Winnifred Humphries is plump, has unruly curly hair, and feels like she can never please her parents. She finds solace in her friends, who together have decided to write a book called The Mating Habits of Scoundrels, so they can warn women about what to look out for when dealing with men who have other intentions. Winn is also engaged and although her husband-to-be leaves much to be desired (he is, after all, only marrying her for her money), Winn is ready to be out of the scrutiny of her parents. But when she comes to her senses about marrying a terrible man, Winn and her friends devise a plan for Winn to run away from her wedding, but that plan is botched when her friends also decided to kidnap a scoundrel. . . for research purposes, of course.

Lord Asher Holt is in a bind – his father has gambled away the family money, continues to rack up debt in Asher’s name, and he wants nothing more than to be free of his father’s schemes and honor the memory of his beloved mother. When he’s strangely kidnapped by the most unlikely of kidnappers – a bunch of debutantes none the wiser – Ash discovers an opportunity. Perhaps he can orchestrate a kidnapping of one of these heiresses and demand a hefty ransom to alleviate his father’s debts.

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When Winn escapes her wedding day into a carriage, it’s not the planned getaway vehicle but that of Lord Asher. What follows is a road trip adventure, giving Winn and Ash the freedom be their true selves in front of total strangers. Spending so much time together, they begin to let their guards down and realize what it means to be happy and fulfilled instead of stifled and suppressed.

The first book in Vivienne Lorret’s The Mating Habits of Scoundrels series, LORD HOLT TAKES A BRIDE is a frothy and fun historical romp. Winnifred Humphries has spent her life feeling like she is always a disappointment to her parents, and quite frankly, they are constantly telling her about her many shortcomings. She decides to take a chance and make a run for it before she’s stuck in a loveless marriage, but never expects to go on her own adventure with a dashing lord. Asher Holt, on the other hand, is doing what he can to get away from his father. His notoriety as a scoundrel is both because of his father’s reputation as well as a coping mechanism to keep people at bay. Winn and Asher find themselves in many hilarious situations, and each one showcases a different side to their personalities. Winn’s parents spend much of the novel coming across as clueless as to what to do with their daughter, and their changes of heart happen pretty instantaneously, but they also have a cute secondary romance plotline after spending most of their marriage at odds. Asher’s father is an easy villain to disdain, but at times felt like a caricature. And while the many scenarios they find themselves in move the plot along, there’s one too many coincidental happenings. That being said, LORD HOLT TAKES A BRIDE is a delightful first novel in a new series by a wonderfully talented author.

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