This book was not my cup of tea. I had a hard time liking the main characters. I did not think their relationship was very romantic but weird. The writing was very atmospheric. I recommend this for those who liked gothic romances, but I could not stomach this one.

The mystery was very good in this book. I enjoyed the twisted.in the end.. I am hooked on this author's books.

This book was very well written with a complex plot. The characters were interesting. The story itself was tense and filled with drama and suspense, and it had a good twist in it that I did not expect. Very enjoyable story!

A truly great whodunit is fast paced, full of intrigue, has lots of suspects, and leaves the reader guessing until the very end, The Pursuit of Mrs. Wentworth meets all of these criteria. It is not only a mystery, but also a very nice historical romance. It takes place in the Victorian Era, when women had a little more freedom, hold a job, and have a social life, though not without some issues. Newly out of mourning, young widow. Charlotte Pennyworth has a secret admirer, of sorts, who leaves flowers, jewerly, and the occasional dead animal on her doorstep. The gruesome presents lead her to hire private investigator and solicitor, Elliot Baker. Their mutual attraction is shunned by both parties in the beginning, since both have been affected by shortcomings of the opposite sex. As they spend more time together they can not deny their feelings. However, circumstances become more dangerous as they try to determine who is behind the doorstep items and other dastardly deeds. Callie Hutton keeps you trying to guess the villain 's identity and over and over you guess wrong. Then she throws in another twist, just as you think the story is done. I could have read this book from beginning to end without stopping if allowed. I loved it. I have read most of Ms. Hutton's books and have enjoyed all of them, however I can say without reservation, this is my favorite.

This took me a little longer to become engaged in the story than Callie’s books usually do. However, I did love the story. In fact, I always enjoy Callie Hutton’s books. I especially liked the mystery she wove, which kept me rather entertained. And the characters are winners. More of them, please!

And — I’m looking forward to more of her stories.

I am voluntarily submitting my honest review after receiving an ARC of this ebook via NetGalley.

This novel is a significant departure from Callie Hutton's other work, however, I still enjoyed the book a great deal. This book revolves around Mrs. Pennyworth's mysterious stalker, with her romance with Mr. Baker playing an important, but secondary role in the novel. As always, Hutton's prose is fluid and natural, and the plot progresses quickly, making this a fun, light read, perfect for a rainy afternoon. Fans of historical fiction, particularly those who love a good mystery with a dash of romance, will love this book.

Okay, I normally love Callie Hutton, but The Pursuit of Mrs. Pennyworth was an okay read. Towards the end I like the story, because it was what I was expecting to read. However, we have the rest of the story. Basically, The Pursuit of Mrs. Pennyworth is kind of like a mystery story. It does have some twist and turns in the story.

We have Charlotte who ran away from her employer's son, and created a new life in London, weird things start to happen. *Spoiler* Honestly, I thought the weird things that were happening we because of the son of the previous employer, but it's not. Actually, this is where the plot twist comes into play. She hires a handsome PI, and tries not feel any attachment to him. So, throughout the story, they are trying to figure out who is out to get her. Later in the story we have previous employer's son trying to get her.

The Pursuit of Mrs. Pennyworth was an all right story. I think I would have enjoyed the story more had it focus more on the previous employer's son trying to get her, I would have been happy. However, we had a huge plot twist that kind of confused me. Hey there are others who absolutely loved this story, and you might be one of those people. However, it wasn't a story I love. I did like the ending, because it was what I was expecting in this read. There you have it.

Copy provided by Entangled via NetGalley

The Pursuit of Mrs. Pennyworth is a Victorian romantic suspense, though it's more on the light side of suspense I would say. Now the who story centers on Charlotte Pennyworth, whom after one month of being married, was suddenly made a widow when her husband died in a carriage racing accident. Months later she has started to receive disgusting "gifts" left on her doorstep by a "stalker".

This is where Elliot Baker comes in; ex-Scotland Yard detective, and after being hoodwinked by a criminal, has turned into a by the book man, until Charlotte walks through his door, and then it seems that most things get thrown out the window.

Now while the book is a historical romance, I found the stalker angle a little hard to believe, and how the supposed heroine reacted to situations affected how I felt about the book quite a bit, especially when it comes to innocent people.

I will admit I struggled a lot with this book, and several times just wanted to put it down, but I forced myself through to the end, and to say it didn't improve, would be an understatement. I will have to admit that I'm surprised by this author, I have read books by her before which have been amazing, unfortunately, this is not one of them, and I can safely say that I would never read this book again.

I give The Pursuit of Mrs. Pennyworth 1 star.

I enjoyed the mystery and romance of this book. Some parts got a little slow, I wanted to skip to the ending.

Mrs. Pennyworth has had a rough start to her debut in society, losing a husband so quickly after being wed. Now she is receiving strange gifts on her door, she hires an investigator to flush out the culprit. Elliot is the former Scotland yard office now turned investigator. He is thrown for a loop once he starts his investigation, knowing something is off with Mrs. Pennyworth but is unsure of what it is. When Elliot finds out what Mrs. Pennyworth is hiding, is where the story line picks up and engages the reader once more.

Mrs. Pennyworth and Elliot (Mr. Baker) have a very odd relationship. Each one withholding secrets from the other, while claiming to be forthcoming. The chemistry seemed to be lacking, running hot and cold with emotions. The emotions felt off, it was hard to relate to any of the characters and when the scene would have called for a more intense reaction from the secondary characters, it fell flat. The secondary characters were true to the time period and added some quirks to the story line. The story line itself was a bit lengthy, almost as if we were revisiting the same incident many times over. Overall the novel was an okay read, it’s not as if it’s bad; however a few tweak would have made it a more enjoyable read.

Sorry but I couldn't get into the book at all. I tried though, I'm so sorry for my ADD brain.

Widowed after a short marriage Charlotte Pennyworth is relishing her independence, that is until she starts receiving strange gifts at her door by an increasingly sinister stalker. Former Yardman, Elliot Baker is reluctantly takes her case and solve the mystery.
Despite himself he’s drawn to the bright, attractive widow, and it quickly becomes apparent she’s hiding a secret. Elliott and Charlotte navigate their way through the suspense of the stalker and finding love in the interim trying to solve person and reason for the mysterious stalker.
This is my honest opinions after I voluntarily read a copy of this book that was provided to me with no requirements for a review.

The Pursuit of Mrs. Pennyworth by Callie Hutton is one fantastic read. I did find it had a bit of a slow start but O.M.G. it was still soooooo good! Ms. Hutton weaves her tale wonderfully, incorporating mystery, suspense, and intrigue all-together with her historical romance...couldn’t get enough. And the details...no words!

Please note that an ARC was generously provided in exchange for an honest review of which this is both honest and completely voluntary.

I haven't read a historical romantic suspense book for a while, so I was really intrigued by the possibilities The Pursuit of Mrs. Pennyworth offered. A young widow being stalked by a jealous lover (or are they?) who falls for the PI she hires to help her? Yes, please!

Ms. Hutton did a decent job of providing us with red herrings here--I'll admit I did suspect the perpetrator earlyish on, but I was far from convinced of their guilt until the person Elliot thought it was turned up dead (which really begs the question, just how good a detective is he? But I digress...) Charlotte and Elliott's romance starts rather awkwardly--their initial attraction feels a bit overblown, and all the foot rubs/shoulder rubs/scalp massages seem inappropriate in a not-quite-good-way--but by the end I was completely invested in it.

Which is when Elliot acts completely idiotically (though admittedly mostly in character) and ruins everything. He gets over it a bit too quickly and easily, but since he was really in the wrong to begin with, it's hard to be too upset about it. Charlotte's (completely justified) refusal to forgive him until he does some major grovelling therefore seems exactly as he deserves, and makes their HEA feel that much more as it should be.

Rating: 3 1/2 stars / B-

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

Charlotte is enjoying her independence as a widow and is unhappy when she must rely on a man to help her with a stalker. Elliot is a former Yardman and now a PI, knows Charlotte is hiding something will he find out what? This was a good read with plenty of twists and turns I liked the characters and the story held my interest throughout. A good read.

Murder, Suspense, Mystery, Intrigue... Who could ask for more? You will spend the entire time reading this trying to figure out who the "bad guy" is. The story line is absolutely BRILLIANT!! Callie Hutton has done an amazing job with this book writing it parallel to the time that Jack the Ripper was running rampant in London. I can't wait to see what she writes about next!! This book is an absolutely must buy book! I received this ARC via NetGalley and I voluntarily write the review for this book. All opinions are honest and only my own. Regards: Anna

An engaging story with interesting characters. A very big twist towards the end. A very enjoyable read.

I hope the author continues to write historical mysteries as I thoroughly enjoyed this one.
There was plenty of suspense and the mystery of the stalker had me hooked although I had figured it out half way through.
The stalker story was quite intense. I loved the gruesome parts and it made Charlotte's fainting fits a more realistic response. I felt that had the story ended when the stalker was revealed and Charlotte and Elliot were married then I would have been very happy.

The added story of Lord Barton was superfluous and only dragged out the story unnecessarily. It also led to Elliot acting in an unforgivable way and it didn't really sit with me that he would behave this way towards the woman he loved and after all that she had been through. I was terribly disappointed in him. Charlotte, for all her posturing, forgave Elliot very suddenly and without him having to make any great effort at winning her back. He talked about grovelling but he didn't actually do any. Considering how scared the people were of Lord Barton, Elliot managed to very easily resolve that problem off scene and with minimal fuss and drama. Those scenes just fell flat for me and it burst the romantic bubble I had placed the couple in.

Something else that jarred with me were the numerous Americanisms. It is set in late 19th century London and so I would expect some effort at making the characters sound English by using British tone of speech and terms of endearment suitable for the time period, not 'honey' and 'sweetheart.' It's not difficult.

As I said at the beginning of this review, I hope the author does write more in this genre. The little quibbles I have with the story line and the Americanisms are not enough to put me off reading more.

there are quite a few things i really enjoyed about the pursuit of mrs. pennyworth: one, that 's not merely a romance, it's actually a pretty good mystery (even if i figured out who the culprit was about halfway through. i still wasn't sure until the end.) two, while the characters are respectable members of society, this isn't a book about dukes and duchesses and i find that so refreshing.

this all starts when charlotte pennyworth seeks mr. eliot baker for some advice on a deranged gift giver who seems to be obsessed with her. as she and eliot get close during the course of the investigation their attraction to one another builds. and soon it’s difficult to imagine life without each other. there are secrets and lies, twists and turns and these two characters are delightful throughout.

**the pursuit of mrs. pennyworth will publish on march 26, 2018. i received an advance reader copy courtesy of netgalley/entangled publishing (amara) in exchange for my honest review.

*I received this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

You know, this book started out strong for me. I liked the set up and learning about Charlotte's past.
The mystery was interesting and I was curious the whole time. My first guess was wrong, but at a certain point, I figured I was incorrect and hoped--sincerely hoped it wasn't going where I thought it was going. Well, it pretty much went there. So, I didn't like how the mystery went down, nor how her past was dealt with which also messed with the romance, making me dislike it.

Let me back up here. I did start out liking the romance. There is a set up to and the feelings for each other build over time. I thought it was done really well... until the end, which I didn't like, but it is one of those things that I'm sure not everyone will have a problem with.

It does help that I liked the characters, although they may seem like your average detective and the helpless damsel, I think they are written well.

I'm really split on this book because I enjoyed the beginning of the book, but towards the end I started becoming indifferent and then came to dislike the ending. Yet, these are things other people might like or not care about. So, I would recommend this one to people who like mysteries and romances while wanting something in a historical setting.