Wallflower Most Wanted by Manda Collins

Opening scene: our heroine falls while painting and sprains her ankle. As the hero strides over to help
her, they overhear a murder being discussed. There is also contained in this book the problem of vast amounts of forged art coming out of their village and an unscrupulous man running for local council.
Luckily, Sophia and Benedict are positioned to help (she's an artist, his family is part of the government entity trying to shut the forgeries down).
Sophia actually seemed believable; a female artist with talent who might not be appreciated because of her sex - somewhat resigned but accepting. Benedick is a nice guy. There could be more to their connection but I don't think regular Collins readers won't be disappointed.

Three stars
This book comes out January 30
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley
Follows Duke with Benefits

With This Christmas Ring by Manda Collins

The cover blurb on this one is a bit misleading. Miss Merry Parks isn't exactly a wallflower. After all, she was once engaged to Alex Ponsonby, Viscount Wrotham. That was, admittedly five years ago and she hasn't gone out much in society since but she's about to come face-to-face with the man again because of a deathbed promise.
Alex is delighted to see Merry. He never understood why she left him so many years ago.  He might have been happier had she not shown up with a baby in tow. But when he finds out it is his cousin's child and her mother is dead, his disappointment knows no ends. As the head of the family, he is duty-bound to make sure that the child is well cared for. If that means he can wrangle some extra time with Merry... well, okay.
It's always nice to have novellas where the two main characters already know each other. It means an author can skip the meet cute and head straight to the HEA. The ending  was a little TOO happy, happy, joy, joy it-was-actually-misunderstandings all around for me but a nice enough read anyway.

Three stars
This novella came out October 3

Duke with Benefits by Manda Collins

This book picks up immediately after Ready, Set, Rogue. Lady Daphne Forsyth and Dalton Beauchamp, the Duke of Maitland, have been circling around each other. She is a genius at mathematics. She's also very wary because she's been burned by men before. First, her father who would use her to win money at cards. Then her tutor's son who... well... that's a bit of a spoiler but when he shows up, she's not happy.
Dalton is taken aback by this woman who says what she thinks and is willing to have sex with him without the sanctity of marriage. He knows that she's smart at math, but he also knows that he's a genius with people (we're told this over and over again.) Together, they are going to be able to not only solve the riddles his aunt left for them both, but discover the location of some long-lost gold.
Like the first book, this is a fast trip between introductions and Twu Lurv. We get a little more time since Daphne and Dalton met in the first book but that book didn't cover much time. We also got two characters who were nice enough but we got more "tell" than "show" in character development.

Three stars
This book comes out June 27
Follows Ready, Set, Rogue
Followed by Wallflower Most Wanted

Ready Set Rogue by Manda Collins

Torquil "Quill" Beauchamp, Marquess of Kerr, is very upset that his aunt left her property to four unmarried bluestocking spinsters. He is racing down to find out what is going on (and possibly block his aunt's will) when his carriage breaks down and he has to stop at an inn. There he sees a young woman, obviously a governess, trying to get on the mailcoach but she refuses to leave her bags and the coach driver says that they are too full to take them with. When Quill finds out she is Aphrodite "Ivy" Wareham, one of the heiresses, he reluctantly offers her  a ride. On the way, they get to know each other better (even though he starts off as a pompous jerk). Once they get to the property, they not only meet the other heiresses, they discover that Quill's cousin is there as well to act as chaperone. Oh, and Ivy gets a note that the aunt thinks she was murdered and Ivy should work with Quill to figure out what's going on.
The romance for me was just a little too fast. Happy Ever After in just a couple of days? Meh. I like to see a relationship unfold. And the whole book went just a little too fast for me, glossing over several parts. But overall this is an enjoyable read that regular Collins readers will enjoy. I'm looking forward to the next one.

Three and a half stars
This book came out January 3
Followed by Duke with Benefits

Good Dukes Wear Black by Manda Collins

Piers Hamilton, the Duke of Trent, inherited a mess when he became the new leader of the Lords of Anarchy. He's working hard to bring in new members to help supplant the ones who were somewhat less than... salubrious. But his club still has a fairly bad name among the gossips. And that is driven home to him once again when Ophelia Dauntry comes to him for help, accusing his club of assigning her friend to an asylum.
Ophelia is terrified. She's a writer for the Ladies Gazette (she writes about needlework but would like to concentrate on more meaningful stories) as is her friend Maggie. Ophelia knows that Maggie's husband isn't thrilled with their work but she didn't think that the man would consign Maggie to a place as horrible as Dr. Hayes' Clinic.
I didn't love the subplot of Ophelia's mother and didn't quite feel like I got to know Ophelia or Piers but I did like the book overall.

This book comes out April 5
Follows Good Earl Gone Bad

Good Earl Gone Bad by Manda Collins

Manda Collins is a 3/4 star writer for me and this book tipped into that four-star territory. The story of an earl, probably a gambler, but not interested in driving, and the first woman invited into the Lords of Anarchy, a driving club, whose gambler father has just lost her new driving pair. To Lord Saintcrow, no less. Who confronts her before her first outing with the club. Of course, her father hadn't bothered to tell her. So when Hermione (our heroine) shows up at Lord Saintcrow's house to find him dead, with the Earl of Mainwaring (our hero), Jasper Fawley, not far behind, she's obviously in a bind. Luckily (?), Jasper has already decided that he wants to save her from her father, so why not from herself as well?
While reading the story, I highly enjoyed it. Thinking about it later has given me some pause but I really enjoyed the fact that Jasper talked to Hermione, thus avoiding many of the Big Misunderstandings that might have made this book a little less enjoyable.
Three and a half stars -- this book comes out on October 6

Followed by Good Dukes Wear Black

Once Upon a Christmas Kiss by Manda Collins

I didn't realize this was a novella when I requested it from NetGalley. I keep thinking that I'll like Manda Collins but her stories have never really gotten above "Meh" for me. Until this one. I really liked this story. I was grateful that Sir Lucien Blakewell and Miss Winifred Nightingale were given a really complete back story. I got about 60 pages into it and was thinking about how most short stories weren't so thorough about establishing a prior relationship, and only then noticed this was only 126 pages. So anyway, Sir Lucien has gotten to know Winifred since she is the governess at his friend's house. The differences in their positions has been a little awkward, so when she's a guest at his other friend's Christmas house party, he's excited that they are closer to being equals. Winifred, on the other hand, isn't so sure. Her parent's marriage was one where they came from different classes and it ended badly. But when threats start popping up, she's grateful to Lucien for his help. And their relationship has a chance to grow. This book came out on the 14th. Enjoy!

Why Lords Lose Their Hearts by Manda Collins

Image linked from Goodreads

I'm not sure why I liked this book so much better than the first two. Perhaps it is because we got to meet Perdita and Archer in previous books. Or maybe it's because I'm such a sucker for the friends-to-lovers trope. Either way, I quite enjoyed this book and was glad it went out with a bang. At least for me. There is at least one part of this story that I think other readers will take issue with and I'm looking forward to reading other reviews.
Perdita, the widowed Duchess of Ormand (never called the dowager, perhaps because her husband's grandmother is still alive?), became the duchess one night when her husband was trying to kill her and he was killed instead.
Her husband's secretary, Lord Archer Lisle (fifth son of a duke), wasn't in the room when death occurred but he learned of the circumstances soon after. He is ashamed that he didn't realize sooner what the duke was doing to Perdita, especially because he loves her. But, as the fifth son of a duke, he has hopes that he can marry Perdita but is realistic about how society will view the marriage. Plus, there's the inconvenient fact that Perdita will not marry for love (look where that got her the first time!)
Of course, the two are forced together, working to discover who blames Perdita for the duke's death and why they're trying to thoroughly discredit her before they kill her.

I really don't know what to think about the kidnapping. I mean, Perdita's friends conspired with the man who was wanting to "rescue" her so that they could get her out of town. Collins did a good job of running through Perdita's thoughts on the matter so I guess I could sort of buy that part of the story but... it still didn't sit quite right. And having the killer be a deranged woman who just so happened to be the daughter of the duke's grandfather as well as the lover of the present duke...? I just don't know. If this were a mystery story, I'd be disappointed that the killer was so clearly pointed at but this is a romance so that didn't factor into my rating.
Previous books: Why Dukes say I Do, Why Earls Fall in Love

Why Earls Fall in Love by Manda Collins

Image linked from Goodreads

At the beginning of this book, we once again recap exactly why the three widows who are heroines in this series are so closely tied together. Georgina Mowbrey is forced to work for a living. She rather likes Lady Russell. That makes it hard when Georgie starts receiving mysterious threats against her life. She doesn't want anyone else harmed just because she helped a friend.
Lord Coniston "Con", is Lady Russell's nephew so he's also in Bath to attend her 70th birthday celebration. After meeting Georgie in London, he was intrigued. And after seeing her more in Bath, hes even happier to be a part of the party.

I was a bit disappointed that in both of these books, it was the husband's mistress that was trying to kill the wife. Can't there be a different sort of villain? Is the mastermind of the whole thing the former Duke of Ormond's mistress? And why do attempts on these women seem to stop as soon as they get married? You'd think the mastermind would keep trying.

Previous book: Why Dukes Say I Do

Next book: Why Lords Lose their Hearts

Why do Dukes Say I do? by Manda Collins

Image linked from Goodreads

Isabella, her sister, Perdita, and their friend Georgie have formed a friendship based on the fact that they were all abused wives. With Isabella's husband being gone, she is enjoying her society lifestyle. For the most part. There are these annoying anonymous letters... and somebody might be trying to kill her. But that just seems silly. Why would anyone want to do that? 
Now her godmother, the grandmother of Perdita's husband, is blackmailing her into going to the country to bring back a reluctant duke (in fact, the man taking over after Perdita's husband passed away). While there, Isabela may learn a little bit more about herself as well as discovering that not all men are controlling bastards.
An okay story but I really had to slog through it. Neither Isabella nor Trevor was a compelling character. I was mostly reading to find out how MC was going to tie in the "I know what you did last season" to the movie.

Books after this one: Why Earls Fall in Love, Why Lords Lose their Hearts

How to Dance with a Duke by Manda Collins

Cecily Hurston's father is a renowned Egyptologist. In fact, he was one of the founding members of the Egyptian Club in London. Which makes the distancing of the club from her father after his attack (stroke?) puzzling. There are rumors of a curse from his last expedition where her father quarreled with his secretary, Will Dalton, who subsequently disappeared. 
Will's brother Lucas, the Duke of , is also worried. Though his brother did not have a good marriage, he knows that Will should have returned home after the last expedition. When he runs into Cecily outside the Egyptian Club, he is at first amused by her attempts to get in (unmarried ladies are not allowed) because he empathizes with her predicament (he is not allowed in because he isn't a member) and because he admires her persistence and intelligence. 
This is a romance novel so it should be no surprise that, after some fits and starts, Cecily and Lucas decide to work together to discover what is going on. And, of course, close proximity and mutual attraction will lead them into a partnership of a different sort. 
Very close to a five star book for me. It wasn't the cover that turned me off although, seriously, what were the publishers thinking? This cropping creates a weird optical illusion and, although I think they've fixed it a little since it was first put out, the man still doesn't have a goddamn nipple. Is this like one of those books where the hero on the cover doesn't actually depict what's in the book? Maybe it's a war wound that was never described? 
It was an overall well-written book but there were a couple of places (which, of course I didn't write down) where I was pulled out of the story through annoyance or just plain frustration with one character or another. 
Very much looking forward to the stories of Maddie and Juliet, Cecily's cousins. The three girls are daughters (Cecily is a step) of the three Featherstone sisters who took London by storm, quickly snatching up eligible bachelors even though they were the daughters of a church man. 
Readalikes: Legend Hunter series by Robyn DeHart (historical treasure hunting, Stephanie Laurens (peppy patter) 
Spelling errors (ebook): 241 "though" instead of "through"