This was a fun idea for a book! Lady Celeste died, bequeathing her estate to 4 bluestockings whom she has never met. The logic being that she had spent her life as an introvert and scholar herself, and she wanted her collection appreciated. However, her nephew Quil the Marquess of Kerr is furious. He knows that the only reason his aunt Celeste would do something so outlandish is if the ladies had swindled her.

But once he meets them all, he realizes that they’ve never met his aunt before, let alone each other. He holds fast to his belief though, just knowing something fishy is going on. Well, he’s right, sort of. Something is going on, but it isn’t anything like he thinks.

Miss Ivy Wareham is a linguist, and the prospect of diving into Lady Celeste’s library is extraordinary. She meets Quil on the way up to Beauchamp Estate and while the two are instantly attracted to each other, she is sidetracked by his calling her a fortune hunter and con artist. Her frustration with Quil only deepens when she finds a letter from Lady Celeste to her detailing the plot that she believes she was poisoned and wants Ivy to enlist Quil’s help. Ivy doesn’t want to share with him, but realizes she’ll need his help.

Quil and Ivy start by questioning the servants, and in following one of the leads, they find themselves taking shelter from a rainstorm in a cottage. This is where I started to see continuity problems.

***Heads up, spoiler, but only a minor one***

I had an advanced copy, and you always know that it’ll be hit with another round of edits before publication. That being said, this book has a huge issue.

About 40% in, they kiss, and (spoiler) more. Then Quil thinks to himself that he can’t believe he did that when he’d known her less than 24 hours. But it had been a week or two. So, hopefully that was picked up by the editors since I read an ARC. I wouldn’t normally point out something like that, but it’s like a page or two of him saying how just yesterday he’d misjudged her, and he’d only known her for a day, so it’s super obvious. Really, he’d been avoiding her for about a week at that point, plus the first 2 days I believe, and a day or two after she calls him out for avoiding her. And later on when he mentions it to his cousin, Lady Serena, her response is that it hasn’t even been Ivy’s first full day! So it really pulled me out of the scenes. This was referred to throughout the book a few more times. The thing is, if this had been Ivy’s first day, I don’t think it works as well as having that week or so pass.*

The idea of the ladies having one year to study their respective fields and having one of them “win” the estate was never fully explained. I hope that it is expanded in the next book.

Moving on from editing though, the idea and the characters were great, I enjoyed the book, and while I was kind of saddened by who the killer ended up being, I get it. I can’t wait to read the next book, though, and I hope this series continues on the way it started-with strangers who become friends, and a happily ever after for each.

*I am giving this book a 4 star rating on the assumption that it was edited to fix the timeline an continuity issues.

***ARC courtesy of St. Martin’s Press

The premise was interesting, but the execution was sorely lacking.

I actually quite liked Ready Set Rogue at first, despite its somewhat ridiculous (even for a historical romance) premise: the wealthy Lady Celeste Beauchamp leaves her home and its priceless library to 4 Bluestockings and has them compete for their inheritance whilst her nephew attempts to dissuade them. The heroine, Ivy, is one of the Bluestockings: a linguist who translates Greek poets like Sappho into English — which is super badass and cool. I also liked that the typical progression of events in a historical romance were somewhat disrupted, and the MC’s attempts to solve the murder of Lady Celeste started as a fun subplot.

Unfortunately, as the novel progressed things went downhill pretty quickly. The murder subplot was pushed onto the back burner whilst Quill acted like a total misogynistic ass about women scholars (shocker), indulged in some gross bro talk with his cousin the Duke of Maitland, and then the entire cast of characters displayed blatant racism towards the Romany people. Yep, that’s right: an “old gypsy woman” who sold herbal remedies becomes the convenient scapegoat for the murder based on…well, racism. When the real killer was finally revealed, their motives were bizarre and felt unsatisfactory.

The initial draw of this story was the mention of a “magnificent private library,” but sadly only one or two scenes took place there…and none of them actually involved using the library. Unfortunately, I thought this was a disappointment.

~An ARC was provided via NetGalle.~
****I have to obtain the release material to read it in another format.

I love how this was made. As the start of a new series, it gave us an impression that each ladies will face difficult times ahead. So far, the plot of this was really unexpected.

I like Quill. I was about to dislike him, but the way he changed his heart and how the change came about was really good. There were more on Ivy's thoughts, but the way it was written was artfully entertaining. The crime behind the killings is something else too. I was sadden that the person involve was her, and the circumstances surrounding was too much.

In the end, everything went well. I look forward to the second book.

Torquil (Quill) Beauchamp, the Marquess of Kerr is traveling from London to the southern coast to keep some women from taking everything from his late Aunt Celeste’s home, Beauchamp House. During his journey, his coach breaks down and he gets caught in a deluge of rain on his way to an Inn.

At the Inn, a pretty lady drops a trunk full of books at his feet. While she is obviously impoverished, he assumes she is a governess traveling to her job But when she is accosted by a ruffian, he steps in and defends her. He soon finds she is not a governess but a scholar.

Miss Aphrodite (Ivy) Wareham introduces herself and Quill soon learns she is one of the women heading to Beauchamp House. It appears that Aunt Celeste had always been interested in learning about many things and admired young women who were scholars in different areas. When Celeste died, she left her home to 4 young women scholars. The plan is a competition among the 4 women scholars who much complete a project within a year that is significant to the work of female scholars and artists. The winner will inherit Beauchamp House.

Quill is quite angry about this and lets Ivy know that he thinks it is wrong and he won’t allow it. He plans to do all he can to keep Ivy and the other young women out of the House.

Upon arrival at the House, Quill is surprised to find Ivy welcomed by Miss Sophia Hastings and her sister, Miss emma Hastings, along with Lady Daphne Forsythe. All of the women are scholars and believe they are heirs of Celeste. Quill’s cousin, Lady Serena Fanning, will stay at the House during that time. Arguably, Serena has spent more time sigh Celeste than Quill has and she feels she knows what her aunt would have wanted for the House. Thus, Quill finds he has no legal say in the matter.

When Ivy settles in for her first night in the House, she discovers a letter to her from the late Aunt Celeste saying she fears someone is trying to kill her and she trusts Ivy to find out who her murderer is. Soon, Ivy and Quill form a sort of truce so both of them can discover how his aunt died. As they work together, they become attracted to one another which soon turns to love. But danger lurks as they discover that actually two people have been murdered. Whom will be next?

I admit that I had a hard time deciding how to rate this book. Some of the story was good, although a bit far-fetched at times, and I found I was left with some unanswered questions. However, I feel that the book is meant to be a bit light-hearted so I decided to be kind in my rating. Manda Collins is a new-to-me author and I am looking forward to trying more of her novels.

Connie for b2b

What’s it About? Ivy Wareham is one of four ladies to inherit Lady Celeste Beauchamp’s estate, complete with an amazing library (So jealous) and Ivy can’t get there fast enough. However, the late Lady Beauchamp’s nephew Quill Beauchamp, Marquess of Kerr isn’t thrilled that four bluestockings are inheriting his aunt’s house and the circumstances surrounding Lady Beauchamp’s death are suspicious. Quill needs Ivy’s help solving the mystery but he doesn’t expect to become so attracted to her or to have to work so hard to convince Ivy that he’s not playing games with her.



Describe the hero in five words: Charming. Persistent. Funny. Snarky. Loyal.

Did you like him? Yes.

Why? So, for a man of his time Quill is actually pretty modern with the way he treats Ivy once he realizes how bright she is. I loved his charm, intelligence, and his humor but I did feel like I didn’t really get to know Quill like I should have. The little bit I found out about him was likable though. What kind of boggled my mind is that Quill is most definitely NOT a rogue. He’s educated, polite, and doesn’t have any skeletons in his closet that would make him a questionable character. All in all he is genuinely a nice guy. So the title is a little misleading.


Describe the heroine in five words: Intelligent. Brave. Independent. Sassy. Loyal.

Did you like her? Yes.

Why? Oddly enough I felt like Ivy was the lead in Ready Set Rogue. She was the smart one and had a way of searching out clues that pushed the mystery aspect forward. She was an expert in translations and ancient Greek and I do love a historical romance heroine who can excel in areas that were considered masculine pursuits. Again though, I didn’t feel like I had a real chance to get to know her and fully connect with her. I did like what I knew though.


How convincing were the main characters as a couple? This is where the book struggled for me. Quill and Ivy had a pretty entertaining first meeting that I enjoyed BUT after that I felt like the romance suffered in favor of the mystery of Lady Beauchamp’s death. There’s insta-lust going on which I don’t mind but the love seemed to appear out of nowhere and after only a very short time. No explanation, no progress. It was all resolved off the pages. What was shown was how good Quill and Ivy were as a sleuthing team and even as friends. I liked that part of their relationship but I expected more in the way of romance and passion.


Is there a “Scooby Gang” worth mentioning? Ivy was just one of four women who inherited Lady Beauchamp’s estate and each one is rather unique. I have high hopes for all of them but Daphne in particular caught my interest with her very “out there” personality. There’s also Serena, Quill’s cousin who acted as a sort of chaperone for the four women. Each one of them has such potential to be great heroines.



How “Lost” did you get in the story? I struggled a bit with the timeline of events which to me was a bit unbelievable. It was a short amount of time for what was essentially a murder mystery with a dash of romance in it. I think if the timeline had been stretched out over about a month at least then I could have found the romance and the mystery more believable. The pace was fine though, I was able to follow along with no problem and I can honestly say that Ready Set Rogue was a fun if predictable read. I liked the idea of four vastly different women being put together in a setting that could showcase their individual talents. But as far as categorizing this as a historical romance? That’s a bit of a stretch. It’s definitely more of a murder mystery with some romantic elements in it.


Click It or Skip It? Click It. It’s a cute read with a solid mystery plot with likable characters and some fun dialogue.

Bluestockings only
So Lady Celest has left ancestral home to 4 academic spinsters. There is a competition as to who will be the final winner after a year.
The first story is about Ivy and Quill and yes it was good one. Only thing I found wrong with it is the timeline hiccup. There is a spot where at one point Quill avoided her for a week, then it went back to being the next day. Not sure if it's the same in the final copy as read an ARC. It still didn't detract from an excellent adventurous story!

This was a great book. Loved the four women and each personality. Ivy's story had me hooked from the beginning. Can't wait for the next one!

Ready Set Rogue introduces us to four charming young ladies who tend to love their particular study. Each one has a different field of study they are quite good at. We meet Ivy, she loves the languages, Daphne, she has a love for math, the twins Gemma & Sophia: Gemma loves her fossils while Sophia is the artist. All of these are scandalous to young ladies, but Lady Celeste wanted to them a chance to pursue their talents. However, Celeste ends up mysteriously dead and it's up to Ivy to figure out who did along with the help of Quill.

Each of the young women are very unique and I'm sure we will get to know each one better, but the focus is on Ivy and Quill. Ivy is fiery and quick and she gives Quill a run for his money. They start off a little rocky when they first meet. It's a little rough, but they find themselves falling lustfully fast. Good thing they work well together. I do like Quill even though he can be a little pigheaded at times, and he's a total guy at moments.

Overall, Ready Set Rogue is a great set up for an adventure and mystery to solve. Manda usually has smart heroines that give her heroes a run for the money. I can't wait to see how the other young ladies will find their young man. Studies in Scandal is sure set the gossip rags some talk and I can't wait to see more of this series.

Copy provided by St. Martin via NetGalley

I started 2017 with the best of intentions. I was going to read more and blog more and run more and do more. I signed up for a couple of blog tours as motivation to get back into it more regularly, and then I missed my post date for Ready Set Rogue by Manda Collins! But better late than never...




WHO WILL WRITE THE BOOK OF LOVE?

When scholarly Miss Ivy Wareham receives word that she’s one of four young ladies who have inherited Lady Celeste Beauchamp’s estate with a magnificent private library, she packs her trunks straightaway. Unfortunately, Lady Celeste’s nephew, the rakish Quill Beauchamp, Marquess of Kerr, is determined to interrupt her studies one way or another...

Bequeathing Beauchamp House to four bluestockings—no matter how lovely they are to look at—is a travesty, and Quill simply won’t have it. But Lady Celeste’s death is not quite as straightforward as it first seemed…and if Quill hopes to solve the mystery behind her demise, he’ll need Ivy’s help. Along the way, he is surprised to learn that bookish Ivy stirs a passion and longing that he has never known. This rogue believes he’s finally met his match—but can Quill convince clever, skeptical Ivy that his love is no fiction?

Don't miss Ready Set Rogue, the first in Manda Collins' new series set in Regency England!


The plot of this is right up my alley. It's also almost commonplace these days, as every historical has a bluestocking or two. It almost makes me miss the headstrong beauties! That said, when the request came in, I was pretty excited to give it a go. As the story opens, Quill is decidedly against the ladies inheriting his aunt's house. He is rude, arrogant, and unlikable. I really questioned if he would ever be able to turn it around, and to be honest, it takes a while. Ivy is less intimidating from the beginning, but she's also less interesting to me. She's a language scholar, and while that should be interesting it almost feels like a tacked on quirk than something ingrained as part of her. This is one of my pet peeve- the quirky quality- and Collins narrowly skirts it here. The mystery progresses nicely, if a bit openly for a secret, and the I was happy with the plotting of the book. My biggest complaint with the book is the dialogue. It can't seem to settle on proper conversation for the time period, and awkward flirting. Collins does a poor job of integrating the tension with the characters natural personalities, and I found that it drew my attention to the fact that I was reading, instead of letting me sink into the book. It didn't make the tension seem real and I was always aware that I was reading a book. I wouldn't mind finding out what happens in the rest of the series though, and will likely continue reading.

An enjoyable historical romance which wasn't flawless but managed to entertain me over the days I was reading.

It's been a little while since I'd read any historical romance so I was interested in this, especially with the mention of the library and some bluestockings. I was glad Danya had let me know about it as it sounded fun if nothing else. it was that but I do feel like the library and the specialisms of the 4 bluestocking ladies could have actually played a greater role than it did. I feel like it was mentioned and then promptly forgotten.

The book also felt like it rushed the romance a lot more than the typical HR and that was frustrating as the romance shouldn't feel rushed in a romance but instead should suck you in until you're racing to the end. Luckily it's not that I disliked the romance or characters I just didn't love them either. They were flawed and seemed to act out of character and frustrated me.

I also found that the mystery was overplayed in the summary it only came into play to get our couple together at the beginning and towards the end of he book. in the middle it was almost forgotten which was upsetting when I was most interested in the mystery in the book.

I enjoyed it and it was interesting when it went right but I can't claim I loved it.

Ready Set Rogue by Manda Collins
A Studies in Scandal Novel #1

Quill, Marquess of Kerr, believes his recently deceased aunt was duped by four females into bequeathing her estate to them. Quill sets off to make things “right” and in so doing steps on a few toes, including those of Ivy the heroine of this story. The other three bluestockings are introduced along with the cousin and sister of Quill, a murderer provides a mystery to be solved and of course there is the romance between Quill and Ivy that takes place.

From me this gets a three. It was okay but did not wow me. The meet-cute was so-so, I did not feel a true connection between Quill & Ivy or how he so easily and quickly compromised her, the conversations were a bit stilted between the couple and perhaps it was a wee bit predictable. That said, I did enjoy the story and am very curious about Daphne the mathematician. She intrigued me more than any of the other bluestockings. This is the first book I have ready by this author and I would be willing to read another since so many have rated her books highly.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the copy of this boo. This is my honest review.

3 Stars

I'm really glad that I got a chance to read Ready Set Rogue and that I discovered Manda Collins' writing in the process.As much as I love historical romances, the ones I have been reading in the past month aren't really fresh or original, though I enjoy them.
This book was like a breath of fresh air and it reminded me of the reasons why I fell in love with this genre.

Aprodhite(Ivy) Wareham has inherited Lady Beauchamp's estate along with four other ladies, who are all "bluestockings" just like the deceased Lady Beauchamp.Ivy is a scholar who works on Greek texts and comes from a household packed with children.Though she doesn't understand why she has inherited an estate, when she has never been in contact with or heard of Lady Beauchamp, she is determined to make use of this opportunity and make a name for herself as a female scholar.The private collection at Beauchamp house is another incentive!

Quill, the Marquess of Kerr, can't believe that his aunt has bequeathed the estate to four complete strangers!He is determined to get to the bottom of this and drive them out as soon as possible.Even if one of them is the maddeningly attractive Ivy, whom he had helped previously at an inn, before they arrived at the estate.But, what will they do when Ivy gets a letter addressed to her, written by Lady Beauchamp before her death, where she suspects that she is slowly being killed by someone.Ivy reluctantly enlists Quill's help and both set out to discover who could've killed his beloved aunt.
The danger ramps up when it seems that someone doesn't want them to discover the truth and is willing to go to any lengths to hide it.

I loved Quill and Ivy!Both were great main characters with their own strengths and weaknesses.Though their relationship starts off rocky with mutual dislike, it soon develops into a wonderful partnership with perfect chemistry!
I couldn't understand why Quill was so adamant on keeping the Beauchamp house within the family, but as more about his past was revealed, I understood his reactions.And he more than made up for his initial rudeness! ;) He wasn't just a pretty rake like in other HR books.He was quite intelligent-a great match for Ivy and was determined to protect her in his own way.I loved that he let her be independent, which she really needed.

Ivy was intelligent,witty and brave.She is passionate about her scholarly pursuits, but isn't a wallflower either.She doesn't want to be completely dependent on someone, but is ready to accept help when she needs it!The attraction between her and Quill was well done and I loved the pace.
The mystery was addictive and it kept me on my toes!I couldn't wait to find out who the culprit was, and Iam glad that my guess was correct in the end ;)
We also meet the three other women-Daphne,Sophia and Gemma, and they all are unique in their own way.Daphne was a riot and I can't wait to read her and Maitland's story! :D
Lady Serena and her son were equally amazing, and the love that Quill had for them was beautiful.I hope she gets her own book too!That woman deserves a happy ending after all that she's been through!

I'm so happy that now I've discovered Manda Collins' writing I have more books to devour!I will be going through her Ugly Ducklings and WIcked Widows series soon!Can't wait to read the rest of the Studies in Scandal series!

I am going 4 stars on this one but perhaps I should of went 3. I was really looking forward to this read, but feel like it was a little so there. The plot line interested me to no end but the romance was done in a very unexciting manner. The story captured more of my attention then the characters of the hero and heroine. This really could of been a great read, however, the inconsistencies within the pages stop that. As a romance I would give it 3 stars, as a good read 4. The story line deserves that. I can say it is a beach read, light and easy to go through. I was given this book in return for an honest review. Anna Swedenmom

First of all let me me say that this could have been a fabulous 5* book but little care seemed to have been invested in the editing. The timeline over what was the first week of happenings was often referred to as 24 hours ago or yesterday. Seriously, it was all over the place. Not just once but repeatedly in the early chapters of the book. Ivy's number of sisters varied frequently and a brother was thrown in once. Quill's cousin Serena was referred to as his sister on at least one occasion. And the title of the book really did not fit Quill's character either. There was one mention of a dalliance with a married older woman when he was 21 but hardly enough to be referred to as a rogue during that time period. I think they were going for cutesy and they failed horribly. Though after about chapter 15 it flowed much more smoothly. One other dislike was I didn't feel like the cover model was even close to the bespectacled red headed curvy Ivy. This has always been a peeve of mine but now that I read so many books on my Kindle it isn't until I do a review and actually see the cover that it hits me how poor a visualization the publishers do.

Now for what I loved, and there was a lot, the timeline discrepancy just really annoyed me as this is from a big publishing house not the self publishing where these types of errors are forgiven if not forgotten.

This was as much if not more a murder mystery than a romance. And I love a good mystery! Though I figured out who did it before we knew why, I loved it. I'm not a fan of insta-love much though I did like that once Quill realized Ivy was threatened that he also realized the depths of his feelings for her. As the bluestockings were the main characters in the book, there wasn't a lot of the missish behavior, in fact the ladies were quite outspoken and laugh out loud funny. I can't wait to read Daphne's story next as she was probably the most unfiltered of the bunch. Hope we get another good murder mystery as this series has so much potential.

The Marquess of Kerr is convinced that Ivy Wareham and the other bluestockings took advantage of his aunt and convinced her to give them her estate. Ivy is outraged that this dandy is so inflexible and stubborn. He won't believe that they are innocent. When they arrive at Beauchamp House, Ivy finds a letter from Lady Celeste informing her that she was murdered and asking her and her nephew, Quill, to find who did it. Can they work together? Ivy is an interesting character. I liked that she's intelligent, feisty and innocent. The Marquess of Kerr is drawn to her. Their chemistry is amazing. When they're together sparks fly. I loved seeing them together. They light up the page with their flirty dialogue. The other bluestockings are charming and quirky. I can see that Quill's friend will have his hands full with Lady Daphne. Manda Collins has written a compelling story that combines a suspenseful mystery with a sweet romance. The setting is perfect. It adds to the story. I was captivated by Ivy and Quill's relationship. I loved the romance and the mystery kept me on the edge of my seat. I can't wait to see what happens in the next Studies In Scandal story.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

Top notch historical romance that had me hooked from the start. Loved getting caught up in this story.

While I didn't love this book, I didn't hate it, either, and found there was a lot to like about it.

Miss Ivy Wareham is one of four intelligent young women chosen to inherit Lady Celeste Beauchamp's home in order to further her studies. A gifted linguist, Ivy is all too happy to leave her parents' chaotic home and embark on a new adventure.

Torquil Beauchamp, Marquess of Kerr, refuses to believe his beloved aunt would leave the home she opened to him and his cousins to four young ladies she never even met. He arrives at her home with the intent of proving the ladies duped his aunt until it becomes apparent that her death wasn't as innocent as it first appeared.

Honestly, the beginning of the book was probably the best part of it. I loved the way Quill and Ivy first met and the setup for the rest of the book was great. I even laughed a couple of times during their first meeting.

The secondary characters in this book were great. I loved the other bluestockings (especially Daphne) and would like to read their stories when they come along. Unfortunately, I felt like the secondary characters were at times more entertaining than Quill and Ivy.

The worst thing about the entire story was the insta-lust. They meet and fall in love in around 3-4 days (give or take). The romance (if you can call it that) felt rather rushed and I'm still uncertain what they fell in love with about each other. I wondered if the love scene happened so early on so that the rest of the book could be spent solving the murder mystery.

In addition to that, I felt like some questions were left unanswered and like I didn't know the hero at all. He mentions or thinks about having an unhappy childhood at home with his parents several times but I didn't see anywhere where he expanded on that and explained why.

Overall, I found this to be a decent read. I think there's the potential for a fun series starting with this book. I would love to see the ladies compete for the house and fall in love along the way. I will be checking out the next book in the series.

***ARC Provided by the Publisher and NetGalley***

I adored Ivy and Quill. He was the greatest combination of annoyed that she was in what he thought should be his house and fascinated by her. I loved that Ivy was her own woman, but it was done in such a way as to make this realistic, which can be a challenge.

Historical romance is challenging as the societal norms of the time require certain things: propriety, heroines who are widows or virgins, heroes that may be rakes but have to marry the heroine if they are caught together...all of this can result in a book that follows a lot of rules and doesn't seem original. This was not the case with this book. Yes, some of the elements were there, but not all of them and the ones that were appeared in a way that felt fresh and different.

I like the historical novels that manage to make the time period a part of the story without relying on the fact that it is historical to be the entire story. This book succeeded with this nicely, with the idea that a group of women who are not respected in their fields because they are women were brough together to have the chance to gain something of value because of who they are and what they each bring to their areas of study. I liked this a lot and look forward to the next one!

4 helms

Please follow me on my blog :) Review originally posted on Vellum Voyages (www.vellumvoyages.com)

Kickass bluestockings? Smarter than smart? Not afraid to speak their minds? Bring on the women from Manda Collin's latest series "Studies in Scandal" ! "Ready, Set, Rogue" is a great introduction to this brand new series and is focused on the story of Ivy- the linguist and the Marquess of Kerr-Torquil (Quill) Beauchamp.

Quill is not a happy little Marquess when he discovers what his late Aunt Celeste has requested in her will- she has bequeathed her home to a bunch of bluestockings, who will be participating in a scholarly competition, with the winner inheriting Beauchamp House. How preposterous! Not if Quill has anything to with this madness! So off he goes and storms his way over to Beauchamp house ready to prove that these women are nothing other than money hungry tricksters, who have obviously schemed and tricked his aunt into leaving her home to them. On his way over, due to his broken carriage wheel, he encounters Ivy by chance at a pub and learns that she is indeed one of the bluestockings also making her way to Beauchamp house. Upon arrival at the house, they are both met by the rest of the ladies: Daphne- the mathematician, Sophia- the artist and Gemma- the archeologist and of course we can't forget their lovely chaperone Lady Serena (Quill's cousin) and her son. And so begins their first night together as a group until Ivy discovers a letter addressed to her from Lady Celeste, confessing that she suspects she is being poisoned and hence murdered! Despite not seeing eye to eye with each other, Ivy enlists Quill's help in aiding her to catch Lady Celeste's murderer. With their heads together to solve this mystery,the deeper they delve and spend time with each other, Quill realises that Ivy really is genuine, and he can't help his depth of feelings for Ivy and her brilliant mind!

I really enjoyed reading this lighter romance as it has a unique plot, a great subplot and awesome secondary characters (Daphne! And oooh Serena as well! I really want to see her get a happy ending). A few things I noticed about this romance was how everyone interacted together as a group for most of the book, away from society, the ton and all the rules! It was very refreshing!. Quill and Ivy do get their alone time too for their relationship to blossom, but for some readers it may not feel like Quill and Ivy really demonstrate why they grow to love each other as lots happen very quickly for them! For me, because this already had a precedence as a light romance, I didn't really think about it too much. The scenarios that Manda Collins cooked up for them to fall in love was believable enough for me to believe in them as a couple. Quill is also a lovely beta hero who has a go with the flow attitude. I did notice that there were a few things mentioned about his father (sounded like a tortured past!) but this wasn't expanded on or explained in depth -another example of how light the scenarios can be.

If you looking for an easy read with a lot of substance, no heavy drama, lots of feminism and a murder mystery as a bonus, you won't regret it if you pick this up! Manda Collins has a great writing style which is easy to read, flows well and she writes her period speak really well! I was immediately drawn into historical England and lost myself completely in this story! I can't wait for Daphne's story coming up next!

*Thank-you Manda Collins, Netgalley & St. Martin’s Press for the ARC.