A Lady’s Rules for Ruin by Jennifer Haymore was a quirky historical romance. The novel focused on Frances Cherrington. She was the one member of her family that was unmarried and quite frankly she wanted to stay that way. She was under a great deal of pressure to marry from all her siblings. While at a ball, speaking with Evan, the Earl of Winthrop, Frances got an idea to ruin herself so she wouldn’t have to marry.
The problem with her impetuous plan was that it didn’t even take every consequence in her mind and the consequences were quite scandalous. Her family was suffering from her scandal with the sisters being not treated well by the tonne, actually being shunned.
The Earl felt badly for her while at the same time was drawn to her time and time again. HE began spending time with her and slowly they began to fall for each other. Frances’s brother figured out what was happening and decided to take everything in her own hands and demanded Francess marry the man she tricked into kissing her.
The story is ramped up at this point with the family being torn apart by all their decisions. Frances is miserable. The story has some fun elements and certainly reminded me of all the double standards that existed at the time. While this book is the second in a series, it can be read as a standalone easily.
A Lady’s Rules for Ruin by Jennifer Haymore was a good read.
