I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the ebook. Love the cover. Good thriller/romance. Recommend

Get start to a new to me series as well as a new to me author , it was every thing I like in a historical romance , strong characters, no stop acting from the very start, spies , secrets and characters that made me like them even when they did something crazy .

An Agent of the Crown and an Heiress on a Mission

He is an agent to the Crown; she is an heiress on a mission. Fate brings them together in their dangerous pursuits. He thinks she may be the spy he is seeking. She thinks he is an arrogant lord. When Madalene’s friend disappears, she goes to a dangerous part of town looking for her. When Baldwin sees her, he thinks she is foolish to be at a coffee house, something women should never do. Then, he sees her at his townhouse. Just exactly, who is she? Could she be following him?

Baldwin finds out the truth and agrees to help Madalene to find her friend, but that is only the beginning. Baldwin must find the spy in their midst, and it will be a dangerous endeavor. Two people who start out at odds with one another, find themselves pursuing the same goal. Could Cupid’s arrow find them when they’re not looking? You might never get them to admit that they were falling in love. I loved this story and would recommend it to those who like Regency romance with secrets, spies, and suspense. The story will keep you turning the pages.

Regency Spies and Secrets is the first book in the series. Miss Madalene Dowling is a young lady grieving for her mother. Madalene loved her mother so much and because her mother was a good woman she had opened an orphanage for young ladies in her mother's name, to give them a chance to have a better life. Baldwin Radcliff, the Marquess of Hawthorne, returns home after being gone for three years, is working his last case as a spy for the crown. Baldwin finds Madalene in a coffee house which is not for young women of Madalene's station. He suspects she is spying on him and distrusts her on sight. Madelene is a strong willed young woman and it appears that Baldwin may have met his match.

I received an advance copy from NetGalley for an unbiased review.

A Dangerous Pursuit is the 1st book in a new series by Laura Beers. I really wanted to love this book, but it started out rough for me. The first interaction between Madelene Dowding and Lord Hawthorne, just seemed off and I think that ruined it for me. The story line was interesting as Madelene teams up with Lord Hawthorne to try and locate her friend who's disappeared. This book could have been really great; but was just lacking something.

First in a series,Regency Spies and Secrets
Setting London
Devastated after her mother’s death Madalene opens a girls home in her mothers name.
When friend and teacher at the school disappears, Madalene decides to look for her.
Her friends brother offers to help so she doesn’t have to risk her reputation in the unsavory parts of town.
Likable characters and good story. Look forward to more by this author.

England 1814
A regency tale filled with a mystery, suspense, slow budding romance, a missing French spy, the hero, a spy for the crown and of course the heroine, who is looking for her missing teacher.

Baldwin, Marquess of Hawthorne, is on his last case for the crown. Locating a french spy who is in the midst of unrest. The last person he expects to encounter is Madalene Dowding, looking for the missing teacher at her orphanage.

As these two meet, the sparks fly, at first, just the irritating ones but it seems that may turn around as they keep going in the same direction!

Great start to this new series and love the cover!

This was... something. I've said before how if I don't like the main characters of the book, I'd probably won't like the book and that's exactly what happened here.
Our heroine, like I get she's naive but... she was just plain dumb and irresponsible in her actions. I couldn't connect with her at all.
The hero is possibly one of the worst spies I've ever seen but that's not why I didn't liked him, I dislike him because Baldwin is a rude antisocial bully inconsiderate elitist sexist pig.
That mixed with the weird unrealistic plot and the sometimes too pompous and over dramatic dialogue it was too much for me.
This was a miss for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Miss Maddie is a philanthropist and has honored her mother by opening a orphanage in her name. A friend who has fallen on hard times has been in charge and. Now is missing. Maddie decides to become an novice investigator because it seems nobody is bothering to look for her friend.
Baldwin Radcliff is a Marquess, but also a undercover agent for the Crown and soon to retire. In the course of his current case the two come across each other and their opinions of one another are not very high.
The antics of the two and the storyline will keep you interested in this book!

I received a free advanced copy from NetGalley and these are my willingly given thoughts and opinions.

A good start to a new series. A Dangerous Pursuit is the story of Madelene, an heiress to a fortune. She has opened an Orphanage, in her late Mother’s memory. While in London, she learns her friend and headmistress of the orphanage, was missing. While she is trying to investigate what happened, she runs into an infuriating man, Baldwin, who turns out to be the Marquess of Hawthorne. Baldwin has just returned, after serving three years as a spy in France. He is on edge and trying to solve another case. He and Madelene continue to rub each other the wrong way, but he decides that he could help her find her friend. The adventure and mystery keep you attention throughout the story. This is a slow build romance, with a HEA in the end. I would rate it PG for espionage suspense, murder, hostage situations. Mild kisses, talk of being with women out of wedlock. I really enjoyed this read and look forward to the next book, maybe Jane or Oliver’s story??
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own

Miss Madalene Dowding opens an orphanage and when one of her teachers goes missing she decides to investigate and finds herself in East London. Baldwin Radcliff, the Marquess of Hawthorne finds the heiress meddling in his case looking for a French spy. Is she the French spy he’s been looking for? A captivating story of mystery, intrigue and a little romance thrown in. I voluntarily read and reviewed this excellent romance love story.

Historical fiction, Regency and spies all blend perfectly together in this fun new series by Laura Beers. Madelene just wants to do right by those she comes to serve and if that means some meddling and sleuthing, so be it. She does seem to find herself in some sticky situations and much to her consternation, Baldwin, an agent of the Crown, keeps showing up. The animosity turns to more and the dialogue is engaging and entertaining. The plot is not terribly deep, but the characters are endearing in their own quirky ways. I received a complimentary copy from the publisher through NetGalley and all opinions expressed are my own, freely given.

A Dangerous Pursuit by Laura Beers is a part of the Regency Spies and Secrets series which introduces us to Miss Madelene Dowding, a comely miss whose mother dies just six months ago and left her bereft. She lives with her companion, Mrs. Foster as she has reached her age of majority. Because of her mother she has started an orphanage for girls and while she doesn't work there she drops in often. The headmistress is Edith Hardy, a woman Madelene had known in school and doing a wonderful job. She is supporting her mother and sister and trying to pay off gambling debts left by her father. Baldwin Radcliff, the Marquess of Hawthorne is home for the first time in three years. Having been out of touch performing his duties for the crown, his family thought he was dead so they have welcomed him coldly. On his last case, he is visiting a coffee shop as he had heard revolutionaries were meeting there. What he saw was Miss Madelene Dowding: most unsuitable. Then he ran into her in a gambling den. He was concerned for her reputation and asked what she was doing there. She then told him how Miss Hardy had disappeared and she was looking there for her, assuming this was the man to whom the gambling debts of her father had been owed. It was at that point he decided to help her to find her friend.

Baldwin was not going to give in to his mother's' wishes and find a bride. He knew he would have no eventually, but not yet. He loved his work being a spy and was not yet ready to give it up. Madelene was a beautiful woman, but headstrong an opinionated. Exactly what he was not looking for, no matter what his mother and sister thought. They got embroiled in a mystery finding Miss Hardy, which fit hand in glove to the mystery he was working on for the crown. He nearly died, as did she, but she had never felt more alive than working with him. It was a good story, with heart-pounding moments. It was also a lovely romance, between two people for whom romance held no temptation until it was upon them. It was beyond charming, and I hope to see more of this series.

I was invited to read a free ARC of A Dangerous Pursuit by Dragonblade, through Netgalley. #netgalley #adangerouspursuit

The first in the series of Regency Spies and Secrets. We meet Miss Madalene Dowling, a young lady that has just lost her mother. In her memory, Madalene has opened an orphanage for young ladies, to give them a chance to have a better life. Education is a must and through her solicitor has hired a young woman to teach them French. Baldwin Radcliff, the Marquess of Hawthorne, is working his last case as agent of the crown. His plan after he retires is to join the House of Lords. We get a glimpse into the project of workhouses and the people that run them and handle the money. As the two of them meet, they form a mutual dislike, but find that they are helping each other even when they do not want too. I enjoyed the plot and found the situations they were in interesting.

Thank you to Dragonblade Publishing and Net Galley for the chance to read and review this book. The opinions expressed are my own.
I REALLY liked this book! I thought it was a great start to the Regency Spies and Secrets series, and I can't wait for the next installment! I liked the cover, the setting, the mystery and the main characters. The main character is Miss Madalene Dowd, who has recently lost her mother. She opens an orphanage in her mother's name. One day, one of the teacher's mysteriously disappears. So starts the mystery of finding out what happened to the teacher. Along the way, she meets Baldwin Ratcliff and the sparks fly. I enjoyed this book, and would recommend it to other readers who like Regency Mysteries!

Miss Madalene Dowding is an heiress who would much rather spend her time at the orphanage she has opened than in society. She is still mourning the death of her mother and doesn't like all the matchmaking mama's trying to find a rich bride for their sons.
Baldwin Radcliffe, the Marquess of Hawthorne is an agent for the Crown and has just returned from three years undercover in France. Not being able to tell his family where he has been causes hurt feelings. Even though he is home he is still leading a double life.
This is an interesting historical romance filled with danger and intrigue. Our heroine is no spoiled miss just spending her money. She is brave and loyal and more than able to take care of herself and those she loves.
This is the first book of a series that I will definitely be reading more of.
Great fun.

After the death of her mother, Miss Madalene Dowding, decides to honour her mother’s legacy by funding an orphanage. When a teacher goes missing from the orphanage, she takes it upon herself to discover the woman’s whereabouts. In her search, she finds herself battling with Baldwin Radcliff, the Marquess of Hawthorne, an agent of the Crown. In trying to find a French spy that is working with a group of radicals, Baldwin has no time for Madalene, yet he agrees to help her, so long as she stays out of his investigation. As their investigation gathers pace, they soon find that their initial intentions are difficult to stick to.

An enjoyable start to the series with two interesting characters. Both quite headstrong, I enjoyed their witty dialogue and found this the winning element. Whilst the plot didn’t always move at a fast-enough pace, I found the characters helped to overcome these inconsistencies.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

2.5 Stars. This story had the elements to be an exciting and interesting spy-themed HR, but the execution left something to be desired for me. The plot was all there. There were a lot of threads and all seemed to have some sort of resolution, which was impressive. They were not all the most plausible resolutions, but at least there were no loose ends, except those that clearly lead into future stories in this series. However, the narrative and storytelling was weak and the character development lacked depth.

In terms of narrative style, this is not one I prefer. So much of this story is told through dialogue. The dialogue was often simple and to the point, and it really didn’t seem like the way spies and criminals would talk. The society dialogue was more believable, but often boring because it was filled with mundane details. For the spies, there was often dialogue and actions that seemed way too obvious, and the hero was often times putting his loved ones at risk by his ineptitude. He really was a terrible spy and investigator. He often took people and situations at face value, even when there was reason for suspicion. He also weirdly suggested the heroine put herself in danger to help him out. Another weird action on his part, as he is assisting the heroine in finding her friend, who is a missing person, he is harshly blunt and tells her time is of the essence, then proceeds to say he’ll start investigating tomorrow, like 24 hours is no big deal. INNEPT SPY. INNEPT HERO. The criminals were similarly inept. The women in general shined brighter in this book.

There was backstory that should have lended itself to better character development, but it felt pretty shallow. I think this partly do to how much of the story is told by dialogue. That just didn’t work well for me. This is a kisses-only book, and the romantic tension was not very strong. I was not very invested in the romance. All in all, while this story was complete and whole, the storytelling didn’t suit my tastes. Others may enjoy it more.

<I>*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read and review this book. Views are my own.

❤️❤️❤️❤️
💋

A Marquess working for the Government, and a Governess in charge of an orphanage come together to search for a missing maid, during their sleuthing they find a chemistry between them is growing.
There search takes them to some unlikely places and throws them together, putting both of their lives in danger.

Enjoyable and entertaining read
My first from this author.
I found the characters engaging and the story was enjoyable and satisfying to read.

I received an Arc copy of this book and chose to post this review

I’ve read almost everything previously published by Laura Beers, which makes me very sad to say that this isn’t her strongest work. Both main characters seemed under-developed, and when she intended them to be impervious or sarcastic, they came across as glib and unkind. I kept looking for a deeper reason to like them, but I never found it. The mystery was decent but I figured out the villain after the first red herring.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.