Rules for an Unmarried Lady

Counts’s charming third Once Upon a Bride Regency romance (after It Only Takes a Kiss) begins when Col. Lord Quinton Burnes returns to England from France after the death of his brother and sister-in-law. He travels to Sedwick Hall to help raise his brother’s seven children and mentor his 12-year-old nephew, Phillip, who must assume the mantel of the seventh Earl of Sedwick. But he soon clashes with the Hon. Harriet Mayfield, the children’s maternal aunt, over how the children should be raised. Harriet, a progressive journalist who writes about the difficulties faced by mill workers, adores her nieces and nephews, and embraces her role as caregiver to the children—despite hints from Quinton’s mother that she has overstayed her welcome. Though Harriet and Quinton disagree over the children’s schooling, they can’t deny their mutual attraction, leading Harriet to make the somewhat abrupt decision to initiate an affair. Though the start of their relationship feels unearned, Quinton, who’s used to having his commands followed, and Harriet, a fiercely independent norm-bucker, make an intense and exciting match. As the pair overcome a slew of misunderstandings, Counts keeps the pace at a gallop and the romantic tension sizzling. Series fans should snap this up. (Dec.)