Love is a rogue

Lady Beatrice Bentley wants nothing more than peace and quiet so she can write her etymological dictionary before she has to return to London for one last season on the marriage market. She's eager to get past the season so she can be a spinster on the shelf and stop having to work so hard to evade matrimony. Unfortunately, the serenity at the Cornwall mansion belonging to her brother, the duke, has been destroyed by a very busy and noisy carpenter. Stamford Wright, a naval carpenter on leave, has uncovered a crime while renovating the building, and he is anxious to notify the duke before shipping out. Back in London, Beatrice has the support and friendship of other bright, accomplished women in the Mayfair Ladies Knitting League, which is a cover for high-achieving bluestockings. When she inherits a dilapidated former bookshop from an unknown aunt, Beatrice is accosted by a developer who wants the property that she is determined to turn into the league's headquarters. Driven by the magnetism between an intellectual who has a way with words and a complex and heroic carpenter, Bell's start to her circa-1830s Wallflowers vs. Rogues series is brilliant and intoxicating.

Bell (How the Duke Was Won) unites a bookish Lady looking forward to spinsterhood with a handsome carpenter in the sparkling launch of her Wallflowers vs. Rogues series. In 1830 Cornwall, Lady Beatrice Bentley struggles to complete work on an etymological dictionary at Thornhill House, her brother's mansion, but is distracted by the presence of Ford Wright, a dashing rogue working on renovations to the estate. After Beatrice returns to London and reluctantly follows her mother's command to attend the events of the season, she inherits a bookstore from an estranged aunt and determines to transform it into a haven for her companions in the Mayfair Ladies Knitting League. When Ford turns up in London hoping to consult with Beatrice's brother on business, Beatrice hires him to complete repairs on the shop. As the pair spend more time together, Ford's teasing of Beatrice turns into a genuine infatuation with her intelligence and caring, though he believes she will never return his affections because of their class disparity. But Beatrice blossoms through her friendship with Ford, learning to stand up to her mother, exert her independence, and go after what she wants. Witty, insightful dialogue and expertly developed characters fill the chapters of this page-turner. Gripping and emotionally charged, this romance promises more good things from the series to come. Agent: Alexandra Machinist, ICM Partners. (Nov.)