England, 1867: Miss Poppy Delamare is living a lie. To escape an odious betrothal, she fled to London where she’s been hiding as the unassuming secretary Flora Deaver. However, when her beloved sister is accused of murder, Poppy cannot leave her to the wolves. Only a most unexpected—and unwelcome—collision interrupts her journey home . . .
Despite a rather dismal first meeting, Joshua Fielding, the Duke of Langham, has no intention of abandoning a lady in need. But he’s not above asking a favor. A fake betrothal will give Poppy and her sister the power of the dukedom and protect Langham from the society misses intent on becoming his duchess.
Yet the longer the ruse goes on, the more Poppy and Langham realize how false their first impressions were—and the less pretend their engagement feels. But before Langham can propose in truth, their search reveals a tangled web of lies and betrayals. With time running out, can Poppy and Langham find the real culprit—before Poppy becomes the next victim?
My ReviewA Spinster's Guide to Danger and Dukes by Manda Collins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟.5
If you like historical romance and you like mystery novels, this is a nice balance of both. Poppy is a strong leading lady and I'd say she could even border being a grump. But what I like most is that she can hold her own with the upper-class snooty people she encounters.
I like that Joshua doesn't just try to step in and fix her problems. He understands that some men aren't willing to openly discuss things with her but he finds a way to get the information for her.
Poppy was living under a different identity when she moved to London. It was to protect herself from her stepfather, who tried to marry her off to an odious man. What she never expected was that he'd force her sister to take her place. Now her sister is being accused of murdering her husband.
She's heading back to support her sister when she literally runs into the Duke of Langham. They aren't friends but he is friends with the men who married her former bosses. Sensing that something is wrong he vows to use his title to help her and her sister. But he has a small request of his own, pretend to be his fiance to protect him from the women his grandmother has lined up for him to meet.
The better to get to know each other the more the lines of fake and real get blurred for them. Langham would like to make the engagement real. But they still need to find the real killer and are surprised to find that it ties to Langham's great-grandfather. Will they be able to find the person responsible before they strike again?
Thank you so much to the author and Forever for this ARC to review.
View all my reviews
Comments
Post a Comment