The Daring Exploits of a Runaway Heiress by Victoria Alexander

For those readers who hate a plot based on a Big Misunderstanding, one that would negate the whole rest of the story, I will counsel you now to run away.
For those readers who have enjoyed Ms. Alexander's books in the past, I can only tell you that this book is just as wonderful as the rest of her Millworth Manor series with the addition of a tie-in to the next generation of Effingtons.
Cameron, "Cam," Effington is the youngest son of Jonathon and Fiona from "Let it Be Love." He is somewhat irksome to the duke, who has become somewhat more staid in his older age, since Cam insists on being a reporter for the Cadwallendar papers. And the duke has just now realized that this particular paper is a bit more controversial than he had realized. At a family dinner (setting up Cam's three brothers and sister to be sequel bait), he challenges Cam to write a book (since that would be something more respectable, I guess). Which leads to Cam needing a story. Which he finds when he visits his investigator friend, Phineas. It seems that Phineas has just been engaged to keep an eye on a young, American heiress, something he is loathe to do. But Cam sees the beginnings of a serial which he can turn into a book. What he's not expecting to find is Lucy.
After losing her long-time fiance to another woman (The Shocking Secret of a Guest at the Wedding), Lucy is relieved to finally be free. She can live the life she wants, starting with checking off the list of regrets her great-aung left. Luckily, her great-aunt also left her a bundle of money so Lucy has the means to do what she wants. Adventures, with Cam in tow, ensue.
An absolutely infuriating book in that Cam kept failing to admit his ruse, even when given the chance multiple times. And, as seems to be very popular in romances these days, there is a distressingly public denouement but overall, I enjoyed this story.
In addition to the Effington siblings, I very much look forward to the further adventures of Phineas and his partner, Miss Clara West.

The Shocking Secret of the Guest at the Wedding by Victoria Alexander

Image linked from Goodreads

Oh man. I really wanted to like this book. I really did. But I never really connected with Teddy or Jackson (where's Lucy's story? She's got some spunk) like I did with them in previous books (at least with Teddy). And the ending was... weird. What was the point? I'm not sure why I couldn't give this two stars. Maybe residual Victoria-Alexander-feels. Or maybe I did like it more than my initial paragraph would indicate.
Lady Theodosia Winslow, Teddy, is a wedding planner. While she and her mother present it as a sort of hobby, the truth is, her father left them in a bit of a financial disaster.
Jackson Quincy Graham Channing, on the other hand, has just discovered that he has a father. His mother sort of... tacitly let it be assumed that the man was dead. Now that it's discovered to be untrue, Jackson is anxious to learn more about the man. So he travels to England and meets Theo.
Lots of witty dialogue, just not a lot of action.
I definitely won't stop reading Alexander, but I would definitely skip this book in favor of the others in the series.

The Importance of Being Wicked by Victoria Alexander

It is a testament to Victoria Alexander's writing that she had not one, but TWO, last-minute-unexpected-wrinkles and I still liked this book. A lot. If it had ended about 40 pages earlier, I would have liked it even more.

The minute Winfield Elliot, Viscout Stillwell (Win), was introduced in What Happens at Christmas, I knew that I wanted to read his story. The man has been engaged three times, three times! But Win is in a pickle not connected to a marriage at the moment. His family home has burned down (mostly, the wings are okay) and they have a limited time to rebuild before the annual summer fete.
Lady Garrett, Miranda, helped her husband with his architectural company. Actually, she was the architect, but let him take the forefront since they live in a time where women aren't allowed to be intelligent. Win's house is very important to her company. She knows that since her husband died, it's more and more likely that her secret will be discovered and she wants to make sure that her employees are going to be okay if her business fails.
I'm really, really enjoying the Millworth manor series (though I haven't read the novella) and read both books straight through. Can't wait to see if we get to read more, like maybe Bianca's story (Miranda's sister who is having problems with her husband... even to the point of considering divorce). Bianca is a caring sister and the glimpses of her character that we see in this book makes me hope that she can find her own HEA.