To Kiss a Knight

Hitchcock’s latest Best Laid Plans novel (after To Catch a Coronet) is a spirited fake relationship romance set in Regency England. Twenty-four-year-old Vivienne Poppy plans to stay single for the rest of her life, thanks to the popular and profitable romance novels she writes under the pen name Lady Larkby. So when her stepbrother Lucius arranges for her to marry Josiah Montgomery, a selfish man she doesn’t love, she’s desperate for a way out. The solution appears at a masquerade ball in the form of Sebastian Larkby, a dashing knight who’s in town visiting his grandmother. When Sebastian hears Vivienne introduced as Lady Larkby, he’s startled to learn he has a “wife I did not wed.” But in Sebastian, Vivienne sees a chance to keep her pen name and dodge an unhappy marriage, while Sebastian sees an opportunity to mollify his grandmother, who wants him to settle down. The fake marriage soon spawns real feelings, but it’s not all smooth sailing for the pair—Josiah Montgomery’s still after Vivienne, as are a few Larkby relatives who want revenge after she’s added to Sebastian’s grandmother’s will. Hitchcock’s cast of quirky characters (especially faithful Vivienne and Sebastian’s irrepressible grandmother) propel a plot that seamlessly intertwines romance and suspense against a richly detailed historical backdrop. The result is a twist-filled romp sure to satisfy newcomers and series fans alike. (May)