The Lady Knows Best by Susanna Craig Published by Zebra Books on April 25, 2023
Genres: Fiction / Romance / Historical / Regency, Fiction / Romance / Romantic Comedy, Fiction / World Literature / England / 19th Century
Pages: 384
Format: ARC
Source: Netgalley
Buy on Amazon
In her print debut, award-winning author Susanna Craig launches a new Regency historical romance series, based around the daring ladies’ magazine Mrs. Goode’s Magazine for Misses, Being a Guide to Improve Conduct and Promote Wisdom among Young Persons of the Fair Sex—also known as Goode’s Guide to Misconduct—and the witty, clever, often rebellious heroines behind it, including a controversial new advice columnist. A modern twist on the genre, will appeal to fans of Ella Quinn, Sabrina Jeffries, and those who love faster-paced, innovative historical romance featuring strong women.
Serving as the advice columnist, ‘Miss Busy B.’, for an often-subversive ladies’ magazine is the perfect outlet for Daphne Burke’s outspoken nature. But when she advises a young lady of the ton, to break off her engagement to a notorious rake, the consequences take Daphne beyond the page and into her real life.
Miles, Viscount Deveraux, sometimes known as “that devil Deveraux”needs a respectable bride by the end of the Season, and he’s bet a fortune that he can get one. Now, his fiancée has not only changed her mind—but done it publicly, in a letter to London’s most infamous magazine. With the stakes high and time short, it seems reasonable to him that the columnist responsible should come to his rescue and marry him instead.
Fortunately for Miles, Daphne is eager to escape the pressures of the London marriage mart. She agrees to a courtship. But at the end of two weeks, she intends to turn him down in a big, splashy, scandal that will ruin her reputation and set her free. There’s just one shocking wrinkle: Who knew being ruined by a rake could be so much fun?
I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
First in a series , this Regency novels features a rake who has made a wager to marry by the end of the month and an advice columnist bent on exposing rakes for what they are. Kind of a How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days type of set up, the two agree to an engagement of convenience (or inconvenience as the case may be) but can’t help falling in love.
The first bit of the book was slow for me, but once we get into more scenes between the MC I really like how the romance was sweet and subtle, and there was character reveal (if not real character development). There isn’t much angst, but with competing goals it’s interesting to see how these two characters navigate what could have been an absolute war/showdown.
Daphne is the spinsterish, reserved one of a clan of exceptional talent (writers, attorneys, etc.) who is perhaps, as a result, pragmatic and skeptical. Miles, on the other hand, presents as a soon to be thirty gentleman who has raked his way through London due to perhaps some low confidence. I liked that he wasn’t apologetic about his rakishness but neither was he an alpha-hole.
The intimate scenes were well written but fairly vanilla, there was no violence or villains, and the mature subject matter was fairly light on the page.
For readers looking for over the top characters, or deep character development, you aren’t going to find it here. Instead, it was a light, spring rain of a romance…refreshing, not too emotional, and something that can easily be read in a few sittings. It’s also likely to be forgettable but promises an interesting series ahead.
