Luck Be a Lady

This flawless fourth novel in the Rules for the Reckless series, set in 1866 London, pivots seamlessly to Catherine Everleigh and Nick O’Shea, lively characters who won readers’ hearts in Lady Be Good. Catherine is brilliant, hardworking, and beautiful. She shares the family auction house with her brother, Peter, who is embezzling and threatening to sell unless she marries a man who would forbid her to work, leaving business control to Peter. In desperation, Catherine embarks on a contractual marriage of convenience with Nick, a powerful businessman (and crime lord) in the East End. She uses the union to control Peter, whose political ambitions would suffer if the marriage became public. In return, Nick will have access to Catherine’s high-end clientele for help with political turf battles. To be legal, the marriage must be consummated, but the couple has humorously different ideas of how the wedding night should go; escapades and contract-breaking romantic encounters follow, with loads of witty banter. These intelligent, multilayered characters embody the best aspects of this wonderfully indulgent series. Agent: Holly Root, Waxman Leavell Literary Agency. (Sept.)