08/30/2021
Collins follows A Lady’s Guide to Mischief and Mayhem with a fun second chance romance between Miss Caroline “Caro” Hardcastle, a manufacturer’s daughter, and Lord Valentine Thorn, the heir to a dukedom. Collins classifies her work as “historical romantic suspense,” but there’s little suspense and a minimum of romantic development here; it’s more a workmanlike historical mystery with romance trappings. Caro, having ended a brief betrothal to Val four years earlier, is drawn into his orbit again when her dear friend and Val’s cousin Frank’s fiancée, Miss Effie Warrington, disappears and Frank falls under suspicion. The estranged couple fall into a squabbling collaboration to find Effie and exonerate her betrothed. Class snobbery spurred their breakup and continues to drive their present conflict: Effie is an actress and deemed unworthy by Val’s family, just as Caro was. The mystery and romance plots unfold in expected tropes from this premise, and period atmosphere is noticeably thin. Still, Caro is feisty and Val is angstily ripe for reform, making for enjoyable banter and a handful of plainspoken confrontations that, if anachronistic, are nonetheless satisfying. Readers are in for a frothy romp. Agent: Holly Root, Root Literary. (Nov.)
11/01/2021
The second installment in Collins's Victorian England series (following A Lady's Guide to Mischief and Murder). Caroline Hardcastle is heiress to a sizeable fortune and is also half of the writing duo behind the newspaper column "A Lady's Guide to Mischief and Murder." Indifferent to the snobbish opinions of the aristocracy, Caro makes no apologies for her father's successful food business or the backgrounds of her friends and acquaintances. When her friend, a famous actress, is kidnapped, Caro is thrown back into close contact with Valentine Thorn, the man who broke her heart when he failed to stand up to his family and denounce their classist attitudes towards Caro and her parents. Now Caro and Val vow to work together—in spite of their past—to find the missing actress and her suitor (who happens to be Val's cousin). VERDICT Affable characters and rom-com banter make this an enjoyable read, even if the plot is a bit sparse. For fans of Julia Quinn's "Bridgerton" series or Anne Perry's historical mysteries.—Nicole J. Suarez, Frankfort P.L. Dist., IL
2021-09-01
A formerly betrothed pair rediscovers their feelings for each other when they team up to find a missing woman.
When Miss Caroline Hardcastle’s friend Effie, an actress, is kidnapped, Caro takes on the case with assistance from friends. As co-author of a newspaper crime column called “A Lady's Guide to Mischief and Mayhem,” Caro is fully aware of the danger Effie could be facing. Effie’s fiance calls on his cousin Lord Valentine Thorn to help with the search efforts. No one knows that four years ago, Val and Caro were engaged. Caro’s middle-class upbringing made her unsuitable in the eyes of Val’s father, and Caro eventually broke off the engagement. She’s been harboring negative feelings toward Val ever since, and matters become more complicated when working on the case leads to their being discovered in a compromising situation, with a marriage of convenience the only solution. Following their wedding three days later, Caro and Val rekindle their friendship and old emotions arise. Opening themselves up to love is difficult, however, not only because of their past, but also because they become increasingly entangled in the case, which could lead to danger. The mystery drives the action while the romance provides the heartbeat of the story, and the two weave together to create a well-plotted, entertaining tale for fans of both genres. Expectations and prejudice based on class and gender are scrutinized throughout, while the leads are witty, fierce, bighearted, and easy to love.
A successful and thoroughly enjoyable mix of mystery and romance.
"After delighting readers with A Lady’s Guide to Mischief and Mayhem (2020), Collins is back in fine fettle with another fetching mix of sprightly wit, nimble plotting, and engaging characters that is certain to endear her to fans of historical romances and cozier historical mysteries."—Booklist
"The mystery drives the action while the romance provides the heartbeat of the story, and the two weave together to create a well-plotted, entertaining tale for fans of both genres. Expectations and prejudice based on class and gender are scrutinized throughout, while the leads are witty, fierce, bighearted, and easy to love. . . . A successful and thoroughly enjoyable mix of mystery and romance." —Kirkus
"A delectable mystery that reads like Victorian Moonlighting (with a good heaping of Nancy Drew's gumption). Collins writes with a brisk whimsy, her diverting characters popping off the page . . . adroitly threading the needle of her darkly amusing sense of humor, genuine suspense, and a deep sense of connection. . . . A Lady's Guide to Mischief and Mayhem is wickedly smart, so engrossing it'd be a crime not to read it immediately."—Entertainment Weekly on A Lady's Guide to Mischief and Mayhem
"Utterly charming."—PopSugar on A Lady's Guide to Mischief and Mayhem
"A fun and flirty historical rom-com with a mystery afoot!"—SYFY WIRE on A Lady's Guide to Mischief and Mayhem
"Smartly plotted, superbly executed, and splendidly witty."—Booklist on A Lady's Guide to Mischief and Mayhem
"Thoroughly enjoyable."—Library Journal on A Lady's Guide to Mischief and Mayhem
"Both romance and mystery fans will find this a treat."—Publishers Weekly on A Lady's Guide to Mischief and Mayhem
"Manda Collins smoothly blends romance and an English country-house whodunit . . . The twists and turns of the plot will keep readers guessing, but Kate's independent attitude and the interesting friends she gathers around her bring the story to vivid life."—Bookpage on A Lady's Guide to Mischief and Mayhem
"When I pick up a Manda Collins book, I know I'm in for a treat. With compelling characters and a rich Victorian setting, A Lady's Guide to Mischief and Mayhem weaves mystery and romance into one enthralling tale."—Tessa Dare, New York Times bestselling author
"[Manda] Collins is a delight! I read A Lady's Guide to Mischief and Mayhem waaay past my bedtime, absorbed by its spot-on period detail, the well-crafted characters, and of course the intriguing mystery. Brava!"—Elizabeth Hoyt, New York Times bestselling author
"With wicked smart dialogue and incredibly strong characters, Manda Collins reminds me why I love historical romance so much. Witty, intelligent, and hard to put down, you'll love A Lady's Guide to Mischief and Mayhem."—Rachel Van Dyken, #1 New York Times bestselling author
"Mystery, romance and an indomitable heroine make for a brisk, compelling read."—Madeline Hunter, New York Times bestselling author
"Manda Collins writes sexy and smart historical romance, with a big dash of fun."—Vanessa Kelly, USA Today bestselling author
"Sexy, thrilling, romantic . . . Manda Collins makes her Regency world a place any reader would want to dwell."—Kieran Kramer, USA Today bestselling author
03/01/2022
This enjoyable sequel to A Lady's Guide to Mischief and Mayhem skillfully blends Victorian-era romance and mystery. Lady Caroline Hardcastle is the cowriter of an infamous crime column that everyone reads, but society has not forgiven her for being so gauche as to author it. She broke off her engagement to Viscount Valentine Thorn many years ago when he was too callow and cowardly to defend her to his snobby family. They felt she was wholly inappropriate as a spouse since her father earned his fortune in trade instead of inheriting it. Years later, when Caro's friend Effie goes missing and Val's cousin is entangled in the disappearance, the two are thrown together to investigate. Feelings are reignited, but neither is sure they can trust the other. Mary Jane Wells narrates with lively charm, a musical voice, and great facility with accents. The archness can be cloying and the mystery tends to overshadow the romance, but fans of Victorian romance and mystery will be rooting for the two characters who are so clearly meant for each other. VERDICT A supplemental purchase for collections where historical romance is popular.—B. Allison Gray
Narrator Mary Jane Wells transports listeners to mid-nineteenth-century England. When Caroline Hardcastle’s friend is kidnapped, she reconnects with her former fiancé, Lord Valentine Thorn. Thorn is further drawn in when his cousin also disappears. Wells’s portrayal of Caroline perfectly conveys her spunky personality as she sets out to solve the mystery of her friend’s kidnapping. Wells captures the haughtiness of Valentine’s father, a duke who is not pleased with his son’s involvement with Caroline. Using a wide variety of accents, Wells flawlessly portrays all levels of English society, from tough thugs to aristocrats. Wells’s performance sparkles as Caroline and Valentine grow closer while working to solve the mysteries of the missing. S.B. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
Narrator Mary Jane Wells transports listeners to mid-nineteenth-century England. When Caroline Hardcastle’s friend is kidnapped, she reconnects with her former fiancé, Lord Valentine Thorn. Thorn is further drawn in when his cousin also disappears. Wells’s portrayal of Caroline perfectly conveys her spunky personality as she sets out to solve the mystery of her friend’s kidnapping. Wells captures the haughtiness of Valentine’s father, a duke who is not pleased with his son’s involvement with Caroline. Using a wide variety of accents, Wells flawlessly portrays all levels of English society, from tough thugs to aristocrats. Wells’s performance sparkles as Caroline and Valentine grow closer while working to solve the mysteries of the missing. S.B. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
