Only two out of four remain from the original wager made in Ms. Alexander's A LITTLE BIT WICKED, and Daniel Sinclair is sure the wager has been cursed. The two least likely to wed have fallen in love and married, leaving only Daniel and Oliver, and Daniel has a feeling the fates are working against him. Providence strikes in the form of Lady Cordelia Bannister and her matchmaking family.

Cordelia and Daniel's parents have decided it is time for their children to wed, and as some parents are wont to do, have selected their future mates. Joining the Bannister family with the Sinclair family will strengthen their fortunes and give the elder Sinclair the acceptance into English society that he's long coveted. That Cordelia and Daniel do not have matrimony on their minds is of little consequence to their parents. When Cordelia sets out to secretly discover if Daniel might be a good mate, a game of mistaken identity is begun that could, in the end, threaten their future happiness.

Once again Victoria Alexander has written a laugh- out-loud romantic comedy chockfull of witty dialogue, sensual romance and enough twist and turns to keep readers thoroughly entertained. Ms. Alexander sets out to charm her readers from the first page, and SECRETS OF A PROPER LADY delivers in full. Fast-paced, entertaining dialogue and an attention to detail are great strengths of this author's writing and evident throughout. The humorous subtleties of Daniel and Cordelia's romance are so masterfully developed, it's as if the couple sat with the author to make sure she was completely accurate in her details. I suspected that Daniel's fall into matrimony would be my favorite of the Last Man Standing novels, and as much as I've enjoyed them all, SECRETS OF A PROPER LADY is, in my opinion, the best to-date. Still, I hope to read more about Oliver, for though he appears to be the winner of the wager, the man deserves a story of his own!