If I am going to read the occasional historical romance, Eloisa James is one of the authors I reach for, so I was glad to have the opportunity to review her newest romance, “Viscount in Love,” the first in her new series called “Accidental Brides.”

While I’m not sure how accidental this bride is, I love the way James includes strong female protagonists in her romance. In a time when females were relegated to subservient lives, Victoria Sutton is determined to make her life what she wants it to be. But because she can’t read (she refers to the words scrambling on the page and being unable to decipher them), she is considered illiterate. In an age when women love to read light literature, she is considered “addled” and not very intelligent. Her sister is a perfectionist and dons the guise of a perfect lady with scrupulous manners. But while she disparages Torie, she also has been Torie’s protector when their father or others have laughed at her inability to read.

Torie is fiercely intelligent and remembers everything she hears from sermons in church to dialogue from plays she attends. Her maid writes notes for her and reads what Torie needs cannot. Torie had indulged in her passion for painting for many years and delights in the time she spends in her studio. Her father is an alcoholic, and as the novel progresses, we find out just how horrible a father he really is. Her mother had died when Torie was young.

When Torie’s sister becomes engaged to the Viscount Kelbourne, it’s definitely a marriage of convenience. Neither pretends to love the other. Torie’s sister had been determined to marry a viscount from an early age because she didn’t want the fame and associated notice from gossips and journalists that would ensue if she married a duke. She had decided a viscount would be the perfect title. But Torie sees that they are not well-matched, and that problem becomes glaringly apparent when Dominic, the viscount, must take guardianship of his twin niece and nephew after their mother, his sister, dies. They are ten years old and very precocious. In other words, a handful.

Torie meets them and grows fond of them and their unusual outlook on life. But when her sister breaks the engagement by running off with an older baron in the middle of the night, Dominic realizes that marrying Torie instead might solve his problem of what to do with his wards.

There are no spoilers in this review, so suffice to say that in addition to the lovely love story, we meet a man whose childhood could have scarred him for life, and whose life was changed by the love of a woman like Torie. And Torie has some surprises up her sleeve as well. We realize that she is a formidable woman, a beacon of strength and artistic brilliance, and someone who deserves the best life can offer.

The twists are beautifully done. The writing is nothing less than we would expect from an author who also teaches Shakespeare during the day. The story is touching, romantic, and yes, sexy, too. It’s the perfect Regency romance, and perhaps after the success of the Bridgerton series, this one should be next.

Please note: This review is based on the advanced reader’s copy provided by Avon, the publisher, for review purposes.