I am always delighted to find new-to-me historical romance authors and this one is a treat. I started mid-series, which isn’t ideal, but I followed the story with glee. I will, however, be going back and starting with the first book because this series has so much Lara catnip.

You all know I’m a bit of a blurb hater at this point, but this one did a good job, so I’ll share it here:

Ivy Bennett has escaped the marriage mart once already—by becoming a governess to the new Lord Brackley’s unruly little sisters. Spending her days in the schoolroom and her nights running a secret self-defense class for women, she has absolutely no interest in a husband. So when Ivy is handed a secret assignment by the spymaster known as the Dove, she sees an opportunity: fake a courtship with the enigmatic Owen Brackley to avoid her conniving father’s attempts to marry her off, complete the mission, and finally secure her freedom. Simple. Until it’s not.

Women across London are succumbing to a strange madness, and they all share a connection to Brackley—the same man who looks at Ivy like he sees right through her and is none too bothered by her lack of ladylike charm. As Ivy gathers gossip like breadcrumbs and dodges increasingly dangerous attempts on Brackley’s life, she realizes two things: someone wants the viscount gone, and the closer she gets to the truth, the harder it is to tell what’s real and what’s just part of the game.

Okay fine, you got me, I do have one tiny gripe with the blurb: it made the mystery plot seem bigger than it is. This is definitely a ROMANCE-FORWARD plot, which delighted me. The mystery plot was fine, but the falling in love plot was SUPER.

Ivy and Owen both have traumatic pasts due in large part to their terrible, abusive fathers. Ivy is the youngest of seven – all her other siblings being brothers and until the oldest of them was able to physically stand up to and chase away their abusive father, Ivy lived in fear. So she studied her brothers during their various fencing, etc. classes. She would sometimes taunt the younger ones into sparring with her. And she got really good at self-defence, so much so that, during a late night encounter it is …

This brings up one of the things I love most about this book: It is slowly revealed that Owen is fully accepting of Ivy exactly as she is and he is secure enough in his masculinity that …

With each reveal of an aspect of Ivy’s personality, Owen meets her with full-bodied, whole-hearted acceptance. It’s such a lovely thing to read (and feel!).

I have been so swept away that I’ve forgotten to lead with the most obvious information: this is a grumpy x sunshine romance, but both characters have depth and neither conform to caricatures. Yes, Owen is quite surly, but it’s made refreshing by Ivy’s insistence at making fun of his surliness. It’s also only a skin-deep grump. Very close to the surface is a kind-hearted man. Ivy is sunshine, but that sunshine takes delight in teasing Owen into the grumps. The two really do complement each other in that respect.

So, the mystery. It’s kind of fragmented and only comes together right near the end. Characters who I can only assume had their moment in the sun in previous books do play a key role in the mystery plot. The mystery is fine. Nothing particularly special about it, but it does a good job of building non-romance tension.

While I was underwhelmed by the mystery plot and found those sections a little plodding, I really loved the dynamic between Owen and Ivy, especially their acceptance of one another as allies, then more. I just had a really good time reading this book. I found it to be immersive escapism – just what I need at the moment. If you’re looking for the same, then I recommend Never Spar with a Viscount.