Look Before You Leap

A reticent lord falls for a spirited lady below his station in Heath’s sparkling second Miss Prentice’s Protégées romance (after All’s Fair in Love and War). In 1820 London, Lord Guy Harrowby, the Viscount Wennington, is both irked by and attracted to the woman who berates him for nearly colliding with her while they’re both riding in Hyde Park. He’s shocked when that same woman, Lottie Travers, arrives at his estate in Kent as the paid companion to his curmudgeonly aunt, Lady Frinton. Lady Frinton is there to organize a 30th birthday party for Guy, who is still averse to socializing after the very public rejection of a marriage proposal he made nine years prior left him humiliated and heartbroken. He’s not exactly keen on romance, either, but Lottie gradually earns his admiration by demonstrating her expertise with horses. With the house party underway, the pair go from comical sparring to sizzling attraction as Guy dodges the efforts of scheming society women to ensnare him in marriage. Down-to-earth Guy and resilient Lottie prove an endearing match and Heath puts in the work to make their cross-class romance believable. With a plot as rollicking as it is sweetly romantic, this is Regency-era romantic comedy done right. Agent: Kevan Lyon, Marsal Lyon Literary. (June)