What a fun, entertaining read! Spooky of course, and different from the author’s other books. I am such a sucker for mysteries, anything remotely English or resembling a Jane Austen novel. And really, that’s what this book felt like: a blend of Jane Austen, Jack the Ripper, and your favorite cozy mystery. While the cast is large, everyone felt realized and full drawn, and I enjoyed the different POV shifts.

The romance was lovely, and sweet and a perfect subplot to the darker tones of murder, mystery and mayhem. Highly recommend!

"From the author of Suitors and Sabotage comes a suspenseful and enthralling new Regency novel, perfect for readers who like their Jane Austen classics with a side of mystery and murder.

1833. A near-fatal carriage accident has deposited an unconscious young woman on the doorstep of Hardwick Manor and into the care of young Lord James Ellerby. But when she finally awakens, it is with no memory of who she is or where she came from.

Beth, as she calls herself, has no identity; the only clue to her circumstances is a recurring nightmare of a hummingbird, blood dripping from its steel beak.

With the help of James and his sister, Caroline, Beth tries to solve the mystery of her own identity and the appalling events that brought her to their door. But nothing could prepare her for the escalating dangers that threaten her and the Ellerby clan. From the hazardous cliffs of Dorset to the hostile streets of London, Beth will fight to reclaim her past, hunted by a secretive foe with murderous intentions.

Fans of Cindy Anstey's previous novels won't want to miss The Hummingbird Dagger, a dark and twisty new offering that blends romance, danger and mystery."

I like my Regency any which way, but yes please to murder and suspense!

Loved the suspense and mystery in this novel and the fact that the ending was not predictable from the beginning! The characters were well-developed and the events intertwined with each other so that the story was believable. I quite enjoyed this and would definitely encourage my middle schoolers to pick this book up! I also really liked that it was a stand alone because I think everyone is so focused on series nowadays, but having a book on its own is just as important.

The story begins with two coaches crashing. One is being driven recklessly by fourteen-year-old Walter who is the younger brother of the new Lord Ellerby. The other is a lot more mysterious.

In the wreckage of the mysterious coach is a bruised and battered young woman. Lord Ellerby is determined to take her to his home to take care of her despite the objections of the others in the coach. When the young woman awakes it is to a world she doesn't remember. She has total amnesia and is lots of danger.

The only thing she remembers is the name Beth, but she doesn't think it is her name. She is also plagued with vicious nightmares in which a hummingbird turns into a dagger with a bloody tip. The Ellerbys and their neighbor Dr. Brant are determined to try to find out who she is and what danger is chasing her.

The story is filled with suspicious characters who claim acquaintance with the young woman who is now called Beth. The danger edges closer when a young maid from the Ellerby home is murdered. The Ellerbys decide to travel to London, both to elude the villains and for Beth to see a doctor who might be able help her regain her missing memories. But London presents dangers of its own.

This was an entertaining mystery/romance as James, Lord Ellerby, and Beth begin to fall in love. I liked all the characters including the melodramatic Walter. Although I had a good idea who the villain was, it was still fun to follow along as James, his sister Caroline, his brother Walter, and Beth figure out who wants her dead.

When his younger brother takes the carriage and careens out onto the roadway at high speed, James shouts at him to slow down but he doesn't hear him. When Walter hits the bridge, he also hits another carriage and both fly off the bridge. James races down on his horse and sees his brother and his friend have not been injured. The other carriage had a young woman in it and she's been injured. The driver and his companion are recovering but she's not moving. James demands that she be relinquished to him so he can take her home and have the doctor see her. The men try not to give her up but he takes her anyway. He doesn't know how much trouble he's just brought upon himself...

Macmillon Children's Publishing Group and Net Galley let me read this book for review (thank you). It will be published April 16th.

When she wakes up, she doesn't know her name or anything about herself. She also doesn't remember what happened to her. As they try to help her remember the past, they find themselves meeting some shady characters. They must have been used in the kidnapping or why would they be interested in her?

There are lots of characters, some good and some bad. James and the young woman are falling love. But they are trying to kill her now and he has to find somewhere to hide her. He tries but she's found anyway.

When her identity is revealed, she's still not remembering them. It's only when she visits a warehouse that part of it is coming back to her.

I was totally surprised to find who the mastermind of the plot was. It ties it together and solves the mystery but it's not happy ever after for all.

The story reads like an old classic mystery novel and I enjoyed it. Just watch out for that dagger...

This book features a motley cast of characters and a good mystery plot at its heart. I felt a little bounced around by all the people being constantly thrown at the reader. The romance felt forced, but maybe it just needed more focus.

An honest review given in exchange for an advance copy of the story.

I really wanted to like The Hummingbird Dagger. But my main emotion the entire book was "meh." I couldn't connect with any of the characters or care about the plot. I think part of that comes down to the faux-Austen writing that tries too hard to sound meaningful and partly down to uninteresting characters. It wasn't a bad story. Just not the best.

Another winner from Cindy Anstey!

When his younger brother causes a carriage accident, Lord James immediately takes responsibility for the unconscious woman to nurse her back to health. Little does he know, bringing her into his household will bring both joy and danger. Beth, as she takes to calling herself, cannot remember anything about her life before the accident. Every night, she wakes, screaming in terror as a dagger shaped like a hummingbird haunts her sleep. Soon, it is clear that there is much more about Beth's lack of memories and her circumstances than meets the eye, sending James, Beth, and their friends searching for answers... before it is too late.

The Hummingbird Dagger is a brilliant novel from Ms. Anstey, and I'd say perhaps her best to-date. The villain is nastier, the stakes are higher, the twists are twistier... and, of course, the romance is absolute perfection. Not only does this novel have all of the atmospheric elements of being present in the story, it also gives off a vibe of having been written in or around the time period in which the story is set. As always, I am eagerly anticipating the next novel to come from the pen of Cindy Anstey and cannot wait to see what other plots and mayhem will follow.

This book reminds me a bit of the gothic suspense romances I used to read in high school. Victoria Holt, Mary Stewart, Phyllis Whitney. They are the greats!
While this author is not quite in their league, this was an enjoyable read. I liked the characters. I liked the setting. I liked the story. The suspense was not as shadowy or gripping as some I have read. The elements were fairly predictable. But I enjoyed it nonetheless. Now, I have to say that I read an arc provided by Netgalley. As such, the copy needed some editing and clean up. I feel sure that by the time you read it, those will be cleared up. I will recommend this to my teen patrons who like a good historical romantic suspense. Many of my teen and middle school patrons at the library love regency romance. This book is one I can feel comfortable recommending. I know many who will enjoy reading it. Keep the regency mysteries coming!

Fans of Jane Austen will be captivated with the light and enjoyable mystery, The Hummingbird Dagger. A carriage containing a young woman whose bearing, speech and tattered clothing mark her a woman of quality crashes near a country estate. The lord of the manor is greatly disturbed to discover that his impetuous young brother has caused the crash with his driving hijinks and orders that the obviously injured young woman be brought back to his estate for care. Unfortunately, the accident and subsequent head injury caused the young woman to lose her memory. Who is she and why was she dressed in a filthy, torn dress? Pour yourself a cup of tea, curl up next to the fire and find out!

A delightful Victorian mystery/romance. Set in the early 1830s our young unaccompanied woman is rescued by the young and dashing Lord James Ellerby. What’s more our young heroine suffers from amnesia and can provide her rescuers no information about herself or where she came from. All she knows are the horrific nightmares of a hummingbird with blood dripping from it’s beak! The Ellerby family takes her in and together they will piece together the clues to solve the mystery of who she is and why someone seems to want her dead. Mayhem, murder and of course romance abound from start to finish.

This book was suggested to me by NetGalley and lord what a bore. No real action. No real mystery. Was I supposed to be scared by the repetition of the "dream scene?" The characters were flat. We were supposed to see James as smart and wise, but only knew that because we were told. There was no proof to that in his actions or words. That man couldn't do math but yet he was a genius?! Cindy Antsey doesn't hold a candle to likes of C.S. Harris, Georgette Heyer, or Anna Lee Huber. If you want historical fiction, read the masters and leave this on the shelf.

The premise is what drew me in, but the delivery was flat for me. The first act was incredibly strong to me and was definitely a page-turner. However, as we shifted into the second act and beyond, the thrill and tension winded down. I was still intrigued. The plot twists kept me on my toes at times and I did care for the characters. However, the overall delivery lacked a particular punch I was hoping for. I would still recommend it for fans who love a good mystery.

Cindy Anstey has a winning formula down for her series of Regency rom coms - sweetly bland hero or heroine gets mixed up in some kind of hi-jinks socializing, spying or adventuring in London or the countryside and meets their match along the way. These books are popular in the Teen area of my library, but they're wearing on me slightly - everyone is a little too clean, a little too white, a little too gullible. The plotlines tend to be as complex as a Beginner's Connect-the-Dots pattern, the amount of historical detail is scarce, to the point where it could be happening in a Disneyfied 18th century amusement park,. Why do I keep recommending these titles to patrons? Because they are a good entry for those readers who might not be ready yet for Austen or Heyer, or even the current crop of adult Regency mysteries. I make sure to mention those titles as future reads, and to also recommend Mackenzi Lee's books. A little more grit, drama and atmosphere would be welcome in Anstey's future books, but as Swoon Reads, her imprint, has just announced they'll be developing television deals, perhaps we'll get some with the inevitable adaptation of one of her books.

The Hummingbird Dagger by Cindy Anstey is a YA novel that is more "romance" than mystery and written for the lower end of the designated age group.

The main characters lack any depth, but are pleasant and likable. The most interesting character is Walter, the younger brother, who has all of the flaws and strengths of a fourteen-year-old and whose character does develop throughout the plot.

An easy read and entertaining enough that I finished, but remains more surface than depth

NetGalley/Swoon Reads
Historical Mystery/Romance. April 16, 2019. Print length: 352 pages.

Thank you net galley for the advance reader copy of the novel. I enjoyed this 4th novel by Cindy anstey set in regency era times. The preimse of this novel was a bit darker/more gothic than the first three. I enjoyed the plot and the twists throughout. Walter as a secondary character was my favorite and I kept waiting for a spark of something to happen between Dr. Brant and Caroline. The galley was hard to read as it didn't have the scene breaks formatted into it like the final book wii--or at least I hope will. Scenes kept switching and characters too and made it a bit confusing at times. Overall enjoyed this novel and will continue to read this author.

The premise of this story is 100% what I would normally enjoy, and although I still liked it, I did have some problems with it. I'm unsure of how the final draft will be, but on my digital ARC, when the perspective changed to different characters, there was no transition cue. No symbol, large space between paragraphs, or chapter change. This made it difficult at times when the book switched to describing another character's storyline without any notice. I also thought the perspective (3rd person, many characters having moments of the plot following them) made it so that I never felt fully connected to any one character, therefore whatever happened to them, I did not feel as deeply. I did really like the plot but the way it was done both in format and perspective kept it from being a favorite.

A solidly crafted mystery set in a historical time with some romance woven in. It will be a challenging piece because of the historical setting but readers who like to be surprised and entertained will keep reading to find out what happens in the end. For fans of Sherlock Holmes or Agatha Christie, this will not disappoint.

2.5 stars, rounded up to 3 since Math.

The Hummingbird Dagger is a Regency-esque YA novel. It pretty much has all of the tropes you would expect a novel set in this era to have. But, for whatever reason, this novel fell really flat to me. Maybe it's because I'm not a huge Austen fan (le gasp and whatnot, I know), but I just didn't really enjoy this read.

I think part of my issue with the book isn't with the writing/author as much as it's an issue with the formatting. On my copy for my eReader, there was no indication of when there was a scene/narration/setting change. It was just *boom* and now it's two minutes/hours/years later, and, as I reader, I was left reeling and scrambling to figure out when, exactly, the change had occurred and how the change influenced the plot. There were some points where, even upon multiple re-reads of the same chapter, I still couldn't figure out what was going on.

My other main issue with this book is that the characters just aren't interesting. You can swap them out for any other character in a Regency story, and I don't think I would notice a change. There's nothing memorable about them or, in some cases, remotely likable about them. I didn't find myself rooting for any one particular person or anything; I honestly wasn't that invested.

If you're a fan of Regency books, then maybe give this a go. Otherwise, if you're like me and looking for a fun, quick romp through a genre, I'd pass on this and go find something else.

The ARC of this book that I downloaded had some formatting issues which took me a little bit to get around so I took a little longer to get through this book. Otherwise it was such an interesting mystery. A young women has been kidnapped and is unsure of her surroundings. She is found after a carriage accident, unconscious, bruised and battered she is taken in by the Ellerby siblings James, Caroline and Walter. When she come to she has no idea of who she may be. She finds the name Beth to be agreeable and is called by that name by her rescuers. When there is a break in at the home of the Ellerbys and a murder of a housemaid Beth's appearance gains more significance than anyone knows. Murder, mystery, amnesia and pirates this is an interesting mystery that is engaging, thoughtful and has a kindness inherent in its tone that is absolutely captivating.