How to Rescue a Rake

The third Book Club Belle Society Regency (after Sinfully Ever After) continues Fresina’s trend of prickly, acerbic heroines matching wits with immature heroes. Once upon a time, the already-engaged Diana Makepiece rejected the scandalously flirtatious Capt. Nathaniel “Sherry” Sherringham’s proposal of marriage. Four years later, Diana is unengaged, unmarried, and fading into spinsterhood. She’s resigned to a life struggling to make ends meet with her stifling mother. Then Sherry returns to their tiny English village of Hawcomb Prior with claims of turning over a new leaf. Neither would-be lover trusts the other enough to speak honestly of their current circumstances or intentions, until a series of coincidences lands them both in Bath, where they can begin their acquaintance again, away from the prying eyes of the villagers. The pacing struggles under the weight of its excessive backstory, but the book is riddled with moments of gentle humor and amusing twists that Fresina ties up with a fruitful conclusion. (Jan.)