I voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I wanted to like this book but the whole time I was reading, inside my head I was seeing a silent movie. All of the characters were like caricatures. The villainous men fawning over the innocent troubled young woman. Which leads me to the main character of Violet. Despite her age of 28 she appeared very naive even for the time period, and there was zero chemistry between her and her love interest Benjamin. As I understand it, this may be the authors debut which explains a lot and so I am a little more understanding of the flaws. This may be a me thing and I hope others may enjoy the story.

No life for a lady by Hannah Dolby

Its 1896 and Violets mum disappeared ten years ago and Violet now has the opportunity to hire a private detective to find her.. but it’s not going the way she has envisioned.

Violets whole world has revolved around her mother, from her mother’s guidance in the ways of love to her disappearance which created a big hole in Violets life and turned her life upside down and now Violet is going to take control of her life and find her mother, have some fun and maybe experience love…

This book is a joy.. I was a little wary of it at first but I soon warmed up and fell in love with Violet.. it is a joyful, funny read which you will be rooting for Violet and rooting for Violet to experience the world which she has been hidden away from.. I hope that this book is going to be the first of many adventures that that we have with Violet and her desire to become a lady detective.

This book got 5 stars from me.. I loved it!

#Nolifeforalady #NetGalley #Mystery #Mother #Fun

A big thank you to Hannah Dolby, Aria & Aries, and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. No Like for a Lady comes out March 02, 2023!

No Life for a Lady is a delightful histotical fiction that has romance, mystery and a stong women discovering what she is made of. There is one thing Violet absolutely refuses to do and that is get married, even if her father keeps throwing gentelmen at her. Ten years ago Violets mom disapeared, noone know is she ran off or in the worst case murdered. Violet is done not knowing which is the case, so in an effort to find out what happened she hires a detective, Mr.Knight. But after a couple interactions with him she can tell that she made a mistake in hiring him, so when she sees an advirtisment for another detective a Mr. Blackthorn, she thinks she can hire another detective. Too bad Mr. Blackthorn is determined to leave detective work behind and sell furniture instead. What ensues is Violet discovering that she is not just a lady, she can almost anything including a typist and a lady detective.

I really enjoyed this novel, it was fast paced and funny. Violet develops into such a brave and ambitious female character. Honestly some of the things she said made me laugh so hard. I really like seeing her start to take more control of her life and start to go for what she wants. Well this book is mainly womens fiction there is some romance and honestly it was just really cozy to see it develop. The only reason this was not a five star read for me was that the ending felt a little rushed and even though the big mystery was solved there were still some things not resolved that really could have been resolved in an epilogue. All of that aside if you are looking for a fast paced novel full of mystery and heart, No Life for a Lady is the book for you.

This was such a good book. I love historical fiction, especially when it is about eras/ situations that I previously knew nothing about and this was definitely one of those books. It was so well researched and so compelling in its narrative that not only did I love reading it but I felt that I learned too. A really enjoyable read and perfect for any fans of historical fiction.

This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

Violet Hamilton is not a typical lady, at 28 years old she is not at all interested in marrying, despite the number of suitors her father sets her up with. What she wants is to find out what happened to her mother, who disappeared ten years ago.

I absolutely loved this book. Violet was such an interesting character, she’s determined and independent. But utterly innocent and with her own charm. I loved the elements of mystery and romance. I would thoroughly recommend this uplifting tale.

4-5 stars
In the summer of 1886, Violet Hamilton’s beautiful mother kisses her goodbye, heads for a party and disappears, the last sighting being on Hastings pier. Ten years on, Violet decides to hire private detective Frank Knight to search for her mother though sadly he inspires little confidence. Can Violet solve the mystery herself but keep her reputation intact?

This is a wonderful surprise of a book whose lively writing engages me instantly. The chief charm of the book is Violet herself who you cannot help but love. She delights you with her avoidance of marriage, her independence and courage of spirit, her wit and humour, her cleverness and yet she’s also an innocent of the ways of the world, she’s wonderfully naive which gets her into a scrape or three. The characterisation is strong throughout from her curmudgeonly father whose determination she should marry is equally matched by Violet’s determination to the contrary, grumpy Edith the servant, the erratic and odd Mr Knight and the potential of Mr Benjamin Blackthorne.

This is a wonderful blend of humour ( laugh out loud at times), of innocent/not so innocent misunderstandings and crossed wires, of the unconventional versus the conventions of the day and there’s the mystery of the missing mother and a dash of Victorian/not so Victorian romance all in a great setting of St Leonard’s on Sea and Hastings. It’s an extremely easy glide through read and a gem of a book. It’s a highly entertaining, joyful book and I’m so hoping to meet Violet again maybe as a fully fledged detective! She’s a character you won’t forget in a hurry.

Highly recommended.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Aria and Aries for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

Fun mystery/historical story with a strong female protagonist.
Violet is 28 and unmarried, unheard of in the late 1800's. Her mother left when she was 18 and she has always wondered why. Her father thinks she is dead. Violet pawns some jewelry and hires a detective to find her - even though it is now 10 years later. She soon realizes that the detective is not what she thought and tries to get him to stop. Meanwhile she meets another former detective and starts working for him as a typist. Her reputation is in question, her father has found another lady to woo, and Violet feels as though life is running away from her. Can she solve her mother's disappearance before her father forces her to marry?

"No Life for a Lady" was a book that I mostly enjoyed, despite major defects.

The book tells the story of Violet Hamilton, a 28-year-old spinster, whose mother mysteriously disappeared ten years earlier. Now, in 1896, Violet is still not married, wary of suitors who would pursue her because of their fascination for her mother who vanished, and worried of what being married entails. She has a clear idea of what she wants to do with her life: she wants to work, if possible, as a Lady Detective. This is all well and good, but she doesn't actually make a very good detective. First of all, she didn't really dig into her mother's past, preferring to employ Mr Knight, a suspicious detective. Then, when she befriends a would-not-be detective, Mr Blackthorn, she doesn't even try to learn from him. She rather asks him to delegate tasks to her, then she messes up and attempts to hide her mistakes. She is naive, impulsive and (she says so herself) foolish.

It was pretty funny at time to see what she got up to, but mostly it was annoying, when with a bit of common sense, she could have done so much better! [Spoiler: I mean, robbing a museum, when she could have had access to the artefact without much issue just by asking...]

Another point that was disappointing was that many characters didn't have full stories - they would appear at some point in the story, be used for one purpose (or none, such as the Misses Spencer, who didn't contribute to any part of the plot), then be completely forgotten. It's a shame their characters were not more developed and that they didn't appear more regularly throughout the stories.

I also found that the background could have been more detailed. The writing is mostly focused on the dialogues and action, which make the story dynamic, but more descriptions of the environment, of the characters' expressions, etc. would have make it easier to picture what the characters were living. The story could have easily taken place a couple of decades earlier, and I wouldn't have seen the difference, because there is no information about the context: the socio-economic paradim, the fashion, the customs... At the same time, the book could have probably been made a little more succinct but cutting out some necessary part.

The best parts of this story was its wit and humour, and the original mix between romcom, comedy and mystery. I enjoyed the originality of having a foolish spinster as heroin, I found the romance a nice additional touch, and the mystery was really well developed. The style was pretty good as well.

Despite my criticism, overall, it is a book that I rather enjoyed, I would give it 3 small stars. I think it had great potential, with a plot in the Enola Holmes series vein, but it fell short of the mark due to its underdeveloped, semi-likeable characters, the messy plot and the lack of context. This is normal for a debut novel, and hopefully Hannah Dolby's next books will be ever better :)

*I received a free e-ARC and this is my honest opinion*

While I did enjoy the story and the writing overall, I had to give this three stars because for the first four-ish chapters, Violet drove me absolutely mad. It meant I found myself feeling the urge to put the book down more often than usual.

Generally, Violet is a combination of all things wonderful to read in a female protagonist. She’s confident, determined, independent, stubborn, curious, and she refuses to settle for anything less than what she wants.

While we see her coming into her own, and growing up throughout the book (as despite being 28, being unmarried during the 1890s leaves you fairly naive and innocent), it took a while for me to feel invested with Violet as a character. I initially found her irritating, and really struggled with the mixture of self-assurance she demonstrated when putting off suitors, and regression to naive teen when discussing her mother. As other reviews have said, there is a fine balance between her naivety and boldness and this was something that I originally didn’t like. Additionally, the pacing could sometimes be too slow for my liking, but this is subjective and I do like a quicker pace within this genre.

It is well worth persevering however, as the overarching storyline and characters we’re introduced to later on are written with dry wit and humour, making for an entertaining, easy read. Definitely worth reading, and I’m sure I’ll be adding this to my physical book shelf at some point.

My initial read through was via an ARC I requested on NetGalley, but my review is my own and unbiased.

Violet Hamilton is a 28-year-old self-professed spinster living in 1896 Hastings with her father, and she has never had closure since her vivacious, beautiful mother disappeared 10 years earlier. She secretly decides to hire a private detective for the case in an attempt to move forward with her life. However, she is not pleased with the obsessive, aggressive PI (Mr. Knight, who refuses to be fired) and tries to convince another more honorable (former) PI (now furniture seller) to take the job. Meanwhile, her uptight, remote father is constantly throwing possible husband candidates her way. She just wants to solve the mystery and begin to experience and explore the possibilities around her, including her dream of a profession, but discovers that is not so easily undertaken for a woman. As she begins to discover secrets about her mother, she finds herself questioning everything in their family’s past and realizes there is no quick fix to be had. How will she uncover the truths and be able to embrace a future with so many doubts and unknowns?

I loved this debut SO much!! While the subject matter was not always humorous, it was written with such wry wit and charm throughout that I devoured it and hated to reach the end. This has much to say about a woman’s place in society (hence the title) during this period and just how precarious and vulnerable her situation could be. There are moments of great levity amidst the humor when I was struck by sadness and sympathy by both Violet’s attempts at independence and her confusion about and loss of her mother which curtailed all of the advice/knowledge that she would have gained from her.

Violet is one of those incandescent characters who grab your heartstrings with her hilarity, determination and bravery and lingers in your mind long after her story is told. Extra praise also for the rest of the excellent and colorful cast.

Highly recommended.

My sincere thanks to the author, NetGalley and Aria for providing the free early arc of No Life for a Lady for review. The opinions are strictly my own.

I really hope this is not the last time I read about Violet! I loved her as a main character! She was fiercely strong, independent, and lacked a filter which made me giggle several times throughout. While I am ignorant of the time period, this felt well researched; I had no trouble diving into the setting.

I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

This is a great story of a ferociously independent lady who wants to rebel against the Victorian expectations set out for her of marriage and children, and instead to pursue a career.
Her choice of career is very much rooted in the mysterious disappearance of her mother when she was still a teenager and she sets out to solve the mystery with not one but two private detactives.
Violet is an absolute joy to read- her inner turmoil about continuing to please her father and at least try to consider the never ending stream of potential suitors versus her desire to be a detective and to find her own way in life is particularly well described.
Along the way she meets a number of great characters, gets into several tricky and reputationally dangerous situations, misunderstands a number of situations due to her innocence of life and there is doubt about whether she will achieve her goals. Every page will have you rooting for her to indeed become a Lady Detective!

I'm a sucker for books in which female characters don't' fit into the mode for the time period. And I love reading about female detectives. And this one had both.

What an absolutely delightful book with which to begin my 2023 year of reading!
No Life for a Lady by Hannah Dolby is such fun to read and I definitely had difficulty putting it down. The main character Violet is a force to be reckoned with - a mixture of innocence and naivety, exuberance and curiosity, and strength and determination. It is thrilling to watch how she navigates coming into her own as the book progresses.
The book is utterly charming, with a gentle humour that carries throughout its pages. The lack of communication between various characters and the resulting misunderstandings lead to many of these humourous instances, much to the delight of the reader.
To round things out, there is an interesting mystery and a budding romance that keep you turning the page to the end.
#NoLifeforaLady is a well-written historical tale, and I am grateful to #NetGalley for the ARC. I can hardly wait to see what Violet does next.

No Life for a Lady
by Hannah Dolby

Pub Date 02 Mar 2023
Publisher :Aria & Aries,
Genre :General Fiction (Adult) | Historical Fiction | Women's Fiction

we are in 1896 in the Victorian era in this book and ASDA 10 years ago missing she is now how the detective to help figure out what has happened to her mother. We are following Violet through out her story on what has happened. Knowing you're own mind in this this time period is very dangerous

I really enjoyed the historical aspect of the story although at times the pacing is slow.

I liked the historical fiction aspect and having a woman "do man's job" but this book took awhile for me to get into. I found myself getting bored often. I am not sure if it was the actual story or the writing. Also, not 100% sure the romance was necessary, as I would have preferred to read more about the missing.

In these Victorian times, the only real prospect for Violet is marriage, but at twenty-eight she might already have left it too late. Since her mother disappeared ten years previously, she has kept house for her father and fabricated accounts of her charitable works as required, in order to keep the interfering women of the parish at bay.
For years she has dreamt of hiring a private detective to trace her mother. She hires Frank Knight, but by the time she realises he is suspect, it is too late to transfer the case to Benjamin Blackthorn who on the other hand is shaping up to be exactly the answer to her prayers. So, she starts the sleuthing herself, in between fending off the unsuitable marriage specimens forced on her by her father.
No Life for a Lady, Hannah Dolby’s debut is just perfect. Violet is a wonderful character, funny and interesting with a finely balanced naivety. She flings herself headlong into the search, paying only the briefest attention to the necessary conventions and hampered by her scant life knowledge until all the pieces start to fall into place.
I loved this joyful entertaining read and am delighted at the invitation from Head of Zeus through Netgalley UK to read it.

Brilliant read with a plucky protagonist and fantastic plot. I loved it!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me read an advance copy of the book.

No Life for a Lady by Hannah Dolby

Violet Hamilton is a woman who knows her own mind. Which, in 1896, can make things a little complicated...

At 28, Violet's father is beginning to worry she will never find a husband. But every suitor he presents, Violet finds a new and inventive means of rebuffing.

Because Violet does not want to marry. She wants to work, and make her own way in the world. But more than anything, she wants to find her mother Lily, who disappeared from Hastings Pier 10 years earlier.

Finding the missing is no job for a lady, but when Violet hires a seaside detective to help, she sets off a chain of events that will put more than just her reputation at risk.
Loved the main character Violet and how her modern ( for the time ) determination on not being married off to a whole heap of men who her father has deemed eligible to marry her off to.
A different style of mystery genre which keep me guessing until the end.
A must read.

This was a very enjoyable read!

It was fun, well paced and with some very nice twists and turns. Also, who can resist Mr Blackthorn….