THE DUKE'S RULES OF ENGAGEMENT

A matchmaker takes on her biggest client yet in this Regency romance.

Joanna Porter is good at her job: finding perfect matches for the esteemed members of the ton in London in 1817. It’s how the 27-year-old spinster supports her family, including her loving, widowed mother; her younger sister, Bessie; and her best friend, Lilly Appleby, a gifted aspiring architect who has lived with the Porters for years. But Jo’s thrown for a loop when 33-year-old Matthew Leighton, also known as the Duke of Crestmont, enters her office on a mission: get married to a suitable duchess-in-training as soon as humanly possible. Jo knows from experience that even a facilitated relationship takes time to grow, but Matthew has his own reasons for hurrying to wed, namely a scheming uncle with his eyes on the duke’s legacy, and a bruised ego from a past engagement that went awry. And if Jo “could match a duke, then everyone in London—no, all of England—would want to work with her.” When Lilly’s love, Charles Cherrington, reveals that he can’t marry her unless one of his sisters is engaged to a man with sizable enough wealth to erase the Cherrington family’s debt, Jo sees an opportunity. She plans to match Matthew with one of Charles’ many sisters so Lilly and her beau are free and clear to wed. What Jo doesn’t count on is her growing feelings for Matthew, a gruff but good man with passions for meteorology and rowboats—and for his matchmaker. What’s a single woman and loyal friend to do? Haymore has a deft hand with witty dialogue and rom-com–esque circumstances, pushing Jo and Matthew together and pulling them apart in ways that are both realistic and pleasurable for romance fans. Their relationship is built on equality and mutual respect as well as sizzling hot chemistry, evident in scenes that easily blend sensuality with intellect. The subplot involving the Cherringtons, a tightknit group of siblings who stick together no matter what, is entertaining and heartfelt. And Lilly, bursting with design talent in an era when women are only expected to marry—and marry well—is a delightful sidekick and friend.

A historical novel that offers a charming, feminist love story.