The Ladies Rewrite the Rules Review

As y’all know, I love a good regency novel and I especially love one that makes me smile with a fun voice and great characters. The Ladies Rewrite the Rules fits that bill.

What happens when a younger son writes a pamphlet highlighting the widows and heiresses with money? Those women find themselves the target of sudden attention of men in search of a wife of means. But when they find out why, some of those women decide to feature the rules with funny, romantic, and winsome results. Three ladies, who aren’t necessarily looking, discover or rediscover poverty all while navigating the challenges of being an independent woman at that time. I found The Ladies Rewrite the Rules to be an enjoyable read I can recommend to those who enjoy regency and other historical novels.

BOOK DESCRIPTION

From the author of Mr. Malcolm’s List comes a delightful romantic comedy set in Regency England about a widow who takes high society by storm.

Diana Boyle, a wealthy young widow, has no desire to ever marry again. Particularly not to someone who merely wants her for her fortune.

So, when she discovers that she’s listed in a directory of rich, single women she is furious, and rightly so. She confronts Maxwell Dean, the man who published the Bachelor’s Directory, and is horrified to find he is far more attractive than his actions have led her to expect. However, Diana is unmoved by Max’s explanation that he authored the list to assist younger sons like himself who cannot afford to marry unless it’s to a woman of means.

She gathers the ladies in the directory together to inform them of its existence, so they may circumvent fortune hunters’ efforts to trick them into marriage. Though outraged, the women decide to embrace their unique position of power and reverse the usual gender roles by making the men dance to their tune. And together…the ladies rewrite the rules.

PRAISE FOR THE LADIES REWRITE THE RULES

“Innovative…The novel’s true strength lies in the friendship between the bold heroines”— Publisher’s Weekly
“A fun, light-hearted Regency romp about changing society from the inside.”— Kirkus Reviews
“Joyful, warm and witty, this is a delight of a book.”— All About Romance

Suzanne Allain is a screenwriter who lived in New York and Beijing before returning to her hometown of Tallahassee, Florida, where she lives with her husband. Suzanne adapted her novel Mr. Malcolm’s List into a screenplay and it was made into a movie starring Freida Pinto, Theo James, Ṣọpẹ Dìrísù, and Zawe Ashton.

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