A Spinster's Guide to Danger and Dukes exceeded all of my expectations. Poppy escapes from an abusive stepfather who plans to marry her off to a man she despises. She goes to London, where she works for several years until she sees in the papers that her sister is accused of murdering her husband (the man Poppy was supposed to marry before she ran away). Poppy immediately sets out to save her sister, venturing back to her family's town when she runs into the Duke of Langham. The Duke agrees to help Poppy clear her sister's name in exchange for pretending to be his fiancee to appease his family and ward off potential brides.

I love a fake dating/engagement trope, and Manda Collins did it well. This book's mystery plot line was also far more fascinating and complex than I expected. A Spinster's Guide to Danger and Dukes is perfect for fans of the fake engagement trope and secret society/murder mysteries.

Trigger warning for abuse.

Huge thank you to NetGalley, Forever, and Manda Collins for the advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

This was a great cozy read with just the right amount of daring and romance. The fake relationship trope is one of my favourites and there was just enough swoon-worthy heat.

This was such a fun read! Poppy is such a strong character and I loved that she wasn’t going to let anyone intimidate her or tell her what to do. I felt that the book was fast paced and kept me interested from start to finish. The chemistry between Poppy and Joshua was fantastic and I fell for them and their relationship so quickly! This was definitely a read that I completed in one sitting.

I felt that the mystery was fascinating and it was very interesting, keeping me hooked the whole time. I also was not able to accurately guess who the ultimate villain was. I had many guesses throughout reading the book, but found myself wrong on the end and that was refreshing. It was nice to be surprised!

So if you’re looking for a fairly quick read that will keep you extremely entertained and interested along with keeping you guessing about the mystery involved, this one is for you. And if you’re looking for the added bonus of a swoon worthy couple and a heroine who makes you cheer for her at every turn, then I can’t recommend this book to you enough!

Fake engagement, a sister charged with murder, a stubbornly feminist main character, and a charming Duke, dear readers, get ready to be transported back to Victorian London, and fall head over heals with Poppy Delamare and Joshua Fielding.

Dear readers, fake dating/engagement is one of my absolute FAVORITE romance trope! And when done well, like Manda Collins’ did in A Spinster’s Guide to Danger and Dukes, I say ‘TAKE MY MONEY, I want your book.’🤣

From start to finish, readers will be steeped in a warmth of pleasure, experiencing the tug and pull as these two characters become completely besotted with each other.

The questions is, will headstrong and independent Poppy Delamare entertain the idea of being a duchess?

Happy Reading ~ Cece

In this latest installment to Manda Collins' historical mystery series, Poppy Delamare is set to return to the town she once escaped from to save her sister from an unthinkable fate. Violet has been accused of murdering her husband, and Poppy knows she is innocent. When she comes across the Duke of Langham, she must set aside her dislike of him as the two enter a mutually beneficial fake betrothal. It will get Langham's grandmother to stop trying to matchmake for him when he goes home, and it will provide Poppy with some influence as she works to prove her sister's innocence. As the web of deceit surrounding Violet gets more tangled though, Poppy and Langham start to realize there is more to their ruse than they previously thought.

This book's primary strength was the development of the main characters and their motivations. Poppy and Langham made sense as individuals, so they were so much more authentic as a couple. I also thought the way that the society plotline and the murder mystery plotline meshed together was really interesting. There were a few characters and loose ends that felt underdeveloped, but overall, this was a great read!

Thank you so much to Forever and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced reader's copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Manda Collins has absolutely won my heart with this third installment of the 'A Lady's Guide' series! I'm not a historical fiction aficionado but I've found myself enjoying the genre a lot lately and this book has sparked a stronger interest for me going forward.

This story begins with Poppy trying to find a last minute train ride back to her village after learning her sister has been implicated in the murder of her brother-in-law. On the way, Poppy bumps into and is given a ride back by Joshua, a very well known Duke that Poppy doesn't particularly like or respect. On the way, they decide to settle on a quid-pro-quo situation and help each other. Poppy will act as Joshua's fiance to ward off any unwanted suitors at his grandmother's party and in return Joshua will do everything in his power to help Poppy prove her sister's innocence (which he was going to do anyway without the mutually beneficial agreement).

From that moment on things get mysterious, steamy and absolutely chaotic. Manda Collins has outdone herself putting together a murder mystery that kept me on toes about which direction it was heading while naturally developing the relationship between Poppy and Joshua.

They spend so much time together that they get to learn a lot about each other within a short amount of time. Poppy learns how wonderful of a person Joshua is and Joshua gets to see Poppy truly for this outstanding and fierce woman that she is.

The pacing of this book was extraordinary! It was fast-paced in that so much happens plot-wise and relationship development-wise in such a short amount of time and yet it never felt rushed. This story felt like a row of dominoes falling perfectly one after another.

I really enjoyed the discussions that Poppy and Joshua had that led to a really believable and high chemistry romance between the pair. It develops so naturally that when they inevitably feel a fierce desire for the other it makes absolutely perfect sense that they would. They were both under the wrong impression about each other and as they spend time together they realize the other person was just who they were looking for without realizing it.

The side characters were also so enjoyable and don't steal the show from the main mystery and relationship but instead uplift the levity of the courtly drama happening outside of it.

They mystery itself was so interested and paced so well. There are moments you can tell what's the likely answer and it happens. Then there are moments where you have an inkling where it might be going but Manda Collins subverts that and leads to a bigger, more scandalous reveal. Additionally, the mystery was so connected to the personal issues and lives of the main characters that it flowed so naturally in between the more romantic and society drama scenes.


A Spinster's Guide to Danger and Dukes was a fun, fresh and easy read that I think anyone can enjoy. The language isn't too taxing even for people who aren't familiar with historical fiction and the chemistry of the leading characters is fantastic.

Thank you so much to Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and Netgalley for giving me to the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

Thank you NetGalley and Forever Grand Central Publishing for allowing me to read this book early for an honest review!

This series keeps getting better with each new book! I love the character development and witty banter. This is a great historical/mystery/romance that takes you on a wild ride! The book is a fast read with elements of surprise and fun along the way. I love the trigger warnings up front as well! (Off-the-page descriptions of violence and murder, attempted assault, discussion of mental abuse)

I hope this series continues because it is a lot of fun!

Poppy Delamare (alias Flora Deaver) fled home at a young age to escape a horrible marriage and has not looked back. But when she reads in the newspaper that her stepsister--who was married off to that same horrible man--has been arrested for his murder, she rushes home without a second thought. She is thrown together almost from the start by Joshua Fielding, the Duke of Langham, who she strongly dislikes. Mostly, she dislikes his arrogance and his apparent belief that he has the right to butt inter her affairs. But when they find out they can each help the other with their objectives, they work out a pact to pose as an engaged couple while back at home. Will they find true love through a fake engagement? Or will Poppy and her loved ones end up dead instead?

First of all, content and trigger warnings are provided up front, which is highly refreshing! (They include fat shaming, violent death, fear of enclosed spaces, abuse, and others--but most are referred to rather than described. Also an open door scene). While our heroine, Poppy, sees Langham as being the arrogant and high-handed one, I personally found her to be haughty and prejudiced against the rich. The way the book is written I initially thought it could easily be categorized as an upbeat YA book, perhaps with the exception of an open-door scene. Poppy is a strong woman, but it is made clear that in her time and place she would not have had much success without the backing and support of a powerful man's name to give her oddness some legitimacy (an element that is sometimes forgotten by other authors in their historical mysteries). I found the story to be interesting and satisfying, and while it does not have to be read in order with the other books in the series, I found it more interesting having done so.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley and this is my freely given opinion.

I have a habit of reading Manda Collins books out of order. I don't mean to, but it just happens; it happened with two of her other series too. So I did not read the first two of the series, even though they are on my TBR list and in my library - life just gets in the way.

But on with it. Spinster Poppy Delamere has been hiding her identity as Flora Deaver, the employee and friend to Lady Katherine, and Caroline Hardcastle, in London. This was to escape an unwanted match arranged by her hated stepfather. What she did not know was that he would turn around and marry his own daughter, Poppy's half sister Violet to this man instead. A couple of years after her escape, Poppy is in a rush to leave London after finding out that Violet has been accused of murdering her husband. Poppy is desperate to get to her and help her, feeling guilt that Violet was forced to suffer because of Poppy's actions, when she ran away.

At the train station, Poppy is robbed of her reticule and most of her cash, and when trying to stop the cutpurse from escaping with her funds, slams into Joshua Fielding, the Duke of Langham. They are not friends, despite their shared friends having wed. Poppy, an intelligent, independent working woman, and daughter of a vicar, seems to have a strong distrust/dislike of men, the aristocracy, and dislike of Langham in particular as they have not appeared to have had pleasant interactions in the past (and here is where I wish I read the other books first...).

Langham, despite being a duke, is not as cold, pompous, etc as others may think. While he may not have been complimentary in the past, he seems to appreciate Poppy's intelligence, independence, honesty, and forthrightness. When he finds out Poppy's story, wants to help her, but also perceives a reciprocal gain for himself, as they are both going to the same place, as his ducal estate is part of the town where Poppy's family is now living. He is joining a house party where his grandmother will be playing matchmaker, and he wants to protect himself from the hopeful marriage minded singles invited by his family to the event by parading Poppy as his betrothed. In return, he would use his ducal power to help Poppy and her sister, as Poppy is convinced that Violet would not have killed her husband.

This was a rather light murder mystery, romance. Langham and Poppy, in the pretense of a love match learn to see beyond the surface and appreciate each other; being open and sharing their secrets and vulnerabilities. Poppy discovers that Langham is a warm, caring, generous friend and lover, and Langham grows to realize that Poppy would be an ideal duchess, despite being of a different class, and that she is loyal, intelligent, strong willed, and honest with him, appreciating him as more than a rich Duke. It was an easy, fun read and quite enjoyable.

3.75 stars out of 5

A Spinster's Guide to Danger and Dukes, by Manda Collins
adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced
Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.5

I loved this one!! The enemies to lovers vibes were immaculate. It was much easier to jump into this story after knowing the characters from Manda’s earlier novels.

The plot and story was so entertaining. It also felt actually plausible. Fake dating?! A murder to solve?! Enemies to lovers?! A fake identity?! Ah yeah. This was fantastic.

Also that cave scene was damn good. Joshua is one of my new favorite dukes.

I love this stubborn, smart group of friends. Highly recommend for any historical romance reader!

Thanks to NetGalley for a digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

This was just okay. Cute banter between Poppy and Joshua but it felt very predictable and drawn out.

*I received an ARC of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review with my honest opinion.*

I LOVED this book so much. The banter, the intrigue, the mystery, the pining, AND adding a fake relationship trope? This was absolutely perfect. This is the third book in the very entertaining “Ladies Most Scandalous” series by Manda Collins. Although it can be read as a standalone, I hope you’ll treat yourself to the whole series. It’s the perfect blend of romance and mystery. In addition to delightful banter, swoony romance, engrossing mystery, this series celebrates empowering female friendship.

I finished this book a day ago and it has consumed a majority of my thoughts. I am honestly so tempted to re-read this entire series because I absolutely LOVED it!!! I feel so giddy even just writing this because of the joy this book brought me. I really hope there are going to be more books in this series but I guess in the meantime I will just definitely have to read it over and over again. I am so thankful I was able to download from NetGalley.

For the last two years Poppy has been living in London working for Kate & Caro. She ran away from home because her stepfather wanted her to marry his secretary, which didn’t stop dear old step-dad he set up Poppy’s sister with him. Now her sister’s husband is dead & her sister is the main suspect.

This series is so good! I love how it mixes romance with a murder mystery plot, and the couples from previous books show up which is always a plus!

This book allured me into searching for the previous two books in the series "a lady's guide" (will be reading them once I get my hands on them). And right off the bat, this gives the reader what they are looking for in a historical romance (or me in this case); it has enemies to lovers, where they meet accidentally and well accompany each other, a reverse sunshine x grump trope, although his soft spot only remains for her and cherry on top he falls first.
The writing is incredible. A spinster's guide to danger and dukes was my first historical romance and I'm all too aware and sure that Manda's writing has set the bar for me.
Almost forgot to mention, it involves mystery-solving and a little bit of suspense

I would consider A Spinster’s Guide to Danger and Dukes a nice cozy read. It is part of a series and while it makes sense to read the previous books I was able to keep up without reading the first two (but am considering reading the first two anyway). It is a romance but also a mystery. I enjoyed Poppy and Joshua’s story.

Fantastic fun! Just what every Jane Austen lover craves! Murder, mystery, dukes and delicious romance! Well done!

When Poppy learns that her sister is going to be hanged for murdering her husband, she flees London. At the train station, however, her purse, and all of her savings, are stolen. Enter the Duke of Langham, the most eligible bachelor of the ton, who offers Poppy a deal - if she agrees to a fake engagement so he can fend off the hordes of women beisegin him every day, he'll help free her sister.

Fake engagement is my favourite trope ever in romance. Well, maybe not ever, I think enemies to lovers is way up there too. This was fine. I hated the way the Duke's family treats Poppy when her introduces her, that was hard. I also felt like the book was quite sad overall and just lacked a bit more fun for me. I did enjoy reading the Duke's point of view so much, it was great to see what was going on through his head and made me appreciate him a lot more. Not a book I fell in love with but very readable.

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy of A SPINSTER'S GUIDE TO DANGER AND DUKES by Manda Collins. I had never read a book by this author before, but I'm interested to read more now. It was a sweet and spicy romance with just a hint of murder mystery, including a Satanic cult, lol. I always enjoy a fake dating (or in this case engagement) trope and watching the couple slowly fall for each other for real, despite themselves. The historical setting is also always fun, and this had lots of good little details to put you in the atmosphere throughout. It was just an enjoyable read and I look forward to more.

A Spinster’s Guide to Danger and Dukes was an absolute treat. Set in 1867 the novel picks up after the second book with Flora (aka Poppy) embarking on a journey to prove her sister innocent of murder, which means returning to her old life. But of course, on her way there, she encounters the infuriating (and terribly handsome) Duke of Langham, who she loathes. To help save Poppy’s sister, and protect Langham from the hordes of ladies who want to marry him, they join in a fake betrothal. But, perhaps Poppy wasn’t correct about her first impression of the Duke, and there seems to be much more to this murder mystery than everyone first thought.
This was a lovely historical romance/murder mystery novel and had some fantastic spooky vibes. There were twists, turns and surprises, tension between the two protagonists, witty dialogue and a little bit of spice. I really enjoyed getting to know Poppy and Langham and the growth of their characters together. It was a quick, light read but I did find that it ended a bit abruptly. I feel like a few more chapters at the end would have helped wrapped things up a bit more without feeling so rushed. Nonetheless, I would highly recommend.