This is a super quick read and the perfect thing to start the summer reading binge. We've got a mystery wrapped in a quest bequeathed by the deceased benefactor...a hero who's totally in love, just has to convince her...a heroine who's been rejected by said hero (for noble reasons, of course) and still feeling the sting...what could possibly go wrong?

Well, two things:
If you're uncomfortable with the nerdy-missing-social-cues character, the heroine might rub you the wrong way. She's a math prodigy, excellent at puzzles, but some of the finer points of human interaction go over her head at times. This can be slightly jarring given her supporting cast, but is completely within character and explained in her background thoughts as she puzzles through how her behavior puts people off (at times).

The other slightly jarring note is the shorthand of early teen mild sexual boundary pushing/could be seen as sexual assault (but not by the character, but then is, but then isn't). I understand how it is confusing, since it wasn't full sexual assault, but could have been...but it's also well explained her feelings of lack of closure on the whole thing....but then everyone else is more willing to make it more of a problem. To me, the whole subplot of the overly forward gentleman was an annoyance and I was more irritated as the sexual assault of love interest as character driving short-hand for the hero's driving need to protect/defend.

I wouldn't have either of these two items stop me from rereading the book or looking forward to the rest of the series. Looking forward seeing the next!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for a honest review of this book.

This book is the second in a series and although I did not read the first book you really didn't have to in order to understand the plot. That's probably the only thing I liked about this book. I found Lady Daphne to be an insufferable main character. In fact, I disliked her so much I that I didn't really care when bad things happened to her. The Duke was not much better. In the beginning I can't tell if he's a rake or a prude. You kind of figure it out halfway through the book but you really only get a one chapter explanation on him and then the story continues.

The writing is about average for a historical romance. I will say Amanda Collins did present an original concept and the book wasn't as formulaic as your typical romance novel. Would I recommend this one? No. Would I read another Manda Collins book? Absolutely, just maybe not another Studies in Scandal book.