First I have to say I really enjoyed this book once the it found its pacing. The book started slow for me and introduced a lot of characters very quickly. I didn't always understand why certain characters were introduced when they were. Sometimes the information felt forced and unnecessary to the scene. I think there needs to be a more focused, intentional introduction next time. Understandably the author is setting up the series and doing some serious worldbuilding. However, at times, it was just too much too soon.

I very much look forward to more books in the series and seeing Lady Petra and her detective work evolve and grow. I am a hopeless romantic at heart and would have liked more romance and more scenes with Duncan but understand why he wasn't featured as much. The epilogue was very surprising but I'm holding out hope that it's a lie, a forgery, a ruse. Thank you St Martin's Press for the advanced review copy.

This woman called lady PET A. Was very independent for her time and she really was outspoken on a lot of issues. When her fiance died, she decided she was never gonna be married, but her father wasn't too happy with this decision. Everybody kept saying this and that. But the real twist of this was how this man named d. D r y s a d Run a crazy asylum and women who do not confront or go by the norms of that time. We're deemed crazy. A lot of our friends were taken away to this place. But she couldn't understand this. She didn't understand why women had to give up their freedom when they got married, especially their money. She was really hateful of this man but he was playing dirty with her too. Things got really crazy when she was taken away to this place. But it was interesting how she fought back. Women are treated like weaklings but they add a lot of power and strength. This is what scared men. So they kind of wanted to control them and they did this by locking them up. And this was completely wrong, but that was the time. Lady PET a could see through all this. Even her friends were trying to like say o k. I think this one was amazing because she did not want to remarry. Somebody should do that love.... Her Uncle was really bad because he kind of talked her father into. Saying she was a bad woman. They could not go to clubs they couldn't go to school. And I could see why it was a mystery. Because things happened and she kind of uncovered them as she went along

The rage I felt for the women in this book was unreal. The way Petra was spoken to, how women were treated when the men in their family were done or embarrassed by them... this was all at the end of the book, but AHHHH.

The mystery was slow to build with lots of little pieces to then explode into a good kind of mess.

Anyways... I really enjoyed it and can't wait to see more of Petra and the trouble the self-declared spinster comes across, especially with the little cliffhanger of information at the end.

Thank you, St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books, Netgalley for my advanced copies.

Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord is described as Bridgerton meets Agatha Christie and that is definitely the vibe I got from this book.

It is the first book in a Regency era mystery series with a heavy dose of romance.

Though slow to start, once the pace picked up a bit, I thoroughly enjoyed this one.

Lady Petra Forsyth is the protagonist of this book. She’s a headstrong and determined woman who vows never to marry since her fiancé tragically died a few years before the start of the book. She intends on enjoying her freedom as a wealthy woman of high social standing but when a mystery surrounding the death of her childhood friend presents itself, she can’t help but find new purpose as she uncovers the mystery.

This book was fun and offered a glimpse into the life of a privileged woman during the Regency era. I enjoyed the characters and the mystery was engaging. I did find the pacing to be not quite to my liking for a mystery. It dragged in parts.

All in all this was a wonderful read.

I so enjoyed the adventures of Lady Petra and her band of friends. It was an interesting mystery, during which has you a touch on the edge of your seat. The resolution was painted so masterfully I could picture the vanquishing of these horrible people. I appreciated that Petra had experienced love before, and that she had lost that love tragically. Many times you are reading about someone who has not experienced it before and therefore their naivety blares through the writing.

One loud irritation I have, however. I am woefully tired of the need for ‘political correctness’ in situations where it would not have existed. <spoiler>For example, Petra describes feeling that defending the fact that she is a woman who desires men, that she is in some way diminishing those who have different desires. Honestly. How does her declaring that she is a straight woman diminish anyone else? She isn’t remarking on them. She isn’t banishing them or ridiculing them. So tell me how her feelings would invalidate someone else’s by the fact that her feelings simply exist? Doesn’t that invalidate her own feelings by somehow acting ashamed of them? </spoiler>

It’s a solid 4.5 stars from me. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC of this book. I can’t wait until book 2!

This was a strong start to a series and if you love historical mysteries then this is for you. As a child Lady Petra lost her mother, leaving her to be raised by a father who understood horses more than the needs of his daughter. She was free to roam the area with Duncan, her best fiend, and learn the workings of the estate. It was Duncan who introduced her to the man she was set to marry. Shortly before the wedding tragedy struck again when her fiancé died. At a time when she looks to Duncan for comfort, he leaves to take a position on the Continent, causing a falling out between them. She resolves never to marry, incurring the wrath of her Uncle Tobias, who considers her a disgrace to the family. She escapes to London for a season of social gatherings and the support of her friend Lady Caroline. There she not only faces the criticism from members of society, but also the return of Duncan.

Lady Petra is a strong character who is unafraid to offer her opinion and speak up or herself. She is devastated when she learns of the death of her fiend Gwen. One of Gwen’s former servants, however, claims to have recently seen her alive. Gwen is not the only woman to disappear. The mysterious Mr. Drysdale has been offering the gentlemen of society an opportunity to rid themselves of bothersome wives by committing them to his asylum in the country. Petra begins asking questions, putting her in Drysdale’s path. She is soon in danger of disappearing like the others. After their estrangement she does not entirely trust Duncan, but there is still a connection between them. It is a race to learn the truth and end the threat posed by Drysdale. Celeste Connally builds to an ending that contains several surprises and hints at further adventures with Lady Petra. I would like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press- Minotaur for providing this book for my review.

This is a new-to-me author, and the first book in a new series involving Lady Petra Forsyth.

Lady Petra swore she would never marry after the tragic death of her fiance just weeks before the wedding. She is opinionated, well read, incredibly open-minded, and thinks a woman of means should be able to be independent - which is exactly why the men of the Ton don't like her.

After finding out a friend she thought was dead may not actually be so, Petra takes it upon herself to investigate and winds up in grave danger herself. This is a romance, and it's a series based on her, so you knew she'd be ok in the end.

The plot of this book sounded very intriguing, but the story is so filled with random characters, odd plot points that seem to reference prior stories even though this is the first in the series, and a surprisingly unlikeable main character that I didn't enjoy it as much as I had hoped. The central conflict involving men of the Ton shipping their wives, daughters, sisters, etc off to an 'asylum' is initially riveting, but it gets dragged out until a bit of a let down of an ending.

I'm giving 2.5 stars, rounded to 3.

Potatoes and Paperbacks 4 ⭐️
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Thanks for the ARC Minotaur books!
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Lady Petra is not like the other members of the ton. After the death of her fiancé, and the bestowment of an inheritance belonging solely to her, she declares her decision to remain an unmarried spinster. She quickly discovers something strange going on with the men in society.. women of the ton keep disappearing to the country “for their health”. When one of her friends is declared dead, Petra begins to investigate. However, the lords do not approve of her unladylike behavior, and soon her own life is at stake…
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💭 Thoughts 💭
Bridgerton meets Agatha Christie in this cozy regency mystery. Some parts were a little repetitive, but I enjoyed Petra’s character and the action really moved along in the second half of the book.
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⌛️ Favorite Moment ⌛️
Petra’s relationships with her friends! Her friendship with Caroline, and the way she helps young street urchin Teddy shows her honorable character.

1815 Regency era London, women had few rights or freedoms and Lady Petra wants more. After several society ladies disappear, Petra investigates what is happening and ends up in danger herself.

This book was nothing like I expected. I expected a cute historic romance with a little mystery thrown in. I was wrong, and I’m not upset about it! The writing style was great, the characters well developed and executed. I felt emotions on behalf of the main character, which I feel can be hard for an author to pull off. The plot was written in a way that made me think and reflect. I feel as if this storyline could actually have happened. I think the author did a great job of shining a light on how women were treated in the 1800s. I will say, however, that I struggle to see the point of the plot twist that is the very last sentence of the book. Did it shock me and make me sit up in bed, where I was reading this? Yes. Do I see the point or think it makes a huge difference to the story? Not particularly. I will admit that it made me want more. I want to see what Petra does in response. This book would be great for lovers of historical fiction or mysteries.

A very interesting storyline! For those who like Manda Collin's "Lady's Guide..." you will also enjoy this adventure and mystery filled drama.

Lady Petra has decided to be spinster forever. After her fiancé’s tragic death Lady Petra decides to behave and speak as wants, no matter the impropriety. So when she hears of proper ladies including a close friend of being put in a “treatment center” by a slippery doctor Lady Petra embarks of the mystery of solving what is happening to these ladies and what the doctor is really up to. Can Lady Petra help these ladies escape the treatment center and show society who the doctor truly is?

This historical mystery I enjoyed. I was hoping for a bit more humor and romance but the mystery was well written and kept me reading to find out the ending.

Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord by Celeste Connally
I usually enjoy a Regency novel but this one left something to be desired for me. It wasn’t really a romance or a mystery either one. There was a lot of lecturing and info dumping on the subject of women’s rights during that period of time. It got a little tedious after a while. And if I never hear the word spinster again it will be fine. I got the point, over and over again.
The romance was sorely lacking, if you even want to call it a romance. I wouldn’t.
The evil culprit was so stereotypically evil that I expected him to twirl his mustaches like Snidely Whiplash.
I don’t really intend to read another book in this series, sorry to say.

I received this electronic ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I hate to admit that I have yet to read any Agatha Christie novels, so I cannot confirm if this book truly is a blend of her works with the Bridgerton series. What I can confirm is that Celeste Connally has a gift for making the reader believe they are in the time period depicted. Her characters’ dialogs are really on par, and you can tell the author is familiar with the regency era.

I really liked this book, and I found myself appropriately infuriated at the cruel and heartless men in this novel sending their wives or other female relatives away in order to rid themselves of a “burden.” At the same time, I found it all fascinating and was on the edge of my seat as I waited to see what would happen next. Would the women be rescued? Was it too late? Would they even be found? Our main character, Lady Petra, leads us through this cozy mystery with a great mix of charm and humor.

This book was light and kept me entertained. I would definitely read more of Ms. Connally’s books!
4/5 Stars

I received this book for free from Netgalley. That did not influence this review.

For some reason, I’ve been reading a rash of books lately centered on the trope of sane women being locked away in asylums when they become inconvenient to men.

In Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord by Celeste Connally, the heroine is Lady Petra Forsyth, daughter of the Earl of Holbrook. Petra is a determined young woman, an excellent horsewoman, independently wealthy, but who lost her fiance/lover three years earlier in a tragic accident. Although her grief has waned over time, no other man could ever win her heart. Nor does she want to be won. Why give up her independence? She announced at a society event that she is determined to remain unmarried.

This doesn’t sit well with the men of the ton who don’t believe in female autonomy. It especially bothers her uncle, her dead mother’s sister, who feels her father has been too lenient in her upbringing and is allowing her to bring shame upon herself.

Petra has no patience with the man and goes about her business in London. There, she is reunited with her childhood friend (and friend of her deceased fiancé), Duncan. They are now estranged and she isn’t sure she trusts him. She also discovers that a dear friend of hers has died. Maybe. A footman insists that he has recently seen her alive.

Petra begins investigating and grows increasingly intrigued and worried as it becomes apparent that numerous aristocratic women are being sent for treatment to a home hidden out in the country, under the care of a Mr. Drysdale. Some of them have died and others are not heard from again, while their husbands jaunt around London looking well-pleased.

Readers familiar with the trope will figure out what is going on before Petra does. And then will go along for the ride as she throws herself into her investigation. She’s brave and feisty, but shows poor judgement often enough to become annoying. (For example, although she knows women are being drugged and carted away, when she is offered wine by a particularly odious, untrustworthy man, and the wine tastes “off” and she starts feeling dizzy, she decides the thing to do is guzzle the glass.) Nevertheless, she sticks to her purpose and, fortunately, can rely on Duncan more than she thought.

This is the first novel in a new series. Although I liked the supporting cast (especially Duncan and Lady Caroline), I’m not drawn in enough by the protagonist to make it likely I’ll return for book two.

"Women and their freedoms... be allowed to keep their own money...be able to divorce a man they do not love...these are tedious ridiculous arguments that have no merit; for if women had these rights then what rights would men have? How would be considered the better, stronger sex?"

Well if Lady Petra Forsyth has her way men will realize in the historical fiction mystery Act Like Lady, Think Like A Lord by mystery author Celeste Connally that women are indeed the better sex.

In this start to a new mystery series, Lady Petra Inquiries #1, taking place in London 1815, a mash up of Bridgerton and Agatha Christie, independently wealthy Petra declares after the death of her fiance that she will remain single, or as the gossiping lords and ladies put it, be a spinster.

As she travels and lives an independent life she hears a dear friend has passed away from "melancholia" in a private asylum. Finding this rather shocking she investigates and finds a dubious doctor making money from men willing to pay for their "hysterical" wives and daughters to be put away and be quiet. They never saw Lady Petra and her Sherlock Holmes detective abilities coming for them.

Reading and listening to this story was a contrasting experience. The cover made me expect a cozy mystery, the first part read a bit slowly as a feminist story of a woman testing her independence but the audiobook narrator Eilidh Beaton brought home the writer's unsettling truths of women treated as property.

A light mystery with a powerful theme; there's a slow burn friends to lovers sub plot, a wise Duchess, and some cute dogs to even out the story. No need to think like a Lord with a woman like Lady Petra in charge.

I received a free copy of this book/audiobook from the publishers via #NetGalley for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

With Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord author Celeste Connally launches her new Lady Petra Inquiries series set in Regency-era England. As necessary with a historical mystery, Connally skillfully brings the past to life with just the right amount of detail. Amateur sleuth, Lady Petra, could easily hold her own among her modern-day equivalents—she knows her role in high-class society, but is certainly not going to be constrained by any ridiculous notions of what women are capable of. The mystery at the core of the novel—involving women being unfairly placed in asylums for any number of questionable ailments—resonates through the years and certainly helps to elucidate how the world reached the crisis we are currently facing. As the start of a series, much groundwork needs to be laid, and it is clear from the surprising ending that more of that will come to fruition moving forward.

As soon as I saw ‘agatha christie meets bridgerton’ I knew I wanted to read this one. Unfortunately, it fell a little flat for me. I wasn’t a huge fan of the characters, the love interest, and the writing didn’t quite work for me. I’m sure it will be a hit for the right audience, it was just a miss for me.

Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord is the first book in the Lady Petra Inquires series.

Lady Petra Forsyth is an independently wealthy young woman thanks to her mother. When her fiancé dies a few weeks before their wedding, after which she decides she will never marry. She also has pursuits that are more common with men. She rides astride, and wears breeches while in the country. She just doesn't find the traditional womanly pursuits interesting. When she turns down from other men, their wounded pride forces them to start rumors about Petra.

When word gets to Petra that a dear friend has died, she wonders if there is something off about the sudden death, she begins to ask questions which make people nervous. Petra's curiosity gets the better of her when more women are reported either dead or mentally unstable. Lady Petra discovers her friend has not died when she comes to her for help. A threat to undermine Petra's sanity begins to take hold and her safety and freedom is at risk.

This was a mixed bag for me. First, there is a lot of meandering conversations that don't serve the story well. They often are long and rambling. We get a diatribe about Duncan and why they are not friends. Second, this was a romance and there was very little romance in the story. Duncan is spoken of repeatedly but really does not appear often enough for this to be a romance.

The time period was during a time where women had no rights and were considered the property of their husbands. So, this plot fits nicely with Petra rebelling against the norm.

Unfortunately, there wasn't enough that was fun and entertaining for me. There were parts where I had to skip ahead.

First in the Lady Petra Inquiries series, this is my introduction to the author’s work; sadly, it did not go well. Despite the very intriguing premise, I found the writing voice unappealing: it is not just that for the first few of chapters there are long paragraphs of exposition, very little dialogue, and even less action, but something about the overly formal sentence construction put me off.

I persevered, however, due entirely to the publisher’s blurb.

Beware: implied domestic violence; mental health issues; threat of rape; mentions of physical and mental torture of women (including forced sterilization). Also, there will be spoilers below.

When the novel starts, Lady Petra has reached the not-quite-venerable age of three and twenty. Having lost her betrothed so suddenly and shockingly, her period of mourning afforded her time to ponder her future in ways most young ladies of good society rarely can.

“That was, Petra began to wonder if having lost her chance of being advantageously married, if she might have–in a way–been given an opportunity. One that would allow her to view her inheritance through new eyes. Specifically, as it pertained to what was afforded to her as a woman, to what it could afford her life going forward.” (Chapter 1)

Having declared publicly her intention of remaining single–and therefore sole mistress of her inheritance–she occupies an uneasy place in society: now considered a spinster by choice, while in the normal way of things, she would still be young enough to pursue, especially given her rank and fortune. As her father is the Earl of Holbrook, and her loving godparents the Duke and Duchess of Hillmorton, many are forced to defer to her who would rather snub her.

The narrative goes into great detail about Lady Petra’s friendship with , and subsequent estrangement from, one Duncan Shawcross, the illegitimate yet acknowledged oldest grandson of her godparents; any genre romance reader will immediately understand that he is written as Lady Petra’s eventual love interest.

On the other hand, there’s precious little about her close friendship with Lady Caroline Smythe, other than repeated assurances that she is Lady Petra’s closest friend. Here and there there are dropped references to past adventures, and how they helped this person or that, and one by one a whole cast of supporting characters is introduced, who have participated in those previous adventures.

These references, of course, aim to establish Lady Petra’s acumen, resourcefulness and previous experience carrying out unorthodox schemes. However, between her part in such stories and what we learn from her during her first appearance, lady Caroline seems to me the more interesting of the two friends.

To wit: Lady Caroline married for love, only to find out soon after that her husband is sexually attracted to men; and so, they reach an agreement, whereupon Captain Smythe continues his romantic relationship with a fellow soldier, while she can engage in her own affairs without fear of repercussions from him. She is also as accurate an archer as Robin Hood himself–a talent that Lady Caroline hides from all men of her acquaintance, of course, for a proper lady may lay with as many men not her husband as she desires, but not best any of them at sport.

At any rate, it is soon very clear that there’s something strange going on, as several women of Lady Petra’s acquaintance have suddenly died, and then a footman who claims to have seen one of them alive, after, is found murdered himself; and, from that point, the story moves very quickly indeed.

Spoilers ahoy!

It soon becomes clear that men of the ton have found a way to dispose of troublesome female relatives–wives, sisters, nieces–in a way that benefits them financially while costing them relatively little, and without the trouble of leaving a public record of the actions taken against these persons: commit them to an asylum for the insane, whether or not they are.

Lady Petra manages to put together a lot of the parts of the conspiracy, partly through observation, partly through a number of very convenient coincidences–including one of the supposedly dead women showing up at her house, half-starved and feverish–when she finds herself the target of one such machinations, with her loving papa’s approval. In short order, she’s essentially kidnapped and sent to the asylum herself.

The scenes where she wakes up, still half-drugged, and restrained helpless on a bed, are harrowing; the threat of rape and torture are all but spelled out. Even harder to read are the descriptions of the torture inflicted on other women sent to that place by their spouses or relatives, some tortured essentially to death, some drugged and tortured until their wills, and their minds, are broken beyond repair.

And then the story goes off the rails entirely.

Of course Lady Petra is saved–first with help from inside, even as Duncan and others ride to her rescue. And of course eventually the other women in the house are helped, as much as they can be–lest we forget, some have literally been driven to insanity, by the actions of the “doctor” in charge, on the will of the men in their lives.

But, since these are men of the ton, there is to be no public inquiry, or calling of the authorities, no indeed. Such a scandal would destabilize society! Instead, Lady Petra takes the evidence–conveniently documented with every care by the villain–to her godmother, so that the Duchess can see to it that the Queen ::handwave:: do something about it.

At which point Lady Petra and Lady Carolina stage a rather ridiculous ‘unmasking’ of the villainous husbands to the Prince Regent so that he can…give them the cut direct.

Because apparently that’s the ton equivalent to physical and mental torture or something.

I mean, the actual torturer is hanged, but the men whose wives and other relatives had been sent to be tortured do not end up in jail. At most, they leave for the Continent or America in disgrace.

But not, of course, Lady Petra’s father; oh no, he had just been ‘weak’ and succumbed to the manipulations and lies of her maternal uncle–who had financial incentive to dispose of her because something something her mother’s wealth.

Allow me to repeat: we are expected to buy that the man who had raised Lady Petra, with whom she had lived her entire life, would suddenly believe that she was “troubled” on the word of someone who did not live with them, to the point of agreeing to commit her to an asylum for insane women.

And later, we are supposed to believe that Lady Petra would immediately accept the earl’s apology, and feel safe and secure once more under his control–after witnessing first hand what could have been her own fate as a result of his little “mistake”?

Another annoyance is that the missing friend, who walked from Essex to London, after weeks of being starved and drugged, and who is so ill as to be insensate for a full day when she finally arrived at Lady Petra’s house? Oh, she’s well enough to ride to the rescue less than a day later.

Finally, there’s the added motivation given to the sadistic “doctor”. It’s not enough that he would be paid well by the men whose inconvenient womenfolk he made disappear, one way or another; he must be a sadist too. But he cannot simply be a sadist; oh no, he must have been abused as a child himself, so that his evil is somehow brought on by his evil (and whorish, of course!) mother.

And look, I understand the whole “cycle of abuse” thing, but also, can we just once, in fiction, admit that some people are evil simply because they are?

My main annoyance (substantial understatement) with the book is that the narrative goes to some really dark places; the very real abuses of people–especially women–placed in mental asylums as recently as a few decades ago, are well documented. The turn from that to the utter farce that takes the place of consequences for the men who gleefully agreed to the torture and deaths Lady Petra discovers is…Words fail me.

And to add insult to injury, the last line of the book upends the “happy for now” ending between her and Duncan.

Obviously, the author can write; I read the novel in one sitting, after all, even with the annoying formal style (you’ll notice I referred to the female protagonist by her title throughout the review, that’s why), and excessive exposition.

And she made a point of both acknowledging the existence of queer and non-white people, in all classes of society; as well as the many injustices of the time and place–from women being disposable possessions to poverty, and the virtually non-existent escape from the bottom when you find yourself there, be it by birth or misfortune. Indeed, the fact that what little restitution (not justice) any one of the women victimized in the story gets is granted through Queen Charlotte–whose authority comes from being the mother of the Prince Regent, as King George was at this point fully non-compos mentis–is so very telling.

It matters that Lady Petra is neither a blushing virgin nor launching herself heedlessly into affairs, but considering her options and the consequences of her decisions with care. It matters that none of the “good guys” in the cast is judgmental of what other people do in their private lives so long as there’s mutual consent, and that they all make clear they will hold a safe space for those who need it–from Teddy the street urchin to Mr Bellingham, who likes philosophy and men, and would rather not deal with his older bother brand of “manly man manliness”.

So there’s that.

But I cannot get over the narrative choices made here.

Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord gets a 6.00 out of 10.