No Place for a Dame

Bestseller Brockway (The Other Guy’s Bride) delivers an unlikely Regency romance that works despite social class divisions. As the result of a marquess’s promise, gamekeeper’s daughter Avery Quinn has received more education than most men and women of her time. When the marquess dies, she begs his heir, Giles, to help her stay on the path to independence and academic freedom. Giles knows that he should keep Avery at arm’s length, but even her cross-dressing masquerade in order to become a member of the Royal Astronomical Society doesn’t prevent Giles from being very aware of her womanly qualities. Avery can’t quench her feelings for Giles, despite the social chasm between them and the gorgeous women who throw themselves at him. When Avery’s life is endangered because of Giles’s past work as a secret operative, the two discover that they have more to lose than they thought. A heroine without social filters and a smooth-talking rake make a delightful pair, even if their egalitarian banter is anachronistic. (Dec.)