A massive massive thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley who allowed me an advance copy of this e-book in exchange for my honest review. I was devastated when I realized a Lady’s Guide was complete with the last book, but as soon as I saw this book coming up I knew that Collins was going to be coming back with a vengeance. I loved the connection to Lady’s Guide and Lucy is a wonderful new protagonist! This was an awesome read and I really enjoyed the return to Kate and Lucy’s London! This book is more suspenseful I think than the last installment of the series, but just as dreamy and steamy!

"A sunshine spinster and a grumpy viscount use their fake engagement to solve a murder mystery in the first book of a new series from Manda Collins.

A wallflower by choice, wealthy Lucy Penhallow would rather sit out the dancing all season than listen to false flattery from the fortune hunters who pursue her. But when she and her best friend's brother witness a crime in progress, they'll need to put every skill Lucy's learned from reading detective stories to the test in their hunt for a missing woman. And if Viscount Gilford happens to be handsome as sin and clever to boot? Well, that's no hardship for her.

Viscount Gilford needs a wife to save him from financial ruin, and there's only one heiress who's off limits. So when he and Lucy find themselves inextricably linked in the tabloids, it's a disaster. As their investigation progresses, their once unwelcome alliance becomes something more - a love match neither will give up. But there's a killer watching their romance from the wings who's only too happy to keep these meddlesome sleuths together...in the afterlife."

I mean, given the publishing landscape, I could see them being sleuths in the afterlife if they meet a sticky end...

I am a big fan of Manda Collins because she writes one of my favorite types of HR - a romance that takes place within a mystery! I was very happy to discover that it is the 1st book in a new series because I enjoyed reading her previous series ,Ladies Most Scandalous.
Collins characters are always well written and Will and Lucy are no exception! If you have read her pervious books, readers first meet Will Guilford in A Governess's Guide to Passion and Peril. He has come home from a extended stay on the continent to deal with family matters. He is a man who is genuinely kind and compassionate who knows his family members respective personalities well. His young sister, Meg, is our female main character, Lucy Penhallow's best friend.
Lucy Penhallow works ( volunteers at Scotland Yard as a clerk where her cousin, Eversham is a high ranking detective. Theirs is unique friendship. He seems to respect Lucy's intelligence and seems to have a father's role with his gentle, protective nature towards her. She is clever, courageous and undyingly loyal with her family and friends. She chooses to be a social wallflower to protect herself from the Ton's numerous fortune hunters as Lucy is an heiress and her closest friends are her fellow book club members.
The mystery drives the plot and it is a solid one. As soon as I thought I had worked it out, Collins would throw in an curve. Will and Lucy are thrown into the thick of the mystery and as they try to discover the culprit, they realize they are developing feelings for it other. Although it seems to be an instant love, and some may find the romance a bit rushed, its not because they have know each other for a few years.
I received an advance reader copy and am leaving a voluntary review based solely on my reading experience.

Lucy loves mysteries and is a part of the Mischief & Mayhem Book Club. She is also an heiress who has decide to turn herself into a wallflower to avoid the fortune hunters. Will is the brother of Lucy's friend who has been hiding from his responsivities in paris for years when he finds out that due to emblement is family is all but destitute. He decides he needs to go back to england and find an heiress to marry. When one of Lucy's friends is kidnapped right in front of them they join forces to find her and apprehend to perpetrator.

I really liked this book. They mystery had a surprising twist at the end and I thought characters were well rounded. I especially liked the chemistry between Lucy and Will.

Lots of twists and turns with mystery and murder tied in. While Lucy and Will try to find out who did what they realize they have feelings for each other.

This was my first Manda Collins book.

Realizing that it was set in the same world as a previous series made sense as certain characters were introduced or mentioned in passing and then not brought up again. This was particularly distracting in the first third of the book as I was acclimating. The mystery was intriguing and surprising as it unfolded, but the love story felt a bit quick. The book definitely picks up towards the end.

Thank you to Netgalley and Forever publishing for this complimentary arc in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely adore Manda Collins' books. She always accomplishes blending historical romance and mystery.

Lucy and Gilford's romance was very sweet. If you like the grumpy x sunshine trope, this couple will certainly work for you. While on the lighter side of chili peppers, the characters have a lot of chemistry and tension to keep the romance embers burning.

The mystery kept me entertained while trying to figure out the whodunnit. I liked that this didn't proceed like a procedural and flowed more naturally.

A fun & entertaining read from Collins. A great series starter.

As a mystery lover and historical romance lover, Manda Collin's books are always a win for me. The first in her newest series, this story follows Will Gilford (who we met in A Governess's Guide to Passion and Peril) and Lucy Penhallow (Eversham's cousin), as they become embroiled in a mystery regarding the kidnapping of Lucy (and Will's sister Meg's) friend Vera. Will is also on the unwanted hunt for a marriageable lady with deep pockets, since he returned from his grief tour of the continent after learning that his family is nearly out of money. Lucy happens to be a wallflower by choice, with loads of money and beauty. Will and Lucy work together to solve Vera's kidnapping, while experiencing a morbidly comical amount of being at the wrong place at the wrong time.

Collin's strikes a wonderful balance of her two main characters, calling back to Will's genuine kindness of character from the previous book, with compassionately written examples of how the trauma of what happened to his father has effected him. Lucy is a delight, wanting to hone her detective skills in a world that very much limits what a woman is able to do. The romance between the characters is such a great development of new friends to lovers, with a sweet progression throughout.

We also get some cameos of characters from the other books (including Will's godawful mother, who fortunately doesn't feature too heavily in the book) as well as the setup for the future book couples, including Meg/Woodward and Elise(Collin's calls her Helen in the first chapter and epilogue, which is likely an editing error that will be corrected)/Cheswick.

A developing romance happened in the middle of solving a kidnapping and murder mystery. Lovely main characters with introduction to more couples that will likely have their own stories in the future to look forward to.

I received an ARC of this enjoyable book from NetGalley and leaving my review voluntarily.

3.5 stars

A combo Regency mystery and romance. Viscount Gilford has been gallivanting in France for a couple of years, to the detriment of the estate he inherited from his father. A thieving steward and his mother's extravagance have made it necessary for Gilford to marry an heiress for a financial rescue. Meanwhile spinster Lucy Penhallow has no desire to marry and is content to spend time with her intelligent female friends. She even volunteers part-time at Scotland Yard since her cousin is an Inspector and she herself is quite interested in crime. She luckily is financially secure and content.

But when she sees a friend abducted at a ball, she jumps in to help investigate the case. She and Gilford are thrown together and become a scandal in the making.

This is definitely light entertainment, not particularly historically astute and the romance doesn't quite gel. Pleasant and unmemorable. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

The twists and turns in this book! It kept me guessing, I thought I had figured everything out multiple times, and then had the rug pulled out from under me. Kudos to the author!

The mystery and suspense part of the book were fantastic, but I did struggle a bit with the romance aspect. It felt a bit rushed, and rigid.

Overall I’d give the book as a whole 3.5 stars.

I am a choosy romance reader and sadly this book did not hit the mark. The characters spend so much time investigating a crime that there is little room to make them interesting and three-dimensional. All the storylines seem underdeveloped. There is also no tension, no stakes, which makes the reading quite dull.

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.