't escape the uncomfortable truth that everyone we admire has done something awful, and everyone we despise has done something kind."

[kat]

lisa kleypas is back?!

[Nisha V · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lisa Kleypas is back and I wanted to like this more than I did. Lisa Kleypas is not my ultimate favourite, but I have an emotional soft spot for he and I consider to be one of the heavy hitters of HR and I do like her. I own/read a big chunk of her backlist and have genuinely enjoyed a lot of her books such as Love in the Afternoon, some of the Wallflowers, a couple of the Ravenels, Lady Sophia’s Lover. I also read a lot of historical fiction, not just historical romance, so I went into this trying to account for the genre shift and read it on its own terms.

But this was rough for me. I was bored. I skimmed parts. I was tempted to DNF.

The frustrating thing is that I don’t dislike the premise or the sentiment. A brilliant illegitimate woman trying to build a women’s bank in Victorian London? Great. Financial corruption, women’s legal/economic exclusion, found family, ex convicts trying to rebuild their lives, a heroine who understands what it means to be underestimated? All interesting bones. I can see what Kleypas was trying to do.

I just don’t think the execution worked for me.

My biggest issue was that the social commentary felt spoonfed. The book kept telling me what it meant instead of letting the plot and characters make me feel it. Reina’s early monologue to William Farlow about women needing access to banking and being treated unfairly is a good example. I agree with the point, but it felt less like organic dialogue and more like a thesis statement being delivered directly to the reader.

That happened a lot. Sometimes the book felt like a novel. Other times it felt like notes for a TED Talk or an undergraduate essay for a Feminism 101 class trying to hit the word count with extra metaphors thrown in for variety vibes.

And the thing is, to me historical fiction does not mean “more commentary.” Good historical fiction (like any well written novel) should dramatize its ideas through setting, conflict, consequence, and character choices. This often felt like Kleypas interpreted historical fiction as needing heavier thematic paragraphs and more explicit explanation of the social issues. The result was clunky and it felt like the book did not trust me to understand the point unless it underlined it three times.

The heroine, Reina was also difficult for me. In theory, I love the idea of her a self-taught, brilliant, illegitimate, financially independent, determined to build something for women. But in practice, she became too perfect and too preachy for me. She taught herself economics and law, built wealth, out-thought everyone, had the Correct Moral Position on basically everything, and often sounded less like a Victorian woman shaped by her time and more like a 21st century feminist commentator dropped into Victorian society.

The lack of sex knowledge thing also felt unbelievable to me. Reina is the daughter of a courtesan/mistress, she reads constantly, she is extremely intelligent, and her best friend has had sex, but somehow she has no real understanding of sex? It was unbelievable because of who Reina is supposed to be.

I also struggled with some of the trauma/consent/medical material. John being anti-rape is obviously good. We want men who are anti-rape. But the way it was put on the page sometimes felt oddly blunt and inserted, like the book needed to announce his moral credentials. Same with Tuppence. What happened to her is horrifying, and I understand why she would be anti-male doctor, but Reina giving a long moralising speech about respecting her choice not to have a male doctor while Tuppence is literally dying in labour annoyed me. There is a real ethical tension there, but the book handled it in a way that felt more like making a point than dealing with the awful practical reality of the scene.

The side characters were interesting at first, especially the ex-convict household, but even they started to feel a bit too curated. June annoyed me. Mad had potential. The household had potential. But the found-family material sometimes felt overly designed to prove the theme that society discards people unfairly. Again, I agree with the sentiment. I just wanted it dramatized with more subtlety.

Where the book worked best for me was the romantic tension. That was the part that felt most classically Kleypas. When she let characters notice each other, get flustered, circle around desire, and build intimacy through small moments, I recognized her. The June/Mad literacy scene, for example, was ridiculous but also very LK in the best way big dangerous man, unexpectedly gentle centre, charged domestic intimacy, body awareness, humour, softness, restraint, it was one of the most successful parts of the book for me.

So that is what makes this extra frustrating. The Kleypas romance DNA is still there. The emotional wounds are there. The found-family warmth is there. The sensual tension is there. But the book kept weighing itself down with commentary.

Genre wise, I don’t think this is purely historical fiction, and I don’t think it is purely historical romance either. To me it feels like historical romance with historical fiction ambitions, but those ambitions are where it stumbles. I actually think it might have been a stronger book if it had just committed to being historical romance and let the economic/social themes emerge through the romance, the banking plot, and Reina’s lived constraints instead of being so heavily explained.

So final feeling: interesting premise, some good Kleypas moments, flashes of strong romantic tension, but overall too clunky, too preachy, and too thesis forward for me. I didn’t hate the story or the message. I just don’t think the execution was handelled well.

Thank you Netgalley for ARC of Queen of Lombard Street.

[Makayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️

Queen of Lombard Street by Lisa Kleypas

Thank you Avon for the EARC

This book really said “what if we gave you a genius heroine, financial corruption, undercover identity chaos, AND emotional devastation” and then just watched me spiral.

Reina Martin:
I would like to personally apologize to her because I was NOT prepared. This woman is out here building a women’s bank in a society that won’t even let her open an account?? The audacity. The brilliance. The sheer power. I was obsessed from page one. 

And then we have John Pembroke… SIR???

A butler. But not really a butler. An undercover detective pretending to be a butler while catching feelings. Absolutely illegal behavior. The tension!!! The restraint!!!The way this man is fighting for his LIFE trying to stay professional while clearly gone for her!!!
I was unwell. 

THEIR DYNAMIC!!
Elite. Superior. I will not be taking questions.

This is not soft, easy romance.
This is:
• trust issues
• moral dilemmas
• “do I betray you or save the world” energy
• and longing that could power the entire London banking system

Throw in William Farlow stirring chaos in the background and suddenly everything is high stakes, emotionally loaded, and just straight up stressful in the BEST way. 

But what really wrecked me? The found family.
Reina building a home out of people society threw away! The loyalty! The heart!! I did not sign up to cry over this many side characters but HERE WE ARE.

And the romance!!
Slow burn. Painfully slow. Eye contact that lasts too long. Feelings creeping in at the worst possible time. When it finally HITS, I had to pause and stare into the void.

Only reason it’s not a full 5 stars is because I needed MORE at the end. Give me extra scenes. Give me domestic softness. Give me literally anything because I was NOT ready to leave them.

Anyway if you want:
powerhouse heroine ✔️
undercover hero ✔️
high-stakes tension ✔️
emotional damage ✔️

Read this immediately.

[Lochi's Library]

I have nooooo idea how I secured an early copy, but thank you so much Avon Books!

[cece]

Got the ARC for this so definitely will be reading very soon

[Katie(babs)]

My queen is back!!

[maddie's reading]

new lisa kleypas we are so backkkkkk

[lyrewing]

it’s kleypas she’s baaaaaaack and i am so eager to read this!!

[Juliet]

Whoa… that’s such a long blurb👀.

I’m with everybody though, I’ll read anything Lisa Kleypas writes. Can’t wait

[Ann]

*gasp* Are we truly getting a new Lisa Kleypas??

[Avid Booker]

One of the OG Queens of Historicals. Although I don't usually read too many commoner british historicals. I'm all in for her.

[christina]

LISA KLEYPAS NEW NOVEL?!?!?!??!?! I AM HERE FOR ITTT!!!

[alicat ♡➹♡]

This sounds amazing - Lisa Kleypas was interviewed on Fated Mates yesterday (Feb 3) and she discusses this book as a historical fiction with intrigue and mystery with a fully fleshed out romance as well. I love HR but I also love books with a strong romance subplot so I'm super excited to read this!

[Cathleen · Rating 2 out of 5]

First of all, I'm so happy Lisa Kleypas is writing again! I have really been looking forward to this book and was very happy to see my ARC request was approved. I have read almost all of Kleypas' previous books and have really enjoyed her writing style in the past.

Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy this book. The premise was extremely interesting and I was very intrigued early on, but I found that the way it was written really took me out of the historical environment and I generally did not find the writing to be very immersive or interesting.

I specifically found that Reina, the FMC, often spoke in a way that seemed more like she was a modern, 21st century woman who had been plopped into Victorian England to tell the other characters about justice, equality for women, etc. These are all great things and every single message in this book was important and valuable! However, I felt like they were all being told instead of shown. Some of the dialogue was like reading an essay or a pre-written podcast episode rather than authentic, spontaneous conversations between two real people. One of my friends described the writing as "this is reading as a modern woman telling the story of these Victorian people, as opposed to us experiencing the story through the characters." It seemed almost biographical at times. When the social issues were presented like this instead of a more subtle and natural manner, it felt very forced. It felt as though it was a story about social issues, with these peoples' lives built in a way to include all of the issues that LK wanted to address, and she was specifically telling the reader what the messages were through very explicit events and conversations. Personally, I prefer when messages are more subtle, so that it feels like I am primarily reading a story about someone's life, and if I remove a layer and take a closer look, then I can see further meaning to the story that was all carefully crafted. In this book, it felt like the story took a backseat to the social messages, to the point where I didn't find myself interested to know what happened next, or wanting to read the next chapter. This is just a personal preference and I found that the style of writing in this book just really didn't work for me because of it.

In terms of this being Historical Fiction rather than Historical Romance, I will echo other reviewers and say that readers of Capital R Romance do not need to be alarmed. There is a HEA and a very clear romance plot throughout the book. There are also a few open door sex scenes, but definitely not as much as LK's other books. In my opinion, the sex scenes being open door didn't do much to forward the story or the romantic relationships, which was disappointing and not what I would normally expect from LK.

The romance element itself was really nice for the first half of the book. The chemistry and build-up between John and Reina was really sweet and felt like classic LK. Once they admitted they had feelings for each other, the romance fell flat for me. Both characters were just too ... perfect? I think I'm just used to more mess in romantic relationships when I'm reading.

The non-romance elements were interesting, aside from my complaints in the previous paragraph. I liked the bank fraud plot and the connection with the police, as well as the cameos involved with that. It is evident that LK did a lot of really wonderful research about these topics.

I'm not sure I'm articulating all of my thoughts as well as I could be, so I may come back and edit this later. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

[thiscreeperlovesbooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

ThANK YOU SO MUCH TO AVON AND HARPER VOYAGER FOR THE ARC!!

Lisa Kleypas is one of my favourite/comfort authors of all time. I've read the Wallflowers series and the Hathaways series (my FAVEEEEE) and so many more books from her. I love the Hathaway series because of the found family there -- don't ask me why, but I LOVE Cam, Amelia, Win, Kev, Leo, and Marks as a whole unit!!! I am forever asking for more domestic shenanigans from them haha, though I know their story is complete.

ANYWAY. When Queen of Lombard Street was announced, I was so excited I nearly threw up, lol. Lisa has been gone for so long I was worried something had happened to her! But NAUR, she is back with a spanking new book and IT'S AN HONOUR TO HAVE BEEN APPROVED FOR THIS ARC.

When I started reading this, I was initially under the impression I would be reading about Reina and her banking adventures. Like, IDK, I thought 95% of the book would be about her being at the bank and doing finance stuff. What "finance stuff" constitutes, do not ask me. I dunno. But I was wrong!!! And I AM SO HAPPY BOUT IT! So much of the book revolves around Reina and her household, where she hired a bunch of criminals (YES FR HAHAHAH) to be her servants. And I LOVED IT. I love Belinda, Mad Dog/Maddock, and NORMAN (the man you are... I didn't like him at first but he grew on me ENORMOUSLY when he finally found his calling).

Our male lead is John, who is a detective working undercover as the butler. I didn't like him as much as previous Kleypas heroes, but he was still a fun character and I loved watching him struggle to manage the other servants. The banter was top-notch! I always say this about Kleypas: she is the only writer who writes banter I enjoy. Watching the servants talk back to John and him talking back to them and just... their struggle as they got to know each other was delightful. In fact, I would say I would have preferred it if the romances (there are two couples here), which were already just a subplot, were dialled even further down so we could focus on the domestic background. I dunno what magic Kleypas was cooking when she came up with this premise (the criminals as servants element) but it was genius and so very heartwarming.

ONE THING TO NOTE. I wished this had been mentioned as a trigger warning earlier in the book, because even though most of the book was very sweet and heartwarming, there are still really hard topics that fucked me up. Please be noted that there are mentions of SA, pregnancy complications, and... death from childbirth that traumatised me because I did not see it coming. I cried and cried. This is personally a trigger for me, so it probably hit me harder than everyone else who will read/read this book. So just take note of that.

Thank you once again to the publisher for the opportunity to read this book early! I adored Reina's found family of misfits, and I strongly recommend all other readers to give them a shot too! Please check this out in October :)

[LittleMissReadsALot21 · Rating 5 out of 5]

✨ARC BOOK REVIEW✨Queen of Lombard Street by Lisa Kleypas

Rating: 🔉🔉🔉🔉🔉

SPOILER FREE: I’m a Lisa Kleypas fan. I’ve read all of her books and short stories. Queen of Lombard Street follows Reina Martin, a lawyer and economist and John Pembroke, a detective. I was so excited when this book was announced. It’s been five years since Lisa’s last release, Devil in Disguise. This book gave me that warm fuzzy feeling from the second I started reading it. I gasped in delight when some characters from other stories made a cameo. This has to be one of the most emotional books I’ve read from Lisa. 

A large focus of this book was also on the side characters and their journeys to being understood. The reasons for why they ended up in prison wasn’t used as an excuse for their actions. The romances in this book are a slow burn and a true getting to know each other. 

You always walk away from reading a Lisa Kleypas book having learned something. Something as inconsequential as shower baths and dessert recipes or as important as learning about women in history (writers, doctors, lawyers, and now economists), the Roma, and the UK’s prison system. Do yourself a favor and never skip her author’s note, especially not for this book.

✨✨✨My spoiler filled/longer review can be found on my substack.✨✨✨

https://open.substack.com/pub/littlem...

✨My Rating System✨
🔉🔉🔉🔉 🔉- Hit all the vibes
🔉🔉🔉🔉 - Hit some good vibes
🔉🔉🔉 - I vibed
🔉🔉 - The vibes were meh 
🔉 - Barely found a vibe 
DNF - Zero vibes
My rating system does not equate to the quality of the books, therefore, you’re still on your own. It’s legit just about how I vibed with the book at the time.

Release Date: October 20, 2026

Thank you @netgalley for this ARC.
*Krystina Jones is a Bookshop.org affiliate

PUBLISHER’S BOOK DESCRIPTION: In Victorian England, no woman—not even a brilliant economist like Reina Martin—is allowed to open her own bank account. Men will take care of everything, women are told. But Reina knows better. As the illegitimate daughter of a Spanish immigrant mother, she’s haunted by the memory of living with unpaid grocer’s bills and no coal for the hearth.

So together with her mentor, the powerful banker William Farlow, Reina will build the first all-women’s bank, where women can manage their own financial security.

At home, Reina’s domestic staff of recently paroled prisoners are building new lives and becoming a found family. But soon Reina is shocked to discover that her enigmatic butler, John Pembroke, is an undercover police detective. He’s been assigned to investigate Farlow, who’s suspected of financial crime on a scale so massive, it could destabilize the British economy. Pembroke needs Reina’s expertise for a high-stakes nighttime heist to obtain incriminating evidence.

Now Reina faces the agonizing choice of betraying her mentor or turning her back on thousands of working-class families who stand to lose everything. Either way, her dream of the women’s bank may be over.
But courage and sacrifice aren’t limited to the battlefield—they also occur at the kitchen table, where women who believe in compassion and community are working to remake the future. And when the stakes are highest, Reina knows to trust her heart as well as her intellect.

Based on real-life trailblazers such as Mary Paley Marshall, Britain’s first female economist, and financial titan Hetty Green, Queen of Lombard Street brings to light the hidden history of extraordinary women whose achievements should be celebrated. How can we know who we are, if we don’t know who we were?

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This New Romantic historical fiction by Lisa Kleypas is about Reina Martin, a genius female economist in Victorian London. Reina is trying to open a women’s bank with her mentor, William Farlow, while setting up a new house with her best friend June as her cook.

Two major things kickstart the plot:

John Pembroke, Manchester police detective, is recruited by Ethan Ransom (from {Hello Stranger by Lisa Kleypas} to go undercover as Reina’s detective because William Farlow is suspected of a massive banking fraud, and Ransom needs to know if Reina is a part of it.

Reina, who has a huge heart, and a determination to make the world better, decides to hire her servants from an employment agency that offers convicts on parole.

The convicts become a found family for Reina (and John) and are the heart of this book. They are funny, endearing and sympathetic. Their past crimes make sense within the context of their character and the difficult life for the lower class in the Victorian period.

This book has a lot of slice of life moments with Reina and the employees of her house, while also having the more intense story of the potential bank fraud.

It does not read like Lisa Kleypas’ other books. It is a slower pace, and a different style.

I loved it. Reina is a character who strikes me as neurodivergent, and she’s also a brilliant woman in a time when women had to fight for even scraps of respect. John is intensely principled. He cares so much about being a good butler, when frankly that’s not even his real job!!

Without spoilers, there is a very intense event, which reveals the characters’ as a family, and really really made me incredibly emotional.

I loved this book. It felt more like Mimi Matthews meets Alice Coldbreath than Lisa Kleypas, but I cared about her characters and I cared about what happened to them.

The ending was very satisfying for me, and I loved seeing Lisa Kleypas back with such a well researched subject. The book really addressed women’s banking in the Victorian period from a lot of different angles while simultaneously creating characters and a world that feels real and lived in.

Disclaimer: I received a free advanced reader copy, and my opinions are my own

[Nimra Iqbal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley for the gifted eARC

I don’t usually read historical fiction like this, so I wasn’t really sure what to expect going into this book, but I ended up being really surprised by how much I liked it.

Queen of Lombard Street is definitely more character-driven and slower in its pacing, but that actually worked for me because the focus stays on the people and their relationships rather than trying to be overly dramatic or fast-moving. It feels more like a story you sit with rather than rush through.

What stood out to me the most was the found family dynamic. Reina’s household is messy in a very real way — these are people who realistically wouldn’t have been given a second chance anywhere else — and watching them slowly start to trust each other and function as a unit was honestly my favorite part of the book. Those smaller, everyday moments ended up carrying so much more emotional weight than I expected.

Reina as a character was interesting because she’s very determined and doesn’t really back down, even when things get complicated or uncomfortable. I liked that about her, but there were also moments where her stubbornness made certain parts feel a bit repetitive for me.

The romance is there, but it’s very subtle and not the main focus. It builds slowly in the background more than anything else. I did like the dynamic between them and how it was rooted in trust and understanding rather than big romantic gestures, but I think I personally wanted a bit more emotional payoff between them.

The pacing overall was a little uneven for me. I really enjoyed the quieter, slice-of-life type moments in the household, but there were parts where the story felt like it slowed down more than I would’ve preferred.

Overall, this was a really thoughtful and immersive read. I don’t usually pick up historical fiction, but this one surprised me in a good way — especially with how much it leans into chosen family, survival, and the slow building of trust in difficult circumstances. I’m really glad I read it, and it’s a story that definitely stayed with me after finishing.

[Machaia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is 3.5 stars for me, but I'll round up to four because I really enjoyed it overall. I thought the characters were lovely - especially Reina, John, June, and Mad. The romances were lovely, and the historical context was incredibly well done. Learning more about banking and what women could and (more likely) could not do was another reminder of how grateful I am of how far we've come and how much the women who went before us fought to give us the rights we have today. I also really appreciated that the villain of the story was incredibly nuanced. It felt like real life. No one is all good or all bad and learning that someone you trust has done a terrible thing and trying to mesh that with what you know of them is so relatable.

I think my biggest issues came down to three things:

1.) There was too much going on for one book. There were two romances, found family, women's rights, intrigue, a criminal case, redemption for incarcerated individuals and more that I won't mention for fear of spoilers. I enjoyed every single one of the stories, but some, if not all, of them felt short changed because there was just wasn't time for that many plot points.
2.) The ending felt rushed. After all the buildup we had, it felt like everything was over in a hurry, and I would have liked the ending to have time to breathe.

I'll put number 3 under a spoiler tag:

SPOILERS AHEAD! READERS BEWARE!

3.) It felt very much like Tuppence was sacrificed on the altar of giving Reina a baby to preach the message that "women can do it all," which I felt like cheapened her death and really took away from the impact of the very real historical context of how many women died in childbirth. Furthermore, the message of "women can have careers and be mothers" was undermined by the fact that Reina would be hiring out the hardest parts of raising a child. I was not convinced by the end of the book that staying in that household was what was best for the baby. It felt like he was being treated more as a symbol or a mascot rather than a real human being.

[Mandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lisa Kleypas is back and I'm here for it! Queen of Lombard Street was so entertaining, so fun, so swoonworthy, I loved it so much!

Reina hasn't been a step down from society her whole life due to being born a bastard but she's overcome her circumstances and has become a successful business woman and author. She dreams of opening up a women's bank to help women overcome the hassle and sexist treatment that comes with going to a regular bank owned by men. Her mentor and long time friend, Mr. Farlow, has agreed to partner with her to make this happen. But unbeknownst to Reina, Mr. Farlow is under suspicion of fraud by the Metropolitan Police and they are going undercover in her household to see what they can deduce.

Honestly, this was such a good story. The Found Family trope is HUGE in this book and I loved every single one of the characters. They are all on a trial release from prison so they don't have the best manners or moral compass but they become so close and come to care for Reina and one another, it was so endearing not to mention there is quite a bit of hilarity at points. John Pembroke, who is the actual inspector going undercover as a butler, was like the perfect man. He never tried to dempen Reina's light, never tried to tell her she couldn't do something, he just supported her and loved her and spoke such sweet nothings in Welsh to her. They were perfect together!

My only teeny little gripe was I felt like the third act dragged just a tiny bit. I can't put my finger on what exactly happened but I kept finding myself putting the book down around the 60%-70% mark. I wanted them to hurry up and get to Mr. Farlow getting what he deserved!

Overall, stellar book by one of the best to do Historical Romance. I loved it and really appreciated all the historical education at the end on which a lot of the book was based on. I can't wait to see what Lisa puts out next, I'm already feral for it. Thank you so much to Avon and Harper Voyager for gifting me this eARC!