Can you fall in love with someone you only know by letters?

Synopsis

A resolute spinster. An irresistible rake. One accidental letter… Can love triumph over this hopeless muddle in the middle of the London season?

Lady Ludmilla is mortified. Though the spinster extraordinaire knows it is foolish, she has fallen head-over-heels for the amiable man with whom she’s been secretly corresponding, and that cannot be. When she sets out to uncover his identity, her world shatters. For her best friend Addy turns out to be none other but London’s worst rogue—the man who has ruined her engagement to someone else ten years earlier.

Lord St.Addington is perturbed. The wicked Viscount is developing a marked tendre for a spinster, and that cannot be. She might be mistaking him for someone he is not, or, what is worse, know precisely who he is. As London’s worst hellrake, he has a role to maintain, a charade to play. A depraved heart like his surely can’t be falling in love…least of all with a plain, outspoken spinster.

Determined to discover the truth behind the man she loves, Lu does what she does best: she sits down and writes a letter…

If you crave a humorous romp with witty banter and surprising twists, you will love Sofi Laporte’s charming masquerade.

My review

Lady Ludmilla Windmere is adamant that the looks her family is known for, have passed her. So after a devastating revelation years ago, and her own low self-esteem, turned her into a spinster, with absolutely no plans to change that.
And living with her reclusive aunt surely doesn’t make things easier for Lu. Only silver linings is the correspondence she has with Addy. What all started with a letter, turned into a great friendship, and Lu may even feel more for her best friend.
But Lu doesn’t know who Addy is, as they have never met in real life. So when Lu goes to London, she is determined to figure out who her best friend is. However, back in London, she meets Adrian St. Addington, rakehell extraordinaire, and the reason for her heartbreak. And despite both reputations, Adrian seems to grow a soft spot for Lu.
But can Lu forgive him for the past? And who is really the man behind all these letters, which made Lu find her perfect match?

Yes, this is a regency romance. No, you haven’t read anything like this before, and I mean that as a compliment!

I immediately liked Lu, for not really a specific reason. It’s her just being Lu that made me sympathize with her.
She didn’t have it always easy, and living with her Aunt surely isn’t the best of gifts. Compared to her sister, who is living in London, it would surely seem that Lu had it worse.
But we see Lu’s real, funny, caring character when she starts writing letters with Addy. While so many of us would stop writing after it’s clear who should have received the letter has moved, Lu enjoys writing Addy and she truly is a funny one! 

I also felt a bit sorry for her, as she is so sure of her being the ‘lesser’ member of a family, while it’s obvious she has her own charms. So I was happy when Lu goes to London and truly starts to shine. 

And Addy… I thought it was obvious for us as a reader who he truly was. But the author manages so well to deceive us, and all the time there were twists and turns making me wonder about the real identity of Addy! 

I was truly surprised when in the end, it was obvious we missed a lot as a reader, just like Lu. Because a lot of things happened, her sister Jessica involved, that we just didn’t see coming.
And while the story takes place in a time set where people are expected to do constantly the right thing according society, I found it funny to see how Lu in one particular situation acts very millennial! 

This was a great, funny story to read, about loving someone you don’t know, but also about despite a certain reputation, not everyone knows the real you.
Even your own opinion over someone can be wrong, but nothing can be undone and feelings can turn out to become the total opposite of what you felt before. 

The author managed to make me laugh, to make me swoon, to make me confused in a wonderful and enjoyable way!
I didn’t know this author before, and she surely surprised me and made me curious about her other works!