Thank you NetGalley and Forever Grand Central Publishing for allowing me to read this book early for an honest review!

This series keeps getting better with each new book! I love the character development and witty banter. This is a great historical/mystery/romance that takes you on a wild ride! The book is a fast read with elements of surprise and fun along the way. I love the trigger warnings up front as well! (Off-the-page descriptions of violence and murder, attempted assault, discussion of mental abuse)

I hope this series continues because it is a lot of fun!

Poppy Delamare (alias Flora Deaver) fled home at a young age to escape a horrible marriage and has not looked back. But when she reads in the newspaper that her stepsister--who was married off to that same horrible man--has been arrested for his murder, she rushes home without a second thought. She is thrown together almost from the start by Joshua Fielding, the Duke of Langham, who she strongly dislikes. Mostly, she dislikes his arrogance and his apparent belief that he has the right to butt inter her affairs. But when they find out they can each help the other with their objectives, they work out a pact to pose as an engaged couple while back at home. Will they find true love through a fake engagement? Or will Poppy and her loved ones end up dead instead?

First of all, content and trigger warnings are provided up front, which is highly refreshing! (They include fat shaming, violent death, fear of enclosed spaces, abuse, and others--but most are referred to rather than described. Also an open door scene). While our heroine, Poppy, sees Langham as being the arrogant and high-handed one, I personally found her to be haughty and prejudiced against the rich. The way the book is written I initially thought it could easily be categorized as an upbeat YA book, perhaps with the exception of an open-door scene. Poppy is a strong woman, but it is made clear that in her time and place she would not have had much success without the backing and support of a powerful man's name to give her oddness some legitimacy (an element that is sometimes forgotten by other authors in their historical mysteries). I found the story to be interesting and satisfying, and while it does not have to be read in order with the other books in the series, I found it more interesting having done so.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley and this is my freely given opinion.

I have a habit of reading Manda Collins books out of order. I don't mean to, but it just happens; it happened with two of her other series too. So I did not read the first two of the series, even though they are on my TBR list and in my library - life just gets in the way.

But on with it. Spinster Poppy Delamere has been hiding her identity as Flora Deaver, the employee and friend to Lady Katherine, and Caroline Hardcastle, in London. This was to escape an unwanted match arranged by her hated stepfather. What she did not know was that he would turn around and marry his own daughter, Poppy's half sister Violet to this man instead. A couple of years after her escape, Poppy is in a rush to leave London after finding out that Violet has been accused of murdering her husband. Poppy is desperate to get to her and help her, feeling guilt that Violet was forced to suffer because of Poppy's actions, when she ran away.

At the train station, Poppy is robbed of her reticule and most of her cash, and when trying to stop the cutpurse from escaping with her funds, slams into Joshua Fielding, the Duke of Langham. They are not friends, despite their shared friends having wed. Poppy, an intelligent, independent working woman, and daughter of a vicar, seems to have a strong distrust/dislike of men, the aristocracy, and dislike of Langham in particular as they have not appeared to have had pleasant interactions in the past (and here is where I wish I read the other books first...).

Langham, despite being a duke, is not as cold, pompous, etc as others may think. While he may not have been complimentary in the past, he seems to appreciate Poppy's intelligence, independence, honesty, and forthrightness. When he finds out Poppy's story, wants to help her, but also perceives a reciprocal gain for himself, as they are both going to the same place, as his ducal estate is part of the town where Poppy's family is now living. He is joining a house party where his grandmother will be playing matchmaker, and he wants to protect himself from the hopeful marriage minded singles invited by his family to the event by parading Poppy as his betrothed. In return, he would use his ducal power to help Poppy and her sister, as Poppy is convinced that Violet would not have killed her husband.

This was a rather light murder mystery, romance. Langham and Poppy, in the pretense of a love match learn to see beyond the surface and appreciate each other; being open and sharing their secrets and vulnerabilities. Poppy discovers that Langham is a warm, caring, generous friend and lover, and Langham grows to realize that Poppy would be an ideal duchess, despite being of a different class, and that she is loyal, intelligent, strong willed, and honest with him, appreciating him as more than a rich Duke. It was an easy, fun read and quite enjoyable.

3.75 stars out of 5

A Spinster's Guide to Danger and Dukes, by Manda Collins
adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced
Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.5

I loved this one!! The enemies to lovers vibes were immaculate. It was much easier to jump into this story after knowing the characters from Manda’s earlier novels.

The plot and story was so entertaining. It also felt actually plausible. Fake dating?! A murder to solve?! Enemies to lovers?! A fake identity?! Ah yeah. This was fantastic.

Also that cave scene was damn good. Joshua is one of my new favorite dukes.

I love this stubborn, smart group of friends. Highly recommend for any historical romance reader!

Thanks to NetGalley for a digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

This was just okay. Cute banter between Poppy and Joshua but it felt very predictable and drawn out.

*I received an ARC of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review with my honest opinion.*

I LOVED this book so much. The banter, the intrigue, the mystery, the pining, AND adding a fake relationship trope? This was absolutely perfect. This is the third book in the very entertaining “Ladies Most Scandalous” series by Manda Collins. Although it can be read as a standalone, I hope you’ll treat yourself to the whole series. It’s the perfect blend of romance and mystery. In addition to delightful banter, swoony romance, engrossing mystery, this series celebrates empowering female friendship.

I finished this book a day ago and it has consumed a majority of my thoughts. I am honestly so tempted to re-read this entire series because I absolutely LOVED it!!! I feel so giddy even just writing this because of the joy this book brought me. I really hope there are going to be more books in this series but I guess in the meantime I will just definitely have to read it over and over again. I am so thankful I was able to download from NetGalley.

For the last two years Poppy has been living in London working for Kate & Caro. She ran away from home because her stepfather wanted her to marry his secretary, which didn’t stop dear old step-dad he set up Poppy’s sister with him. Now her sister’s husband is dead & her sister is the main suspect.

This series is so good! I love how it mixes romance with a murder mystery plot, and the couples from previous books show up which is always a plus!

This book allured me into searching for the previous two books in the series "a lady's guide" (will be reading them once I get my hands on them). And right off the bat, this gives the reader what they are looking for in a historical romance (or me in this case); it has enemies to lovers, where they meet accidentally and well accompany each other, a reverse sunshine x grump trope, although his soft spot only remains for her and cherry on top he falls first.
The writing is incredible. A spinster's guide to danger and dukes was my first historical romance and I'm all too aware and sure that Manda's writing has set the bar for me.
Almost forgot to mention, it involves mystery-solving and a little bit of suspense

I would consider A Spinster’s Guide to Danger and Dukes a nice cozy read. It is part of a series and while it makes sense to read the previous books I was able to keep up without reading the first two (but am considering reading the first two anyway). It is a romance but also a mystery. I enjoyed Poppy and Joshua’s story.

Fantastic fun! Just what every Jane Austen lover craves! Murder, mystery, dukes and delicious romance! Well done!

When Poppy learns that her sister is going to be hanged for murdering her husband, she flees London. At the train station, however, her purse, and all of her savings, are stolen. Enter the Duke of Langham, the most eligible bachelor of the ton, who offers Poppy a deal - if she agrees to a fake engagement so he can fend off the hordes of women beisegin him every day, he'll help free her sister.

Fake engagement is my favourite trope ever in romance. Well, maybe not ever, I think enemies to lovers is way up there too. This was fine. I hated the way the Duke's family treats Poppy when her introduces her, that was hard. I also felt like the book was quite sad overall and just lacked a bit more fun for me. I did enjoy reading the Duke's point of view so much, it was great to see what was going on through his head and made me appreciate him a lot more. Not a book I fell in love with but very readable.

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy of A SPINSTER'S GUIDE TO DANGER AND DUKES by Manda Collins. I had never read a book by this author before, but I'm interested to read more now. It was a sweet and spicy romance with just a hint of murder mystery, including a Satanic cult, lol. I always enjoy a fake dating (or in this case engagement) trope and watching the couple slowly fall for each other for real, despite themselves. The historical setting is also always fun, and this had lots of good little details to put you in the atmosphere throughout. It was just an enjoyable read and I look forward to more.

A Spinster’s Guide to Danger and Dukes was an absolute treat. Set in 1867 the novel picks up after the second book with Flora (aka Poppy) embarking on a journey to prove her sister innocent of murder, which means returning to her old life. But of course, on her way there, she encounters the infuriating (and terribly handsome) Duke of Langham, who she loathes. To help save Poppy’s sister, and protect Langham from the hordes of ladies who want to marry him, they join in a fake betrothal. But, perhaps Poppy wasn’t correct about her first impression of the Duke, and there seems to be much more to this murder mystery than everyone first thought.
This was a lovely historical romance/murder mystery novel and had some fantastic spooky vibes. There were twists, turns and surprises, tension between the two protagonists, witty dialogue and a little bit of spice. I really enjoyed getting to know Poppy and Langham and the growth of their characters together. It was a quick, light read but I did find that it ended a bit abruptly. I feel like a few more chapters at the end would have helped wrapped things up a bit more without feeling so rushed. Nonetheless, I would highly recommend.

A Spinster's Guide to Danger and Dukes is the third book in Manda Collin's A Lady's Guide series. When I read the second book in the series, I felt like the romance had taken a big back seat to the mystery. This next installment in the series brought the romance back to the forefront, Don't get me wrong; the whodunit storyline is still completely interwoven throughout the story but the romance was a priority.

Flora was introduced in previous books but we come to find out her entire background was a façade. She is really Poppy Delamare who escaped an engagement with a repugnant suitor. that her swindler stepfather was forcing her to marry. She must return home when she learns her sister is accused of murdering her husband (Poppy's old betrothal.) Poppy runs into the Duke of Langham on the train platform. They have have a tenuous relationship but agree to enter into a fake engagement for the duration of his grandmother's house party. He'll get some relief from the matchmakers and she'll get the resources and protection of his name to help her sister. It's hard to see the line between real and fake when feelings become involved.

I really enjoyed this book. Poppy in particular has a great personality but her chemistry with Langham was top notch. Langham definitely fell first. All the little touches and glances. He wanted to take care of Poppy but knew she had the need to be independent. There are a lot of stuff going on with murder, cults, abusive parents, fake identities and more but it still felt light and fun. I read it in almost one sitting. Couples from previous books do make an appearance. I don't feel like you need to read the prior books but they do add to the experience. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series.

Thank you to NetGalley, Manda Collins, and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for this eARC. All opinions expressed are my own.
#netgalley #mandacollins #forevergrandcentralpublishing #aspinstersguidetodangeranddukes

Fun rom com set in the past with a mystery and intrigue to keep you hooked from the start. The characters are engaging and while I am usually one for guessing a mystery this one kept me on my toes which was a nice surprise. Would highly recommend

I LOVED this book so much. The banter, the intrigue, the mystery, the pining, AND adding a fake relationship trope? This was absolutely perfect. I really enjoyed it and I am looking forward to more by this author!

Flora Deaver, spinster, and employee of a newspaper in London has skipped town to go back to help her sister who has been accused of murder. Flora is also not Flora, her given name is Miss. Poppy Delamore amd ahe changed it to escape marrying a man whom her stepfather promised her to. The man whom her sister Victoria married and is accused of murdering.

Poppy runs into Duke of Langham, Joshua Fielding (whom she despises) at the train station and he assists her in getting to Little Kidding to help her sister, and agrees to help in any way he can, for a favor of course. Poppy must pretend to be engaged to the Duke while in town so that his grandmother doesn't try to get him engaged to some random woman. While Joshua doesn't much care for Poppy the more he learns of her situation he begins to respect and care for her more and more. But clearing Victoria's name promises not to be quite as easy as he expected it to as he finds corruption in his hometown.

If you enjoy adventure, mystery, romance, history, and recency novels this is the story for you and a great follow up novel to Manda Collins previous novel. A Spinster's Guide to Danger and Dukes is hands down one of the most fun novels I have read this fall and something that you too shall enjoy.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!

This book was a fun and romantic read! I haven’t read the other two books in this series but I still enjoyed this story without missing a beat. So you can definitely read it as a stand-alone without issue. I loved that this book was more than just a romance; there was real plot and well written characters. And fake engagement? Perfect trope!

I enjoyed the characters and the fun plot of a murder mystery. I totally thought I had the ending predicted but I was way wrong haha. The romance was adorable and I loved the mutual respect and adoration the main characters had for each other. Plus the banter and excellent spicy scene 🌶️

Overall, I highly recommend for fans of historical romance with fun twists!

I was completely unaware that this is the newest addition to an established series. I was a bit concerned over the fact that I hadn’t read either of the previous books but I didn’t feel lost, at all however, in my reading.

Despite way too many “chits” and “gels” (which I despise), I really enjoyed this one - Collins’s style is very fun and absolutely steeped in her younger taste of Jane Austen and Nancy Drew, in the best possible way - this story is engaging and fun to read. I’m planning on reading more of this author’s work.

This one is an open door romance.

Recommended.