I keep being surprised by these historical fiction novels- their cute covers do not disappoint! I was expecting a dramatic mystery with a strong, independent lady- instead, I got wishy-washy Violet, a creepy detective, a handful of carefree side plots, and a delightful giant.

I loved it.

To be fair, it took me a while to warm up to Violet. Trapped in her beautiful, missing mother's shadow, she tends toward the most naïve and blockheaded ideas, completely unaware of how the world works, but it's not her fault. I really just didn't want her to find out what happened to her mother, because her mother seems like a real jerk. However, Violet has a lot of great character growth, and her determination to learn and find her way in life was really fun to be part of, even with all the missteps (though why it took her 10 years to start, I don't know).

I am 100% in love with Benjamin Blackthorn- we LOVE a determined communicator! He appreciates Violet's determination, is amused by her odd behavior at times (getting herself locked in a box) but doesn't get flustered when she acts a little startled by his bluntness.

Although I've seen some complaints that the main mystery (missing mother) gets overshadowed by the other little "side quests," I found myself more interested in the fun extra characters that Ben and Violet investigate. They're harmless, a little silly, and make for a fast and easy read.

Overall, really fun little book that the author clearly enjoyed writing. I'll read more from Dolby, especially since I now know not to expect anyone in her books to take themselves too seriously.

This a whimsical delight, with a naive but feisty heroine. There aren’t many plot surprises but somehow that doesn’t really matter much within the cosy mystery genre.

In Violet, an extremely innocent 28 year old spinster, the author has created a fantastic vehicle for both adventure and humour and the perfect set up for an ongoing series.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Head of Zeus Ltd for an arc of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Set at the end of the 19th century this cute story is told from the point of view of a not-so-young-lady (too old to be a spinsters in those days, that is) who wants to find out the truth about what happened to her mother. Her mother disappeared many years ago, but did she die or what happened? To fins out the truth she hires a private eye, or in fact, two of them.

I enjoyed the story as a whole, but at times it could have had a faster pace, and I found that some things were either not really explained to my satisfaction or then they just did not make sense in a way that I would have found it to be believable.

SLOW PACED BUT STILL ENOUGH TO ENTERTAIN

I'll admit, there were times when I did not think I was going to finish this book. The one thing that kept me reading was a slight curiosity as to the disappearance of Violet's mother. At least, that was the main draw to begin with. But towards the middle of the book, it started to pick up for me. And if this end up being turned into a series (which the ending seemed to suggest in my opinion), I would not be adverse to keep reading.

👍 What I Liked 👍

Second half: The first half was quite hard to get through (see below for more information), but towards the middle things suddenly started to happen. the plot suddenly began to unfold and Violet became more of an active participant, in stead of just a thinker.

Mystery: I am not usually one for historical mysteries. It can be very hit or miss for my taste. This was not one of my favourites, but the mystery still managed to keep my attention grabbed long enough to actually enjoy the book.

👎 What I Disliked 👎

Pace: At first the pace made reading this book feel almost like work. I really had to struggle to get through it. The plot kept moving in circles with the same things happening over and over again. It was a tedious process. And while the book definitely picked up in the second half, the stark contrast between the two half definitely hurt the overall flow of the book.

Internal monologue: For much of the first half of the book all we are witness to are Violet's repeated thoughts and internal monologues about her mother, her life and her wish to remain unmarried. The same thoughts, over and over again. Several chapters are pretty much nothing more than just Violet thinking variations of the same things again and again. It was a drag and it slowed the plot down considerably.

A promising start from a debut author

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher, Aria, for a digital ARC of this book. I have chosen to write this honest review voluntarily.

'No Life for a Lady' is a mildly humorous cozy historical mystery in which the naive 28-year-old Violet Hamilton seeks to unravel the mystery of her mother Lily's disappearance 10 years earlier. Between rebuffing the suitors that her father seeks to match her with, Violet engages the services of private investigator Mr Frank Knight to try and locate her mother. Is Mr Knight all he seems, and can Violet fulfil her dreams of becoming a Lady Detective?

I understand this is the first novel by the author, and it would be fair to say she is still learning her craft. Her writing was good: it was clear and flowed, but the plot required development and editing. Too much was stuffed into it, and none was adequately fleshed out. I almost feel like this book is meant to be the set-up, or in TV parlance, the 'pilot episode' for a series of Violet Hamilton mysteries, essentially this book plot being all the stuff you want to get out of the way before the real stories start.

The book's central mystery, what happened to Lily, and why, was highly disappointing, and when it was resolved, Violet did not react in the way that one might expect for a daughter who had waited 10 years to find out what happened to her mother! Overall, the book did not meet my expectations based on the glowing marketing material reviews.

What I did like was the writing style which infuses some humour throughout, mainly based on Violet's naivete about the ways of the world and marital relations. I may be immature, but it was amusing that she kept asking people what the word 'bubbins' meant.

I would probably give the author another chance with her next book, hoping she has developed her craft over time.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Head of Zeus for this Advanced Reader Copy and the opportunity to review “No Life for a Lady.” All opinions and comments are my own.

There’s a mystery here; that’s the premise, anyway. But what “No Life for a Lady” is all about is a Coming-of-Age story. Never mind that Victoria Hamilton is 28, a “spinster” by Victorian standards, with no prospects, and running off every possible suitor. Her burning desire to find out what happened to her long-missing mother is the catalyst for a journey of self-discovery. Author Hannah Dolby has Victoria finding out that maybe there’s hope for her after all, and with a little help from a “real” detective -- who enjoys his own self-awakening in the course of our story -- worms her way into the detecting business, and learns a lot about people, both bad and good; there’s a lot of that in “No Life a Lady,” too. As Victoria says early on in her discovering, “I left… a much wiser woman.” That pretty much sums up what our author has her doing the whole way through.

Our finish comes, and we have the big reveal, and the explanations, for all that has gone before.
Mention should also be made that the book includes a gentle, romantic story, too. Forbidden, as it were, something that was not spoken of in the “polite society” of the times. Victoria really gets an education in “No Life for a Lady,” on many levels. It does take a while to get to the meat of our story, but persevere, and you will be rewarded. Our heroine gets in over her head, of course, but it all works out in the end. You may way to slap Victoria upside the head sometimes, but get there, she does. Ms. Dolby’s way with words, with her plotting, and especially with her characters, all present a picture of a young Victorian woman that is truly coming to life in these pages.

This was a gem of a book, which I really enjoyed!

Violet's mother disappeared 10 years ago but Violet has never given up hope that she will return or she can find her; so she enlists the help of a Private Detective or Investigator. But he's not that concerned about finding her mother and more interested in Violet herself. The book is set in the 1890's.

Her father too is trying to get her married off but all candidates are met with disdain by Violet.. And she decides to spend her time by trying to find out what happened to her mother herself. Violet is an independent young lady, as she has had to be, taking over the running of the house, since her mother disappeared. She wants to work for her living, her life has been dull and she wants adventure.

You will want like me for Violet to find out the truth, and also to find happiness in her own life.

It's a great book and I realy enjoyed it - you will too!

I really enjoyed this book, it was riddled with humour and wit, the protagonist was very engaging and I enjoyed the story immensely.

Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for gifting me this arc in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

I'm going to rate this a 3 just based on the writing. It was so fresh and fun.

I can't lie, I just didn't get on with the story, maybe because I was not in the right mood.for it, potentially? Doesn't take away from the fact that the writing was good.

I loved the main character, she was sassy and bold.

No Life for a Lady is a fun debut novel set in late Victorian Hastings where 28-year-old spinster Violet Hamilton is investigating her mother's disappearance ten years earlier.

Violet is a charmingly quirky character and she learns a lot in the course of the book, sometimes behaving in a quite shocking and unladylike fashion. There is mystery, danger, skulduggery, bracing seaside walks, delicious cakes and maybe a little bit of love too. Perhaps the ending leaves an opening for a sequel? I do hope so.

A recommended read!

Brief Summary
I feel Netgalley was stretching the truth with its claims of "A delightfully quirky and clever book club read, perfect for fans of Dear Mrs Bird, The Maid and Lessons in Chemistry." I sadly didn't find this quirky or clever, nor did I find the story to be "fabulously funny" or have "lashings of mystery" as claimed in the editorial quotes.
This was ploddingly slow-paced and wont to drift off down a completely irrelevant side story, rather than focus on the main plotline. Where was the plucky, determined and focused young woman I was promised? Violet, whose name I've just had to look up since she made so little impact on me, had all the strength and determination of a wet piece of cardboard, folding at the slightest pressure and lying because she didn't have the courage to fight for what she wanted.
Pointless facts were repeated to a distracting degree, a good edit and removal of unnecessary filler would have improved the book greatly.


Star Rating
Whilst the author's voice was easy enough to read and follow, I had no desire to pick the story up. At times I had to force myself to continue reading, so on balance, this sits at a 2.5-star rating.


The Characters
Flat, dull and uninspiring at best, caricaturish at worst. I was toldViolet was strong and bullish but I was shown a doormat of a woman who became discombobulated at the slightest pressure.


The Plot
The premise was interesting but it became bogged down by too many distractions. The author clearly has a good imagination but needs to learn that sometimes less is actually more.


The Writing
The flow, word usage, descriptions and imagination were all good. There is a good book hidden within the pages of No Life for a Lady. It just needs a little work to polish it up and make it shine.


The World-Building
I felt the book relied more on me knowing what a Victorian English seaside town looked like. The social rules were there but there was little to truly indicate the time period it was set in.

Amusing, historical story of a very confused, lost woman. The beginning seemed too long - the characters took awhile to take hold. I struggled through the first but by the end was just getting started.

Could be a great series - a historical Stephanie Plum - just needs a boost in the pace and a little more funny!

I did enjoy the ending.

I’m glad I pushed through the first half of this book as the middle and the end were great.
I found the Violet a hard character to understand at first, but once I realised that she was a very inexperienced adult that didn’t understand much about adult intimacy, I started to enjoy this story and found her quiet funny!
The first half I found really hard as it was violet was quite a skitty character, she hired a detective but then wanted to find another one, but I’m glad she did find the new one!
I think cover is beautiful! And helped to make me understand the time that this book was based around otherwise I would have thought it was written around recent times.
Would love to read where Violet ended up next!

“So many private battles are fought between men and women, she said. ‘And so often we do not know what happened, because the women are silenced. I do not know what I will do. But I will not let this man, who is so unimportant to you and me, who is so angry that he is unimportant to us, to invade our lives anymore.”

Violet Hamilton is a woman who knows her own mind. Which, in 1896, can make things a little complicated. Now 28, she does not want to marry. She wants to make her own way in the world. But more than anything, she wants to find her mother Lily, who disappeared ten years ago.
Finding the missing is no job for a lady, but when Violet hires a seaside detective to help, she sets off a chain of events that will put more than just her reputation at risk.

This is a novel with a burning mystery at its core but is also a coming-of-age story about a young woman in Victorian times, trying to make a difference. The humour takes a bit of getting into before you realise the awkwardness to it is what makes it funny. My favourite part of the book, though, is Violet seeing herself as a lady typist in her hopes to find financial stability, before she decides she wants to become a lady detective.

A story with an endearing and audaciously sassy protagonist, this was a fabulously quirky mystery-rom-com. One I definitely hope to see more of as the Violet Hamilton-Lady Detective series.

This ARC courtesy of NetGalley and Aria & Aries.

No Life For a Lady was a quick cozy mystery that I enjoyed reading. It was at times funny with no real heavy moments. I hope it is the start of a series. I look forward to reading more of the exploits of Violet Hamilton, Lady Detective.

This feels like it should work and, really, it almost does - which makes it all the more frustrating. The concept is cute but Dolby is a little too taken with its cuteness and spends so much time stressing how oblivious the heroine is that plot takes a backseat. The pacing is glacial and there's too much telling and not enough showing, which lands awkwardly. I so wanted to enjoy this, which makes it all the more disappointing as there is a lost of promise here.

### Enola Holmes vibes and I’m not mad about it.

Violet Hamilton’s mother, Lily, disappeared ten years ago and everyone seems to have given up trying to find her. Now a spinster at the ripe old age of 28, Violet takes it upon herself to:

1. Hire a detective
2. Fire the useless detective
3. Take up the hunt for her missing mother herself

There are some problems, however:

1. Misogyny
2. It’s 1896

In her search, she encounters various eccentric characters who expand her sheltered worldview, including a nice furniture salesman who also dabbles in detective work. Many of these scenarios are very funny and I really enjoyed my experience reading this book. I think there were instances where the prose dragged a bit, but overall I think the writing style was good.

There is not much more I can say about the plot without giving away important details, but I will say that Violet’s search has a satisfying ending and that she goes on some amusing side quests before the conclusion. This seems to be Hannah Dolby’s fiction debut and I will definitely be reading more of her work as it comes out.

Full of humour, just couldn`t put it down.
It`s 1896 and Violet`s dad is trying to find her a husband as she`s 28 years old.
But Violet doesn`t want to marry after her mother put her off by telling her how bad it can be especially in the bedroom, but her mother disappeared ten years ago and Violet wants to know where she went so employs a private detective to find her but things don`t go as planned so she tries to employ another private detective whom she takes a liking to.

The story is brilliant and the author has a brilliant sense of humour which is portrayed throughout the book that makes you laugh out loud, the characters are great and I hope she makes it into a series.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC

"No Life for a Lady" is a mildly amusing historical drama/romance reflecting on the "rules" of polite society relating to Victorian women. The heroine of the piece does not like to conform to these rules! Readable,

Thanks to Net Galley and the publishers for the opportunity to review this book.

DNF at 10%

The concept for Hannah Dolby's No Life for a Lady is fantastic - a spinster hiring a private detective to find her mother that went missing 10 years ago. However, the small portion of the book that I read quickly made me realize that this author's writing style was just not going to be for me. I really enjoyed the setting of the beach town, but there was so much telling and not showing how the main character was different from other ladies and the feminism of the book was already proving to be surface-level. Combined with fairly basic prose and humor that wasn't landing, I am going to quit while I'm ahead and make the decision to DNF.

Thank you to NetGalley and Aria for an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review!