The Countess Conspiracy by Courtney Milan

Image linked from Goodreads

I don't know why I haven't gotten more into Milan's books. Actually, in looking back at book blurbs, there is never one that has made me interested enough to search her out. But the Smart Bitches Trash Books reviewers love her and when the "Duchess War" came up as free a few months ago, I read and enjoyed it. And then this book was available on NetGalley and I quite enjoyed it as well.
Violet Waterfield is the Countess of Cambry. Her mother raised both Violet and her sister under a strict set of rules. In fact, her rules were made into a book that was followed by society. Violet has always been appreciative of those rules (!) since they helped her navigate a world that she didn't really fit into. Because Violet is smart, super-smart and she daren't show it off. Instead, she feeds her ideas to the public through her childhood friend, Sebastian Malheur.
Sebastian is tired of the deception though. He has been a rake in the past, but he needs to clean up his image. So he tells Violet that he can't do it anymore. And that's when everything starts to fall apart. But  can their lives be sorted out into something even better?
<whisper>This is a romance novel, you can probably guess</whisper>
The characters are wonderfully drawn and the story moves along quickly.