Thank you netgalley and publishers for this arc.

This is my 2nd or 3rd Manda Collins novel, and it is the start of a new series but is connected to the previous series. There were many back characters that made cameos throughout this one. It didn't take away from the story, but would probably add to it if you knew the other characters.

This was a little slow paced, minimal romance that really didn't start until the second half. I liked Lucy and Will together. And we get the next couples set up at the end.

Overall I did enjoy this historical mystery romance.

I will note that there were a lot of typos and missing words in this arc, way more than any other arc I've read. They did distract me from the story at times, so I hope the editors do another read through before officially publishing.

This is such a fun series.
I really need to go back and read the first 2 because I am sure I am missing some references. But I just adore these clever heroines.

Recommended.

This was a very sweet regency era romance book! Half romance and half mystery I think there was just enough of both for it to feel refreshing and interesting. Grumpy/sunshine is a classic romance trope for a reason and I think it works for this partnership. You might want to steer clear if insta lust is a turn off for you or you like your romance super spicy, this would be just the tip of a chili pepper.

I have never read any of the authors other series but reading some of the other reviews I’m wondering if I did myself a disservice with starting here. This is the first of a new series and while I never found myself confused by mentions of other characters its seems as though it might have added another layer to the story. You absolutely could start with this series but it’s something to consider if you were thinking about her other books too. Would recommend this book and would be interested to continue this series.

A great beginning to a new series. love manda Collins nobles and this one is as a page Turner , who dun it!! free ARC from NetGalley for honest review.

A spinster and a viscount team up to solve a kidnapping and inadvertently fall in love along the way!

A Wallflower’s Guide to Viscounts and Vice is the first book in a spin-off series from Manda Collins’ Lady’s Most Scandalous series. Book one follows a new-ish generation of characters that were mostly introduced in the first series. I think it’s best to read this following the Lady’s Most Scandalous series, but it can be read as a standalone if you don’t mind not having the full backstory on side characters.

Lucy is a wealthy spinster and a file clerk in the police office which is most unusual for a lady of her station. Will is the new Viscount Guilford who is returning home to deal with the fact that his steward has absconded with the family wealth! He needs a wealthy bride, but it can’t be Lucy, his younger sister’s best friend. When the two are thrown together over the mysterious kidnapping of Lucy’s friend, Vera, they can’t keep their feelings contained. Will tries to ignore his feelings, but thanks to meddling friends, his jealousy takes over and he confronts his feelings.

I enjoyed the romance and mystery in this histrom. I’m a big fan of Manda Collins, so I wasn’t surprised that I loved this one! The mystery did seem slightly convoluted, but I didn’t clock who-done-it until the very end right before it was revealed! It definitely kept me questioning things!

There were a few editing issues in the arc copy I received, but I assumed it will be corrected before release. It was mainly names being incorrect and a scene basically repeating, so it didn’t take away from my enjoyment but did have me going, “huh?!” A few times.

Thanks to the publisher for the complimentary arc. All opinions are my own.

Manda Collins is an author I always keep my eye out for! Her novels are fast paced and interesting with the right mix of mystery and romance. This book was right on track with that! I enjoyed the heroine and her group of unconventional friends as well as the male love interest. The development of their romance felt natural and I enjoyed his reaction to her criticism and strengths. Having read the previous book in the series, I enjoyed seeing more character development and mentions of people we had already met. I read this book on a rainy weekend and it was the perfect vibe for curling up and getting lost in a book! I would recommend this to my friends that enjoy historical romances and mysteries.

Quite the whodunit...Lucy and her friends enjoy a book club and a strong friendship. Will needs an heiress to save his estate and family. An abduction unites them in the search for who abducted Vera, Lucy's book club friend. The clues lead to mischief and mayhem even while Lucy and Will are drawn to each other. A fun read with a surprise twist!

This feels more like another Most Scandalous book. It’s billed as a new series, but new readers might struggle to get engaged. It’s definitely a spinoff with spoilers from book 4. I read 2 of the other series and still found myself feeling left out of this one. So many old characters appeared it got hard to know who was important to this book and who was a reference to the other series.

Repeated phrases close together were distracting and there were more typos than typical for the arcs I read. I’m pretty forgiving, but I was taken out of the story a few times. Then a couple of times out of the blue we had Meg’s pov? It was weird.

A good mystery and no third act breakup go a long way for me. I just wish the romance was better developed and this stood alone from the other series or was advertised as book 5 of the other series.

Manda Collins is an automatic buy author for me and I enjoyed this book. I love this universe/canon group. I found this storyline to be interesting and did not see the ending coming. It was a little similar to the twist in another MC book but I did enjoy that the villain was female and a bit deranged without a sad origin story. I could have used a little more sparring/ pining with the main characters but it still felt believable. I am very excited for Meg and Woodward's story.

As the leader of the Mischief & Mayhem Book Club (known as the Ems), Lucy Penhallow loves nothing more than a good mystery. So when her friend and fellow member, Vera Blackwood, disappears, she enlists the help of Lord Gilford, her best friend's brother, in investigating the case. Sparks will fly and clues will be investigated!

I hadn't read any of Manda Collin's earlier work, and so wasn't familiar with the character who dot her England. Lucy is fascinated with solving crimes, and frustrated that the police often ignore the crimes that happen to working women or people they judge as below notice. She has taken a clerical job with the police department, and I really enjoyed that we got to see how Lucy's passion made the police department a better place - although I wish we had gotten to see her on the job a bit more. The relationship she has with the other members of the Ems, past and present, is a lovely example of support and solidarity between women. I'm excited that future books in the series will likely allow us to get to know the other Ems better - especially quiet widow Helen. The romance between the main characters is also lovably cozy, with a gobsmacked Lord Gilford falling in love at first sight.

I won't spoil the ending, but I was surprised to find out the identity of the criminal mastermind - but ultimately, it felt very fitting for the world that the Ems are working to make. This book is fun for anyone who loves Bridgerton, follows true crime, or wants to try their own hand at solving a bit of mischief & mayhem.

Manda Collins is always a great author when you want equal parts romance and equal parts mystery. The mystery is always driving the plot from the beginning to the resolution. While the romance seemed to take a backseat for the first part of the novel, the relationship between Lucy and Gilford begins to develop more chemistry at the halfway point. They are well matched and both of them are very likable main characters. It’s fun to read a couple that enjoys each other’s company and there are no unnecessary breakups.

The mystery really had me guessing until the big reveal, and even then, I got a few more surprises. I usually pride myself on figuring out whodunit right away, but this one was unpredictable. There was a lot of action throughout the story and it was fun to see the friends of the main couple get involved, as well. I mean what could you expect from the newest generation of the Mischief and Mayhem Book Club- the Ems.

I would consider this book low-steam, which some readers might prefer. There is one short “spicy” scene, and it is rather tame. It is easily skippable if people prefer, but it has a sweet premise as to what has gotten them into the situation where it is possible.

If you’re someone like me that enjoys knowing about all the characters in a particular historical romance universe, I highly suggest reading this book after completing all four books from Collins’s Ladies Most Scandalous series. I had only read the first three, and hearing that this was the beginning of a new series, I went ahead and read this first to be able to give it a timely review. I was disappointed to see characters and storylines referenced from The Governess’s Guide to Passion and Peril mentioned so often. While I will go back and read that one, I feel like I got a few spoilers and missed some of Gilford’s backstory. I wish this was either named as book 5 of the series or for there to be fewer links between this and the Governess’s Guide.

I can see other potential couplings from the cast of characters introduced (or reintroduced) in this book. I’m looking forward to reading the next books of the series. There is a little teaser POV in the story too!

I received this book as an ARC from NetGally. This is my honest review.

Although this is the first book in a new series and can be read alone many of the characters tie back to the author’s previous series , so if you are like me you may want to read that first

This was a fun mystery with some twists, a smart heroine who does a lot of stupid things that get her into trouble; a lovable hero and a sweet romance without ( spoiler alert ) a third act break up ! Yay !

My rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

I just recently discovered Manda Collins and binge read her Ladies Most Scandalous series only to be really disappointed when it was over. But luckily, the first in a new series (closely connected with Ladies Most Scandalous) was here on NetGalley and I was able to grab it. If you liked Ladies Most Scandalous as much as I did, you'll like this one too - many of the characters overlap, as main character Lucy Penhallow is best friends with Meg (daughter of the late Lord Gilford from the last book in the previous series), and her love interest is the current Viscount Gilford, who we met briefly in that book as well. This was a nice bridge from one series to another, with characters who seem maybe a few years younger, but who are connected to the Ladies Most Scandalous characters through the Mischief and Mayhem Book Club, and also because Lucy is Inspector Andrew Eversham's cousin. As in Collins's other books, she wastes no time getting to the mystery and the romance of it all, and Lucy and Gilford are at a ball when they see Lucy's friend, the American heiress Vera, get abducted. They work together to investigate the crime and find Vera, and they get closer and closer to each other as the mystery gets more complicated. To me this felt a little heavier on the mystery and lighter on the romance than the Ladies Most Scandalous series, and the characters seemed like they were in more imminent danger, but otherwise this was just what I would expect from Manda Collins. My only complaint is that now I have to wait for the next one.

What a delight this was! Not only is this a charming start to a new series, it lets us see characters from Amanda Collins‘s last series. I counted five of the eight characters making an appearance in this story and I I loved it!

The main character, Lucy, is a cousin of the detective in book one of the last series. Well, you don’t have to know Adrian or Kate or any of the other characters, the story takes on an extra dimension when you do. Lucy is an error and she has a small group of friends who she met in a book club. At a ball, Lucy witnesses another member getting abducted. Her friend Meg’s older brother, Will, was with her at the time and the two of them decide to investigate. The secondary plot deals with the romance between Lucy and Will.

I enjoyed the adventurous part of the mystery. This is not a procedural where people are constantly getting interviewed, but the sleuth thing is very entertaining. The romantic storyline is lovely though there’s a little bit of Insta love in here. I only wish that we had gotten a few more scenes to allow the relationship to develop a little more naturally. But hey, this is a romcom and it was a lot of fun.

I will absolutely continue with this series!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy. This review is my opinion.

When heiress Lucy witnesses a crime, she is with impoverished Gilford, her best friend's brother. They both set out to solve the mystery as even more crimes are committed. They realize they have feelings for each other, but Gilford doesn't want Lucy to think he wants her for her dowry. I received an ARC from NetGalley and Forever for my honest review.

This book was a refreshing and fun spin on regency combined with a murder mystery and it worked so well! Lucy was a fun heroine, and her and Viscount Gilford were so fun to read about together! Seeing them solve the mystery while navigating falling in love was great.

The themes in this book kept it fun and interesting. I loved bringing in characters we already knew from past stories, how the book club was still flourishing, and how the characters connected over a series of unfortunate events. If you like regency mystery/romance books then this is definitely for you.

Thank you netgalley for an arc of A Wallflower's Guide to Viscounts and Vice

While I enjoyed this book for the most part, it did have some faults. First, I liked the storyline, the characters, past characters making cameos, and the mystery. The set ups for the next two couples has me intrigued. However, as a romance, it was decidedly lacking. The couple meets and within three days are engaged. Too fast and while I liked them individually, as a couple they lacked chemistry. Also, this book will hopefully go through another edit, because there were many typos. I love Manda as an author, & look forward to more.

Ah, so fun! This historical murder mystery rom-com includes characters from the previous series, along with all of the fun expected from author Manda Collins. And the somewhat slow burn between the MCs is delicious. (I do hope there’s another round of edits before this goes to print because I noticed a significant number of mistakes).

Lucy, a rich heiress, is a member of the Ems - the Mischief and Mayhem Book Club - along with her friends Vera and Meg. Mystery is in her blood - she’s also DI Eversham’s cousin and has been desperately trying to have him solve the recent murder of a prostitute. When her best friend Vera is abducted, she starts investigating with the help of Meg’s brother, Will, whose only chance of restoring the family financial security is to marry a fortune.

I didn’t enjoy this much - I was bored throughout, I need my books to be more fast-paced. The mystery (well, both mysteries) could have been interesting but I think Manda Collins’s books are marketed as romcoms (through no fault of her own) when I fail to find any humour in them at all. Lucy is a feminist-friendly heroine which was nice especially since Will learns a few things from her, but I personally wasn’t really drawn to this couple, they really lacked any chemistry for me.

I won’t be reading any more by this author, I DNFed another book of hers and I had trouble finishing this one.

My endless thanks to NetGalley and Forever for this ARC!