Manda Collins's third Studies in Scandal novel, Wallflower Most Wanted, pairs a painter heroine with the local vicar in a small-town cozy mystery regency romance mash-up.
Sophia Hastings is one of four bluestockings to have inherited a country house in Little Seaford from Lady Celeste. The set-up for the novel is somewhat complicated, which leads me to suggest that you read the series in order. I found the first 20% of the book slow-going as I tried to figure out who was who and how they were related.
The first two books in the series pair off Daphne and Ivy, leaving Sophia and Gemma for books three and four. I'm fairly certain Collins has shown us the pairing for Gemma, but I won't spoil that for you. Anyway, the four young ladies inherit the house, under suspend-your-disbelief conditions. In order to inherit, they must reside at the house for a full year. If they don't, their share will be split evenly among the other ladies. They're not competing, however, and are all content to reside there for the year and sort it out later. Lady Celeste sent the first two women on a quest that ended with them nearly being killed but ending up happily paired off, so you can probably guess what's going to happen here.
While this is certainly a romance, it feels like a cozy mystery with a regency romance twist. The book opens with Sophia falling off a short cliff after being startled by two men who proceed to talk about their plans to kill a third man. She and our handsome vicar overhear all of this, and the plot is afoot. Or a-sprained-ankle. There is, indeed, a murder, but nothing is quite what it seems and Collins keeps you guessing with twists and turns.
Peter Morgan, an industrialist who feels very representative of certain present-day political figures, has moved to Little Seaford and is running for office. He can't get elected to the House of Commons in Manchester, where his factories are, because he's such an unscrupulous bastard.
Despite the murder and the aforementioned unscrupulous bastard, this is a low-angst, fluffy read. The hero is a cinnamon roll, which makes sense as he's dedicated his life to helping people. Ben and Sophia both have the best of friends - the sort that will mercilessly needle you about being in love while you pretend otherwise. Early in the story, Ben is convinced that Sophia is completely unsuitable for the role of Vicar's Wife, but the two of them work it out quickly, which leaves the mystery to drive the plot. This isn't a bad thing! Sometimes it's nice to read about two lovely people being kind to each other and overcoming the external circumstances that are keeping them apart.
TL; DR - This is a cozy romance or a regency mystery with two likeable main characters and a somewhat overwhelming cast. If you haven't read the other two in the series, start there.
