A cozy historical romance with a dash of murder mystery? Yes, please!

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.

To avoid marriage to an odious man, Poppy Delamere flees from home and is living incognito as Flora Deaver, secretary to Lady Katherine (heroine from book 1). However, when Poppy’s half-sister is accused of murdering her husband, Poppy returns home and join forces with the Duke of Langham to clear her sister’s name and discover the identity of the real killer. The only catch is Poppy has to enter a sham betrothal with Langham. Lucky girl!

I enjoyed Poppy and Langham’s banter in the last book. The chemistry between them was palpable. Langham has all the traits I love in a hero: kind, loving, and honorable. I love how supportive and protective he is of Poppy. There is an endearing scene in which he concedes that Poppy is smarter than him. Likewise, there is another sweet scene in which Poppy eases Langham’s claustrophobia. Poppy is a lovely heroine. Sharp-witted, independent, fiercely loyal to those she loves, Poppy is a combination of strength and vulnerability. I love how their relationship blossomed from friendship to love. Furthermore, get ready for some cave shenanigans.

Blackmail, murder, disappearance, a secret society—it’s all happening in a small village called Little Kidding! This was such a fun read. I was hooked from start to end. Also, the mystery element never overshadowed the romance. And that’s exactly how I like it!

I highly recommend this book for fans of romance and historical mysteries. Can’t wait for the next one!

A big thank you to Netgalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for allowing me the opportunity to read an e-ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is the third book of the series, but the first one I have read. I loved it!! I definitely got Pride and Prejudice and Nancy Drew vibes, which are my favorites. The story never felt slow or forced at all. I really enjoyed reading this!

Such a great story! Love the enemies to lovers and fake engagement tropes and they are both done well here. The secret society (and it’s real connections) is so intriguing. Going back to read the others in this series ASAP.

Apparently, third time IS the charm. I am so pleased that one of the couples in this series finally delivered on their promise of crisp banter and swoony chemistry. Because, for me, the previous couples fell flat as a pancake on cement. This installment is also generally free of what previously came across to me as "man-hating" feminism.

The mystery mostly held my interest because it's fairly well-balanced with the romance. But in keeping with the light genre, it's a fairly transparent mystery that honestly kind of drags until the murderer is pulled out of a hat at the end.

But there's nothing behind Langham having claustrophobia, even if mildly; it's only used to set-up the sex scene and is never an issue for the character or couple before or after that. Definitely felt a bit checklist-y. Orgasmic tokenism anyone?

A Spinster's Guide to Danger and Dukes is a fun addition to the Lady's Guide series. She writes a great mix of banter, romance, and mystery. We always buy her for our library.

When Poppy sees in the paper that her sister is under suspicion for murdering her husband she drops everything and rushes to her side. Or rather she tries to. An unfortunate mishap puts her in the path of the duke of Langham whom she has always despised, but quickly redeems himself. They come up with a plan Poppy will pretend to be his fiancé and he will help her clear her sisters name. Here starts their adventure.

I have liked all the books in this series so far. I was not sure I was going to like this one in the being because of Poppy's behavior, but she quickly seemed to change for the better. This book was a wonderful quick read with an interesting mystery. I would highly recommend this series.

“A Spinster’s Guide to Danger and Dukes” is the third book in Manda Collins’ wonderful series about bold women in Victorian England. The previous books introduced Kate and Caro who publish a newspaper that specializes in issues for women, such as how to keep safe while on the street and where crimes against women have occurred in London…nothing was was being published in more traditional newspapers of the day. “Spinsters’” focuses on Kate’s and Caro’s secretary/fact-checker/admin manager, Flora Deaver. The first page reveals that Flora is really Poppy Delamere, daughter of a vicar who died when she was very young and step-daughter of a Barron…in short, she’s a “lady” not a middle class orphan. The deception was necessary because she’s escaped the dastardly Barron and his plan to marry her off to his secretary two years before and had not had any contact with her family since. What she didn’t know was that the Barron had substituted her stepsister to marry the secretary and was shocked to see an article in the newspaper about her stepsister being accused of killing her husband. Poppy runs to the train station to go help her stepsister but her purse is stollen, she has no money and is forced to accept a ride in Joshua, the Duke of Langham’s private car. They are not friend but Langham promises to help Poopy clear her sister is she will pose as his fiancée at a house party organized by his grandmother who has invited eligible young ladies to encourage her grandson to marry soon. A murder investigation, a secret society, and family dramas may push Poppy and Joshua to think about making the fake engagement a real one. But will they prove her sister’s innocence, deal with the cruel Barron, and deal with an illegitimate financial scheme at the same time???

I read this book at the suggestion by the moderator on another romance author's site. I liked the characters and the plot twists. I will look for other books by this author,

I already posted my review on GoodReads. This was my first review of a Net Galley book.

Manda Collins has continued her fantastic "A Lady's Guide" series with her third novel, "A Spinster's Guide to Danger and Dukes." Just like the previous books, Collins writes with humor, a compelling storyline, and palpable romantic chemistry. This particular novel focuses on Poppy, whose sister has been wrongly accused of murdering her villainous husband. In order to get to the truth of the matter, she must rely on someone with power: Joshua, the Duke of Langham. Joshua has his own favor to ask: to get his grandmother off his back about him securing a wife. They decide to work together to solve both of their problems, only to discover that maybe they actually have real feelings for each other after all?

I enjoyed the sweet romance between Poppy and Joshua. The actual mystery was a little overdrawn and I thought the cultic practices were strange, but I still enjoyed this book overall. I also enjoyed getting updates on some well-loved characters from the previous books. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

• Historical Romantic Suspense (Historical Romance meets Cozy Murder Mystery)
• Feisty, fun and independent heroine (Poppy / with cameos from Kate and Caro!)
• Betrothal of Convenience / Fake Relationship
• Strong, supportive female friendship
• Banter and some slow burn romance
• An intriguing who-dun-it, that was satisfying to unravel as the ultimate who and why

This has been such a fantastic series and helped me to discover a whole other genre / subgenre of reading that I didn’t even know I needed and loved: Historical Romantic Suspense (aka Historical Romance meets Cozy Murder Mystery). Having read the first two books, I was eager to return to the Lady’s Guide team and read about Poppy’s story. I was interested to see how things would pan out when I realized that Langham was her counterpart in this book given my first impressions in the other books. However, I was really pleasantly surprised and very quickly 100% onboard for Langham and Poppy.

Once again, Ms. Collins delivered a clever, charming story that kept me riveted. I had my thoughts, guesses, and suspicions throughout but found solving the mystery and unraveling the particulars alongside our intrepid crew highly satisfying once again. Another delightful read and I can only hope we will get some more in the series – I’m not ready to say goodbye to our crew. One I will definitely be adding a physical copy of to my home library.

Thank you to Netgalley and Read Forever Pub / Grand Central Publishing for the opportunity to read an early copy! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you for the advance reader copy of this novel. I enjoyed this historical fiction where it was an enemies to lovers trope. The easy banter between Poppy and Latham was delightful. The added mystery component to the book added to the enjoyment factor for me. I also liked how the author has set up for the next book #3 with Lord Adrian and the governess. I didn't like the sex in this book and felt it was absolutely unnecessary and skipped that whole part. That really soured this book for me. A great read otherwise.

Charming, charming, charming! Manda Collins writes such lovely stories and A Spinster’s Guide to Danger and Dukes does not disappoint. Having met Poppy in previous books I’m so happy for her to get her HEA! Collins does a great job of adding mystery to our romance (which is my preference!) I was very happy to see all of the ladies reunite in the final act. Female friendships are so important to all romance novels! Please keep them coming Manda Collins!

Thank you #Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Another charming addition to the Ladies Most Scandalous series! Poppy is a feisty heroine and fun to see her come into her own after appearing as a minor character in earlier books. Langham really redeemed himself in this book after appearing not particularly appealing on his first appearances in the series, but his inner life and distinctive character traits really distinguished him from the typical MC. As with the other books, the mystery plot felt secondary to the romance (which is not a complaint!) and was relatively easy for the reader to solve before it unraveled in the book itself. Lots of fun secondary characters in this book, and it feels like Collins is able to create a very full world without ever losing track of the main characters and their driving plot. Overall, a fun read with just the right amount of steam.

I accidentally posted another books review here, and Net Galley won't let me remove it. I will update this when I am ready to review. Sorry!

What do you get when a Duke avoiding marriage and crime-solving spinster quite literally collide? A compelling engagement-of-convenience mystery! Langham, a handsome Duke, attempts to avoid his duty to marry and Poppy, an independent woman, strives to clear her sister’s name of murder. Will the two accomplish their goals? What will happen along the way?

I loved the dynamic between Langham and Poppy! A period piece murder mystery?? Yes please!

3 Stars Although I haven’t read the previous books in this series of interconnected standalones, I thoroughly enjoyed A Spinster’s Guide to Danger and Dukes. Part romance and part murder mystery, the book never felt slow or lacked action, which I feel like happens more often than not in historical romance books (unfortunately). I appreciated that the book jumped right into the action with the main characters literally running into each other instead of taking too much time explaining the background of the characters and what had happened to them up until that point. This was a relatively quick and easy read, and I definitely recommend if you are looking for a cute historical romance.

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I was so excited to get a first look at A Spinster's Guide to Danger and Dukes. I've read the two previous books in this series and absolutely loved them. This third installment of Ladies Most Scandalous did not disappoint! It left off after Book 2 and followed Kate and Caroline's assistant, Flora Deaver, through her secrets and scandals. Along with old characters and new, this installment was filled with humor, romance, and mystery. It was as entertaining as its predecessors and I could not get enough. If you love Manda Collins or similar regency/victorian historical fiction/romance, then I highly recommend you this book for you.

This is such a great series and I’m so happy to read Poppy and Langham’s story. I like that this book takes place mostly in the country. Langham’s family provides for some chaos that was refreshing to see. Poppy and Langham themselves have such great chemistry. Poppy is strong and independent and Langham DOES have a soft and caring side. The Lucifer society was cool and original plot point. I like how it brings in some real history to the story. I did guessed the outcome early on, but with so many bad guys it was hard not to realize what would happen. My favorite part is when the friends are reunited, but it happened so late in the book that I feel like I missed that chemistry. Great story and I can’t wait to read more! I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving a free copy.

4.5 stars

This book was recommended by Eloisa James and since I am such a big fan of hers I decided to give it a try.

Well written regency romance with a dash of mystery. Conventionally unconventional heroine, but I am fine with it. Some things become clichéd for a reason.

Definitely made me want to read more by this author. Especially the two prior books in this series. (I had no problem reading this one without having read the the others however.)

A Spinster's Guide to Danger and Dukes by Manda Collins was a freaking delight.
I can't get over how well this story was written. She knows how throw some tropes together and makes one hell of a page-turner.
Our characters were are Poppy and Langham who I must say I loved.
The banter and slow burn romance historical romance was very well developed.
They are multi-layered, and intriguing.
I enjoyed the setting. Being in England 1867 was too much fun.
The descriptions was amazing. I could picture everything so vividly.
This was a quick and fun historical romance.
Her world building, depth of characters, mystery, and of course the romance was on point.
And writing style is light and witty. And the plot is well-paced, full of red herrings, attraction, and of course a touch of romance.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Forever,
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!