THE LADY KNOWS BEST

Love has nothing to do with an advice columnist and a rake entering into a courtship.

Daphne Burke has always felt somewhat out of place among her successful siblings, so she jumps at the chance to become the new advice columnist for Mrs. Goode’s Magazine for Misses, often referred to as Goode’s Guide to Misconduct for its subversive content. When her advice leads to a woman breaking off her engagement, the jilted fiance—Miles, Viscount Deveraux, also known as “that devil, Deveraux”—believes the columnist should be responsible for finding him a new bride so he can win a bet. She may have written under the pseudonym Miss Busy B., but Miles quickly deduces her identity. He threatens to expose her, but she offers herself for marriage as long as he agrees to court her first. Secretly, she plans to use the time as research into his rakish ways to write about for the magazine, and the ensuing scandal will ensure she doesn’t have to marry him. They both begin questioning their plans and secret agendas, though, when they start falling in love. This book kicks off a new series, although some of Daphne’s siblings were featured in Craig’s previous titles. Their inclusion here unfortunately slows the pace with extraneous information that doesn’t advance this story or add depth to the bland main characters. Daphne’s and Miles’ feelings toward each other change, but neither has any real, earned personal growth. The intriguing premise is let down by dull, by-the-numbers plotting with no richness or originality.

Completely forgettable.