An Heiress's Guide to Deception and Desire

By: Manda Collins

Narrated by: Mary Jane Wells

Former lovers become reluctant allies in this delightfully witty historical rom-com from the bestselling author of A Lady's Guide to Mischief and Mayhem—for fans of Evie Dunmore, Enola Holmes, and Netflix's Bridgerton!

England, 1867: As half of the writing duo behind England’s most infamous crime column, Miss Caroline Hardcastle has quite the scandalous reputation. It may have cost her a fiancé, but she would much rather bring attention to crimes against those ignored by society than worry about what the ton thinks of her.

After Caro’s dear friend is kidnapped, however, she has no choice but to work with Lord Valentine Thorn, the same man who broke her heart. Worse, when her actions put her father’s business at risk, a marriage of convenience may be her only solution . . . but can she trust Val to stand by her? Or will their past repeat itself?

Val—the new Viscount Wrackham—is in an untenable position: His father is demanding he find a respectable bride to secure the succession. Yet the only woman he’s ever loved, Miss Caroline Hardcastle, is notorious for behaving improperly. And she’s never forgiven him for his youthful transgressions, missteps made in the name of familial duty, but ones he still regrets to this day.

As they grow closer to unmasking the culprit, Val sees an opportunity to show Caro he’s a changed man. But can he convince her to give their love a second chance—before death does them part?

Critic reviews

"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

"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

Great narration/decadent read

MJ Wells is the best narrator! I did listen to this at .9 to slow it down a tiny bit.

The story was a little boring but I managed to finish...probably due to the excellent narration.

Fun Mystery and a Wonderful Friendship!

The mystery was a fun one! A missing actress and plenty of aristocratic suspects wade through. I had hoped the story would have had more mystery elements to it. I loved the friendship between the characters! Caro and Kate are searching for their friend, and the discussions of how the friend's missing carriage was of more note to Scotland Yard than an actual missing person. The story did focus a bit more on Caro and Val's romance/relationship than I'd have liked. Sometimes it seemed like the mystery of finding her missing friend was an afterthought. I did like how the mystery turned out! It was fun and exciting! And a nice look at the differences between the upper and lower classes in terms of punishment.
I do appreciate all the feminist ideals of the story, but sometimes it just got repetitive. It had the same statements in basically every chapter, and I do support those statements, but I don't need them repeated that often. It felt like the author needed to make a word count goal, so she just repeated herself.

This is the same narrator as the previous one, but I had more trouble with her this time than the previous one. She did an alright job with all the characters and made sure to keep the voices she used for the previous book in this one and I appreciate consistency like that! I think I just didn't like the voice for Caro, which isn't a slight to the narrator, Ms. Well did an excelled job with the voice, but sometimes voices just don't sound appealing to others. I listened to this at 1.1x speed.

Pretty Good 2nd Installment

This was a quick and fairly light read, given the kidnapping mystery subject matter. It’s a romance book and there is a little spice in it, but not much. While this book was a pretty good read, it just wasn’t my cup of tea. There were moments where the audio got very low for various remarks or at the end of certain statements, and it was very difficult to hear.

Delightful!

It was a wonderful book to listen to, the dialogue was smart, the characters were vibrant, and the romance was delicious!

Story ok

This is a story of a misunderstanding, once resolved became a romance.
Narrator Mary Jane Wells has a lovely voice and a proper British accent. My
Problem with her narrations is that she speaks so fast and pauses so infrequently, the story is literally lost in the words.
I get distracted and lose the conversations, background story and do not enjoy the story. I must remember to not buy books she has narrated. Probably just me. I hate to criticize someone who has spent so many hours on a book reading. I think the producers should guide these narrators better. Oh well…

Between cozy and bodice ripper

Delightful, if a bit shallow, historical romance with a side of mystery. I’m not sure I would have enjoyed this as much without Mary Jane Wells’s always fantastic narration. The second chance romance between independent publisher Caro and newly minted heir to a dukedom Val is frisky, rather than angsty.
The lighter tone is perfect for the shorter length of the book. The mystery is also on the lighter-side and feels more Scooby Doo than Agatha Christie, never leaving me worried about the possible fate of the missing Essie.

This book was saturated with feminist refrains on the plight of women in this time period and chock full of features to distinguish main and supporting characters from traditional regency sentiments: Caro’s independence, Caro’s dad planning to leave her the family business, Val’s disdain for society’s dictates, cousin Frank’s love for a lower class actress, Tate’s openness in his affection for his mistress in front of Caro, BFF Kate’s love match with a working man (book 1’s couple, apparently), etc. it was all a bit much… yet it still went down easy.

Between the tone and cover, I thought this was a cozy, and had to reassess in the final quarter, with the single, short, but definitely not-cozy, get-together. Then, having heard the not-cozy nooky, I thought it a shame there was so little nooky. In failing to embrace either end of the “cozy to bodice ripper” spectrum, this ended up in the fair to middling category. Great as a daily deal- but not worth a full credit.

On either end of the spectrum, I recommend:
📍Dianne Freeman’s Countess of Harleigh Mystery series for cozy regency mystery/romance
📍Tessa Dare’s Duchess Deal or Wallflower Wager for funnier, sexier regency romance

Great story and narration

Very engaging story and excellent narration. Looking forward to the next book in the series.

Interesting direction to go with the sequal...🤔🧐

First off i loved this book just as much as the first. It was strange for me at first to find out that our main heroine from the first book has switched into the supporting role and her BFF Hardcastle took center stage. The shake up worked really well. I felt like this rounded out the series and characters as a whole and the 2 new VIPs we were following in this one were every bit as lovable intriguing and fun to get to know as were the last pair. The plot was good, nothing super unique or special but solid and enjoyable. The characters are what makes it all worth while for me. This is another series I'm guna set to give me updates cus ima want more as soon as possible.

Love This Book!

I truly enjoyed these two books! Great characters and fun exciting story line!! The narrator is superb!! I highly recommend this book. Looking forward to the next in the series when it is available .
Leslie M

Meh

Mary Jane Wells always narrates well. But this story was just a rehash of others. I was bored. Not even sufficient angst to be rated a romance.