Aphrodite Wareham (Ivy) has unexpectedly received a bequest from a woman she's never met. Along with three other female scholars, or bluestockings, she has been invited to spend a year at Beauchamp House, the estate of the late Lady Celeste. After that year, it will be determined which of the four ladies will actually come to own the home. Anxious to view Lady Celeste's library, Ivy sets off to travel to Beauchamp House by mail coach. While at a stop, she is accosted by a bully, and then rescued by an aristocratic gentleman.

Torquil (Quill) Beauchamp, Marquess of Kerr, has no intention of letting his aunt's estate leave the family and into the possession of four scheming females. Or, so he thinks. He feels his beloved aunt was taken advantage of, and plans to evict the ladies from Beauchamp House immediately. While taking a break from his travels, he encounters a lovely lady being manhandled by a rough character, and steps in to help. He's angry to learn that this lady is one of the scheming females on her way to his aunt's home. He offers her a ride there, solely so he can keep his eyes on her.

They arrive to find the other ladies already in residence, along with Quill's cousin, Serena, who is acting as chaperone. It's soon apparent that all of the ladies were taken by surprise by the bequest, as none of them had even met Lady Celeste. It seems that she carefully researched and selected the ladies, each with a different academic talent. Being a bluestocking and unmarried herself, Lady Celeste realized how difficult scholarly pursuits are for women, and wanted these ladies to have the benefit or her home and her various collections. Soon, Quill realizes that he was wrong in his judgment, and understands his aunt's actions.
However, it's also very apparent that Lady Celeste did not die a natural death, but was, in fact, murdered. Ivy takes a letter that Lady Celeste wrote before her death to Quill, and they decide that together they will solve the crime. Once Quill accepted that the ladies weren't common thieves, the more charming aspects of his personality came through. Initially, when he felt threatened, he was rude and abrasive, but now he shows graciousness and flirtatiousness. His physical attraction of Ivy was there from the start, and now with his guard down somewhat, she begins to find him attractive as well.

As they investigate, Quill and Ivy find themselves alone, and their physical attraction takes off like a rocket. I found this part a little hard to accept, as their affair seemed to me to happen far, far too quickly. Also, it seemed out of character for both of them to act so recklessly. Quill's strict code of honor dictates that he propose, but Ivy is not so sure this is what she wants. While they are fumbling their way through their fledgling romance, accidents start happening, and it looks like Ivy is now the target.

READY SET ROGUE is very fast paced and flows along well. Quill and Ivy are both likeable characters - she's brave and determined, and he definitely has some heroic tendencies. I could not figure out who the mysterious attacker was, and I always enjoy when that happens. I like to be surprised, and have the resolution not be so obvious. The passion and love did happen very quickly, but by the resolution, I was convinced of their genuine feelings for each other. I look forward to the upcoming bluestocking's stories and recommend this book which I very much enjoyed.

I'm a fan of Ms. Collins and was excited to read this book, but in the end, I was a little disappointed in it. Loved the premise of four young women being selected to inherit an estate, Beauchamp House, solely because of their scholarly pursuits. The book started out well with a chance meeting of Ivy Wareham and Quill Beauchamp, the Marquis of Kerr. Quill is beyond angry that his beloved aunt would leave the estate to strangers and he's set his mind on removing the young women as soon as possible.

I understand this was an ARC, but there were numerous inconsistencies in the story. First, Ivy's number of sisters changed throughout the narrative and at one point, she had brothers although there was only one mention of them. My biggest pet peeve though was the timeline. Ivy and Quill are working together to solve his aunt's murder and they decide to go to question the local doctor, but are interrupted by Serena who wants to give the ladies a tour of the house. The next mention of time is that it rained for a week, but when Ivy and Quill finally go into the village, it's only 24 hours later. 5 days or 24 hours--which is it? This was a major stumbling block for me and should have been caught before the ARC was made available.

Ms. Collins is a talented author and I really enjoyed the dialogue especially with Daphne. I figured out early on the mystery, although not to the nth degree of the "why" things happened. I also wasn't convinced of the strong feelings between Ivy and Quill especially if the timeline for indeed 24 hours. The other slight criticism is the title--it doesn't seem to fit especially since Quill isn't much of a rogue in this story.

I'm hoping the next story in the series is about Daphne. I'd definitely like to read that one.

Odd bluestockings, a confused Marquess, and a possible murder set the scene for a fun romantic mystery. I am sure it will be a series and I am looking forward to seeing what happens to the rest of the bluestockings.

This was a good regency romance. We have murder, mystery and of course the romance. Ivy and Quill meet, and start off with a rocky relationship and they do not like each other, but that changes as they spend time with each other discovering who killed Quinn's Aunt. Ivy is not the detested blue stocking he started out thinking of her as. There are four other blue stocking as they are referred to, and each have their own special traits. Good start to new series.

I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review. This book was about Ivy Wareham, the daughter of a professor and an extremely talented linguist/translator who has recently been granted a partial inheritance from someone she's never met. Lady Celeste Beauchamp has left her estate to 4 intelligent young women, all of whom are extremely eager to use Lady Celeste's extensive library and other resources to continue expanding their knowledge and the body of their own work in their separate fields of study. But Celeste's nephew (Quill) is determined to fight this as he is not happy about his aunt giving away his childhood refuge to four strangers. Then Ivy and Quill discover Celeste was murdered and they must join together to solve the mystery of who murdered her and why. And as they spend more and more time together trying to solve this particular mystery, they realize that fate may have brought them together for a reason: true love.
Overall I really liked this book. I loved that the heroines in this series are all extremely intelligent young ladies, and after being introduced to them all in the first book I can already see how different and interesting each of their characters will be. Ivy was fierce and intelligent and I just loved her as a character. And the relationship that developed between her and Quill was passionate but it was more than that too, it was full of real emotion and love. This book did have a lot of characters to keep track of but I think that will only add more depth to the other girl's stories when they each get told. I think this was a good read and a great start to a new series. I would definitely recommend.

I absolutely adore Manda and her stories! And this one is yet another one that I'll have on my shelf.

I love that it's a Regency romance but with a touch of humor (which Manda is great at) and a pinch of murder mystery, which is one of my favorites in romances.

From the blurb, you know that Quill is definitely not happy about a bunch of ladies (four of them) laying siege on a manor house belonging to his aunt. Who, of course, would never give as an inheritance to with a blinds eye, like never having met or known them. That's literally preposterous! So Quill is on his way to Beauchamp House, to stop whatever it is those ladies think they're getting away with. And what's worse, or is it a blessing, that he would run into one of these thieving ladies, Miss Wareham before she gets to the house. Sure she's bookish with her spectacles and gorgeous green eyes, and those plain clothing that reminds him of a governess, she is still not to be trusted.

Ivy on the other is there to claim her inheritance and no handsome gentleman like Quill is going to get in her way. Gratefully, he has a bad temper and awfully rude, yet she did glimpse a kindness in him before he knew who she was. But she has a mission to achieve and that's doing her scholarly work without the havoc of having to care and watch over her many siblings. This was her chance to be independent and free.

When they arrive at the house three of the ladies were already settled in along with Quill's cousin Serena whom welcomed these ladies with opened arms. That didn't necessary infuriate him because he knew she would have known what Aunt Celeste would have wanted for the house, but he wasn't all too happy either of the circumstances.

To their surprise the other three ladies were scholars too, all in different areas of research and they were tasked to complete a mission within a year to be named the sole hire to Beauchamp House.

But when Ivy finds a letter from Lady Celeste, it questions everything that they know of her death. And what's even more troubling is that Quill and Ivy will have to work together to find out what happened and who the killer is without getting themselves in to trouble or being killed themselves.

There are lots of secrets to be found on why Lady Celeste was murdered and why she would give her house to these bluestockings ladies. She herself is also a scholar and feminist, way before her time so it's truly empowering.

I love mysteries and going on the adventures of finding the clues and searching for the answers with Quill and Ivy. It was so much fun seeing them having to work together even though the trust wasn't fully there between them. They were always butting head but they let their differences slide when things got had to get done. I liked that Ivy listened to Quill and didn't argue argue with him like many other heroines would have but at the same time she also let herself be heard when Quill needed to see her point of view. And I liked Quill when he thought more of Ivy than just a bluestocking and thieving schemer. He truly cared for Beauchamp House and the happiness he remembered there so it was understandable that he wanted to keep it.

It was also fun meeting the other three ladies occupying the house with them. It'll be absolutely fun seeing who else will come by to stay at the house and how romances will come from it. And Lord Maitland and little Jeremy. Awww ~

Publisher's Description:

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!

My Thoughts:

I did enjoy the premise of mystery in this book but the underlying romance was like a secondary part of this story instead of the main topic.
The onset of a physical relationship occurred a little too quickly in the story for my taste. The characters at that point had barely met and their attraction for each other should have had more time to progress.
OK so even though I do like the love at first sight thing in some cases I don't think it fit in very well here.
The mystery involved was the heart of this book and drew me in and kept my interest. The characters were well developed and the mystery storyline is a good one.
I would give the storyline and characterization 4 of 5 stars and the underlying romance 3 of 5 flames for heat.
I received a complimentary digital ARC of this book to read and review.
This in no way affected my opinion.

I’m no stranger to Manda Collins’ books. I’ve read and enjoyed many (at least 5) over the past few years. I’ve always found them to have unique plots and this offering is no exception. Ivy receives a letter when she arrives at the Beauchamp estate from her deceased benefactor, Celeste Beauchamp, telling her that if she is reading the letter then she, Celeste, has died and probably under mysterious circumstances. She tells Ivy to work with her nephew, Quill, to solve her murder. Of course this alliance leads to time spent in each other’s company and a romance blossoms, rather quickly.
I have to confess that this book is not a favorite of mine. I thought much of the story predictable, and some incidents a bit of a cliché. The characterization of all characters was well realized and individual personalities of the other ladies inheriting along with Ivy were well drawn. We can, hopefully, look forward to their stories as the series continues. The mystery is interesting and held my attention even if I didn’t feel a romantic bond formed between Ivy and Quill. I recommend this book with some reservations.

Just how much trouble can a broken wagon axle lead to? Plenty, as the very handsome, slightly rakish Quill Beauchamp, Marquess of Kerr, discovers on his way to Kerr House, the home of his recently deceased aunt. And it just so happens that the beautiful, brilliant Greek poetry scholar Miss Ivy Wareham is headed in the same direction. After a chance encounter at an inn, they end up traveling to Kerr House together.

Ivy is excited about the opportunity that the late Lady Celeste Beauchamp, who had been quite the scholar herself, has offered her and three other young bluestocking ladies: to stay at the house for a year and pursue their studies, and, should they be successful, each inherit a portion of the fortune. Quill is shocked at this provision in his aunt’s will, and he would prefer to keep Kerr House in the family, as it was a favorite retreat for himself and his cousins. But Ivy’s discovery of a letter written to her by the dying Lady Celeste changes everything. Lady Celeste feared that someone was poisoning her, and she charges Ivy with the task of finding her killer. Quill and Ivy must put aside their differences and join forces to bring the dear old woman’s killer to justice...but neither one of them expected that they would fall in love while putting their heads together to solve the mystery.

Ready, Set Rogue is the first book in Manda Collins’s new Studies in Scandal series. Collins blends a fast-paced mystery story together with witty characters and a very sweet romance. The first kiss that Ivy and Quill share is one of my favorite parts of their romance, as we see that they are both very clever, passionate people who are very well-suited for one another. The minor characters in the book are lovely too, especially the exquisite, plainspoken mathematician Lady Daphne Forsyth and the handsome, dashing Dalton Beauchamp, the Duke of Maitland, who reminded me a lot of Sir Percy Blakeney. The first book in the series is a wonderful read which I highly recommend, and I will definitely be reading the second book when it’s released, as Daphne and Maitland’s romance is the next one to be featured.

The blog post link is here: https://linottemelodieuse.wordpress.com/2017/01/06/book-review-ready-set-rogue-by-manda-collins/

This is an entertaining historical read with plenty of suspense and drama, Ivy and Quill work together to discover who murdered Lady Celeste and as they do so, there chemistry grows. I love the interaction between Quill and Ivy, fun and sweet. The story is good and am looking forward to more in the series.

This is a wonderful story of Ivy, the daughter of an independent scholar, and Quill, the Marquess of Kerr. Thrown together by accident, they are both en route to his late aunt's home; she to inherit and he to stop it. Soon after arriving, Ivy learns her patroness died under mysterious circumstances from a letter. She and Quill are to uncover the mystery. Through their search for the truth, the bonds that tie them together increase as they start falling for each other.

A delightful story of an unexpected love through mishaps, a little danger, sexual tension, and determination. I highly recommend this story!

I was provided a NetGalley by the publisher. The opinion is my own.

Quill Beauchamp and Aphrodite Wareham "Ivy" met each other on a rainy day. Although he helped her in an unusual situation, the two didn't seem to like each other at first sight.

Very unlucky!

The two discovered that they were going to the same place: Beauchamp House.
Ivy was one of four bluestocking heiresses. Studied in languages, she was selected by Lady Celeste Beauchamp to know the famous library with its many volumes were never studied.
Quill was already going there because he discovered that her favorite aunt, recently deceased, might have been cheated by four smart women who took her property.
Upon arriving at Beauchamp House and meeting his cousin, Serena, Quill discovered that everything he thought was wrong. And more. His aunt had many secrets kept, among them the most frightening: she may have been murdered.

To discover this mystery, Quill would have to deal with Ivy. Together they would go behind the tracks to discover the killer. But they didn't expect two things to happen: first, a strong attraction between them could put Ivy's reputation and Quill's bachelor's fame to lose. Second, that the killer could be so close...

Mystery, romance and a hint of wanting more, is what Manda Collins makes us feel throughout the reading.
The main couple is wonderful, but I confess that all my attention was more to Daphne Forsythe, who with her exaggerated sincerity and lack of social skills stole the scene.
You must read!!

5 stars

Rating 3.5/5
This is the first in a new series and is a delightful Regency era mystery with a side dish of romance. Lady Celeste Beauchamp leaves her estate and its contents to four young ladies she has never actually met. The young ladies are all regarded as bluestockings, specialising in different areas of study but unlikely to be able to move forward in their studies as easily without her bequest to them.

One of the young ladies is Miss Aphrodite/Ivy Wareham and, after carefully ascertaining that this isn’t a joke and is true, she travels to the estate, as required under the terms of the bequest. En route she meets the Marquess of Kerr, Quill Beauchamp, the nephew of the late Lady Celeste and someone who is determined to overturn the bequest of the estate, wishing to keep it in his family. However, when he meets Ivy he is something of a boor, until she reveals the contents of his aunt’s letter to her in which Celeste expresses her belief that she is being murdered…

As the two attempt to ascertain the truth concerning his aunt’s demise they find themselves discovering a growing attraction to each other whilst they, too, are in mortal danger from the murderer!

This is a great murder mystery, with humour, romance and an intriguing plot. The clues to identify the perpetrator are scattered throughout the novel, but it is only as the reader approaches the finale that things start to point the finger of guilt towards them. The contrast between the bluestockings, their upbringings, attitudes and interests add greatly to the intrigue and there are some laugh out loud incidents at many points in the investigation. It is a great first novel in this series and will certainly try to read future releases - I really want to know more about what happens to the other bluestockings and hope there will also be a happy ending for their chaperone, Quill’s cousin, Lady Serena.

Many thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for gifting me an ARC of this novel with no obligation. This is my honest review.

Absolutely loved this story, look forward to the rest of the series! Lovely story of a Marquis and a bluestocking, the energy is dynamic! The couple meet as she is heading to his aunt's estate, as is he. His aunt has bequeathed the estate to four bluestocking ladies, which has him headed to the estate to dispute the will. His aunt has also left a letter claiming she was murdered and asks for them to find her murderer. He soon finds himself besotted and compromises our h. Meanwhile someone is trying to kill our h! The story is fast paced, the characters all interesting and funny. There is a great HEA, and I look forward to the next book in the series, it promises to be a doozy.

I am in love with this series because the woman are so smart. Not only are they smart but each of them is gifted in different areas and their differences keep this story extremely fascinating and fast paced. With the addition of humor via Daphne's character the reader will find this an amusing and fun read.

Quill and Ivy's interaction are like a tug of war over who will be in control. Quill the poor man doesn't know what to make of Ivy's intelligence and he spends much of his time trying to staying out of trouble with her by saying the wrong thing. But honestly he is very quick to learn his lesson and soon those two have the reader going around in circles as they chase clues to his aunt's death.

There are numerous secondary characters that add lots of drama and spice to the story. Each of them could have an interesting story and I can't wait to see if the author takes these other characters further in other books to this new series.

This book is like a mystery murder story with very intelligent women, two hot men and lots of fun along the way. Don't get me wrong this is not a frivolous read but a brilliantly executed story leading into more books to this series. I can't wait for the next book and it looks like it may involve Daphne and the Duke.

This is my first book I reay by Manda Collins and I was very impressed with the author style. The characters, Ivy and Quill are fantastic. The pace, the plot and story development are excellent. Great job Mrs Collins!!

'Ready Set Rogue' by Manda Collins is book on in the new series "A Studies in Scandal". This is the story of Miss Ivy Wareham and Quill Beauchamp. I have read previous books by Ms. Collins but this I think might be my favorite. Who doesn't love a Bluestocking Lady and a rake? Ivy and a few other ladies have been given the chance to study in a Library full of books they can use for their research. So Ivy is excited to go and have this chance. Quill is the nephew to the lady that left access to her library in her will. Quill thinks there is something going on with such a request left by his Aunt and he goes to find out what is going on. Ivy and Quill are so different at first but it was so great watching them come together while solving what might of happen to the Aunt.
"My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read."

I was not expecting this novel! I don’t know why! Well, I know why. I had no idea that there was a mystery wrapped inside of this book and when I began to read it I found myself pleasantly surprised over the “who dunnit”that was involved in it.

When Miss Aphrodite “Ivy” Wareham receives a missive in regard to an estate she and four others women are to inherit from the late Lady Celeste Beauchamp she travels to the property immediately only to stumble into some trouble with her rogue of a nephew, Torquil Beauchamp, Marquess of Kerr. He at once is affronted by the fact she is there and pins her for a hawk that had been in wait of prey. But there is more – in fact – Celeste had left a note indicating that if she should die it was not by chance and that someone had in fact murdered her.

I must confess, I enjoyed the mystery aspect to the novel the most, it was what kept me turning the pages because I wanted to know how or why it had happened. I wanted my suspects and I wanted to solve this with Ivy because aside from that I struggled a little to connect with Quill and Ivy. I enjoyed them individually as characters but for me, it was just an “okay” vibe via chemistry.

Altogether it was a pleasant enough read!

What a fantastic story from a new to me author, I will definitely read a book that she has written again, this was exciting and I loved the characters.