Part of what makes this story such fun is how Lady Petra defies convention in so many ways but adheres to social conventions in other ways, trying to strike the right balance. The underlying mystery that she sets out to solve is more complicated and dastardlier than I expected. The story has a great supporting cast; I particularly liked the street urchin, Teddy. The interaction between Petra and Duncan was quite enjoyable. The story has some very witty banter. The story ends with a cliffhanger that could cause quite a bit of drama in a sequel.

I love the beginning of this book!! I will be leaving my full review on the audio ARC I received.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Being a history buff and fan of cozy mysteries, this one intrigued me. I've gotten somewhat away from my reading of Regency romances but the blurb sounded like it might fit into that former favorite genre. We initially meet the free-thinking Lady Petra and Annie, her maid, in the stable. Seems Petra is fond of riding astride, a practice sure to horrify nobility, and she's rushing to change clothing into a respectable riding outfit (think sidesaddle) with Annie's help after the unexpected arrival of her staid uncle. Unfortunately, all their efforts go for naught as he saw her astride and is taking her father, the Earl, to task for it, pretty much demanding Petra marry. Her father, lucky Petra, is also rather forward thinking and supportive of her independence, but her uncle persists. Can one angry relative be enough to force her to marry? Her late mother left her an inheritance free from any one else's management, hence her ability to go her own way, but life in that era isn't easy for females. Actually, as Petra discovers, she only knows the half of it.

The premise was interesting, the idea of women being sent to an asylum simply because they'd become a burden to their husband. True, some have legitimate health/mental issues but, as Petra discovers, it's become a tool of some wealthy men to rid themselves of a difficult, rebellious wife who can't be cowed. Petra, independently wealthy, had announced that she never planned to wed after the death of her first love, begins to investigate. She's fortunate enough not only to have the security of money and her father behind her, but good friends. That includes Annie. And, then there's Duncan. He's a childhood friend, the one who introduced her to the love of her life, in fact, but they'd gradually become distant and even hostile. But, he's back and soon to be part of Petra's life and plans. They're dangerous plans, too, with a bad guy you'll love to hate, but, well, it took the book a long time to get to that point.

Although I grew to like Petra despite her almost too perfect to be true self, only seeming to show her temper to Duncan, I found myself boggled down in what seemed an endless stream of petty details, names and titles and relationships early on. Heck, we even learned a bit about her horses. Back story is important, especially when a new series debuts, but this one nearly lost me when, sigh, not much was going on until around the halfway point of the book. Many of those names and titles I spent some time trying to sort out and make sense of what role they played in the grand scheme of things turned out to play little or no role. The use of names and titles can always be bewildering to those of us not raised where such are common, alas, but perhaps these characters will play a role in future books as this seems designed to be a series. 3.5 rounded to 4 stars.

Despite the slow beginning and build, the ending was quite exciting and showed how determined people can work together to create a better world for others. Was it easy? Of course not. Nor were Petra and her supporters willing to just resolve the big danger. In fact, they seemed to be willing to dole out a bit of revenge, making the ending all the more tasty. Thanks #NetGalley and #StMartin'sPress - #MinotaurBooks for introducing me to Petra and the world she lives in. The characters and story hooked me enough that I'll be looking forward to seeing what develops...or doesn't develop...between Petra and Duncan.

Act Like A Lady, Think Like A Lord by Celeste Connally is an enjoyable read but not a stand out.

In the beginning of the book we meet Lady Petra who has declared that she is a spinster. The first 50% of the book is slow paced with details on the setting and the characters. The author went a bit overboard with the characters, several of which aren't important to the overall storyline. This made it hard to determine who I should be paying attention to.

In the second half of the book the pace picks up wonderfully. Petra begins solving a mystery and the suspense builds as we narrow down a very creepy bad guy. Once they finally come face to face I wanted more. The villain is very well written and I wanted more scenes between the two and wished they had crossed paths a bit earlier.

Petra is a likable character and a strong female who is ahead of her time. There is a tiny bit of romance in here as well, and I wish there had been more there too. If the author had traded the regency scenes that were overly descriptive for more relationship building between our main cast this book would have been even more enjoyable.

This riveting story transports the reader back into a time when women had very few rights.

It’s 1815 and Lady Petra Forsyth is “a woman with spirit, intellect, great love and abilities.” Just a few days before her marriage to Lord Ingersoll in Suffolk, England, he fell and died. Her heart was broken so she made a decision to become a spinster to enjoy being free of any other man with her rather large inheritance. However, this lifestyle was discouraged by her family and members of the community. It came with a price.

Petra was living ahead of her time with her willingness to be independent from the social norms. When her friend, Gwen, from the village died mysteriously, she wanted to find out what happened. When she heard that Gwen was seen a few days after the funeral, she was further intrigued. Who was telling the truth: Gwen’s husband or the man that just revealed some alarming news?

The beginning was a struggle to figure out which of the many characters were important to follow. However, after a few chapters into the story, everything started to make sense and then it was a fast read. The dialogue and setting made it believable with the times.

It’s definitely a well-thought-out book which makes one think about the struggles of women from this period. I read this in a day and can’t wait to get my hands on the next book in this series.

My thanks to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book with an expected release date of November 14, 2023.

I have read and enjoyed a lot of feminist regency romances but I’ve never read a feminism based regency mystery like this one! After declaring that she will remain a spinster after her betrothed’s sudden death, Lady Petra begins to notice that the women that don’t comply with society norms are disappearing and she may be next! The mystery plot line was so interesting and I loved all of the friends Lady Petra leans on along the way! And the romance side plot was a great slow-burn that kept me interested even in the slower points of the mystery plot. And the cliffhanger in the last line of the book was insane! I can’t wait for the next book to find out if it is true!

Thanks to Minotaur Books for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This book has a very interesting premise (Bridgerton meets Agatha Christie), which initially worked well to pull me in. Once past the initial setup however, the book struggled a bit to deliver on the premise. I found the mystery at the heart of the story to be thinly developed, as the who and why are easy to guess in the first half and revealed near the midpoint. From that point forward, the story moves to a search for justice, This search for justice focuses on issues in a way that felt heavy-handed rather than nuanced. The romance plot was also thinly developed, with no real tension between the characters and little development of their relationship throughout the novel.

Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord is a slow burn historical mystery with a side plot of romance. The backstory takes about the first 1/3 of the book but it is an atmospheric read once you learn the characters. The mystery is scary from the female perspective in history. I look forward to the series continuing.

Lady Petra Forsyth, daughter of the Earl of Holbrook, is an unconventional woman of the Regency era. who has declared that she does not plan to marry. While her father is unconcerned about this, her Uncle Tobias is scandalized and is convinced she must be insane as a result. That initially doesn't bother Petra, because she is more concerned about the rumor that a dear friend of her has died under questionable circumstances involving a shady physician.. When she starts to investigate, a potential source of information is murdered, and then the plot thickens. There is a fair amount of action and red herrings in this mystery, but on the whole I found that there were too many convenient coincidences of help or answers showing up at just the right time. This could be a fun read, but nothing particularly memorable.

I quite enjoyed this Sherlockesque novel.

After loosing the love of her life, we follow the MC as she uses her status to try and uncover the real truth behind her friends death. The problem? We are in 1815 and women are meant to follow, not lead.

I appreciated the writing style and overall enjoyed the book. Awesome little twists in here and the uncovering of the truth was a fun adventure. It was really slow to start however. It takes quite awhile to get this train rolling and even then it seems to chug along at a leisurely pace. I don’t mind reads like this once every now and again but I do wish it would have picked up speed a little quicker.

This is a feminist historical fiction with Sherlock vibes and an eye into what it was like for women in 1800’s. This book does invoke a few emotions, so that was good. I took off 1 star for pace since I think that could have been done a titch better.

3.25 stars

A Regency featuring an independent and strong-willed female character who has declared herself uninterested in marrying after the tragic death of her fiance.

Strong women are a staple in this genre but I felt this one strayed too far into superimposing modern sensibilities onto the historical setting. I really wondered if Lady Petra would have been allowed to act with such abandon in those times? The sub-plot featuring what men did with their troublesome wives seemed over the top.

And Lady Petra's old childhood friend Duncan -- who clearly we see is her romantic future -- somehow she ends up assuming all kinds of duplicitous behavior of him despite her supposed loyalty as a friend. Finally, I am not a fan of cliffhanger endings and the last sentence in this book is a doozie. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I absolutely loved the ancestry detective series by Celeste Connolly (under a different name), so I was excited to read a new series set in a much different time period, and it did not disappoint!

Petra is a a strong-willed, sharp, and independent woman living in Regency-Era England where those particular attributes are not as appreciated and viewed as unsavory. When society women start to go missing, Petra becomes curious, leading her to investigate.

Connally paints the scene of Petra’s life and times and the characters were believable and relatable. It was hard to not cheer Petra on throughout.

Though it started off a bit slow, once the mystery got rolling, I was hooked.

Thank you to #NetGalley and #MinotaurBooks for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord by Celeste Connally is a spectacular Regency mystery. Lady Petra Forsyth has been left an inheritance that allows her the means to care for herself without the need to marry. And after a betrothal that did not pan out, she is determined to live by her own rules. Much to the shock of society, she declares that she will not marry. After the mysterious disappearance of a good friend, Lady Petra endeavors to get to the bottom of things. But she is up against a sinister rogue. Petra new she had become a threat to him, to his newfound wealth and status, to his livelihood. To his ability to subjugate helpless women, to inflict pain upon them, and with absolute impunity. Yes, Petra had a feeling she would not live long to talk about it. He would make certain of it. Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord is a fabulous Regency mystery from the start to the very last line!

Lady Petra Forsyth declared herself a spinster after the accidental death of her fiancé. However, London in 1815 isn't the best place for that declaration. Disgruntled men, especially her uncle who resents her control of her own money, are outraged. But Lady Petra has an advantage many of her fellow female society ladies do not: she has independent means.

When she learns that a friend of hers has passed away, she's surprised and even more surprised that the lady's husband is carrying on with no signs of grief. She is even more surprised when she meets one of the lady's dismissed servants who states that she was still alive after her husband declared her dead and buried.

As Petra looks into things, she finds herself the victim of a number of "accidents" but, with the help of some friends including a boy she grew up with but separated from at the time of her fiancé's death, Lady Petra unravels a plot to put inconvenient ladies into an insane asylum.

This was an engaging story that introduces an intriguing character in Lady Petra.

A witty, charming murder mystery with a fierce FMC. I liked the prose and overarching message of women taking charge and leaving societal norms behind.

Overall, this is an enjoyable read. However it had a serious case of "historical setting, modern person". There were so many times that I thought "no, a historical person would not have done that" that I ended up not finishing this book because I couldn't take it anymore. Otherwise the writing is fun, and the characters are well written. If the "modern person" trope doesn't bother you (Outlander fans?) then this book is recommended.

This was a highly-anticipated read for me that, unfortunately, missed its mark. Despite its description as Bridgerton-meets-Agatha Christie, this mystery was not complicated. The bad guys are bad, the good guys are good, and there's very few twists and surprises. As for pacing, the first 60% is slow and filled with backstory, while the rest is unexpectedly action-packed. I wished it were more evenly-paced.

The right reader for this will A) really, really love the Regency era and all the names, titles, and social conventions that come with it, and B) won't really care about a strong mystery.

What I did enjoy: the heroine, Petra, and her close circle of friends; the clever writing and period-appropriate dialogue; the horses and dogs (cute!).

Thank you to Minotaur Books & NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I'm not a frequent historical fiction reader, but this book intrigued me. It started off a bit slow, but ended up being an interesting story with compelling characters.

An easy read, with a somewhat feminist spin on the historical romance. Predictable for its type, like marshmallows: sweetened historical characters, with a plot that is neither dense nor complicated.

Here is a book that starts off at a snail's pace. The excessive detail in describing everything and everyone can be quite frustrating. The first half is bogged down with an abundance of minutiae and inner monologues. However, the second half does show some improvement in pacing, becoming somewhat exciting. It's worth noting that the subject matter tackled in this book is quite sensitive, reminiscent of works like "Snake Pit" and "Ten Days in a Mad-House," although it's set in a more modern context than the era the author was originally writing about.

This book follows the typical mystery novel formula, with a heroine who constantly finds herself in perilous situations, often relying on others to extricate her from her predicaments. Considering the time period (1815), the protagonist is portrayed as an independent woman, albeit with some allowances made for the societal norms of her era.

The ending of the book leaves much to be desired, as it remains somewhat vague and unsatisfying, at least in my opinion. While there isn't a strong emphasis on romance, there are subtle hints of a potential future romance. The book also touches upon discussions of Sapphic and homosexual themes, though it doesn't delve into explicit details.