Lady Sophronia writes the society column for a newspaper, but her urgent ambition is to be a 'proper reporter', reporting real news. To that end she decides to go out looking for a story - and gets more than she'd bargained for. One murder is soon followed by another, and then another, and they seem connected. The detective involved is Jonathan, and he is initially sure that she's just there for the sensation. But as she starts to actually be helpful in solving the case, he changes his mind - and slowly starts to realise that much as he wants to solve the case, he also wants to learn what makes Sophie tick. As they get closer to the answer, though, it becomes plain that the murderer or murderers may be desperate. Will they solve the mystery before one or both of them is added to the body count? And what of 'them'? From two completely different positions socially, surely there can be no future for them as a couple?

This was the first book I've read by the author, but I look forward to the rest of the series. I'm not always into murder mysteries, but the characters in this sounded interesting - and so it turned out to be. He was not-unreasonably wary of society females who went looking for sensation, but was then willing to recognise that such was not the case with Sophie. She thought that females ought to be given a chance to do things rather than being put down because of their gender, but didn't try to insist that women are better than men no matter what, or anything equally stupid. And the two actually communicated! It was an enjoyable and satisfying read, and I was pleased to find no objectionable content - something I'm always afraid of with a new-to-me author.

Note that I received a complimentary copy of the book from NetGalley. I was not required to write a positive review and this is my considered opinion of the book.

Lady Sophronia Bremerton has failed her family by being 'out' for 4 years without finding herself a husband - the only thing to do for a lady of her class. She has other ideas. She writes for a newspaper and wants to turn to become, in effect, what we would call now an investigative journalist. She becomes friends with a small group of like-minded ladies and they form the Blue Orchid Society each outlining their ideal future. This book is Sophie's story. She gets involved with a murder investigation and most of the story revolves around that and the interaction between Sophie and Detective Jonathan Graham. Yes, that develops as a romance but it is secondary to the investigation. She brings an aspect of high society to that which otherwise would probably not be open to the detective. The case proceeds neatly, if a little predictably, but none the worse for that. The secondary characters add to the story - Mimi - grandma of the best kind, sister of the silliest kind, newspaper editor of the evil kind and Sergeant of the best kind. The end felt rushed and I wonder if there is more to come for Sophia and Jonathan. I hope so. I assume that we might also see how the other Blue Orchids tackle and achieve their goals. I look forward to both. Thanks to NetGalley and Covenant Communications for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

What a fun read! Sophie and Jonathan are excellent characters. This book is enjoyable, imaginative and of course, an excellent romance. I would definitely recommend this one to a friend! Enjoy!

I am so excited for this new series. This is Sophronia's story. I love how strong and independent she is, yet she is still kind and thoughtful of others. I love how well she and Detective Graham worked together. The romance was a bonus. I would definitely recommend this book.

Solving Sophronia was a delightful mix of mystery and romance.  A great beginning to an interconnected series with the introduction of many varied yet strong women who become friends.  I loved how it kept me guessing at the solution to the mystery and was delighted to find that the clues I picked up on were part of that solution!  Good writing, strong plot, and wonderful characters!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I enjoyed reading the story of bold Sophronia, who is determined to work hard to achieve her dream of being a serious journalist. Although Detective Graham is at first dismissive of her (which seemed very natural for the time) he quickly sees how her special skills can be helpful for his investigation.
Nicely spun story with a good balance - for my taste - between dialogue and description.
I read a free e-copy from NetGalley; the thoughts expressed are my own.

Lady Sophronia Bremerton wishes nothing more than to become an investigative reporter. Living a life pretending to care about the latest society gossip as she writes her column, ‘Miss Propriety’s People and Prattle’ has grown old and tiresome. When she befriends a group of other young ladies with similar aspirations, they form the Blue Orchid Society- a society of women who each make a goal to live out their dreams. This is a fun story. The characters are wonderful. The mystery is satisfactory. The clues are given at a good pace. It’s pretty easily solvable, but I still enjoyed it. My thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was such an interesting read! It’s the first in the Blue Orchid Society series and I’m excited for more books to come. Lady Sophronia wants to do more than write gossip columns in the newspaper, but her editor won’t give her a chance. In an attempt to impress him, she becomes involved with a murder case and the detective solving it, intending to break the story when it is resolved. She pulls in her friends, the Blue Orchid Society, to help with the investigation. As she and Detective Jonathan Graham work to discover the murderer, each is surprised by what they learn about the other.

I enjoyed the murder mystery element of this story! It made the plot interesting and exciting. I also loved the idea of a group of women breaking the mold. Set in Victorian era London, each is suffering from the restraints of their time, knowing they have more to offer the world as women. I wish there could have been even more interaction between the two love interests, but theirs is such a sweet relationship! Sophie and Jonathan challenge each other, while at the same time fully accept each other. I would definitely recommend to historical fiction or crime lovers!

(4.5 stars) - worthwhile without sacrificing entertaining

I waffled on whether or not I wanted to read this. I'm not a big fan of women's suffrage stories - not that I don't appreciate the hades those women went thru for us to have equal dignity & standing, but I read for escape & those tend to bring me down too much.

Still, I've never been disappointed in one of Jennifer Moore's books, and the early reviews looked good, so I decided to go for it. Happily, I have no regrets.

Sophie's blocked efforts are a little frustrating, but not excessively. And her cleverness at finding a way around the limitations imposed upon her is gratifying.

Detective Graham has to work to overcome his prejudices against women doing "men's work" & of course their class differences which were still substantial in the Victorian era.

The secondary characters really enrich the story & make it even more enjoyable.

I enjoyed it so much that I'm looking forward to seeing what the author does with the rest of the series!

*Clean romance level: sweet kisses, nothing graphic

"Let the real reporters deal with the more complex stories."

This is a victorian style, romance, murder mystery where a woman tries to make her way into the journalism world.

Lady Sophronia knows she doesn't fit into the typical ladies high society, and she makes sure that everyone knows it. She is as powerful woman who wants more to life than having parties in order to meet a potential spouse. She is considered a "failure" for going a few seasons/parties without finding a guy. However, her dream is not necessarily to get married, but to have a life of her own. She is Miss Propriety, the society columnist for the newspaper she works for and she wants to a killer story in order to become a real journalist.

She finds her way into a murder scene, meets the detectives, and gives them insight into the victims attire. While they were left unimpressed at the time, they realized that she was more astute than they originally thought. She meets Detective Jonathan who she ends up having a love interest with.

In the beginning I thought it was going to be one of those reads where the men do not understand the women, but instead, Jonathan ended up recognizing her help which delveloped a friendship and later more.

3.5 Stars!

It's No. 1 in a series by Jennifer Moore called the Blue Orchid Society.
Thank you to Net Galley, Covenant Communications, and Jennifer Moore for providing me this eARC in exchange for my honest reivew.

Sophie and her friends are tired of women not being treated as capable, strong, intelligent, etc. They form a society of friends with pins, inspired by a group of cavalier gentlemen are wearing to promote their intellectual curiosity, success, and endeavors as women, fighting the norms and restrictions that society has imposed on them, and encouraging each other to reach their dreams and live them, forming the Blue Orchid Society. Sophie and Detective Graham were honest, hurting hearts with pasts and presents that seem to keep them from each other. Gorgeous, and well done in terms of the setting, the gradual denouement in order to find the killer, their peace, each other, and both of their tender hearts. Murder mystery side-story that was compelling and heartfelt read.
The crime was particularly fascinating, particularly how it was solved both by Sophie and Detective Graham, although the ending didn't flow quite so smoothly for me as a reader. I received a complimentary copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. My opinions are my own.

Really enjoyable read. Loved Lady Sophronia's character; she had depth and courage. Initally, I was reminded of Emily Morgan's series and had hoped that the mystery piece would continue with other books. However, I look forward to the stories of the other ladies of the Orchid Society. I have no doubt their characters will be just as deep and compelling as Sophronia.

I really enjoyed this book. It reminded me a lot of Lisa Kleypas's Wallflowers series. My only wish is that it was longer and that there was more character development.

Thank you net galley for the advance reader copy of this novel. This was a phenomenal historical romance novel! The characters, the mystery/action, the slow burn romance all wrapped into one delicious package. I enjoyed the story of Sophie and Jonathan so very much and solving the murder mystery along with them. The author so cleverly brings in a wide varied cast of secondary characters to continue with future novels. I can not wait to see what the Blue Orchid Society does next or who the story focuses on. Well done Jennifer Moore!!!!!!

A sweetly romantic mystery from Jennifer Moore! Overall, the story is very good and its themes are strong.

The timeline moves very slowly; in fact, excluding the prologue and epilogue, the entire story apparently takes place in less than two weeks, which caused some of the relationships to feel rushed. Detective Jonathan Graham apparently had a somewhat tragic backstory, however this was only hinted at and never fully explained, which was strange since it was a minor block in his relationship with Sophie and also affected his outlook on life. The outcome was a bit predictable, but the buildup is still very well-written.

I’m excited to read future stories about the other ladies in the Blue Orchid Society, and in this book their strong relationship is evident, but it seemed a bit glossed over. In the prologue, their society is formed and the reader is told they are closely connected, but their connection is only portrayed in a few short scenes and mentions.

Overall, Solving Sophronia is a sweet romance with mystery and female friendship included in the mix. 4/5 stars

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I asked for this one solely on the fact that the cover was pretty and the title intriguing, and I'm very happy I did!

Solving Sophronia introduces the Blue Orchid Society - a group of high society ambitious women in end-of-19th-century London, who decide one fateful ball night to take their destinies into their own hands.

Lady Sophronia "Sophie" Bremerton, subject of this first book in the series, is a society columnist, but her ambition is to become an investigative reporter.


And it so happens that she runs into the scene of a crime, and that her deep knowledge of woman fashion leads to some very astute remarks. Jonathan Graham, the detective in charge of the investigation, doesn't believe that civilians should be involved in police investigations, but he quickly sees the values of Sophie's insights and connections.

I knew I had made the right call on that book from the dedication line, which was "For Margot, the Crabtree to my Higgins" - as a Murdoch Mysteries fan myself, this was a very good sign indeed. And Solving Sophronia definitely has a Murdoch mood to it - part of it is the era and context, obviously, but it runs deeper - to my delight.

The mystery and its investigation were interesting; the characters were lovable. The rhythm of the ending felt a bit off - and possibly a bit rushed. It didn't impact much my enjoyment of the book. I particularly liked that Sophie's strengths handled as "look what I can bring that is different" more than "look how I can do the same things as you". But most of all, I loved the idea and the introduction of the Blue Orchid Society. I'm looking forward to the adventures of its other members!

A very different historical e/mystery . I thoroughly enjoyed the characters,who all had a part to play and who interacted in an enjoyable way.

"Solving Sophronia" is a romance (with a mystery) set in 1873 in England. This romance series is about women who are smart, educated, and want to do things outside the norm for a female at that time. Sophie already is a journalist, but she wants to be an investigative reporter rather than a society columnist. One night as she's roaming, looking for a story, she comes across a crime scene: a woman has been murdered and dumped in a slum area. She pushes her way into the investigation, and her ability to track down the woman's identity convinces the detective to let her help with the interviews and investigation.

It hurts Detective Graham's pride to allow a woman to help. However, he's impressed by Sophie's intelligence, artistic skill, and beauty. As her own family only sees her lack of beauty rather than her skills, Sophie appreciates that the detective appreciates what she can contribute to the investigation. They worked well together as a team and built each other up, so I'm willing to accept that they will have a good marriage even though the mystery was solved in a week (so they didn't actually know each other very well).

The mystery was clue-based, but the critical clues didn't come until nearly the end and whodunit was not obvious. The historical details were woven into the story without slowing the pacing, and it's clear the author has done research into the time period. However, it seemed odd that a titled lady was allowed to basically do whatever she liked (including go off by herself with lower-class men) even though her parents disapproved. There also was little mention about any problems involved in marriage between her and a poor detective. There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this novel to fans of historical romance.

Such a great story!

This is the first book in the new series, about a group of young ladies who become friends and support each other in their goals.

I was glad to see Sophie's grandmother in the story as she's the one in the prequel.

Sophie is a noblewoman and is also the author/illustrator of a society column. She aspires to be a real journalist and when the opportunity rises to join a murder investigation, she becomes useful to the detective.

I wasn't too sure about Jonathan in the beginning, but as he begins to recognize Sophie's help as invaluable, they start to become good friends and their friendship deepens.

I really enjoyed the suspense and the methods to discover the truth. Sophie's friends and Jonathan's colleagues were also a great addition to the story.

I'm looking forward to the next story.

I received a copy from the publisher via NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.

Fabulous, captivating and a new favorite! I am really excited about this new series and love the idea behind it, especially the name. The Blue Orchid society!

I highly recommend that when you read it, make sure that you take the time to read the author's note as well. I loved her thoughts into the story and this time period. Especially the whys of the women and the creating of this group of women.

Sophronia (Sophie) was such a fun character. I loved her insights into society and her navigating of life through society while not letting it deter her from her dreams. She was a fun and surprising character throughout the book. She has gumption, pluck, spunk, fortitude, perseverance, loyalty and street smarts.

Jonathan was another character whom I really enjoyed. At first he seems to be a little stuffy but if I was surprised with Lady Sophie showing up like she did at their first meeting I might have acted the same way (of course given that I was living in that time period). He and the other servants of the crown added so much fun to this story. I really enjoyed the constable and sergeants as well. They worked their way into my heart as much as they did into Sophie's.

There's danger and murder and Sophie has found it. With her knowledge, gender and smarts she's able to help Jonathan with clues he wouldn't have quite picked up on. I loved his acceptance of her and allowing her to join in on the investigation of these mysterious murders. There are some surprises and frustrations along the way but never fear, Sophie and her Blue Orchid Society are on hand to assist Jonathan. I thought I might figure out who the bad guy was but I didn't guess until near the end, right around the same time as Sophie. There were lots of clues left along the way but none that had me looking at this person directly until it was too late!

I am really looking forward to the next books in this series and the other ladies of the society finding their dreams and having their stories told. Thanks Jennifer Moore for another great read!

As an FYI, there is a prequel novella with this series that was delightful as well. Emmeline. It was free for kindle the beginning of May 2020, I'm not sure how long it will be free for, if it's just a promotional time or permanent. But I highly recommend grabbing a copy and enjoying it.

Content: Clean. Some suspense since it is a mystery. There are some murders and the police finding the bodies with some mild description. Nothing more than sweet kisses.

I received a copy from the publisher, Covenant Communications, via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions in the review are my own.

Happy Reading!!!