The Viscount Needs a Wife

February 22, 2016
Beverley’s latest Regency romance introduces pragmatic lovers who find happiness together despite distractions from family and civil unrest. Kitty Cateril’s war hero husband was injured in battle and eventually died. Trapped with her depressed mother-in-law, Kitty is desperate to escape and find some joy in life again. Beau Braydon, the newly minted Viscount Dauntry, seeks a “sensible” wife to manage his country estate—along with the previous viscount’s mother and Beau’s spoiled daughter, Isabella—while Beau investigates crimes for the Home Office in London. Despite an inauspicious first meeting, Beau and Kitty wed and find they are quite compatible, in and out of bed. Complications ensue as Kitty deals with the dowager’s icy hostility and Isabella’s selfishness, while Beau is jealous of the soldiers who fondly remember Kitty as their comrade’s lovely young wife. An assassination attempt on members of the royal family and the mystery of the old viscount’s missing wife provide further distractions before the inevitable happy ending. Beverley’s fans will enjoy the story and its unlikely lovers. Agent: Margaret Ruley, Rotrosen Agency.

Starred review from April 1, 2016
Kitty Cateril has to escape. It has been nearly two years since her husband, Marcus, died, but Kitty's mother-in-law insists that their household remain perpetually in mourning. Kitty loved Marcus, but she can't spend the rest of her life locked away from life. So when Kitty's old friend Ruth writes to her with news that Ruth's neighbor, Beau Braydon, the newly minted Viscount Dauntry, is looking for a wife, Kitty believes she may have found a way out of Cateril Manor. Beau needs a practical ladysomeone who can manage his household without intruding on his established way of life. When he first meets Kitty, he is convinced that she is not the wife for him, but as he gets to know her better, Beau gradually realizes Kitty may be exactly the lady he needs in his life. The Viscount Needs a Wife is the fortieth novel by RITA Award winner Beverly, and it is an excellent example of her gift for combining graceful writing, an impeccably researched historical setting, and intelligent, well-matched protagonists into a superbly satisfying love story.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)