This looked like a fun historical mystery but it definitely felt rough. The writing was a little bit all over the place and just clumsy enough that it kept tripping me up. The author uses fairly modern phrasings in some places and then throws in random occurances of 'swounds' and 'ne'er.' To make it more historical-feeling I guess? It ends up just being awkward and weird though.

The plot keeps jumping from one thing to the next and none of the supposed stakes seem to really have any consequences. We find Charlotte running from a dress fitting after her mother informs her she's to marry a man Charlotte insists is a villain. Then she buys a stake in a coffeeshop in a rough part of town. Her mother just... doesn't notice she's gone?

The audiobook had a decent narrator although I wouldn't seek out more things she's narrated. Everything felt rushed and overly dramatic but I'm not sure how much was the narrator and how much was the story itself.

Overall if you can forgive weird awkward phrasing, clumsy writing, an odd mix of modern and ye olde style, and a plot that jumps all over the place, you might enjoy this one. It's not for me and I ended up not being able to finish it.

*Thanks to NetGalley, Forever, and Hachette Audio for providing an early copy for review.

3.5 stars. I wish the book would have moved more quickly at times; it definitely dragged. I was very tempted to give up around 30%, but reviews of the book encouraged me to keep going. Once Matthew’s secret was exposed and Charlotte’s posse (for lack of a better term) entered the book, it was a much more enjoyable read—the pace picked up, and the stakes became obvious. But it took too long to get there. I would have liked to see those plot elements introduced sooner.

Lady Charlotte Always Gets Her Man is a sibling’s best friend, opposites attract historical romance. Violet Marsh weaves together a wide variety of plot elements that attempt to work together, with mixed results.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

When Lady Charlotte discovers her parents’ plan for her to marry Viscount Hawley, a man who is rumored to have murdered his previous two wives, she’s terrified. Her twin Alexander’s bff is scholarly Matthew, who’s always adored Charlotte from a distance, but now she’s about to be engaged to his vicious older brother. Matthew also has secrets of his own. As Charlotte and Matthew are thrown together in their attempts to implicate his brother for murder, the connection between the two grows. Will Charlotte evade her betrothal and find her happily ever after with Matthew?

I love a good siblings’s best friend romance. In this case, it’s fun to watch Alexander try to matchmake for his friend and his sister, instead of working against them. He realizes that Matthew has a longtime crush on Charlotte, even while both of them are oblivious to each other’s feelings.

I’m fan of a romance with tons of plot and a mystery too. But in this book, the cloak and dagger stuff feels forced. Add in an uneven tone, and it was tough to gauge if this was supposed to be a lighthearted romance, or a more serious woman in peril story. Are we concerned about a murderer, or the antics of an exceptionally well trained parrot? I enjoy both elements in my books, but they didn’t seem to mesh well here and made the story drag.

Lady Charlotte Always Gets Her Man has a promising premise, but it ultimately didn’t work for me. The author creates a plot where the many different pieces never truly come together and the connections between the characters feel forced. This book has the feel of a series starter, and perhaps the next book will have a stronger sense of which story is being told.

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

Content Warnings: classism and sexism.
Mention of: racism, slavery, murder, and child labor.

This was a cute historical read where Charlotte is determined to do whatever it takes to get out of her betrothal.

Quick and easy read that gives us a sweet love story, a mystery, and a whole lot of hijinks. ^^

This is such a fun and unique historical romance, and I adored it. The characters, human and animal, are fantastic, and the romance is super swoon-worthy.

Charlotte only has two months to get out of a marriage to a man who has already lost two wives under mysterious circumstances. Charlotte is smart and determined to take control of her future, and that does not include marrying a reprehensible man. She decides to start a business to gain financial independence, but to be completely free, she must find proof that her future husband was involved in his past wives' deaths.

Matthew has always been bullied and treated poorly by his brothers, one of whom is about to be betrothed to Charlotte. A man who forged his own path, Matthew is a reserved and intelligent doctor and naturalist. He and Charlotte work together to expose his brother for the dastardly man he is, and Charlotte begins to see Matthew in a new light. I love a good opposites attract, brother's best friend romance, and Charlotte and Matthew have a ridiculous amount of chemistry. I actually laughed out loud when reading this story. The banter between Charlotte and Matthew, as well as some other characters, is clever and funny, and it made for such a fun read.

There's also some mystery behind Matthew, which is intriguing, as is the business Charlotte engages in. Overall, I thought the plot was a bit different from the typical historical romance, and I found it refreshing. I eager to learn more about some of the secondary characters, especially Charlotte's cousins. They were so intriguing, and I enjoyed the relationship they built with Charlotte.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Forever Publishing for providing me with a copy of the book. All thoughts are my own.

Lady Charlotte Always Gets Her Man by Violet Marsh is very cute, very Bridgerton-esque, with a delightful little mystery. I really enjoyed the heroine Charlotte. She was very easy to root for and engaging. The hero of our story Matthew is her brothers best friend, which is one of my favorite tropes. I had so much fun reading about their antics. I really hope this continues on as a series!

Thank you #Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars
I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
I really enjoyed Violet Marsh’s previous historical novels, and I was excited that she was releasing a Regency romance, although I was a tad concerned that it was being cross-marketed as a mystery. While I love a good historical mystery/romance, they often fall into two camps for me: too cozy, or with too much emphasis on one over the other. While I don’t think it was so much the former, I did feel like the latter was somewhat the case here, with the mystery being very underwhelming. I don’t mind when the culprit is known, but that does mean that catching him out has to be interesting, and I just didn’t feel there was a ton of suspense there. And while he’s very much a villain who deserves to be punished, I really didn’t feel the stakes with him specifically.
I did like how Marsh captured a new aspect of class and gender warfare through the dynamics of the coffeehouses. While this setting (or something akin to this setting, like gentlemen’s clubs and the like) are not unfamiliar for historical romance, it was great to see this interrogated a little more than most books in the genre do, beyond the surface-level illicitness of it all.
And the characters are a lot of fun, and I love the dynamics between them. Charlotte is great, and I love her blossoming romance with Matthew throughout. And there’s a great found-family dynamic with the supporting cast, including Charlotte’s twin Alexander, among others, so I’d love to see another book with them all working together again with a more compelling mystery plot.
While I didn’t 100% love this book, I enjoyed a lot of aspects of the book and see the potential here. If you’re looking for a historical romance with great found-family group dynamics and a howdunit mystery plot, I’d recommend checking this out!

A historical romance with a mystery - exactly what I needed. Lady Charlotte always gets her man was a delightful book with a determined, heroine and nerdy, but dashing hero. Lady Charlotte is getting married. Unfortunately, it’s against her will to a horrible man whose past wives keep ending up dead. So she’s determined to figure out if her soon to be husband is actually a murderer. Throw in a dashing old friend who happens to be her future husband‘s, younger brother, and her brothers best friend and more mysteries show up. A great cast of characters hey, sweet romance, and some mysteries to unravel make this such an enjoyable read. I need future books, especially the way this one ended. I loved it, highly recommend.

There was a lot going on in the plot of Lady Charlotte Always Gets Her Man. Including:

-a parrot and monkey love match
-daughters of pirates owning a coffee shop (in Georgian England…yuh right)
-the mild-mannered MMC who is a doctor/professor doing parkour and being a secret spy
-a duke’s son being both a murderer and no one in “polite society” cares

It was just too ridiculous for me. I like a little irrelevance in my historical—I love Erica Ridley’s Wild Wynchesters series—but this didn’t seem to work. It felt like it was trying too hard, and the romance between the two main characters wasn’t plausible. There was no chemistry.

Alas, not a winner. Thank you to Forever Publishing for the review copy.

Lady Charlotte Always Gets Her Man is a good book for those who are looking to sink their teeth into a historical mystery romance.

This is a tough review for me to write. For whatever reason, I just didn't connect with this book. I didn't really enjoy the story, and I didn't connect with the characters. Now, I firmly believe that every story has its readers, and not every story is for every reader. And that philosophy applies to this situation. I am going to quickly go over what makes this book great and its qualities that might draw in certain bookworms. Just because I didn't enjoy this book doesn't mean others won't fall in love with Lady Charlotte's story.

This book is perfect for those readers who are looking for a historical romance that has a mystery twist in it. Lady Charlotte sets out to find proof that Viscount Hawley, her finance, is a wife killer. She is desperately trying to find a way out of her engagement because she knows that she will be killed if she marries this man. As she investigates Hawley, she ends up joining forces with Dr Matthew, who is the Viscount's brother. Matthew has his own secrets that he is trying to keep, but he realizes that his brother is a menace that needs to be stopped. Matthew is also attracted to Charlotte but knows that he shouldn't have these lusty feelings for his best friend's sister. The mystery and romance blended together fairly nicely. Both were interesting and are sure to draw readers in. The story moves at a great pace, and a few well-placed twists and turns will keep readers entertained. The characters are diverse and complex. They add a nice amount of depth and charm to the story. Charlotte and Matthew are good MCs and complement each other nicely. The chemistry and sparks are there.

Overall, this is a good book with a solid plot and characters that are sure to entertain you.

An opposites attract, older brother's best friend, dual POV, forbidden Regency romance between two people choosing to exist outside the confines of aristocratic society. Lady Charlotte is forced against her will into a betrothal with a cruel Viscount and finds herself falling for his outcast brother. I loved the cast of characters in this book, including a parrot and a monkey. There's also great disability rep in the form of Charlotte's brother who has a club foot and uses a mobility aid. Great on audio and highly recommended for fans of authors like Amalie Howard, Cat Sebastian or Erica Ridley. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio and digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

If you like bonkers historical romance setups, you'll like this one: Lady Charlotte is unofficially betrothed to a duke's heir. In the first chapter, we learn that there are rumors that he caused the death of his first two wives. Honestly, these historical romance rumors are starting to frustrate us: why do women keep marrying a guy who's possibly killed two women in 4 years? Just because he's a nobleman doesn't mean he won't face major consequences. But wait, dear reader: Charlotte decides to investigate her almost-betrothed to discover proof of his crimes. What's more, her brother and her brothers' BFF, Matthew (who also happens to be her fiance's brother), are also investigating. So this isn't just an early excuse to get Charlotte to marry someone else, while leaving other women to be preyed upon. Instead, it's the basis of the plot of the book.

We did really enjoy the over-the-top-ness of so much that happens in the book. Matthew is not only a duke's son; he's a physician/surgeon, an explorer, a naturalist, an abolitionist, a cat burglar, and (basically) a spy. He's got fighting moves, sparkling intellect, and really knows how to kiss. The book does verge on the silly at times (a capuchin monkey falls in requited love with a parrot, for example), and we'd have loved a little more spice. Check your preferences in historical romance before you jump in.

3.5 stars rounded to 4. This objective review is based on a complimentary copy of the novel.

Overview: Lady Charlotte is horrified that she will be betrothed (against her will) to Lord Hawley (whose first two wives died in suspicious “accidents”). She concocts a plan to achieve financial independence by investing in the expansion of the Black Sheep, a local coffeehouse. When Charlotte spots Dr Matthew Talbot, Lord Hawley’s younger brother, at the Black Sheep, she realizes that he may be her best shot at finding out the truth about her future fiancée …before it’s too late…

Matthew is a shy (and socially awkward) surgeon/author/world-traveler who has long admired his best friend’s twin sister, Lady Charlotte, and is alarmed to find out that she will be betrothed to his older brother. But Matthew has a huge secret of his own… will he be able to out his brother as the villain that he is without exposing himself?

Thoughts: This book gave me similar vibes as Tessa Dare’s books (which I love), except with less spice and more intrigue. Charlotte as a main character was awesome - I absolutely adore books with a smart and assertive female lead. I thought that Matthew’s storyline was more interesting than the main mystery, which didn’t end up being much of a mystery after all. My minor complaints are that the villain ended up being very one-dimensional and the romance took a while to heat up (it felt like there were many pages of Matthew and Charlotte just checking each other out surreptitiously) - but it definitely warmed up by the end! I liked the world that Marsh created as well as the supporting characters - overall a fun first book of the series!

Take home message: This dual POV romance is an action-packed adventure filled with intrigue, humor, and a main couple that will make you swoon! Perfect for fans of the “brother’s best friend” trope, closed-door historical romances, and foul-mouthed parrots.

Thanks to NetGalley and Forever for this digital ARC!

I tried but I really couldn’t get into this book. I picked it up three times and got to about 22% and I’m calling it quits. The main character and the story just didn’t grab my attention.

a fun, historical romance with an edge of mystery. the issue is that we knew the mystery right away. we did find out about Matthew’s secret part way through the book, and that was a surprise, but I felt like I knew the whole plot by a few chapters in. this book is not steamy (other than a few kiss scenes) and the chemistry between the main characters was nice.

Charlotte is desperate to get out of a betrothal that might just cost her her LIFE. Her betrothed is looking for his THIRD wife after the accidental deaths of his first two spouses. Charlotte believes that the accidents weren't accidental at ALL. Thankfully, his brother Matthew, who has been secretly pining for Charlotte for YEARS, is willing to help her figure out who's good, who's bad, and who will make it out alive! And in the process, they just might fall in love!

I thought this plot was very inventive! The characters were quite colorful. The pages were full of laugh-out-loud lines. But I struggled with the writing to the point that it was hard for me to sink into the story. The author used a lot of language that's outdated or, quite frankly, too grandiose. Perhaps she was attempting to make the story feel more authentic and based on the Georgian time period, but, for this present-day lady, it was too cumbersome to enjoy.

I'd like to thank Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and Netgalley for the eARC of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

Lady Charlotte Always Gets Her Man is a romantic mystery with a strong female lead. Charlotte is intelligent, gutsy and NOT afraid to go after what she wants, Matthew. He's smart, exploratory and has been pining for her since his youth. He's kept his desires hidden as its his best friends twin sister. He's got secret that will open Charlottes eyes to his true heroism.

This story is a lot of fun, from its talking parrot who falls for the monkey to these star-crossed lovers. The cast of characters also add elements of intrigue when they gather together at the Black Sheep. Here's hoping their is a sequel as the possibilities for another love story was teased in this book.

Thank you, Forever

Format -E ARC (NetGalley)

Rating- ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Spice- 💋

Series- N/A

Troupes- Brothers best friend, forced proximity, he falls first, cinnamon roll hero

Representation-

CW- mentions murder and torture

I really wanted to love this book, it had all my favorite things and I think if I could have read it at a different time my mood reader brain would have liked it more.

So things I liked, Charlotte in a dynamic character she’s wit smart and ready to take her own life in hand to get away from her parents. This historical setting to vibrant and very detailed and both in the coffee shop and about town. I enjoyed the secondary characters and the animal sidekicks very useful for comedic relief as we hunted down a murderer.

Things I struggled with, Mathew, he had a lot of hero qualities but he fell a little flat for me he’s some kind of secret agent trained in espionage and hand to hand combat but he is still freezing at taunts from his murderer brother? The extended explanation and details, this book was a little long for me for what it was and I think cutting some of the extra detail out would have helped to the pacing and not allow the reader to get a little bored.

This is a new author to me and I would defiantly read her again this one just wasn’t the knock out I was hoping for!

Thank you Violet March, Forever Pup and Netgalley for the advanced copy my opinions are my own.

Lady Charlotte Lovett is the perfect debutante and the ton loves her. She is all things demure, pleasing, and beautiful. And . . . she hates every minute of the pretense she must endure until she can make arrangements to escape her gilded prison. She’s not the only one who suffers from her parents and the ton's expectations – her twin brother Alexander, who was born with a club foot, is ridiculed and looked down upon.

For Lady Charlotte things come to a head when she and her mother are at the modiste and her mother casually tells her the gown for which she is being fitted is to be her gown for her betrothal ball. Charlotte is shocked because she didn’t even know they were negotiating a marriage contract for her. When she asks if her mother would at least tell her the name of her groom-to-be, she’s horrified to learn she’s to be betrothed to William Talbot, Viscount Hawley, heir to the Duke of Lansberry. Charlotte is sure Hawley is responsible for the deaths of his previous two wives – and many other vile things as well. She will NOT marry him so she has only a few weeks to find proof of his vile deeds.

Matthew Talbot is the youngest brother of William Talbot and he is nothing like the rest of his vile family. Matthew chose to study medicine and is a nature lover – and he’s also had a bit of tender feelings for Lady Charlotte Lovett for many years. He knows nothing can come of it because he’s just a third son – but – daydreams are nice. Then he discovers she’s to be betrothed to his older brother and he knows he cannot let that happen.

A LOT is going on in the story and there are plenty of characters and possibilities should the author choose to make a series. I liked Lady Charlotte and I liked Matthew along with all of the supporting characters – including the parrot and monkey. Matthew was a bit over-the-top – in my opinion – he was a surgeon and a physician – and a professor – and a swashbuckling seafarer – and – well, you name it. I also thought the author played a bit loose with the Georgian period, etc. However, I did enjoy the story and I’m glad to have read it.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Lady Charlotte’s parents want her to marry for prestige, so it doesn’t matter to them that the previous two wives of the Viscount Hawley died under suspicious circumstances. Determined to get out the betrothal, Lady Charlotte starts a dangerous investigation into the viscount.

Overall, Lady Charlotte Always Gets Her Man is a fun story, although the title is a bit off-putting since there is only one man she goes after - Hawley’s younger brother, Matthew. Charlotte is self-sufficient and sharp. She knows she needs to break from her parents and finds a way to do so. She speaks her mind and is a bit naive, but is willing to learn from others and her own mistakes. Matthew is an introvert partially because of the torment from his older brothers and father. He was lucky he found a father-figure in Mr. Stewart and discovered purpose in his own life. I love historical romances with progressive women and their forward-thinking men.

Lady Charlotte Always Gets Her Man is an HEA romance, but the romance often is secondary to the plot of stopping Hawley. The story focuses on Charlotte gaining her independence and escaping her betrothal. There is also a subplot featuring Matthew and his secret life. It serves to show Matthew’s true nature and also allows him to realize Charlotte isn’t the high-society lady he believes her to be.

The romance between Charlotte and Matthew is slow-burn and sweet. The pair are friends from youth, as Matthew is her twin brother Alexander’s best friend. While they admired one another, they didn’t think about a romance until they recently met again at the Black Sheep. Whereas Matthew thinks his station is too lowly for Charlotte (it is), she presses forward and pursues Matthew. It’s very chase and sweet and does not dominate the book.

In the end, Lady Charlotte does get her man, and I hope the author gives us more titles set in the saucy Black Sheep coffee house.

My Rating: B