The Wicked Wedding of Miss Ellie Vyne

Until its final quarter, this English historical romance, set in 1822, from Fresina (The Improper Miss Sophie Valentine) shines. James Hartley and Ellie Vyne share a magnificent kiss while in disguise during a masquerade ball. He doesn’t recognize her, but she knows him as a heartless Hartley, whose family has feuded with hers for a generation. The free-thinking Ellie has a partly undeservedly fast reputation, although she does gamble disguised as a French count to fleece the gentry and pay the bills. When she wins the Hartley diamonds from James’s mistress, a romantic farce begins, complicated by a man also masquerading as Ellie’s French count. James and Ellie banter and quibble with comic perfection, and his wry valet and a 13-year-old titled lady. with a flair for the dramatic add more humor. But as the book nears the conclusion, issues of trust vex the couple. Their sexy to-and-fro turns tedious and the narrative becomes workmanlike. (Jan.)