“The Trouble With Inventing a Viscount” by Vivienne Lorret is book two in her series The Liars Club. This was a delightful read. Lots of witty banter between characters, funny moments, romantic settings, passionate interludes, and a touch of sadness all combined to lead the reader on a topsy turvy, highly enjoyable journey. . The Hartley family is eccentric and a theatrical role model for daughter Honoria Hartley, a woman who wanted to live her life on her own terms. That is, until she encountered Oscar Flint, gambler, wanderer, and scoundrel through and through. These two characters were instantly meant for one another. I liked both of these characters equally, they both had fine qualities, yet they were both flawed in their own way. My favorite scene in the book is probably the picnic scene when they were feeding one another., it went from calm to uncontrollable with a sensual back and forth with food. Oscar and Honoria’s romance built at a steady pace and grew more hot and heated as the story unfolded. The author dropped just enough hints along the way to indicate where the story was headed, all coming together in a satisfying culmination to the plot. This is definitely a historical romance that I would recommend with great world building, well written characters, lots of stem and passion, and a joyful ride from beginning to end.

I had a lot of fun reading this book! Honoria is nosy and a bit of a spitfire, but she also deals with a lot of grief from losing her twin as a child. Oscar is a conman who hides a heart of gold. The set up is super fun, after meeting once a year prior, Oscar takes advantage of a slip from Honoria to pretend to be her long-lost betrothed, Viscount Vandemere. He gets in a bit over his head with both pretending to be the fiancé of Honoria, who is not very happy at his return, and also dealing with his new aunts and the servants who really aren't happy with his return. In fact, they pull a bunch of pranks on him to get him to leave. I thought the antics were a blast. The romance was a bit of a hate to love situation and the bantering was good.
It has been a while since I read the first book and forgot that they were a bit intertwined. So definitely recommend reading in order. I am intrigued to see what happens with Thea, the last sister!

Always such a fan of Vivienne’s romances! They’re always so wonderful! I haven’t read one I didn’t like and this one is no exception! I really have loved reading this series of sisters finding their HEA’s! The characters are wonderful and the whole story is amazing! I can’t say enough good things about this author! She’s one of my all time favorites!

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for the arc. Another fun read from Vivienne Lorret, with an intriguing twist. I enjoy reading Lorret's books, and I look forward to reading more.

I usually love Vivienne Lorret’s books but this one was really slow and hard for me to get in to. There are a ton of side characters and plots going on and it distracted from the two main characters. I liked the premise of inventing a fiancé and him showing up out of the blue and shocking the heroine so I was really excited about it, especially after reading the first book in the series but this unfortunately just didn’t do it for me.

DNF. I bailed quite early. The introduction of the characters was just plain stupid IMO. Perhaps their characters improved as the book progressed, but I lost my respect for them. I didn’t want to waste my time finding out.

Be careful what you wish for, and when you make someone up, you really need to make sure they don't show up. Like in Remington Steele, Honoria Hartley creates a man of her dreams as her fiancé. But when the man shows up, she gets more than she bargained for.

3.5 stars

Danger! Romance! Sock puppets! Get ready for a little bit of everything in this twisty-turny novel by Vivienne Lorrett!

Our heroine is a master of disguise, using her acting skills to lure men from their money in gambling dens. She’s got it all figured out, until our hero captures our mustachioed miss! She realizes that she’s met her match, but thinks she’s gotten away unscathed…until much later when he shows up posing as the man she’s told EVERYONE that’s she’s betrothed to! She’s furious, and yet she can’t deny the pull she feels towards him. But who is he, really, and what happens when she finds out?!?

I found this book to be quite funny, with a cast of characters that’s set up like an Agatha Christie novel. As in, what are everyone’s motives? The richly developed backstories of our MCs were built up almost to the point of overshadowing their developing relationship. I’d say this felt more like historical fiction than historical romance for about the first half of this book. Our characters’ chemistry is on point, but they didn’t share the stage enough for my taste. As a result, my attention waned at times.

Bottom line: anyone looking for a spicy, humorous historical romance with an entertaining cast of characters and a side of danger won’t be disappointed!

Trigger warnings: death of a sibling (off page but referenced), abandonment by father (before story begins), being wounded/bandaged, peril

I’d like to thank Avon and Avon Harper Voyager and Netgalley for the eARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

This had all the ingredients for a great fluffy romance. You have a rakish gambler, a headstrong heroine, and a fake identity twist. And for a while, it worked! The setup hooked me, and I liked the slow development of feelings between Oscar and Honoria. But the plot became too chaotic. Several key details felt glossed over or awkwardly explained, and the ending had too many dramatic shifts to keep up and I stopped caring honestly.. I liked the book overall, but didn’t love the execution making it kind of forgettable.

I am so bummed this was lost in my Kindle & I wasn't able to read it sooner. It was so good. The story moves quickly which makes it really hard to put down. I had to finish it in one sitting. Loved it

Vivienne Lorret never lets me down. Her characters give me all the feels every time. Her books are an auto-buy for me.

Oscar Flint is a con artist raised on the streets and in debt to a shady art dealer. Honoria Hartley is a gorgeous debutante trying to escape a betrothal contract to a Viscount she's never met who is MIA. A chance meeting in a gaming hall turns into a blackmail scheme and a heart-pounding passionate romance when Oscar tracks down the vixen who beat him at cards and pretends to be her Viscount fiance.

Oscar & Honoria are couple goals. Truly good people who save each other in so many ways.... sigh. This is not only a steamy historical romp, it's about connection, family, and finding your future in an unexpected way. LOVE IT. Great plot and the BANTER! Nobody does flirty banter and tension building like Lorret. I'm sorry I didn't read this one sooner. Grab it for your next vacation read - it's hard to put down but meant to be savored.

Very fun! The Vandemere stuff started to drag at a certain point, but I liked both of the characters and think the huge cast of unique side characters is what made this for me.

Lorrett keeps getting better with this series. I loved all the subtle references to THE INPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST. It felt like a real scavenger hunt for nerdy English majors

Vivienne Lorret crafts a story like no other. This book is a great continuation of her Liars Club series and rivals the first for the best one so far. I'm waiting expectantly for the third!

This book was a delightful blend of romance, wit, and charm! The characters were engaging and had great chemistry, making their interactions fun and heartfelt. The story had a nice balance of tension and humor, with an intriguing plot that kept me turning the pages. A perfect read for fans of historical romance with a touch of clever banter and emotional depth!

CW: Death of a child; death of a parent; drowning; grief; abandonment; sexual assault; violence

I wasn’t the biggest fan of It Had to Be a Duke, book one in the Liar’s Club series, but I usually like Vivienne Lorret’s books, so I was willing to give the second book in this series a shot. And I’m so glad I did, as I really enjoyed this one! The vibes of the romance were immaculate, and I was eating up the relationship between Oscar and Honoria. Plus, I’m a sucker for the “made-up fiance who ends up showing up as a very real person” trope, so this one had me instantly intrigued.

Now, was the overarching plot a little predictable? Yes. Did I care? Not one bit, as I was having SUCH a good time with this story. Sure, there was a bunch of other stuff involving the identity of the real Viscount Vandemere and a big bad guy named Ladrón, but that felt like enjoyable background noise to me, as I was mainly here for the romance.

The romance! My god, the vibes of this were EXACTLY what I want in any romance novel. The banter and sexual chemistry between Oscar and Honoria had me HOOKED from their initial meeting. You could tell there would be this constant push and pull between them as they always tried to one-up each other. They were playing a game that no one else besides them was involved in, and it went down such a delicious avenue. This book was crackling with chemistry, and all I wanted was for Honoria and Oscar to kiss! Lorret draws the romance out so flawlessly that you’re on the edge of your seat, waiting for these two to admit their feelings, even as they lie to themselves about how deep the feelings run. And when they finally bang? PHEW. So much pent-up feeling and attraction! So fun, so sexy, so hot. Also, this book has a very sexy picnic – something I don’t think I’ve seen before but LOVED while reading it.

As much as Oscar and Honoria start out as adversaries, there are a lot of similarities between the two of them. Both are masters at playing different roles. Oscar is willing to lie, steal, and cheat to do what he needs to survive, while Honoria is willing to throw on a disguise to do what she must to protect her family. Oscar’s been burned by love before, while Honoria doesn’t want to let love in. And they’ve both experienced significant personal losses at a young age that shaped who they are as adults.

I loved that despite the front they put on for others, they can both see through that to see the real Oscar and Honoria behind all the bluster. Even though they started as adversaries, they ended up becoming each other’s confidants and holding each other’s secrets, building a strong foundation of trust. Slowly, the layers between them are pried back, helping to strengthen the romantic relationship into something much deeper.

This book managed to be lighthearted and incredibly funny, yet also emotionally complex and sad at the same time. Lorret toed the line perfectly between the emotional ends of the story, bringing in heavier subject matter like grief and loss to bring depth to her characters, but still managed to keep the book feeling fun in the end. I both laughed and cried while reading this book, yet both emotions felt like they fit seamlessly into the story.

The Trouble With Inventing a Viscount was so fun and so sexy that I couldn’t put it down! Outside the romance, the story was a lot of fun, even if there was a LOT to wrap up in the last chapter or so. But honestly, I didn’t care, as I was having a blast reading this book!

I definitely think this can be read as a standalone and would probably tell people to start with this book as it had that special something that I felt was missing from book one in the Liar’s Club series. I’m now excited to see what Lorret does next with this series, as this book was such a treat!

Thank you to Avon/Netgalley for the ARC. All thoughts, ideas, and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Honoria Hartley, betrothed since birth to the mysterious Viscount Vandemere, has no interest in marriage and has invented her own version of him, complete with a full correspondence spanning the globe, to keep the title alive. Her plan hits a snag when Oscar Flint, a skilled gambler and con artist, shows up on her doorstep pretending to be Vandemere. Despite her resistance, the undeniable chemistry between them blurs the line between truth and deception, and Oscar is determined to win her heart, no matter the cost.

Having read the first book in Lorret’s The Liars Club series, I will say I enjoyed this one much more than the previous one, to the point where I couldn’t put it down. The chemistry between Oscar and Honoria was perfect and the Hartleys' antics were more funny and less embarrassing than they seemed prior. I could have done without a few of the side scenes revolving around the Vandemere aunts, as they didn’t add much substance to the story. However, throw in a decades-old mystery and some suspense about Oscar’s past, and I was sold.

"Kissing Oscar again was a terrible idea."

This was a good story. I liked both main characters and the set-up was fun. I enjoyed their banter with each other and the definitely had chemistry. I thought the story was a bit slow and the ending kind of sudden and not quite complete as I was left with a few unanswered questions. I liked it ok, it just wasn't as good as some of her other books have been. Three and a half stars.

I do love Vivienne Lorret. While "The Trouble with Inventing a Viscount" is not quite as good as the first book in Lorret's "The. Liar's Club" series, it is still quite entertaining. The Hartley family is so entertaining (the sock puppets are back!) and dedicated to one another. This is the story of middle sister, Honoria, who shuns the idea of love and marriage due to a tragedy in her past, and MMC, Oscar, a longtime conman, who has reasons all his own for pretending to be Honoria's long missing viscount fiance - an identity he adopts without Honoria's consent, mind you.

This book is a fun and mildly spicy romp. Honoria and Oscar know exactly who the other actually is, which is refreshing in a story incorporating a 'hidden identity' trope. The double blackmail aspect of the story leads to some truly amusing moments, and Lorret does an excellent job creating tension and chemistry between Honoria and Oscar. I look forward to the next book in this series.

4 stars. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a complimentary copy of this book. These opinions are my own.

After Honoria beats Oscar in a clandestine card game, he is on the run when he decides to hide as her missing fiancé. Their chemistry and his feelings toward her quickly make him wish the life of "Vandemere" was really his. But Honoria refuses to marry because she fears the grief of losing a loved one again. Despite them both having reasons to fear a relationship, and believe they could never be together, they see each other as no one else ever has, and will show their true selves to be together.

The ending did not live up to the rest of the book re: the plot. I still have questions.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for an arc in exchange for an honest review!

Read for: hidden identity, enemies to lovers, morally grey MMC, he falls first

3 stars
2 spice