To Woo and To Wed

Waters concludes her Regency Vows series (after To Swoon and To Spar) with an effervescent fake relationship romance. Widowed Lady Sophie Bridewell fears that her sister Alexandra won’t accept a marriage proposal from the Earl of Blackford out of sympathy for Sophie’s perceived loneliness. To put her sister’s fears to rest, Sophie asks West, the Marquess of Weston and the man she was almost engaged to seven years before when she instead married Lord Fitzwilliam Bridewell, if he would pretend to be engaged to her. West, who still harbors feelings for Sophie, agrees, determined to convince her to make their engagement real, despite his father the Duke of Dovington’s continued objections and threats to sell off his son’s beloved country home. Sophie has their eventual breakup all planned out, but things get complicated when Alexandra requests a double wedding, complete with over-the-top gowns and white horses upon which to “ride off into the sunset.” Sophie is a refreshingly candid protagonist, whose ability to stand up to the duke is evenly matched with the care and concern she has for her sisters. Waters’s fans will be sad to see this series end but deeply satisfied by this fetching finale. Agent: Taylor Haggerty, Root Literary. (Feb.)