Review: A Wallflower’s Guide to Viscounts and Vice

I love when I’m in the mood for a lighthearted romp and have just the right book on my TBR. This time, the book was A Wallflower’s Guide to Viscounts and Vice by Manda Collins. I’ve read a few of her historical mystery romances in the past and it delivered exactly what I needed over the long Easter weekend, post-vacation.

Here’s the book’s description:

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.

Now, Goodreads says this is the start in a new series but it references characters and storylines that Collins has written about in a previous series, Ladies Most Scandalous (of which I’ve read three of the four books). It doesn’t matter if you’ve read them or not so don’t worry! The happy news is, if you like the sound of this book, there are a bunch more stories for you to dig into!

This is not a book that’s going to set the literary world on fire. But we need books like this. There are a few flaws, to be sure, but I don’t feel like focusing on those. (Other than stating that I’m sure I’ve recently read another historical mystery romance that features an abducted heiress…surely there’s another storyline available?) No, this book is to be read for the sheer enjoyment of reading and being assured of a happily ever after. The crime will be solved and the couple will be married and all will be well. (No, HEA does not have to equal marriage but when it’s a book set in the 1800s, you kinda assume that marriage is the end game.)

I love that there are so many series set in the 1800s that feature smart, capable women. The men are a nice bonus, sure, but it’s the ladies who capture my interest. Lucy may be wealthy but she stays busy, even going against her mother’s wishes and volunteers at the police station where her cousin is in charge. (But bless Lucy’s mother for not being a horrible woman and acknowledging that this work makes Lucy happy. Not all the mothers in this book are so kind.) I love the Ems - a group of women who come together for a book club and talk that would be shocking to many members of the ton. The friendship and support system is something that every woman should have and Collins wrote about it so well.

While the mystery in this book may have dragged on a bit long and was perhaps a bit convoluted, I still hadn’t predicted the ending. There were some twists I didn’t see coming and there were times when I was yelling at the characters to consider a clue they had forgotten about. But it was fun! As fun as it can be when a young woman’s been kidnapped and people keep getting shot and stabbed.

All in all, A Wallflower’s Guide to Viscounts and Vice was a lot of fun to read. I enjoyed my time with the characters Manda Collins has created and I love how she mixes up three genres - historical, mystery, and romances - and comes up with something so entertaining. I’m looking forward to seeing what she comes up with next.

*An egalley of this novel was provided by the publisher, Forever, via NetGalley in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*