The Most Improper Miss Sophie Valentine

E-book author Fresina (Once a Rogue) moves into print with a Regency historical romance featuring lovable leads. When the impulsive Sophie Valentine turns 29, she decides that her obnoxious brother and his whiny wife are impossible to live with, so she scandalizes her family by advertising for a husband. Lazarus Kane caught a glimpse of Sophie on the night of her ruin a decade earlier and has been searching for her ever since, so naturally he answers the ad. He has faced life at its bleakest, knows what he wants, and goes after it with clever persistence that occasionally backfires. After spying Sophie with a naughty book, he proposes she teach him to read in return for love lessons. The hero’s painful, decidedly nongenteel history grounds this otherwise fluffy story. Occasional outlandishness, remarkable coincidences, and reliance on well-rendered but sometimes stock characters are mitigated by Kane’s eminently witty and readable prose. (June)