A TRIUMPH! Lady Petra is bold, witty, and altogether unconventional. The rest of the cast does her justice. Connally has created a vibrant story that is suspenseful, funny, and sumptuous. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time and found the ending intensely satisfying (apart from the last few sentences, fingers crossed the next book is not too long in the making). The narrator is superb, I found her voice charming and her ability to create vastly different characters remarkable. Overall, an excellent regency mystery/romance for the modern woman.

Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord is the first in the Lady Petra Inquires series. Lady Petra Forsyth has her life turned upside down when her fiancé dies weeks before their wedding. She announces to all that she will never get married after suffering this loss. She knows that a woman gives up their wealth and freedom when they marry and would never do so for another man. She is still invited to society events due to her position and becomes concerned when she Lears that a friend has died under suspicious circumstances while being treated at a disreputable private institution known for being a place where men pay to have the women in their lives confined. Lady Petra is determined to investigate and uncover what has happened to her friend and so many other women.

I really enjoyed this book! I would definitely suggest checking content warnings before going in. This is slightly more serious content than what you would find in a lot of historical mysteries. Petra is a wonderful character. She is smart and headstrong. The setting is detailed brilliantly. I was enraged by the mystery in the best way considering the subject matter. I look forward to reading Lady Petra's future adventures.

I listened to the audio arc of this book and thoroughly enjoyed Eilidh Beaton's narration.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC in exchange for an honest review.

The start of a new historical mystery series, Lady Petra seeks to find out what happened to her friend who has allegedly died due to her nerves but who was seen by a trusted and long time servant since her alleged passing.

I had no issues with the writing itself and quite enjoyed the narration here. I think this had potential.

This unfortunately just didn't quite meet my expectations for a historical mystery - for a couple of reasons but honestly primarily it was the plot. It was equal parts predictable and unoriginal. Men controlling and abusing their wives and family members by locking them up in an asylum? It's just been done so much and I don't feel like this added any new or valuable twists or turns. I would have much preferred for Lady Petra to have chosen to go undercover at the asylum and actually take some sort of active role instead of just letting things happen to her which is how she spent a majority of this book.

I also didn't buy into the romance at all and hated the "cliffhanger" it ends on.

Thanks to MacMillan for the ALC. All thoughts and opinions are my own and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank you to the author and Macmilla audio for the free ALC in exchange for my honest review . Not sure what is going on with the netgalley app but the audiobook isn't continusly playing just constantly pausing and not playing. Less then 1 % in before crashing.

Lady Petra is a self proclaimed spinster. She lost the love of her life, her fiance in a tragic accident, and is independently wealthy due to an inheritance from her late mother. So she states she will not marry, this keeps her independence. Some of the men around her are resentful of this. At a ball, she learns some strange news from a footman, and when she tries to meet up with him the next day to learn more, bad things happen, and she realizes that she has uncovered a conspiracy.

This is a wonderful regency cozy mystery, with a dash of romance MacMillan Audio for the advanced listener copy. Eilidh Beaton narrates, and is wonderful.

Every now and then, I need a vacation away from the police procedurals, legal thrillers and dark mysteries. But while I may want something light, I don’t want anything silly. The title here gave me hope; as did the blurb which described it as a “Regency mystery with a feminist spin”. But I was disappointed. This was a big miss for me.
Lady Petra lost her fiancé to a senseless accident three years ago and decided she was no longer of a mind to be married. Luckily, she has the independent means to make such a choice. She is, however, still mourning the loss of a deep friendship with Duncan over a squabble after her fiancé’s death. She learns of the death of a good friend but is confused when a footman says he saw the woman days after she supposedly died. Connally drops clues like breadcrumbs for the reader. It was a bit too predictable for my taste, and relied on one too many coincidences. And then it started coming across like some sort of weird psychological thriller, which is when it truly fell apart for me. This is not a cozy mystery and those who go into it expecting that are going to be truly disappointed.
Petra was a decent main character, self confident and bold, not afraid to speak her mind (even when common sense would have her be silent). But most of the men are cliched villains or weak, other than the love interest. And if I heard one more comment about his strong arm or other masculine body part, I was going to be sick. I wanted a mystery, not a romance.
Connally does a good job of setting the stage and giving a firm sense of time and place. Gossip is definitely the coin of the realm in the Ton. But Connally relied on it too much and spent a lot of time throwing out names and ranks at the reader that did nothing to advance the plot. And she has absolutely no sense of timing. If you played out everything Petra does during the climax, it would take many more minutes than the time allotted.
Maybe I read too much, but it seems every other historic mystery I pick up has a similar theme of men trying to rid themselves of bothersome women. It’s getting a little old. And other books have done it better.
It was also weird that Connally threw in little stories about several of the minor characters, like they were scenes from a previous book. It happened so often I actually checked to see if this was part of a series. But no, it’s a stand-alone. Or maybe I should say the first of a series.
My thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for an advance copy of this book.

Genre: historical mystery
England, 1815

Lady Petra Forsyth, daughter of an earl, is a self-proclaimed spinster. Upon her mother’s death, she was bequeathed a large sum of money with no restrictions, allowing her own financial independence. Raised primarily by her father, Petra has always been bold, preferring to cut her own path in society by wearing pants and riding astride and not caring how many dances she dances per night despite her marital status. She’s saddened to hear of the sudden passing of a dear friend, and starts to realize that pieces of her friend’s death don’t add up, despite proneness to illness. Not one to sit idly by, Petra takes it upon herself to find out what’s going on.

With an intriguing setup, I was eager to pick up this regency era mystery by Celeste Connally. I enjoy a good 19th century lady detective style mystery, but unfortunately this one fell rather flat for me. While many of the themes of the novel interest me - feminism/women carving their own paths in society - the story itself lacked an originality. (Unfortunately, while the reasons for this are easily guessed early in the story, they are spoilers, so I won’t write about them in this review.) I think if you are looking for an entry-point into the regency era with a mystery, this may be a good option to pick up! The themes will interest the contemporary reader, but for someone who reads a lot set in this era, it felt overly familiar.

That said, the writing is solid, and I’m honestly still interested enough to pick up a second book in this series. I enjoyed the narration by Eilidh Beaton, who gives Petra great character and whose storytelling helped keep my interest. The writing and narration earned this book a rounded up rating.

Thank you to St Martins Press and MacMillan audio and NetGalley for an eARC and ALC for review. Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord is out 11/14.

This book reminds me of a mix of Jane Austen meets mystery with heavy notes of progressive themes. As someone who leans more towards the conservative side, I still enjoyed it. The narrator did a wonderful job!

A fun twisty mystery. It does get dark in the 2nd half. Lady Petra Forsyth is an engaging & entertaining character. I thought it might lean more towards a cozy mystery but it gets a little gothic with the asylum. And the level of danger Lady Petra is in of becoming a victim herself. It started a little slowly but gained momentum quickly once Petra starts asking inconvenient questions. There’s a mild cliffhanger at the end that also sets up the next mystery. There’s a smidge of romance but this is mainly a mystery. The edge of your seat moments come from wondering how she’s going to get out of dangerous situations. I wasn’t particularly shocked by any of the revelations but still enjoyed it overall.
Thank you to McMillan Audio & NetGalley for this advance audiobook.

Slow moving in the beginning but it does pick up & turns into a mystery of sorts. Entertaining though a tad predictable at times. This isn’t my normal book, so that probably adds to my mid-rating.

Thank you NetGalley for this audio ARC!

Thanks to Celeste Connally, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for allowing me to list to a free audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this novel! It's definitely a slow burn without perhaps more exposition than necessary, and Petra and Duncan's relationship could have been built up more over another book or two before consummation (I feel like that was a significant point in their lives, much less their relationship, and it was blown off with a couple suggestive lines; also, after Petra's drama of refusing to move on from her one true love and declaring to society she'll remain single forevermore, she discarded that stance pretty quickly once she and Duncan had reconciled). Otherwise this was a great historical mystery, and I look forward to the next installment.

Vibe review - no spoilers! Bridgeton meets Pride and Prejudice. Jane Austen lovers will appreciate the writing style, but this book has a more progressive mentality than books written in that era. I loved the main character and the plot line of following the "spinster" of the ton was refreshing.

The mystery was gripping! If you want something not too heavy and not too light, with good snark set in the 1800's England, this is for you. I loved that the FMC was comfortable in her skin and proved herself competent. If you have ever been asked the question "If you could live in the past, what era would you live in?" and you say, "None of them, they would think I was crazy or a witch!" then welcome to the life of Petra. She's a head strong protagonist with an investigation circling around "difficult women".

4/5 stars for slower pacing in the front half of the book, but well worth it in the end. The audiobook was fantastic and I really enjoyed the narrator's tone, diction, and emotion.

I enjoyed this first entry in a new Regency-era mystery series. We are introduced to Lady Petra, a woman of independent means and spirit, and the cast of characters in her life. We quickly come to understand that Lady Petra does not follow the conventions of her place in society, and she feels the need to push boundaries when things are not right.

In this story we follow Lady Petra and her allies as they investigate some mysterious happenings in her circle. Historical fiction isn't typically my favorite genre, but I do enjoy some mysteries in a historical setting. The author has set up a group of characters who I would be happy to follow in more books in the series. There were a couple of plot points that I found frustrating, even as I set aside some expections for this type of historical mystery.

The narrator did a fine job.

Thank you to #NetGalley and #MacmillanAudio for a free copy of Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord by Celeste Connally. All opinions are my own.

I really like Lady Petra and her surrounding cast of characters, but I feel this book was a bit slow at points. It was quite a long audiobook, and with the 11+ hour timestamp, I expected a deeper story, to dive into the characters a bit more. It was a fun mystery and very satisfying ending. It sets up Petra and her crew to possibly take on more cases of this nature in the future, which I would gladly listen to again. I loved the feminist themes in the book and appreciate this era of history being seen through the lens of women empowerment.

A perfect combination of a regency period novel and a mystery/thriller! I didn’t see the climax coming and it was so interesting! I’ve read and listened to a few books that would fit in this same genre and this is the best yet!

Lady Petra Forsyth has sworn off marriage after the loss of her beloved fiancé who died in a tragic accident. Lady Petra’s mother was a woman ahead of her time and provided her with a sizable inheritance allowing Petra to have the independent life she desires. Petra uses her social status and inheritance to her advantage and enjoys the best society has to offer.

Lady Petra is devastated when she learns that a dear friend, Gwen, died of “melancholia” while in the care of a less than reputable physician. However, gossip soon circulates that Gwen has been spotted in London several times since she reportedly died. Petra begins to investigateo and uncovers a devious plot by the upper class men of London to have their inconvenient wives and daughters locked away. In her efforts to help Gwen and the other women, Petra finds herself in grave danger.

This Regency Era mystery was fast paced and intriguing. Lady Petra is a force to be reckoned with and I enjoyed getting to know her. This novel includes other strong female characters such as Annie, the lady’s maid, and Petra’s godmother, the duchess. Duncan, Lady Petra’s love interest, is an interesting and complex character. Some of the characters and their actions were a bit stereotypical but there are some more modern themes thrown in to balance it out.

Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord has been described as a combination of Agatha Christie and Bridgerton which is fairly accurate. This story does not have the spice of Bridgerton but the setting is the same and the story lines are similar. Some parts of the story were predictable but there were a few twists thrown in that balanced that out. The way the story wrapped up was perfect and the bombshell thrown in at the very end was shocking.

Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord is an intriguing mystery and thoughtful commentary on society and the challenges women face. This novel will satisfy all your Regency Era cravings!

AUDIO 11h 15m 17s Narrator Eilidh Beaton

Available Nov. 14, 2023 Macmillan Audio - Minotaur Books

There are a flood of characters who pop in and out and while I can't say I could differentiate them much better via audio than I did with the print version, I cannot blame the narrator. There were just so many characters that my brain wasn't taking them in initially. I had the same issue with the print version, so it was definitely more just the crowd of characters than any weakness of the narration. Having finished the Kindle version a couple days before, I had the benefit of knowing this time which I didn't need to focus on, however. As I note in my print review, which will follow here, I didn't totally disregard the characters as they may be important as the series evolves, and it's definitely being presented as the start of a series given the ending.

Narrator Beaton does an admirable job, although for me, Lady Petra initially came off as a bit tojo soft sounding. I did note a strengthening as voice as the story went along, however, so I ultimately found it a satisfying. Probably even intentional. I should note that this very British story is done with a British accent, so be prepared to take a few moments to adjust if you are not used to hearing that. Chapters were simply announced via the chapter number. I definitely appreciated the audio version of the latter part of the book as it captured the tension well.

Original review below:

Being a history buff and fan of cozy mysteries, this one intrigued me. I've gotten somewhat away from my reading of Regency romances but the blurb sounded like it might fit into that former favorite genre. We initially meet the free-thinking Lady Petra and Annie, her maid, in the stable. Seems Petra is fond of riding astride, a practice sure to horrify nobility, and she's rushing to change clothing into a respectable riding outfit (think sidesaddle) with Annie's help after the unexpected arrival of her staid uncle. Unfortunately, all their efforts go for naught as he saw her astride and is taking her father, the Earl, to task for it, pretty much demanding Petra marry. Her father, lucky Petra, is also rather forward thinking and supportive of her independence, but her uncle persists. Can one angry relative be enough to force her to marry? Her late mother left her an inheritance free from any one else's management, hence her ability to go her own way, but life in that era isn't easy for females. Actually, as Petra discovers, she only knows the half of it.

The premise was interesting, the idea of women being sent to an asylum simply because they'd become a burden to their husband. True, some have legitimate health/mental issues but, as Petra discovers, it's become a tool of some wealthy men to rid themselves of a difficult, rebellious wife who can't be cowed. Petra, independently wealthy, had announced that she never planned to wed after the death of her first love, begins to investigate. She's fortunate enough not only to have the security of money and her father behind her, but good friends. That includes Annie. And, then there's Duncan. He's a childhood friend, the one who introduced her to the love of her life, in fact, but they'd gradually become distant and even hostile. But, he's back and soon to be part of Petra's life and plans. They're dangerous plans, too, with a bad guy you'll love to hate, but, well, it took the book a long time to get to that point.

Although I grew to like Petra despite her almost too perfect to be true self, only seeming to show her temper to Duncan, I found myself boggled down in what seemed an endless stream of petty details, names and titles and relationships early on. Heck, we even learned a bit about her horses. Back story is important, especially when a new series debuts, but this one nearly lost me when, sigh, not much was going on until around the halfway point of the book. Many of those names and titles I spent some time trying to sort out and make sense of what role they played in the grand scheme of things turned out to play little or no role. The use of names and titles can always be bewildering to those of us not raised where such are common, alas, but perhaps these characters will play a role in future books as this seems designed to be a series.
Despite the slow beginning and build, the ending was quite exciting and showed how determined people can work together to create a better world for others. Was it easy? Of course not. Nor were Petra and her supporters willing to just resolve the big danger. In fact, they seemed to be willing to dole out a bit of revenge, making the ending all the more tasty. Thanks #NetGalley and #StMartin'sPress - #MinotaurBooks for introducing me to Petra and the world she lives in. The characters and story hooked me enough that I'll be looking forward to seeing what develops...or doesn't develop...between Petra and Duncan.

I'm not a frequent historical fiction reader, but this book intrigued me. It started off a bit slow, but ended up being an interesting story with compelling characters.