Book Review : An Heiress's Guide to Deception and Desire by Manda Collins

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An Heiress's Guide to Deception and Desire by Manda Collins
Series : A Lady's Guide #2
Genre : Historical Romance
Publisher : Forever
Publication Date : November 16th, 2021
Former lovers become reluctant allies in this delightfully witty historical rom-com from the bestselling author of A Lady's Guide to Mischief and Mayhem—for fans of Evie Dunmore, Enola Holmes, and Netflix's Bridgerton!

England, 1867 : As half of the writing duo behind England's most infamous crime column, Miss Caroline Hardcastle has quite the scandalous reputation. It may have cost her a fiancé, but she would much rather bring attention to crimes against those ignored by society than worry about what the ton thinks of her.

After Caro's dear friend is kidnapped, however, she has no choice but to work with Lord Valentine Thorn, the same man who broke her heart. Worse, when her actions put her father's business at risk, a marriage of convenience may be her only solution . . . but can she trust Val to stand by her? Or will their past repeat itself?

Val--the new Viscount Wrackham--is in an untenable position: His father is demanding he find a respectable bride to secure the succession. Yet the only woman he's ever loved, Miss Caroline Hardcastle, is notorious for behaving improperly. And she's never forgiven him for his youthful transgressions, missteps made in the name of familial duty, but ones he still regrets to this day.

As they grow closer to unmasking the culprit, Val sees an opportunity to show Caro he's a changed man. But can he convince her to give their love a second chance--before death does them part?

 I just finished reading two books - An Heiress's Guide to Deception and Desire by Manda Collins and The Donut Trap by Julie Tieu !❣️✨ It was quite fun and kind of relieving because I've been having a shitty time in the past few days 😐. I just feel like escaping from everything at this point. Sigh.⁣⁣

I'd enjoyed the author's Studies in Scandal series before and book one in this series was also good, so I was quite excited to read this one! ⁣

We've got Caro who is a crime journalist and Val, who has recently become the duke's heir and they're brought back together when Caro attempts to solve the mystery behind her missing friend - Effie who was engaged to Val's cousin. In addition, Caro and Val were secretly engaged a few years ago before she broke it off when he'd failed to speak out and defend her against his family's snobbish comments. ⁣

So it's a second chance romance + a mystery which was everything I wanted. I really love second chance romance when it's done right and I've got to say this one was really good! Like the tension and push-pull between Caro and Val was amazing, but I also loved how they took their time to re-discover things about each other while focusing on solving the mystery as well. The banter between them was so good! 😂 Also I really appreciate the feminism that I've been noticing in the recent HR releases. They're done quite well without seeming like a plot device to make the heroine 'different' from others. The mystery was also balanced well with the romance and I loved finding the clues along with the protagonists. It wasn't too suspenseful but was still enjoyable and fun to read! Can't wait to read the next book!⁣

You can also find my reviews of the author's other books here

*I was provided with an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*


Manda Collins grew up on a combination of Nancy Drew books and Jane Austen novels, and her own brand of Regency romantic suspense is the result. A former academic librarian, she holds advanced degrees in English Lit and Librarianship. Her books have been favorably reviewed in Entertainment Weekly, Library Journal, Booklist, Publisher's Weekly, Bookpage, and USA Today.  Her novel Duke with Benefits, was named one of Kirkus Books Best Romance Novels of 2017. When she's not writing she can be found advocating for disability rights on Twitter, watching true crime documentaries, and knitting very inexpertly. A native of Alabama, she lives on the Gulf Coast with a very stubborn cat and more books than are strictly necessary. 

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