Stevie‘s review of The Viscount Who Lived Down the Lane (Rhymes With Love, Book 4) by Elizabeth Boyle
Historical Romance published by Avon 28 Oct 14
I’ve been loving this series about the ladies of Kempton and the various ways in which they’re managing to break the curse that doomed them all to spinsterhood, with most of them also setting the world to rights along the way. This time it’s the turn of the aptly named Tempest Twins, Louisa and Lavinia, with the main focus on Louisa – who has convinced herself that she will never marry but is determined to do everything in her power to find a good match for her sister. Louisa, you see, has a secret – and she’s going to do everything she can to make sure her sister marries before anyone else discovers the scandal attached to their name. Of course, nothing in this world ever goes quite to plan…
The twins arrive in London as guests of the unsuspecting Lord Charleton, whose late wife left instructions in her will to ensure the Tempest girls had a successful first Season. Things start to go wrong before they’ve even met their host, however, when Louisa’s cat makes a bid for freedom and ends up in the house next door, home of Viscount Wakefield, nephew of the Charletons and former rake. Having returned from the war injured, and grieving for one of his two best friends, the Viscount was promptly abandoned by his fiancée and so shut himself up in his house with the bare minimum of staff. Quite understandably, he doesn’t take kindly to the feline invasion or the chaos that follows as Louisa attempts to round up said feline.
Convinced that the Viscount would be much happier in a well-organised, tidy house and garden, Louisa sets about reorganising his life as recompense for the havoc wrought by her cat – who now seems to think the Viscount is his new best friend. Meanwhile, she’s also working hard to see her sister married off before anyone remembers just how much scandal their mother caused due to her elopement, exile, and eventual death. Lavinia, meanwhile, seems to be falling for all kinds of unsuitable men, including the Viscount’s other best friend – the one who didn’t go off to the wars as the three young men had sworn to do together.
This book packs a lot of plot into one novel – so much so that we’re promised a second instalment telling what Lavinia was really doing while Louisa and her Viscount were falling in love – but all the strands fall neatly together and none felt unnecessary. There were even urchins! I’d forgotten how much I can appreciate a well-written urchin or two.
All in all, a most excellent addition to the series and I’m eagerly anticipating the release of the next, which also promises to tell us more about Lord Charleton and his second great love. I’m additionally crossing my fingers that we’ll get to find the true story about the partial estrangement between the Viscount and his surviving best friend: Lord Charleton’s heir.
Grade: A
Summary:
She has no desire for love . . .
As she arrives in Mayfair, Louisa Tempest is horrified when her incorrigible cat bolts from the carriage and dashes into a neighbor’s house, where she comes face-to-face with the reclusive Viscount Wakefield. But even more dismaying than his foul temper is the disarray in which she finds his home. Convinced his demeanor would improve if his household were in order, Louisa resolves to put everything to rights.
. . . until she meets the viscount who lives down the lane
Much to his chagrin, Wakefield finds it impossible to keep the meddling Louisa out of his home, invading his daily life with her “improvements,” and his nights with the tempting desires she sparks inside him. Wounded in the war, he’s scorned society ever since his return . . . until Louisa opens the door to his heart and convinces him to give love a second chance.
Read an excerpt.
Other books in this series:
