A surprisingly compelling & entertaining murder mystery!

Murder, mysterious secrets, blackmail, odious suitors, illicit liaisons and masquerading deception abound and entangle with an array of well fleshed out and diverse characters and a budding romance that for me made this a great start to a new series.

Instantly, I liked and cemented myself in Tiffany's corner, immediately drawn in by her desperation and how downtrodden, overlooked and used she has been by her obnoxious stepbrother. Coming to enjoy her masquerade immensely... the main reason that convinced me in the first place to try Samantha Larsen, a new author for me, and a decision I'm very glad of as I rather loved this well put together cosy mystery with an injection of engaging wit, humour and hints of romance.
I was reeled into the escalating drama, the nervous energy brought on by the promise of her being found out versus the allure of seeking out hints, motives and clues to finding the culprit.
While the delightfully refreshing host of diverse, multicultural characters added another level to the suspense and intrigue and hyped up the effect of the social strictures and hardships of the time, reflected in both class and sex, and the prejudices that they endured. Making the story flow with a greater degree of interest and fun believability that made it hard to put down without being pulled back in quickly.
I particularly loved the romantic thread interwoven within the tale's core mystery plot as the interaction between Tiffany and Samir evoked a humour, warmth and deep attraction that built, thrummed and electrically sparkled throughout and pulled me in as love budded between them as misunderstandings threatened to pull them apart. Made all the more refreshing by our heroine being much older than our typical spinster, at forty years of age.
A great start that promises to continue and develop a romance emcompassed by a community of well rounded subcharacters that promises to continue and flourish in book 2 - a book I'm very much hoping for and eager to seek out in the future!

1794 not a good time for women. Especially for a woman like Tiffany without a cent
to her name totally depending on her brother Uriah, a mean character who begrudged
his half sister every penny he had to spend on her.

When Uriah died in suspicious circumstances Tiffany took a wild risk. Impersonating Uriah
she took on his tasks at the big house, knowing that this would be the only way,
she could keep the cottage, have a small income and feel safe. There were underlying
currents in the house too. Another death in similar circumstances ofa flirtatious maid
was an indication that there was a murderer around, but Tiffany had no way of disclosing
this to the local constable without confessing her own part in the tale.

The story had several twists and turns, accusations went every which way and when her
secret came out Tiffany herself was thrown into jail for the crime of impersonating a
man. slowly the story unravelled, justice was served eventually.

Apart from the story of Tiffany, the bigger point of interest was the manner in which
people lived, the divisions between the rich and poor, and the sheer arrogance of the
aristocracy who felt like in this case, that they could get away with murder. High moral
standards were expected of ordinaryfolk, but a blind eye would be turned to the liaisons
which abounded amongst the aristocrats.

This book was just ok for me. It had such a great idea I just didn’t like how it felt more like reading a history book. It was obviously well researched I just didn’t want to hear every detail.
It talked a lot about the oppression of women and colored people. Not done very often in regency books.

I wasn't sure if I was going to like this book or not because I had a real hard time getting into it. As the story progressed though, I did find some good humor and fun characters. You will definitely find yourself cheering for the main character Tiffany. The mystery itself is presented nicely. You will have fun following the different scenarios that lead to the answer. I liked the setting and descriptions; thought they were both written well. The story itself moved a little slower than I had expected but, in the end, it was a good read and I'm looking forward to the next book in the series.

You must promise me that you'll buy more Gothic romances.

This genre is right up my alley. I love historical romances, I love mysteries. Yet somehow it all fell flat. At first I thought maybe it was just moving slowly and would hook me in eventually; spoiler, it did not.
The characters were funny but not very dynamic. The actual mystery was very interesting but I didn't really care much about solving it. Overall it just wasn't my favorite. However, there is a ton of potential here and I look forward to more books from this author. The bookishness of this series will definitely keep me coming back.

Star Rating: 2/5
CW: Death, violence, racism, sexism

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Uriah half brother sudden death, make Tiffany do the imposibble thing to save herself. Without money she cant go anywhere. She try to find Uriah diamond pin who missing. First thing she do is burrying her brother corpe, second pretending to be her brother to find the missing pin. My heart beating fast, scared Tiffany get caught to be disguised as her brother. I love the storyline, it easy to read and i enjoy how author bring each lead slowly, describe in detail how law works in that era (not fair!).I wonder what happend next between Tiffany and Samir!!!

Thank you to NetGalley for provide this book, it is pleasure to review this book.

#ANovelDisguise #SamanthaLarsen #CroockedLaneBooks #NetGalley #ARC

A Novel Disguise is a charming story about a late 18th century British woman solving a mystery that changes her entire life. Tiffany is a delightful heroine who has been dealt a rather rough hand. She is a classified spinster who is forced to live with her half-brother. She was funny, intelligent, and empathetic. Honestly, she was quite refreshing. She discovers her half-brother dead and assumes the "disguise" of being him to keep his home and what little freedom she can. But she soon realizes that maybe his death was not a random chance of events. The mystery was quite straightforward, but the characters made it shine. This book brings new layer to the typical Georgian era story by addressing the harsh realities of racism and sexism. The pacing was good until the abrupt end. Overall, I enjoyed this book. I am leaning 3 - 3.5 stars. I would go higher if the ending felt a bit more resolved. But I will take a sequel!

Amazing book to read. Kept me pulled into it. 5 star book
Highly recommend it. Already told a few people that they need to read this book as soon as they can

You are a spinster in 18th century Britain with no family but your half brother who has just died - how will you survive? By dressing as him and taking his job. That works until others die. What should Tiffany do?

*Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for providing me this arc in exchange for an honest review*

This book wasn't what I expected it to be. Although initially I was a little bumped with the MC which was older than my usual reads I was pleasantly surprised. It was a fun, witty, awesome read. It was really good. I loved it!

4 out of 5 stars! It felt a little slow for me in the beginning but once it picked up it was such a fun ride! The story is set in a 18th century English village. Tiffany is a middle aged "spinster" who lives with her half brother. One day she walks in to find her brother dead. Terrified that she will loose her home, she takes her brothers place (a la She's the Man.) She takes over her brothers job as the librarian for the Duke and Duchess and that's when things really pick up! There is lots of mystery, friendship and even a little romance!

If you love historical romances, cozy mysteries and masterpiece period dramas you will love A Novel Disguise by Samantha Larsen!

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC to review*

3.5 stars --- this was a quick read about an older woman who decides to finally take fate into her own hands after the untimely death of her half-brother. Tiffany is smart, caring, and kind, using her disguise to try and uncover the truth behind several crimes at the ducal estate where she works as a librarian.

A fun regency whodunit with a great cast of characters. The end was shockingly perfect, just wished we had gotten a little more!

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

It was initially slow going for me at the beginning of this book because I was a bit put off by the MC's treatment of her brother, but the more I read, the more I understood her and empathized with her circumstances, and grew to really enjoy the book.

Tiffany Woodall is a 40 year old spinster, who lived as a downtrodden, unpaid housekeeper and drudge to her older half brother, Uriah, who works as the librarian for the duke. Because of Uriah's high opinion of himself, general snobbishness, and his treatment of Tiffany, she is quite isolated and friendless in their community. One morning, as she is preparing the normal routine for her day and for Uriah, she goes to wake him for work to find that he has been ill and died in bed. Because she has nothing, and the roof over their head belongs to the Duke's estate and they live in it as a courtesy of Uriah's position in his household, Tiffany is frightened of being penniless and homeless, with nothing to her name and no prospects of making her way in the world, with no friends or family. As they share a strong resemblance, Tiffany makes the bold and desperate choice to bury her brother herself and take on his identity and position in the library, to keep the cottage and be able to fend for herself.

Coupled with having to play two roles, and living with the guilt and fear of discovery, Tiffany is also being pursued by the dour and unlikable rector, as a wife and mother for his humongous brood of children. She discovers a strong liking and attraction for a local bookseller, Sam Lathrop, who unfortunately is also the local constable. And, while working in the household of the duke, is caught between her past where Tiffany had a schoolgirl friendship with a member of the aristocracy, and her present as Uriah/Tiffany, and of the servant class. Finally... she finds herself caught in a murder mystery, when one of the other staff is found dead. This was determined by a local physician to have been caused by poison. Tiffany sees that her death is similar to how Uriah had died, and is wracked with guilt and fear because she had never considered that his death may be murder... and if he was murdered, does this mean she is now, as Uriah, the target for a murderer?

I loved the strong character descriptions of the various players in this novel; they really brought some of the characters, like Tiffany, Uriah, Mr. Smithley, Sam, and Thomas to life for me. The story was intriguing and I really enjoyed the contrasting elements of the story, such as the conflict and contrast of those living in different class structures, race, and gender roles, and how Tiffany felt trapped by them, but how she tried to break free of them, or how she saw others because of how she had experienced them.

This was a compelling and fascinating story and while it was initially a bit of a slow grow, I ended up thoroughly enjoying it.

I do wonder though, what did ultimately happen to Smithley and his poor brood of children. Will there be more of Tiffany, and how will she be treated, after it became knowledge to others what she did?


4.25 Stars out of 5

3.25 Stars

This was exactly what I was in the mood to read right now - a short, fun and relatively fast-paced book.

A Novel Disguise is set in 18th century England. Our protagonist, Tiffany Woodall, poses as her dead older brother to avoid losing her home and source of income. Her masquerade is complicated by the murder and attempted murder of servants at the palace where her brother - and now she - works. This leads Tiffany to suspect that her brother’s natural death may have been unnatural after all. Tiffany must unmask the murderer before they decide to strike again - and she find herself their next victim.

If you are able to suspend your disbelief about whether Tiffany would be able to successfully take her brother’s place, this is an enjoyable read. While it is not particularly ground-breaking or memorable - in regard to the characters, plot or writing - and I don’t think I would reread it, I still had a good time while reading it, which is what really matters. It did exactly what a decent historical murder mystery should do: the mystery was interesting enough to keep me engaged, the romance subplot was nice, and it didn’t shy away from discussing racism, classism and sexism, which is always refreshing in historical fiction. One criticism is that the ending was a little abrupt, but other than that, I was quite pleased.

Overall, I think this is a great book to read if you’re in a slump.

This was a delightfully different kind of historical novel that did a lot to point out the differences between how women and men are treated in this time period.

I loved this story. It was a comedy of errors at times which just added to it's charms and it is definitely charming. I loved the story. I loved watching Tiffany's delicate dance to keep her secret. This was not your normal Regency/Georgian/period piece and that is what makes it great.

The chemistry of the leads was natural and developed marvelously. I found the humor perfectly moderated and the subject matter was handled well.

I must say the widowed clergyman was as odious as he was intended to be. I NEEDED him to fail.

This was a fun twist to a story and I loved how perfectly it ended. I highly recommend.

I received an eArc through NetGalley and this is my honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley for an eARC of this book.

This was a fun book that had a lot more substance than what I was expecting! The protagonist is a forty year old spinster who suddenly loses her half brother and only source of income, so she decides to do the only sane thing to do: dress up as her brother and imitate him.

While this is a cozy mystery that tries to stay lighthearted, the plot delves into some harder topics like the rights of women or rascism. You can also tell that the author did their research about Regency England, especially rural towns.

Overall, this was a fun read but it took a bit long to get going.

I was drawn to this book because I thought I'd enjoy reading this historical mystery about a lady librarian, yet I almost gave up in the beginning. While Larsen has obviously done her research well, she fell prey to the common problem of trying to pack in too many details. I also felt like the characters were being judged through modern eyes. Plus, I found the writing style a bit melodramatic. But, as Tiffany's investigation of multiple murders continued, I found myself caught up in the story. I'll definitely give this series another change.

This book was a very pleasant surprise!

The Georgian period, the older main character, and her personal circumstances all come together to make a different kind of story. It's mainly a murder mystery with some romance, but my favorite elements pertain to Tiffany herself and the way she navigates her new situation after her half-brother dies.

As she realizes that he didn't die of natural causes like she at first thought, she tries to discover the real culprit, even with so much at stake for her personally.

I hope there will be more to this series!

I received a copy from the publisher via NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.

An interesting story about a 40 year old “spinster” in Georgian England, Tiffany, who ends up impersonating her dead brother and solving 2 murders. It’s an interesting whodunnit which includes some little known info on race relations in Georgian England and also the legal system at the time. There is a relationship between Tiffany and the local bookstore owner/constable left hanging, so I hope this is the first in a series.

I didn't finish this one :(
The premise is great but it just didn't do much for me. I felt like things happened too fast in the beginning and too slowly throughout and didn't give me time to care about the characters.