While I generally enjoyed reading about Charlotte’s adventures, something about the pacing or repetition made it challenging to feel entirely drawn in to the story. What I think the book does well is the deep cast of characters whose personalities and individual stories single them out as worthwhile costars.

Lady Charlotte is desperate to escape her betrothal to the despicable Viscount Hawley whose wives and mistresses keep dying in mysterious circumstances. But she needs to find proof that he is as sinister as she believes, so she strikes a bargain with her cousin who--with her business partners--owns and runs a coffee shop for people of all walks of life. While Charlotte's business ideas prove to be successful, her attempts to secure proof of her imminent danger are more elusive. She has to start relying on Hawley's youngest brother, Dr. Matthew Talbot, the family outcaste, in the hopes that he really does revile his brother and isn't secretly being manipulated by him. As Charlotte and Matthew are thrown together more and more, secrets emerge and traumas are unearthed--and could it be that there could be something more to their partnership them than a common enemy?

This is a mismatched pair of people on the surface: she's a beautiful star in society with a perfect reputation and he is an awkward man choosing to work in a lower trade despite his high birth. But I appreciated their unity of purpose and character. My favorite part was a toxic belief that is often perpetrated in the romance genre, and that is that one person can not only change another, but can then be that person's ultimate fulfillment. This story recognizes and promotes the reality that you have to believe that you are valuable enough by yourself before you can find true connection with someone else. No one can give that to or do that for you. Sure, people help along the way, but waiting around for someone else to validate you instead of working on yourself only creates more suffering. I loved that, especially in this 16th Century setting.

Rating: 3.5/5

This Historical Romance is much more mystery and intrigue than romance, but that's what made it an enjoyable read!
When Lady Charlotte finds out that she's betrothed to Viscount Hawley, who is rumored to have killed his previous two wives, she does what she must to prove his guilt before the engagement can be announced. Enter Charlotte's twin brother Alexander and his best friend Dr. Matthew - who happens to be the Viscount's youngest brother.
I loved the history of the coffeehouse and the group of friends that banded together to help bring the Viscount's activities to light. The story covers serious themes and is not as light as I was expecting out of a "brothers best friend historical romance", but bonus points were definitely given for having a parrot being a part of the hijinx! I loved the strong characters and can't wait to see if we will get more books about this group.


Thank you, NetGalley and Forever Publishing, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Lady Charlotte Always Gets Her Man by Violet Marsh
Overall Rating: 4/5
Publishing Date: March 5, 2024

I loved how you jump right into the story - I felt like I was immediately immersed in her world. There are quite a few characters introduced rather quickly, but I didn’t find it overly difficult to get them all straight.

I liked the pacing of the book overall and found the scenes didn’t last longer than they needed to.

I love Charlotte’s character - she is so intelligent and perceptive and it was intriguing to see her interactions with people and her ability to manipulate conversations from both her perspective and from his perspective.

I will totally be watching for more books by this author!

Such a fun read! Charlotte was a great character and I can’t wait to see what future adventures she gets up to.

I gave this book 5 stars for it’s fast paced murder mystery, the colorful cast of characters, and Charlotte’s pluck as a leading lady. The book opens up with Charlotte being told that she's going to marry Hadley the heir to the Duke of Lansberry. Charlotte is so upset by this news that she jumps out of window (not to her death or anything it's more of a short hop) and runs away. The reasons for her actions have everything to do with the rumors that Hadley killed or had a hand in the untimely deaths of his last two brides. Charlotte just needs to prove it if she wants to avoid being dead bride #3. Charlotte isn't alone in this investigation and joins forces with Hadley's younger brother Matthew who has been trying to bring to light his older brother's dark secrets for years. I loved every twist and turn of this book and a second book is hinted at in the epilogue that I will be keeping an eye out for.

This wasn’t too bad but it’s also not particularly good.

I noted that the descriptions tends to be pretty wordy and the internal monologues can border on overly treacly. A lot of virtue signaling by the “good” characters while the villains are over the top cartoony, sinister AND bumbling at the same time. Some word choices feel incongruent with the time or just sound wrong (like “scooched”). Pacing of the story is all over the place. So much of the buildup takes incredibly long and then the action happens with nearly no set up.

For a book set in society you barely see any world building, or proof of Charlotte being a society miss. Even her friend is painted very shallow and her interactions with Hawley are minor. All of the main settings and characters could all be more fleshed out, which less time spent on characters who may be important in the future but don’t add much to the current story.

I don’t say I won’t give the sequels a chance but it won’t be a race to get to them on my TBR.

Honest review in exchange for ARC, thanks NetGalley.

This was a fun historical, romantic ride! It was cute from start to finish! You will love this lighthearted, brothers best friend period romance <3

Lady Charlotte Always Gets her Man is a whimsical and romantic tale about a woman determined to avoid marriage to a dangerous duke and the quiet, bookish, surprisingly mysterious man who ends up stealing her heart.

I loved this book. The story kicks off with Lady Charlotte running through the streets of Covent Garden desperately trying to think of a way she can escape the engagement her parents are arranging for her - an engagement to a future duke who has already buried two young wives under suspicious circumstances. She is determined to get away from him and the world her parents inhabit when she stumbles into an infamous coffeehouse and comes up with an idea to achieve her independence.

Matthew is the third son of the current duke and the younger brother of Charlotte's intended. He is a university lecturer, surgeon, and naturalist, and he is secretly investigating his brother's misdeeds when he runs into Charlotte and realizes the danger she is in. They are childhood acquaintances, but Charlotte doesn't know if she can trust Matthew to help her implicate his older brother in his crimes, and they end working against each other with the secrets they keep.

The romance that unfolds between Charlotte and Matthew is rooted in strong support, friendship, and the deep sense of safety they share with each other. I love that Charlotte takes such an active role in her liberation and that she and Matthew both get to have meaningful character development within and outside of their romantic storyline. The pace and writing style make it accessible for ADHD readers, and the mysteries and twists keep you engaged.

While the book has plenty of romantic tension and some steamy kissing scenes, the author avoids utilizing explicit content (apart from the bawdy pub song they sing to calm a certain anxious pet).

I recommend this book for fans of friends to lovers, historical romances with progressive characters, and a sprinkle of romcom style hijinks.

Thank you Forever Publishing and NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a cute, fun story. It had a lot of quirky side characters and creatures—parrots, monkeys, pirates, and highwaymen. I enjoyed the romance the most—it was hot and sweet at the same time. All the history was fun too. I learned new things about coffeeshops and ancient Scottish tribes and English physicians in the 1700s, etc. The mystery didn't really draw my attention very much—mostly because it wasn't actually much of a mystery. You know from the beginning that the duke is a murderer, and they're just setting out to prove it, and I never was in much doubt that they would succeed. There was a tiny bit of mystery about the male love interest's vigilante pursuits, but even that wasn't very surprising. I did enjoy the other stuff enough to make up for the lackluster mystery element, though, so I still give it four stars.

A cute and lighthearted Historical Mystery/Romance! I can agree with the Enola Holmes vibes.
Just the right mix of mystery, thrill, and romance.
I loved both of the main characters and their character development.
The word use age and verbiage was a little odd for me at times, but maybe I just prefer a historical romance that has the tone of a current romance novel. Overall a good read.

Lady Charlotte Never Fails to Secure Her Gentleman is a charming historical romantic comedy that weaves together familial mysteries, a love affair forbidden by her brother, and a scandalous enigma. This enchanting and clever book had me eagerly craving more!

"lady charlotte always gets her man" got my attention right away because i'm a sucker for a) historical romances, b) cartoon covers, c) strong female characters and the men who respect and worship them, so needless to say, this book ticked ALL my boxes. from the very beginning, i knew i was going to love charlotte—she's intrepid, outspoken, smart, funny and compassionate, and a wonderful heroine. however, i wasn't expected to get attached to matthew as quickly as i did, and as someone who can be very picky about male characters, this definitely took me by surprise. but how could i not be endeared to a doctor who also loves animals and has secret hidden depths that no one expects? charlotte and matthew's love story unfolded so wonderfully and i couldn't tear myself away from this book, and i can't wait to see what's next in the series! is it alex and georgina? or alun and calliope? either way, i'll be here anxiously awaiting news! thank you to netgalley and read forever for the advanced copy of this book.

While Lady Charlotte’s parents work to engineer her nuptials to twice-widowed Viscount Hawley, Charlotte sets out to thwart her engagement before the contract is signed. There’s something not right about Hawley and the deaths of his previous wives.

Dr. Matthew Talbot, Hawley’s youngest brother and best friend to Charlotte’s twin brother, has recently returned to England. He wants to help Charlotte unmask his brother’s misdeeds while keeping his own secrets in the dark.

This one has multiple elements that attracted me to the story—mysteries (plural!), a romance between the FMC and her brother’s best friend, and a lady of the ton trying to take control of her own future—but ultimately, I struggled to stay engaged in the story. I think at first it was a pacing issue, but as events began to pick up, I still didn’t feel engrossed in the storyline.

My favorite parts were the found family moments, the love affair between Pan, a parrot, and Banshee, a capuchin, and the tension between supporting characters Mr. Powys, established actor and playwright, and Calliope, an aspiring playwright and Charlotte's friend.

I received an advance copy of the book from Forever and NetGalley. All review opinions are my own.

This was a fun romp. lady Charlotte is being forced to be engaged to a man who has lost 2 of his previous wives In mysterious circumstances. Her only avenue of an escape is working with his brother to uncover his dark deeds in hopes of saving herself from a dangerous marriage.

This book had mystery, intrigue, and romance. It was the full of package. If you like all of the above you will enjoy this book.

Thank you NetGalley and Forever for the ARC.

*more like a 3.25-3.5ish rating*

Lady Charlotte Always Gets Her Man was such a fun read! I will say, there were times when the pacing was a bit slow and I was a little confused by the plot and mystery. It took me a while to get truly invested in the book but overall I still enjoyed my reading experience. Mostly, I loved Charlotte and Matthew as characters, both separately and together. I loved how Matthew had admired Charlotte for most of his life and seeing them fall in love because of how much they respect each other was so sweet and definitely my favorite part of the book. I also loved all the side characters and found myself going to the author's Goodreads to see if anyone had books of their own. Even characters that were never actually on page caught my attention and had me very interested in their story. I really would love for her to write more in this world and about these characters, especially Violet's brother!

If you like super fun, a little whacky, historical romances with a mystery element, I definitely recommend this one and I would absolutely be open to reading more by this author in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy!

This is a fun, entertaining read. Matthew and Charlotte are intriguing, interesting, captivating, complex, relatable, entertaining, feisty characters. I enjoyed them as individuals and as a couple. Their romance is full of twists and turns (like the overall plot) but very fitting for this couple. I love how things played out and the roles the characters played. The various secondary characters added to the fabric of the story and my enjoyment – including the parrot and monkey. I was captivated by these characters and the suspense plot from the very beginning. The story is easy to read and get into.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A witty and charming debut! Things I loved about "Lady Charlotte Always Gets Her Man"
-Strong-willed, smart female lead surrounded by other strong women supporting each other
-An engaging mystery that propelled the plot forward
-Brother's best friend trope deployed well
-An actual menagerie as the support cast
-Unusual time period (1750's)

Looking forward to reading more from this author, and recommend this book for anyone who likes a healthy dose of mystery with their historical rom-coms!

Lady Charlotte Always Gets her Man was a pretty fast paced book that caught my attention early on and held it throughout the story. Charlotte has always been a means to an end for her parents and now she finds herself forced into an engagement she does not want to a man who has gone through two wives already. Matthew is her brother’s best friend and the brother of Charlotte’s potential fiancé whose name is Hawley. Together they must find a way to trust each other enough to find a way to expose Hawley for the dangerous bully he is while saving Charlotte from a horrible marriage.

The story is about Charlotte taking her power back from a society that would see her fit in a very small box. It also show how Matthew is able to take his power back from his family after years of abuse. Together Matthew and Charlotte are very sweet and you are rooting for them to find a way to be together in the end. This is a well written romance that I enjoyed reading.

This was quite a nice twist to the Bluestocking Lady/Lord, and one that would be perfect for fans of Bridgerton but wanted it to me a bit more eccentric. It was captivating from start and finish, evenly paced, and also had a surprising depth to the narrative despite it's kookiness.

That being said, it may not be for everyone, so do venture with caution!