Lady Petra has decided a spinster life for herself. Her mother left financially independent. Her past friend has seemingly abandoned her. She observes women disappearing. Sent to an asylum. She starts investigating and becomes a target.
I thought she was too impulsive and took foolish risks. I wouldn't be interested in a sequel.
Thanks, NetGalley!

Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord is a Regency era mystery (and a bit of romance) with a feminist spin. The protagonist, Lady Petra Forsyth, is a young woman of independent means who has declared her intent never to marry after the untimely death of her fiancé mere weeks before they were to be wed. This is unusual in her social circles in London in 1815 and widely frowned upon but Lady Petra doesn't much care what others think. News of the death of a close friend followed by reports that this friend had since been seen alive leads Petra to conduct her own investigation.

After a slow start, this was an enjoyable read although there are a lot of characters to keep track of. It's a solid, well-planned mystery with a spirited and courageous main character ending with a huge twist that sets up a sequel. I enjoyed the story enough to read any follow-up to find out what Lady Petra's next adventure will be.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A cozy regency era? Yes, please!! This book was such a comfy read, and was just what I needed to snuggle down with. The characters were fun (I even loved the side characters) and the plot moved at a steady pace. If you’re a fan of Downton Abbey, you’ll love this book about Lady Petra and her crew. I’m looking forward to more in this series!

I was thrilled when I found out that this historical, cozy mystery is to be the first in a series. We meet Lady Petra just after her fiance and soulmate has died. In a move that makes her an outcast in society, she has declared that she will never marry and choose to be a spinster. Like most debuts of a series, there is a lot of character and environment building. We spend some time getting to know Petra's world and the people that occupy it, so if you don't enjoy that you may find some parts a bit slow.

The characters are wonderful and if you like Bridgerton or Downton Abbey, you will certainly love the world that Lade Petra moves in. Especially for those who like Lady Sybil or Eloise Bridgerton, Lady Petra does not want to be like all the other ladies around her. You will love her pluck as she tries to find out what really happened to the friend who suddenly disappears.

A new Regency-Era book? Why, yes, please!

Lady Petra Forsyth’s fiance’ has died just ahead of the wedding, which led her to proclaim that she will never marry and will be a spinster.

Well, that caught my attention! Lady Petra has her own money and sees no reason to share it or herself with another man. She intends to be her own woman and do as she pleases. (We love that).

And what will she get up to first? Well, a longtime lady friend has died under questionable circumstances and this seems like just the time to begin to spread her wings and see what happens.

She uncovers a private asylum where men can pay to have their troublesome wives and daughters locked up. Shocking, I know! And just as our Petra gets somewhere, her own independent ways may cause her a stay in the place.

May I say this was a great distraction from my own hospital stay? I am going to like Lady Petra a lot!

Netgalley/ St. Martin’s /Minotaur November 14, 2023

Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

This was such a fun read! I really enjoyed it. It was a great, easy read and I can't wait to read more of Celeste's work!

This book totally surprised me. It was some nice light reading after several heavy books and then at the end ,it totally caught me by surprise. A young London woman decides to go completely against the norms of society by announcing to everyone that she will never marry after the death of her true love. She happens on a plot to rid elite men of their troublesome women by saying that they are dead or going to the country for mental "rest". She teams up with a childhood friend to discover what is really going on and finds love right under her nose. They uncover the plot and rescue several women. Everything is going well until she makes a discovery that blows threatens to destroy everything she has come to believe. It ends on a cliffhanger

I think the idea of feminism during the Regency era was written really well! I will say, I feel like there was a little bit too much emphasis on that in the beginning because then it seemed to slow down the book just a bit. Once all of the introductions were out of the way, though, the pace really seemed to pick up and everything really focused on the mystery. I think the mystery was written very well and had many good, unexpected twists and turns!

Did not finish. The first few chapters were way too much exposition, feeling more like an essay than a story. I was reading this for the mystery, not for all the social whirl, and that had just gotten started when I gave up. I liked the lead character, but the challenges she was facing I've read elsewhere in books that had more humor and gripped me more quickly. This was a bit too dry and dogmatic for me.

It's a 3.5 read for me as from the mid point on I knew exactly where it was going (I read a ton of mysteries and this is not my first one with this plot) That said, I very much enjoyed Lady Petra, her lady-maid Annie, her cousin/friend Caroline and Duncan.

Lady Petra, like many historical mystery heroines, is a straight up feminist (almost a little too modernly so though I appreciate she is not homophobic which matters in this story). Again like many historical mystery heroines she is motherless and her father has indulged her including letting her ride his horses wearing her brother's pants instead of side saddle.

The mystery part takes a while to get going but I definitely predicted it. Petra's friend Gwen died two weeks ago but no one knew this. Feeling hurt and hounded at her father's home in the country by her mother's brother, a total misogynist, Petra attends the Dutchess's ball in London even though she knows she'll run into her former childhood friend, Duncan, the illegitimate child of a lord and grandson to the duke and dutchess whom she fought with three years ago after the death of her betrothed. (and a lot of this is info dumped in chapter one more than I would have expected).

Naturally he's going to be the love interest (though it was done with a too-light of hand imo) and at the ball Petra has to deal with no end of misogyny from both men and women because she declared she would never marry after the loss of her lover. Enter Doctor Drysdale and all too real ease at which troublesome women could be committed to asylums in the 1800s.

We're about half way in before there is a murder related to her friend Gwen's death and Petra with Duncan's help (such as she allows it as she blows hot and cold with him) starts to investigate it because she feels responsible for the murdered servant.

About the only thing I predicted that didn't happen (which I'm glad of) was I expected her underhanded woman hating uncle was going to bump off dad to get control of her and her money because he (like so many of the Ton) believed women shouldn't be allowed to inherit.

Even though it went as expected I still very much enjoyed the characters and hope to see more of them.

I requested this book from NetGalley as the premise sounded interesting. All opinions expressed are my own and I try to avoid any spoilers so you can read and find out for yourself!

So, first, the good things about the book:
1. Lady Petra is a likable character. She is three dimensional and challenges the world into which she was born.
2. This is a clean story with no steamy scenes. While I love the historical romance genre, sometimes the steamy scenes detract from the plot.
3. The story, once it picked up, was intriguing. It is realistic for the society of the time.

Now, let's talk about the three star review:
1. Too much exposition. At the beginning conversations between Petra and Annie revolved around other members of the Ton, with no context in which to place them. I prefer an exposition that does not throw a bunch of names at me. This slowed down the plot substantially and made me consider giving up the book.

This was more of a slow build up than a romp through the yard. If you prefer that type of story, then you will most likely enjoy this novel more than I did.

I had no idea what to expect going into Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord. But after binging on Bridgerton, I knew I'd love it!

Such a fun surprise that this book is a mystery. Super fast and fun read.

sorry to say that i did not read past the first few pages of this one. I don't know if it would have improved as i went along, but ths one was not for me.

Celeste Connally's debut book about Lady Petra Forsyth, who has publicly stated she will not marry, thus setting the stage for an independent life, ends up trying to find the fates of several married women who have either died or disappeared with no trace. In the course of her investigation, she almost ends up with the same fate herself. I look forward to the next story to see what other mischief Lady Petra gets into.

The title of this historical novel,Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord, drew me in and is very descriptive of the plot. Lady Petra is as. Independent and intelligent as a lady could be in the early 19th century. The mystery she sets about uncovering, unfortunately, is based in the reality of that time.

Any historical fiction fan will enjoy this well-written story and appreciate the well-rounded character of Lady Petra.

I’ll say that this book started slowly for me. It felt like it took some time for the story to get into place and the begin had a lot of exposition about things that had occurred to the point where I wondered if this was the second book I a series and I’d missed some plot points.

However, maybe a third of the way in things picked up for me and I ultimately enjoyed the book a lot. It had some good surprised, character who were dreadful that I hated and some others I was rooting for. Teddy was a particular favorite as was Mrs. Nance.

Overall, a solid entry into the genre.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review.

This was a fun, regency-era cozy mystery, with a strong female lead. I very much enjoyed this book, and I will be sure to read any follow-ups by the author.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an ARC of this wonderful book.
I don't usually read Regency stories. In fact, I wasn't sure what that meant. When I read all the rave reviews of this book, I thought I'd give it a try. I'm open-minded!!!

I really loved this book. I read it in one day, couldn't put it down. Same time period as Bridgerton which is the era of Regency romances. This book had romance in it but, in my opinion, it wasn't the main theme. It was both a mystery and a very contemporary explanation of how women had no rights back then and what happens if you go against the norm. Lady Petra Forsyth loses her fiancé in a freak accident before the book opens. She decides that she doesn't want to marry. She will be a spinster. Spinster is a very negative word to most of us whereas bachelor, which is the exact same decision, has no sense of negativity. As a woman who had publicaly announced that she doesn't want to marry, she becomes the target of a lot of cruelty form many men. She also notices how many of her friends/women are being called hysterical, too emotionally up and down, etc. A close friend has died of melancholia. As a woman of independant means, she takes it upon herself to find out why these friends are being sent to a sanatorium. As she gets deeper into the truth, her sanity is questioned by influential men.

I think this is more than a cozy mystery. It is well written, and compelling. It is not a thriller but more like an Agatha Christie mystery. I do hope to see more of Lady Petra in the future.

"Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord" is a delightful regency cozy mystery that will transport readers to the elegant and intriguing world of 19th-century high society England. Lady Petra is a spirited and intelligent young woman. It is thought that she has to marry and if she doesn't something must be wrong with her. Her friend Gwen disappears and Lady Petra is trying to track down what happened to her.
Lady Petra is an engaging character who rebels against societal norms. Men keep trying to get her under control which creates a great subplot.
This book is a wonderful start to a new series.

Thank you to #netgalley, #CelesteConnally, and #MinotaurBooks for a copy of this book.
#ActLikeaLadyThinkLikeaLord

1815, amateur-sleuth, class-consciousness, cozy-mystery, England, false-imprisonment, first-in-series, historical-novel, historical-research, historical-setting, murder, new-series, read*****

After something of a slow start it swung into high gear and thoroughly kept my attention to the end and beyond. Social history along with misogyny are the most obvious threads beyond the romantic interest. Convincing characters, clear world building, unusual twists and creative red herrings. I loved it! Hope the author is working on the next installment!
I requested and received an EARC from St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books via NetGalley. Thank you!