Two Wrongs Make a Right

In this lighthearted rom-com riff on Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing from Liese (the Bergman Brothers series), a disastrous first meeting between straightlaced Jamie Westenberg and “tattooed tornado of flying cocktails and unsolicited astrological commentary” Bea Wilmot leaves both entirely sure that they would never work as a couple—despite an instantaneous attraction that neither can shake. When their matchmaking mutual friends fool them into beginning an anonymous correspondence that ends in a blind date, they hatch a revenge plot: they’ll fake date to get their friends’ hopes up and then stage a breakup so dramatic that no one will ever dream of meddling in their dating lives again. The only thing harder than pulling off the ruse, however, is managing to keep from falling for each other for real. The banter is easy and the heat level is high, though the adversarial dynamic between Bea and Jamie will be more low-key than readers might expect given the source material; Liese serves dessert first as the pair iron out their purely aesthetic differences early on to reveal a remarkable compatibility. Fans of Rachel Van Dyken and Sarah Adams will find a lot to love. Agent: Samantha Fabien, Root Literary. (Nov.)