Do not let the cartoon cover fool you - this is an historical romance with some serious themes and not just a romp. Yes, there is a diverse cast of characters that includes a parrot and a capuchin monkey and those animals provide some moments of comedy, but the main plotline deals with thwarting the female main character's betrothal to a psychopath.

The setting here is around the 1750s, which I didn't realize until I got to the author's note. I assumed we were in the 1700s because of the references to wigs, powdered hair, and makeup on the young FMS, Charlotte. The fashion was Georgian as well. There was also mention of the menagerie at the Tower of London, which closed in the 1830s. However, there was a point when "tennis" was mentioned and I thought that term came about later.

Most of the action takes place at a coffeehouse run by Charlotte's cousins, who are mixed race children of a pirate and not recognized by Charlotte's aristocrat parents. The coffeehouse is where Charlotte can be free of the strict lifestyle imposed upon her as her mother prepares her to marry a duke. That coffeehouse is where she also sees Matthew, her brother's closest friend, for the first time in many years. Matthew is the youngest brother of the duke and he has eschewed society to be a physician and naturalist. The coffeehouse society becomes Charlotte's support system and they help her escape her parents' plans for her.

At first, this story might seem like a bit of a farce, especially with a parrot present causing havoc scenes. However, there is so much more to this story, from discussion of the slave trade, indentured servitude, indigenous people in England and the Americas, the treatment of artifacts, the place of women in Georgian society...the list goes on. I imagine some of the underlying threads will become more prominent in future installments (this is begging to be series).

What a wonderful surprise this book was!

Lady Charlotte Always Gets Her Man by Violet Marsh is a romp with an intelligent and courageous female lead character, a villainous fiancé and a strong and intellectual but vulnerable male lead.

When Lady Charlotte is forced by her parents into a betrothal with a duke whose previous two wives died in mysterious accidents, Charlotte believes she will have to extricate herself from the engagement by proving the duke’s crimes. Initially, her rebellion and investment in a coffeehouse to achieve independence seemed to occur very quickly in the book, and I was a bit incredulous. However, what followed was a very engaging story with interesting historical details. I enjoyed reading about the coffeehouses in the Enlightenment, where different classes could get together and debate ideas. It was also most entertaining to see how Lady Charlotte escaped the restraints of her class. And finally, there is mystery and the pleasure of seeing an evil character taken down. Definitely, a fun read.

This was a really fresh and entertaining take on historical romance. The quirky characters and animal friends made it unique. I enjoyed the cousins' family histories and their connections to pirating.

Thank you to the team at Forever and NetGalley for a copy of this ARC!

This book was fun. This isn’t a historical period I find myself reading when it comes to historical romance, but I enjoyed it. Books with quirky animal companions never fail to make me smile. My drawbacks come towards the end of the book. I didn’t find myself really believing the relationship between Charlotte and Matthew, maybe it was a bit too insta-love and not enough childhood friends to lovers for me. It also felt a bit ok the nose with the “you’ve changed me” dialogue that comes with most romance. Other than that, I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a good time story with a sprinkling of heists, revenge, and ensemble of fun characters!

Lady Charlotte Always Gets Her Man was my first time reading a book by Violet Marsh. I enjoyed this one but did feel like it was lacking a bit of chemistry. There's a lot of zany stuff going on with pirates, secret coffeehouses, talking parrots, monkeys and an underlying mystery. Charlotte is tasked with marrying a man who has had two previous wives died unexpectedly. She's trying to figure out a way to get out of the marriage when her brother's best childhood friend arrives. She hasn't seen him in years but he has a air of mystery surrounding him. Ultimately, this one was fine but not very memorable.

3.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley, Violet Marsh, and Forever Grand Central Publishing for this eARC. All opinions expressed are my own. #netgalley #LadyCharlotteAlwaysGetsHerMan #forevergrandcentralpublishing

I was rooting for Charlotte from the beginning in this very fun novel.

Mystery, found family, romance, and more in a historical fiction novel with a strong FMC, a bookish doctor, an entire cast of enjoyable characters and absolutely, yes, sign me up for that story.

I was very charmed and am hoping that this might be a series starter - fingers crossed.



Thank you to Forever and NetGalley for the DRC

That you to Forever publishing for this eARC! Historical romances are always tough for me for the first 30% or so, But the crime/heist like element of this book kept me engaged in such a lovely way. The two main characters had really good chemistry, first as rivals who but heads then as romantic partners/partners in crime. This was a story that felt different and fun and dangerous and also steamy! Truly such a good time!

I’m a marketing and publicity associate Forever, so I am reading this for work! Aaaaaaand there's a character limit on reviews here are some more words

Set in early eighteenth century Britain, Lady Charlotte eventually gets the right man after much intrigue and schemes. Charlottte is the daughter of a duke and her parents think it’s past time that she marry, so they’ve picked a fiancé for her…Lord Hawley heir to a dukedom and twice widow…both is wives dies under questionable circumstances with broken necks. Charlottes twin bother is friends with the 3rd son of the duke…Matthew who’s a doctor and naturalist who was terrible abused and bullied by cruel Hawley and the 2nd brother. After years in “the Americas” Matthew is back in Britain but not the puny, gangly boy he was. He’s more confident, stronger and a renaissance man. There are certainly sparks between Matthew and Charlotte and both fear her impending marriage to the haute and mean Lord Hawley. Who is Hawley really, how did his first 2 wives really die, why does he want to marry Lady Charlotte? Matthew, CHarlotte and a wild and interesting ban of supporters…pirates, animals, coffeehouse debaters….work on “unmasking” evil.

I liked that Matthew was an unconventional love interest. Charlotte was ok, but she didn't stand out from other historical romance heroines. Hawley was hard to take seriously as a villain. Did not appreciate the closed door romance despite several steamy make out sessions. Overall, I don't really know what to make of this one. It felt a little bit all over the place: Charlotte is doing her thing at the Black Sheep and there's a lot with the parrot; Matthew has his own agenda; they're trying to fall in love but also they've got his murderer brother to avoid. Some of the scenes with Hawley were cartoonish, or more like he was cartoonish. I don't believe he was capable of getting away with the prior murders. But there were some surprises in the romance that I enjoyed, so that's something.

This book was very sweet. I liked the main characters Matthew and Charlotte, a lot of detail about their past and motives were given in the book so the characters had a lot of depth. It was a good read!

Do you like Bridgerton but wish it had more mystery? Look no further than Lady Charlotte Always Gets Her Man.

This book is filled with a zany cast of characters and a scandalous mystery. It's fun, entertaining and feels like a breath of fresh air. I couldn't get enough of this book!

Charlotte is the heart of the story. She's an engaging heroine whose fun to follow around. Matthew is the biggest cinnamon roll hero to ever cinnamon roll. I absolutely loved Charlotte and Matthew! They were couple goals for sure. I also liked that there was an element of forbidden love too since he's her brother's best friend.

This story is funny, filled with fantastic characters, romantic and entertaining as heck. You won't regret reading this.

Lady Charlotte Always Gets Her Man is a captivating historical romantic comedy that intertwines family secrets, a forbidden romance with her brother's best friend, and a scandalous mystery. This delightful and witty novel kept me turning the pages, yearning for more.

Ok but why was this SO MUCH FUN!! Pirates and secrets and danger and a parrot and daring women and found family and I literally laughed out loud more than once. Charlotte is waking up to the hard truths of her world and is such an active and engaging heroine. And Matthew, sweet cinnamon roll Matthew, traumatized by his family growing up, and has so many secrets that he's trying to juggle while protecting the people that matter to him. Honestly, I really really hope this is the first in a series because I can't wait to read more!!

The parrot, the monkey, the zany cast of characters - Lady Charlotte Always Gets Her Man is a fun historical romance/mystery that hits on some of the best tropes in romance - he forbidden love, the bookish hunk, a strong female protagonist. I could make lots of lists of threes to describe what I liked about it, honestly. I look forward to reading more from this author and I hope this book is the start of a series.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author, and Forever for the eARC in exchange for my review.