When Daphne follows her cat into an old bookstore, she never imagines her adventure will lead her to a new calling--writing an advice column for a magazine for young misses. She accepts an assignment to write about how to avoid being taken in by charming rakish men, which leads her to becoming involved with the "Devil Devereaux," a well known rake about town. Readers are left to wonder how Daphne will find her way through the maze of social events while maintaining her anonymity as "Miss B." All is wrapped up in a satisfactory manner in the end.

Although this book represents the start of a new series, it can be read as a stand alone novel.

I received this book from the publisher and from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own. ( )

The Lady Knows Best by Susanna Craig
Goode’s Guide to Misconduct #1

The odd duck in the Burke family, always overlooked, merely average…or so she thinks...suddenly becomes the focus of rake Miles Viscount Devereaux often referred to as the devil, Devereaux. Daphne Burke has ideas that might make some think she is a bluestocking or radical reformer or just trying to find her position in the world so when an opportunity to write for a magazine appears, she is eager to take it thinking that she can write advice for young women even though she is still a rather naïve young woman herself. And then…the story really begins…

What I Liked:
* Miles: wealthy, good family, titled, only child, cares about his home and the person who raised him, good friend, perhaps dyslexic, deeper than he appears to be on the surface, I liked him
* Daphne: second to last sister, opinionated, likes animals, believes rakes are despicable and to be avoided but is rather tempted by Miles
* The idea of the Magazine and thinking that more than likely the women involved with it will star in the books of the series – getting to meet them in this book was a taste of what is to come
* Meeting Daphne’s family – I think some of them and Mrs. Goode were in previous books by this author
* Alistair Hawthorne, Earl of Ryland: older brother of seven sisters, responsible for his siblings for 15 years, has severe allergies, good friend, good friend of Miles, hope he has a book of his own
* The way Miles and Daphne’s perceptions about one another and what they wanted in life changed as they grew and matured through the story
* Knowing that there is another book to look forward to

What I didn’t like:
* That it took awhile for me to warm up to Daphne and actually believe she and Miles would have a good marriage…it did happen though…over the telling of the story.

Did I enjoy this book? Yes
Would I read more in this series? Yes

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books-Zebra for the ARC – This is my honest review.

3-4 Stars ( )

The Lady Knows Best by Susanna Craig
Goode’s Guide to Misconduct #1. Regency Historical romance. Best read after the prequel novella, Nice Earls Do, for background information on the news letters for Misses.
Daphne Burke stumbles upon a meeting for the somewhat scandalous news letters for Misses and finds herself writing a column about the notorious rake, Viscount Deveraux. She advises his fiancé to leave him after she witnesses him playing a game of chess with another woman. Daphne accidentally gives herself away as the writer of the column when she accepts a dance with him. She is assigned a follow up article to warn young innocent women about the lascivious ways of a rake and how to avoid getting caught in their games. But the more time she spends with Miles, the less sure she is of his true character.

Delightful, steamy and romantic.
Miles felt so genuine throughout the story. First presenting with a mask of uncaring, then open and sincere as he charms Daphne.
Predictable in several places but still charming.
I did feel like I should have known many of the secondary family characters. After a bit of research, I believe this is a spinoff of the Rogues and Rebels series.

Quotes from or about Daphne that I found titillating:
“You might find you quite enjoy being ruined.”

“Her body was far more prone to betrayal than she had been led to expect.”

“Her mind has turned out to be no firmer or more dependable than a bowl of porridge.”

And one for Miles that had me laughing out loud:
“I needed to do something to take my mind off all the possible ways to be murdered by a Duke, a marquess, and an Irishman.”

I received a copy of this from NetGalley and the publisher. ( )

Barbara’s rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars

I read and enjoyed the prequel novella for this series. It nicely set up the premise behind Goode’s Guide to Misconduct publication. It also introduced us to Lord and Lady Stalbridge, and Lord Manwaring who are featured in this book as well. To add even more existing characters to the lineup, the female lead in The Lady Knows Best is the sister of the characters from this author's Rogues and Rebels series. With all of those characters and the new characters added to this story, there are a lot of people to keep up with.

Daphne Burke feels she is the ugly duckling among the six Burke children. The other five are blessed with beauty, talent, and intelligence and she . . isn’t. Among those five – there is a highly successful poet, a very successful writer, a renowned botanist, and one of the most successful barristers in the kingdom – even her younger sister, Bellis, is bright and beautiful. Daphne is the forgotten Burke, the one who is always overlooked, overtalked, and forgotten. So, when she accidentally stumbles upon a very private meeting of the people who produce and publish Goode’s Guide to Misconduct and ends up with an offer to write an advice column – well – she can’t wait to say YES! Little does she know what that one accidental encounter will bring her.

Miles, Viscount Deveraux, is also known as ‘that devil Deveraux. I’m not sure why that is the case because his shortcomings don’t seem any worse than other rich, titled, single men of the time. Actually, he is probably better because he didn’t have anything to do with innocents – his exploits were all with experienced widows, mistresses – and gambling, of course. Anyway, Miles inadvertently ends up with a bet at Whites saying he’ll marry a proper society lady before the end of June. That is proceeding along very nicely – until his soon-to-be-betrothed jilts him because of advice she’d gotten from some magazine. Well! Whoever wrote that advice column owes him a bride, and he's going to collect!

I was happy to see Daphne come around for their HEA, but, frankly, I had a really hard time warming up to her. I think it was because, through most of the book, she seemed to take such delight in ruining a rake. In one spot she thinks, “She would write an essay on rakes – which was to say, an essay on that devil Deveraux. Shocked by the essay’s revelations, society would turn its back on him for good.”

I had come to like the characters and the story by the end of it, but I didn’t care for the characters at all until around the 50% mark. That is a long time to wait to begin to warm up to characters you should have been rooting for all along. Hopefully, you’ll love them from the beginning.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. ( )

The Lady Knows Best by Susanna Craig is the first book in the new series, Goode's Guide to Misconduct.

Daphne is the second-youngest member of the Burke family from the Rogues and Rebels series and is overshadowed by her brilliant siblings. When Lady Stallbridge offers her the advice column in Mrs Goode's magazine for independent young women, Daphne assumes the offer was made because of her family connections but takes it on with enthusiasm all the same. In her very first column she advises a young woman, betrothed against her will to a rake, to break the engagement. On meeting the rejected fiance, Miles, Viscount Deveraux, who has wagered that he will be married by the end of the season, Daphne is attracted despite herself, but plans use the experience for an instructional pamphlet on identifying and resisting the attractions of a rake. In order to spend time with Deveraux, and to prevent him from revealing her role on the magazine, she offers to marry him herself, fully determined to humiliate him by breaking the engagement.

I've read all the Burke family books and, unfortunately, Daphne is the least interesting sibling. Miles doesn't stand out either. Sterling qualities lurk beneath his rakish facade, and it doesn't take long for Miles and Daphne to recognise each other's worth. We need more backstory for these two so that we can become more engaged with their romance.

Overall, this was a cheerful, entertaining read, with pleasant characters and not a lot of drama. It ends with hints of a romance between two other characters we've met in this book: Miles's reliable friend and a frizzy-haired ironical illustrator. I'm already interested, but the character I really want to find out more about is Oliver, the stepson of Lady Stallbridge and the original Mrs Goode.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. ( )