Book excerpt: Lady Emily is determined to be belle of the ball in this irresistible romantic romp. La Petite Four is the sweet, playful tale of sixteenyear- old Lady Emily’s self-discovery on her way to finding love and having a ball—literally! Emily and her three best friends can’t wait for the year’s biggest party: the Coming-Out Ball that will plunge them into the seductions, scandals, and decadence of nineteenth-century London Society. But when dashing Lord Robert puts a wrinkle in their plans, Emily and her crew hatch an investigation to expose his dark side—a move which puts them right in the path of the stubborn, yet curiously attractive James Cropper. Readers will have to fluff up their ball gowns and hang on to their corsets as Emily decides between Robert and James, love and independence, and ultimately discovers just how far she’ll go to follow her own heart.