Title: A Wallflower’s Guide to Viscounts and ViceAuthor: Manda Collins
Series: A Wallflower’s Guide #1
Pages: 320
Publication Date: April 22, 2025
Publisher: Forever
Genres: Fiction / Romance / Historical
Synopsis:
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.
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My Thoughts on A Wallflower’s Guide to Viscounts and Vice:
Manda Collins’s new historical romance series begins with A Wallflower’s Guide to Viscounts and Vice, and it’s a fun blend of mystery and romance. The story follows a grumpy viscount and a sunshine spinster who find themselves in the middle of a kidnapping investigation, and tangled in a fake engagement, after witnessing a crime at a ball. With reputations at stake and a friend’s life on the line, they team up to solve the case, and their partnership turns into something much deeper.
Lucy Penhallow is a fabulous protagonist. A bookworm and heiress, she would rather read than mix with the fortune hunters who are always sniffing around. Smart, quick-witted, and never afraid to speak her mind, her love of detective stories and her behind-the-scenes work at Scotland Yard give her a unique perspective that becomes pivotal in helping to solve the kidnapping mystery. It was intriguing to watch her put those skills to work. I also like how she sheds light on the limitations women and others face in society. There are some great messages about equality, women’s rights, and knowing one’s worth.
Will is great too! He has reluctantly returned to London to take over the care of his estate and finds out he is nearly destitute. He has a lot of responsibility and pressure put on him, and he is a kind and honorable man. The secondary characters are wonderful, as well, especially Lucy’s friends, and I’m eager to learn more about them in future books in the series. And there are several cameos from the Ladies Most Scandalous series, which was a delightful surprise!
Of course, for me it’s all about the romance, and Lucy and Will have an irresistible slow-burn tension that sparks right from the beginning. Their banter is full of tension and spice, and I loved how their dynamic slowly shifted from wary allies to something much more tender and romantic. Some of the things they say to each other are super swoon-worthy!
The mystery was interesting with enough twists to keep me guessing. Every time I thought I had it figured out, something unexpected popped up and made me second-guess. Love that! It was a great start to a new series, and I’m already looking forward to the next book!
Special thanks to NetGalley and Forever Publishing for providing me with a copy of the book. All thoughts are my own.
- grumpy/sunshine
- friends to lovers
- sister’s best friend
- fake engagement
- murder mystery
Manda Collins grew up on a combination of Nancy Drew books and Jane Austen novels, and her own brand of Regency romantic suspense is the result. A former academic librarian, she holds advanced degrees in English Lit and Librarianship. Her books have been favorably reviewed in Entertainment Weekly, Library Journal, Booklist, Publisher’s Weekly, Bookpage, and USA Today. A native of Alabama, she lives on the Gulf Coast with a very stubborn cat and more books than are strictly necessary.
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