A newly appointed rector and a woman whose reputation is in ruins work together to save the orphaned children of St. Groves while fighting an attraction that could ruin his career and her restored future. An opposites-attract Regency rom-com, Pride and Practicality will delight fans of Eloisa James and Julia Quinn looking for a low-spice alternative. Thomas Bridges, the new rector of St. Groves, has a simple plan: gain the support of local wealthy parishioners to finance a boarding school for the orphans of St. Groves. With his stellar reputation and good heart, everything seems to be working well, even if he has to avoid his mother's matchmaking with the eligible ladies of the town. But his plans are rerouted when the "lost" sister of Lord Ravenscross returns and she happens to be the same woman in which he shared a secret and unexpected kiss eight months before. Arianna Reeves has returned home a secret heiress, trying to redeem her past. With money to spare, a desire to earn back the favor of those she loves, and a hope of being useful she not only puts herself in harm's way to help the children of St. Groves but creates an "anonymous benefactress" to support Thomas Bridges' plan. However, their mutual attraction threatens to not only defrock Thomas but also ruin all their best-laid plans for the children. When a man from Arianna's past comes to St. Groves with a plan to expose Thomas and Arianna's secret, their characters and hearts are tested. Could the truth about one unexpected kiss ruin their futures? After all . . . it was just a kiss, right?

ELLAA princess of Sondmark has no business crushing on her brother’s best friend. My fall out of love with Marc van Heyden—for sure this time. I’ve retired from writing overwrought fanfic about elvish princes and thrown myself into online gaming with my virtual besties. I haven’t sent him a taco cat meme in almost a year. That alone deserves a freaking sobriety pin. I might’ve stayed strong—if a 9.1 undersea megathrust earthquake hadn’t upended everything. Suddenly, the man I’m trying to forget is half a world away on a humanitarian mission, and my self-control slips. What starts as a few harmless messages of support turns into flirty texts and late-night confessions. Now he’s back, and I have to remember what I promised my fall out of love with Marc van Heyden. For sure this time. MARCI’m busy running one of the country’s largest tech companies, but I’m also Crown Prince Noah’s oldest and most trusted friend. So when he asks me to keep his little sister—a dangerously unpredictable princess—from becoming a PR problem during a constitutional crisis, I say yes. The catch? His sisters are strictly off-limits. No one tests that promise like Ella. I’m supposed to ignore the way she slurps her ramen, smells like warm sugar, and looks at me over the rim of her glasses—but the effort is wearing me down. I can’t think. I can’t focus. And, gripped by an attraction I never asked for, I’m suddenly certain that kissing her just once would solve every problem I have.