NO PLACE FOR A DAME

The latest from RITA award recipient (The Bridal Season, 2001, etc.) and Minnesota resident Brockway.

After Avery Quinn, his father’s brilliant protégée, saves him from an unwelcome marriage, Giles Dalton, the Marquis of Strand, feels honor-bound to help her infiltrate the male-only British Astronomical Society and gain credit for her discovery of a comet, despite his deep reservations about the plan, including his attraction to the girl. It’s been years since Giles visited Killylea, his estate in Cornwall, and he’s not terribly thrilled to be bringing his bride-to-be with him on this trip. Sophie and her father have entrapped him in an engagement, but as wrong as the match seemed in London, it seems even more so in his beloved Killylea. Resentful yet resigned to the marriage, he is amused and surprised when Avery, the eccentric, brilliant scholar who lives on the estate, manages to trick Sophie into calling off the engagement. Avery is too educated for the working class yet too common for any hope of marriage within the nobility. Giles has resigned himself to taking care of her for the rest of her life, allowing her to pursue her studies on the remote estate. However, Avery is determined to take her academic achievements to London and earn credit under her own name for the discovery of a comet— a complicated endeavor, since the Astronomical Society is male-only. Leveraging Giles’ gratitude, she convinces him to take her to London disguised as a man and introduce her to the right crowd in order to earn entry to the august institution. Giles is just audacious enough to take on the mission, and he has a few plans—and secrets—of his own to sort out. He’s spent years cultivating a reputation as a dandy to hide some covert activities, but perhaps the time has come to let his true nature, and his heart, be known. At least to Avery. Brockway is a master of the wounded alpha hero. She delivers a unique, engaging historical storyline with fun, intriguing elements and with a delicious arc of two star-crossed misfits who share a deep love and deserve an exceptional future.

Clever, sexy, fun and breathtakingly romantic.