Intrigued? Red on to discover the synopsis and an excerpt from A Shop Girl’s Guide To Wooing a Lord by Shana Galen, which releases on June 9th 2026.

Tamsin Archer might just be having the worst year of her life. And that’s saying something, considering her father is dead, her mother was maimed at work, and her family regularly sleeps under London’s bridges. But when her younger siblings go missing, Tamsin decides it’s time to step up and fight.

Desperate times call for desperate measures, and Tamsin’s more than willing to take a few risks to reunite with her siblings. But while disguising herself to sneak into homes and steal from the rich, Tamsin is caught by Garret Kildare, the second son of an earl. Much to Tamsin’s surprise, Garret doesn’t want to turn her in. He wants to help her. Though Tamsin’s wary—she’s learned to never trust supposed “good luck”—the unlikely pair form an alliance, one that quickly muddles their class differences. 

Garret knows he must be careful. Falling for a woman of a lower class could be the nail in the coffin for his family’s tenuous social standing, and there are eyes everywhere. Ignoring their attraction proves impossible, though, and soon the lines they’ve drawn around their partnership begin to blur. As more focus lands on Tamsin and Garret, they wonder if their red-hot connection means giving up everything—and everyone—they’ve ever known.

EXCERPT

And then before she knew what happened, he’d pulled her into his arms and wrapped her in an embrace. She went rigid from the shock of his actions, then he ran a hand up and down her back, and she closed her eyes and gave in to the comfort he offered. He’d called her Archer, and somehow that seemed infinitely more intimate than Miss Archer. Tentatively, she wrapped her own arms around his waist and leaned her cheek against his chest. She could hear his heart beating steadily, unlike hers, which thundered as though she’d just run all the way from the market. A few tears escaped her tightly shut eyes, but in that moment, if he’d asked what she’d been crying about, she couldn’t have said. Her mind had gone completely blank except for the thought that she would do anything to stay in his arms like this. She had never wanted any man like she wanted this one.

“Dry your tears now.”

She felt him move and realized he was offering her his handkerchief. She stepped back and took it, wiping her nose with the fine linen. She offered it back, and he waved a hand. “You keep it.” Normally, she would have been thrilled at the coin she could make selling it, but she knew she’d never sell this. She’d do something stupid like put it under her pillow and hold it every night.

Sometimes even she wanted to gag at how lovesick she could be over this man.

“At the risk of upsetting you again, I want to ask another question.”

Tamsin straightened. “You won’t upset me. I never cry.” Not in front of others, at any rate. “I’m simply tired tonight.”

“Then I won’t keep you much longer. Snoozer is asking for ten pounds to release your brother and sister.”

“That’s his price, yes.”

“Then what was the money from the pawnshop for?”

“Food, room, board.”

“So this Snoozer makes your brother and sister work for him and charges you for the privilege?”

“More or less,” she said. “I don’t have to pay, but how could I live with myself if I didn’t? What if he didn’t feed them or made them sleep in the cold or I know what you’re thinking.”

He put a hand on her shoulder. “I’m not thinking anything.”

“You’re thinking that he might do all of that anyway. I have no way to know if he’s using the blunt for Charlie and Joanna or spending it on gin for himself.”

Kildare’s eyes cut away before meeting hers again. “In your place, if it was one of my brothers or my sister, I’d do exactly the same.”

She looked up at him, and in his eyes, she saw the truth of his words. She’d seen the love surrounding his family and knew he understood how she felt.

“Let me help you,” he whispered.

“You can’t.”

“Perhaps not, but I’d like to try.”

She shook her head. “I can’t risk you angering Snoozer or scaring him away. I might never see my brother and sister again.”

“I’ll be careful. Let me think about the best approach for a day or two. Then I’ll come back, and we’ll discuss.”

She looked away. She should tell him no. This was her problem, not his. He’d only complicate it. Not to mention, she’d already taken so much help from him. She couldn’t, in good conscience, accept more.

But she could feel the warmth of his hand on her shoulder. She knew his brown eyes were perusing her face. If she accepted his help, she’d see him again. She’d do almost anything to see him again, to have him this close. A breeze blew a strand of her hair across her face, and Kildare caught it and tucked it behind her ear. Tamsin’s eyes met his, and Kildare swallowed. Her gaze lowered to his mouth, and she heard him take in a breath, watched as he wet his lips with his tongue. He slid the hand hovering at her ear back across her cheek, the supple leather luxurious against her skin. He rested one finger under her chin, angling it up slightly. Tamsin’s heartbeat so loudly it sounded like a thunderstorm in her mind. Kildare bent, his mouth coming closer as she tilted her own face up to his.

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