Lydia wants to marry for love but her aunt and uncle arrange her betrothal to a lord. He’s eligible, rich and titled but Lydia doesn’t love him. How to Lose a Lord in Ten Days by Sophie Irwin is a funny enemies-to-lovers Regency romcom. 
The engagement between ‘Miss Hanworth of Nowhere, Lady of Nothing’ and Lord Ashworth is to be kept secret for ten days until a formal announcement is made by Ashworth’s father. The newly betrothed couple are invited to a house party at Hawksworth House hosted by Ashworth’s cousin, the wealthy and fashionable Lady Phoebe Henley. Lydia, from a nouveau rich family who made their money from trade, has been raised with the manners and accomplishments of a lady. She will be accompanied by her eccentric brother Pip and maid Jane. She has ten days to break free from the engagement before news leaks out, ruining her reputation and destroying her hopes for a love match with someone unknown man she hasn’t yet met. She hatches a plan to trigger Ashworth’s horror and his subsequent breaking of their agreement.
Lydia’s list of outrageous behaviour includes a wardrobe of brightly-coloured frilled and primped outfits, lots of toothy smiles and loud laughter, addressing her fellow guests impertinently and with the wrong titles, using the wrong cutlery and generally being common and out-of-place. This phase becomes sillier and sillier until Ashworth tumbles to her plan. Then begins a war of attrition between the couple involving tricks, traps and embarrassing incidents which is much funnier and more revealing as the pair get to know each other.
Read quickly and enjoyable, there were if anything too many jokes. I’d prefer more time spent at the beginning exploring Lydia’s character and background before moving on to the house party. At times the tricks seemed a little excessive. A sub-plot including a missing necklace, which sees Pip become an amateur detective, adds much-needed balance and inadvertently unveils a shocking secret.
If you like this, read my review of another Sophie Irwin novel:-
A LADY’S GUIDE TO FORTUNE-HUNTING
If you like this, try:-
’59 Memory Lane’ by Celia Anderson
‘Another You’ by Jane Cable
‘The Secret Shore’ by Liz Fenwick
And if you’d like to share a link:
#BookReview HOW TO LOSE A LORD IN TEN DAYS by Sophie Irwin https://wp.me/p2ZHJe-a78 via @SandraDanby
COMING SOON… THE NEXT BOOK I REVIEW WILL BE:- 
