Three Schemes and a Scandal by Maya Rodale

Lady Charlotte Brandon had the best intentions when she told Lucy that feathered bonnet was lovely but then it all went haywire and Lucy is now known as Swan Lucy and Charlotte knows she must fix this!  Her scheme is simple, lock Lucy and her old fried, James in the new folly and poof, all will be better because surely they will fall in love.  But the blasted wind blows her scheme apart and suddenly Charlotte is trapped with James.  James who was her dear friend as a twelve-year-old girl but has not spoken to her in eight years after the...incident.  The horribly tragic, yet amusing, incident.  Confronting ensures and an attraction blooms but the thought most prevalent is to get out of the folly undetected so they are not forced into marriage.  Unfortunately, this leads to a new problem that Charlotte is sure she can mend with a new scheme and this one too goes awry.  James, however, sees that this pretty, too clever, devious woman is just right for him and he decides to give Charlotte a bit of her own medicine.  Can James pull of the scheme of the year and show Charlotte his true heart?

This was a quick, fun read and I really enjoyed it!  It is short, about half the file with the rest being excerpts from Maya Rodale's previous and upcoming books, but it worked for me.  We have met Charlotte in the previous books but if you have not yet read anything by Maya Rodale, this is a wonderful place to start to give her writing a try!  Charlotte is a delight-bold, loving, courageous, impulsive and daring...all very unladylike yet hoping for the romantic love she sees her brother has.  She, along with her pet fox, cause havoc all over town yet once James spends a bit of time with her after all these years, he knows she is just perfect the way she is for him.  Even though this is short, we get enough of their shared past to move forward but I would have liked a bit more, as always.  I read this in one night and I eagerly awaiting the next book in this series!  If you need a quick pick me up with a feisty heroine and dashing hero, a runaway fox, and a scheme so romantic it will make your heart melt, this is the perfect novella for you!  4 stars

eARC provided by Avon via edelweiss

The Writing Girls series
Can be read out of order but best enjoyed in order
Oct 30th