To Steal a Secret - Kate Serzenta

A battle of wills

Sebastian Winters, Viscount Haverston, was supposed to be a successful (if incognito) playwright, until his inspiration ran dry. Desperate for drama that might resolve his writer's block and save his career, he jumps at the opportunity when a mysterious letter, asking for his help, invites him to a country estate of a duke.

He's prepared for a prank or a damsel in distress. He's certainly not prepared for said damsel to be protected by the most fearsome guard of all: her feisty bluestocking of a best friend, Lady Louisa Ascombe. She's mouthy. She's clever. She insinuates herself into every situation, preventing Sebastian from resolving his mystery. And worst of all: she's falling for none of his rakish charms.

And a battle of quills

Louisa is an imaginative (if yet unsuccessful) playwright. Determined to prove her worth as more than a duke's daughter, she's focused on entering her play into a competition that could propel her among the stars and save her from a tedious season on the marriage market. The last distraction she needs is a vexing viscount, too handsome for his own good, sniffing out secrets around her estate.

Little does she know Sebastian is a fellow playwright she admires, and that he's aiming to win the same competition. For Louisa and Sebastian, fighting with ink is easy-but they'll also have to fight the scorching attraction hidden beneath their snide remarks. Because only one thing is riskier than confessing their secret identities to the world: admitting that perhaps they don't hate each other at all ...

To Steal a Secret is a closed-door Regency Romance and a companion novel to The Girl Out of Time, although it can be read and enjoyed as a standalone with no knowledge of the main novel needed.