A fun historical romp with a lost heir, a few gamblers, more than a few villains, and a romantic couple with chemistry for days.

A year after their titillating and contentious first meeting, Oscar shows up at Honoria's home claiming to be her long-lost fiance. Of course, Honoria knows he's a lying scoundrel, but plays along reluctantly since Oscar knows some of her secrets--secrets which, if revealed, could mar her family's reputation. Honoria dresses up like a man and gambles to secure funds for her family and her future, and now Oscar wants the money she won from him while in her disguise. An inveterate swindler, Oscar is willing to play the role of Viscount Vandemere, Honoria's fiance, because he is being pursued by a sociopath to whom he owes money. Hiding out in the countryside is the perfect guise while he tries to get funds from Honoria...but the longer Oscar plays the role of Vandemere, the more he wants his life and the "fiance" he's growing to actually love sparring with. Honoria, meanwhile, is reluctantly developing an affection for the conman and will do anything to protect him--even if it means putting herself in danger.

Lots of verbal parrying and games of one-upmanship between Honoria and Oscar, both of whom of determined to come out on top in the relationship. Their relationship has sparks, and the enemies-to-lovers progression is believable and fun to watch. The background intrigues got to be a bit much--I could have lived without at least one of the minor villains--but it was rewarding to watch Oscar "become" Vandermere and settle into a few found families. Honoria is a complex character with a tragic backstory and intellectual sharpness--a fantastic heroine.

All in all, a really fun and sexy (if at times outlandish) historical romance.

Thank you Netgalley for the advanced reading copy! I loved this continuation of Vivienne Lorret’s The Liar’s Club series. First of all, I love this family - I love that they love drama, acting, comedy, and they love each other. They’re the sweetest. I really liked the banter and the enemies to lovers vibe of this book. I think this series is really doing a great job with trauma bonding in historical romance; the trauma is thoughtful and the love between the characters grows over the book. The main reason that this didn’t get 5 stars from me like the last book in this series is that it felt a little long, especially towards the middle, with all the stuff about the MMCs family drama. But saying that, the ending was great, the banter and steam top notch, and I highly, highly recommend this book for fans of historical romance and Lorret. This series is a must read for me, and I am excited for Thea’s story.

I seriously did not want to put this book down, it was so good! I loved the tension and banter between these two characters. And the enemies-to-lovers vibes with blackmailing and playing their games to get under each other’s skin was perfection. Oh and the slow burn was just so well down that I was just here for it! Vivienne Lorret is definitely becoming one of those authors that I will just automatically pickup no matter what they write because the writing is just that good. I’m always pulled into the stories and this book was no exception. Highly suggest this one if you are looking for a tension and action filled historical romance!

THIS BOOK WAS SO FUN! There's something about Vivienne Lorret's writing that has me absolutely on the edge of my seat. I could not stop reading this, even though I sort of had an idea beat for beat what was going to happen. I can't even explain how I felt while reading this, but the two leads were perfect for each other in every way and the premise is quickly becoming one of my favorite tropes (specifically in a historical).

The Trouble with Inventing a Viscount was historical romance perfection!

I had such a blast reading this one. I loved the plot and the characters, plus the romance was so good right from the start. The drama is entertaining as heck. I couldn't put this down.

I absolutely loved Honoria & Oscar. Oscar falls head over heels for Honoria from the moment he meets her and spends the rest of the book being a total simp for her. I love a man who falls first and falls hard. Oscar was a great romantic hero. Absolutely loved him! Honoria was a fun heroine too. I loved that she knew Oscar was lying from the start about his identity but went along with it. The tension between these two is strong. So much angst! Plus these two had chemistry that was unreal. This is a slow burn but once they heat things up *phew*!!

This is a second book in a series but can be read on its own. I would highly recommend this one! Very entertaining and romantic!

Engaging story about Honoria, the second Hartley sister in the Liar’s club series. The story is unique for a regency romance, though a little hard to understand at times, but the steam is perfect 4/5. The MMC and the FMC have good chemistry. I enjoyed this book provided by NetGalley and appreciate the opportunity to review!

This is the second book in Lorret's Liars' Club series and it was another fun enemies to lovers romance with one of the Hartley sisters. Honoria Hartley is beautiful and independent and not at all interested in getting married and losing that independence. She has turned down dozens of marriage proposals, using the excuse of a agreement made when she was a child that she would be betrothed to the Viscount Vandemere. Vandemere, conveniently for Honoria, is now a long-lost viscount, so she can safely use him as an excuse. All of this changes after Honoria, dressed as a man, comes across Oscar Flint in France and beats him soundly at a game of cards, taking the money he planned to use to pay off some dangerous debts. A year after that incident, Oscar shows up at Honoria's door claiming to be the long-lost Viscount Vandemere himself. With no choice but to go along with the ruse, Honoria finds herself begrudgingly enjoying the time she spends with Oscar. I enjoyed more time with the Hartley family and their odd theatricality, and was happy to get a bit of a cameo from Verity (main character of the first book in the series). This was a fun, fast-paced, and funny enemies-to-lovers historical romance. Content warning for child neglect, references to potential child abuse, and violence.

I liked both Honoria and Oscar and thought their chemistry was palpable and their banter was fun! I love when one character gives the other a nickname that only they understand so obviously loved him calling her "signore". I like how Oscar fell so hard for her and had to really think about how to interact with her not to scare her off since she was so adamant about not falling in love.

There's just...quite a bit of plot that I frankly did not care about nor totally understand. I didn't understand Honoria's plan at the end or what is was meant to achieve and I think it got just a bit muddled for me as a reader. It slowed me down while reading despite trying to skim past some of the plot.

Thank you to Avon for the eARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I loved the premise of this one and the beginning was fantastic but it meandered around a bit too much and the leads spent too much time apart for me to really enjoy this one.

For those who are fans of Dimitri and Anastasia from the seminal classic, Anastasia, boy this book is made for you (and me!).

Oscar is a gambler and sometimes conman who meets Honoria when she is enacting her own con, in order to secure finances for her future wellbeing. When the two meet in a battle of wills, Honoria lets slip that she is engaged to a viscount that she has never met and is connected to him via their grandparents who once struck up this betrothal contract. A year later, who turns up but Oscar, claiming to be the long lost viscount. Naturally, conflict and humor run amok but what really sets this apart is the slow burn romance that sizzles between the two of them. It's clear from the jump that Oscar and Honoria are the only people who see each other clearly and - more importantly - like what they see. Where they feel that anyone else would judge them or dismiss them, they find a real security and fondness between each other, which was so well done on the page.

The book runs through plot very quickly, and there's a ton of characters to keep track of, but all of it comes together so well that it's impossible not to love every twist and turn that crops up. Oscar and Honoria's respective families are also so fun that it's impossible not to love all of the side characters. If the series follows the path that has been started, I can't wait to see who manages to catch youngest sister Thea's eye, as well as their older brother's (who is still somewhat mysterious after two books). Whatever Vivienne Lorret writes next, I will be there excited to read!

ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Imagine my absolute astonishment reading this novel and realizing I had never read Vivienne Lorret before. I am ashamed of myself, to be honest.

Oscar and Honoria are absolute perfection as a hero and heroine. Their meet cute is hilarious and the surprise reunion (for Honoria) is played to perfection. It's a true rivals to lovers story and goes from using their skills against each other to using their skills for each other.

The banter between all the characters is funny and smart. And I love how family is woven into the story and you aren't ever sure how it's going to work out, but it does.

I received an eARC of this book for free via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I liked this book and my outward facing review says why (GR: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6496198506, YT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaomIP0Yi7s&t=212s). I tagged this one as: would-read-again.

Review on the writing:
Brilliantly done slow burn.
I love when an author makes you feel "just kiss already!"
I think it was clever how the author used Honoria's beauty and some characters' response to it as a tool in the story.

Copyedit notes:
- Pg 167: "that" is repeated
- Pg 290, paragraph 3, last sentence: 1st word needs sentence case (1st "her" should be "Her")
- Pg 310, last paragraph: "rolls" should be "roles"

The Trouble with Inventing a Viscount is the 2nd book in the Liar's Club series and it was just as amazing as the first book in the series!

The tropes include: slowburn, fake dating, animosity to lovers, found family, he falls first and falls harder.

Something that I am loving with this series is the banter, chemistry, and pure chaoticness of the family we are following. In this one we are following Honoria and Oscar and the chemistry is off the charts. I love how this follows the fake-dating trope and yet there is so much tension and angst between the characters. It is no secret that they are attracted to each other but they are also slowly falling for each other. It is also very clear from the very beginning that Oscar falls hard for Honoria and he would do anything for her! He is absolutely smitten by her and she is also falling in love with his charms and intellegence.

Another aspect that I loved about this book is the family aspects of it. Honoria's family is just so fun and chaotic and add alot of life to the novel. It is also a case where she is close to her siblings and parents and her parents were a love match. We also get to see Verity too which I loved!

The only "down" side to this novel is that the plot is not very strong and that made the pacing a bit slow at time. I personally didn't mind but if you need a strong plot in your novels this one will not have it.

Overall, I really loved this book. I think this is Vivienne Lorret's strongest series and I am so excited for Thea's book next.

As always, I love Vivienne Lorret. This is the second book in the series and is about Honoria and Oscar. Honoria is beautiful and she knows it, but also an expert at disguising herself. The first time she meets Oscar she is in the middle of some shenanigans but instead of never seeing the man again, imagine her surprise when he shows up on her doorstep claiming to be her long lost fiance (who isn't actually real, but was made so she could avoid getting married!).

I will say, about half way through I did guess the plot twist, so it did feel a little predictable. But I also feel like predictability is one of the reasons we love historical romance-- and romance in general!

Tropes:
-Disdain to lovers
-(Reluctant) fake engagement
-Rake MMC

CW: sibling death (in the past)

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC.

I loved Remington Steele and the Importance of being Earnest as a child (because I a a charming mix of weird and wonderful) and this book has it all. Honorio has to have a betrothed or she’s going back on the marriage market. And she is far too clever and independent to ever want to get married. Oscar is a gambler and on man that she won a lot of money from when she was pretending to be a man. He saw through the deception and she told him about her made up fiancé (because soooo much attraction). So the Remington Steele fans will not be surprised when he shows up telling everyone he is the Viscount she made up. The Importance of Being Earnest side? If you know you know. The book is hot, filled with banter and adventure. I liked it. I received an ARC

Vivienne Lorret remains delightful and I will continue to seek out her books!

Thanks to the publisher for the eARC in exchange for my review.

Thank you Netgalley and Avon for approving my request! I love Vivienne Lorret historical romances and this book was an incredibly fun read! Read this book if you’re after carriage shenanigans, disguises galore, and bickering banter.

This is the second book in the Liars’ Club and the story of Honoria Hartley and Oscar Flint. Honoria is an expert makeup artist, which comes in handy in her thespian family who is always putting performances on their family stage. Honoria was somewhat betrothed by her grandmother in a letter to Viscount Vandemere, who has been missing for years and presumed dead. However, Honoria uses it as an excuse to avoid other marriage proposals and pursue her path to freedom as a single woman. Unfortunately, her penchant for gambling gets her into some trouble in Paris as she wins the money Oscar needs to pay off his debts. He hears about her Vandemere scheme and shows up at her doorstep as the long-lost Viscount Vandemere. She knows he’s lying and is a con artist, but they both play along because he needs the money and she needs her secrets kept. He does move into “his” house which is filled with Vandemere relatives sponging off the estate. They are pretty sure he is lying, but there are some family secrets and no one can be totally sure. Oscar is in his own way an honest thief. He steals money out of necessity and only from the wealthy who have wronged others. There are lots of funny scenes. Honoria and Oscar are always trying to one-up each other and from that their attraction starts to grow. This is definitely a zany, quirky book that is just a lot of fun to read. There are a lot of laugh-out-loud moments. I really like that Honoria has a huge family that is all up in her business and Oscar has been on his own for a while now. This book is a bit of a slow burn, but there are sparks and when they finally act on their feelings it gets steamy. Honoria has met her match and it makes for a delightful read. Put this book on your TBR and get ready for its release on September 24, 2024. Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC.

CW: death of a child (off page, in the past)

The Trouble with Inventing a Viscount was loads of fun! I've read most of Vivienne Lorret's recent titles, and she doesn't disappoint. It's been a while since I read the first book in the series, but Lorret did a great job of slowly catching you up in the book so that by about 1/4 of the way in, you know all the relevant information.

In many ways, Oscar is an asshole. He is a liar and a cheat and puts Honoria in a perilous situation. But what makes him charming is how he can't help but do good and be kind no matter how hard he tries. In many ways he associates kindness with weakness, and it takes realizing his feelings for Honoria to realize that perhaps he doesn't have to resist the urge. Honoria is a delight. For the most part, she isn't afraid to give as good as she gets when it comes to Oscar. She knows he's lying his ass off, but can't do anything about it.

I found the resolution did a good job of threading the needle between too perfect and realistic. Our characters found their HEA without falling into some romance stereotypes. I can't wait to read what Vivienne Lorret has next!

Honoria secretly created a scam betrothal agreement with a ‘long lost’ viscount. She doesn’t want to ever get married. But she does need some cash for her future. Her thespian family are not rich and she wants to ensure that she’s not forced into a real betrothal. So off she goes, disguised as a Spanish man, and beats a con man, Oscar, at his own card game (read: cheats better). When he confronts her he realizes she is actually an English lady but before he can steal the prize money back from her, she gets away. She’s home safe and sound when Oscar appears at her door claiming to be the long lost imaginary viscount.

Everyone is playing a role, from her thespian family to Oscar to Honoria. Honoria can’t out Oscar or she’ll be revealed as having made up the betrothal. Oscar can’t out Honoria because he needs the leverage to blackmail her to get that prize money.

It is good reading: watching the lies intertwine as the con game turns on both con artists. An interesting path to love. Honoria is so wonderfully fierce and her family is just a blast. Bold and intense, Oscar’s backstory is poignant. You just want him to triumph- if it weren’t Honoria he’d be triumphing over. There’s lots of humor and sexy times for all of us. In any event, getting to the HEA is a fun trip.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.