I am a big fan of this series, but I couldn't finish this one. I enjoyed "visiting" the characters, but there was much talk here and not a lot of action. I felt that there were modern sensibilities pressed on characters who would have thought very differently.

This was another good installment in this series. Lady Charlotte and Wrexford are finally getting married but first they have a murder to solve. It was a quick book and a nice mystery. I enjoyed the book
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the early copy

This edition to the series was just a lot of fun with the entire cast of characters involved. A murdered botanist who might have a cure for malaria, a missing plant specimen and very evil villains make for
an action packed story. Spoiler alert, there is a wedding at the end.

In Murder at the Royal Botanic Gardens, we are back with Lady Charlotte and Wrexford (and the Weasels, Sheffield, Lady Cordelia, Tyler, Lady Peake). This fifth instalment keeps up the fast paced mystery intermixed with the continuing love story of Charlotte and Wrexford that have been the hallmarks of the series so far. Andrea Penrose crafts a wonderful mystery that has so many villains and possible solutions that readers are kept guessing until the very end. The tension around threats to our favourite characters and their loved ones kept me reading until late at night. Mixed within the tension of the mystery are the discussions and ponderings about how life is in constant change and how love of family - by blood or choice - makes everything better and worse. All together this is a wonderful continuation of the series and I highly recommend it.

Set in Regency times, Lady Charlotte and Lord Wrexford return to solve a complicated murder and to wed in

this latest tale. Josiah Becton, a discoverer, is found dead at The Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew.

Poisoned, after imbibing champagne... The world of botany is not all flowery.

There is a host of unsavoury characters to supect, and many clues and red herrings to solve.

I thorougly enjoyed this humorous book and the style of writing.. Murder, motives and morals all vie for

attention in this who- dunnit, A delightful read..

historical-novel, historical-places-events, historical-research, history-and-culture, early-19th-century, early-teen-god-help-us-all, relationships, murder, murder-investigation, evil, England, sociopath, thriller, suspense, theft*****

Lady Charlotte Sloane was born to the aristocracy but escaped for a time and now is a satirical cartoonist with surprising investigative skills, and Earl Wrexford who is a man reputed as one never to be crossed. Together they are formidable enough, but add in the orphans they call The Weasels and others they value for their abilities and you have just the right people to investigate murder, extortion, disappearances, and financial crimes.
There have been harrowing incidents in the earlier books, and the development of the *family* as well as the love between Charlotte and Wrexford, but I think that each book is capable of standing alone. This one involves a sociopath who is truly evil, a potential botanical cure, lots of basically dishonest and greedy people, and even an American agent. As always, there is a slice of truth that has been well researched. Very well done tricky plot with extremely interesting characters! Great read!
I requested and received a free temporary ebook from Kensington Books via NetGalley. Thank you!

When you fall in love with the characters of a series, you'll continue to read even as the books get less satisfying.

I've given up on getting the romance out of Wrexford & Charlotte that I so desperately want to read. The romantic subplot is too buried and needs to be given more space and HEAT. Lots more!

This mystery lost my interest by then end. I really didn't care about the twisted motives of all the many perpetrators and started skipping ahead. I wanted to read about the wedding! Unfortunately, it was given only a few paragraphs at the end.

I love these characters SOOO much, I want to read about them as a new family having regular problems and conversations (that don't involve dead bodies) too. Perhaps some novellas for McClellan, Tyler, Kit, the Weasels, etc would be a satisfying way to fill out the series for the readers.

I still love this series and will continue to read on, but with less hope of getting a satisfying romance out of it or of gaining insight into secondary characters and Wrexford.

What a wonderful & delicious surprise! A very entertaining , menacing and suspenseful
historical murder mystery set among the scientific circles of Regency London and centered around the murderous shenanigans of some evil Americans determined to steal some important & lucrative secrets concerning a potential cure for malaria. Elegantly written and at times reminiscent of some of the best of Georgette Heyer's Regency romps, this delightful whodunit offers a cast of colorful & unforgettable characters, a very twisted plot full of unexpected surprises and a richly detailed portrait of British society at the tail end of the Napoleonic Wars. Finally it would be wise to read some of the titles previously published in the series in order to get better acquainted with some of the principal characters.
Higly recommended and to be enjoyed without moderation!

Many thanks to Netgalley and Kensington Books for this terrific ARC

I love this series. I also enjoy her historical romance books written under the name Cara Elliott.
Her characters in this series are likable. It is part of a series and I would recommend reading them all.
Nice historical suspense with romantic elements

Charlotte and Wrexford are back at it again in this fifth book I’m the series.

It looks like Charlotte and Wrexford will FINALLY have some happiness together when their wedding plans are interrupted by a murder. The victim was about to announce a major scientific breakthrough in treating malaria. When a former big bad from a previous mystery appears to be involved in this one, they two amateur sleuths work on solving his murder mystery.

The mystery was interesting with a surprise twist and I thought it was well written and interesting. The one downfall of this book is while I continue to enjoy Charlotte and Wrexford’s characters and interactions, I just didn’t feel like the relationship between Charlotte and Wrexford has progressed. They’ve clearly had feelings for each other and good chemistry throughout the series, but I’m just hoping they actually have further growth as a couple in the next book.

Another in the wonderful historical mystery series featuring Wrexford and Sloane, the earl and the satirical artist. In this one, the intrepid pair set out to find who murdered a scientist who had found a cure for malaria—and for the plant that might save millions. And they really need to solve this case before their wedding! The familiar cast of characters grows in depth and interest and are just as fascinating as the mystery.

Murder at the Royal Botanic Gardens was set in a beautiful atmosphere, I loved seeing the characters navigate Victorian London. I found the description of the setting and the world-building to be very well done.

While this felt a bit slow at times, I did find I got really sucked into it once things got going.

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was excited to read the next installment in the Wrexford/Sloane series, and already looking forward to the next one!
I enjoyed this book a lot. I do find the writing somewhat repetitive and some of the secondary characters aren't as interesting to me as the two main characters, but I have really enjoyed the progression of the relationship between Wrexford and Sloane. I found the mystery and overall story of the last book, #4, weaker than the previous but this one was much more engaging, for me, and I am excited to see where things go next.
This could be read as a stand-alone but I would definitely recommend reading the series in order for full enjoyment.

At times I enjoy a mystery set in Old London society because with the visits to museums , art galleries , walks in the parks and some parties + a wedding thrown in , i kind of forget that the leads are chasing a murderer too ! This book has a delightful cast and I am going to pick the older books in this series to see how this found family came into being. Interesting tid bits on science and discoveries during that times. For a minute I wanted to start reading / learning more about latest inventions and just to feel like a learner.

Overall , even though I thought the plot was a little too twisted , I did enjoy it for different reasons.

Charlotte and the Earl are preparing for their nuptials while being asked to help solve a murder. I love this family made of love not blood and watching their relationships grow. What is the the cure discovered by the dead American. Read this book and find out.
Goodreads

I had a difficult time getting into this book. I love the cover and the premise sounded wonderful. However, I struggled to finish and just couldn't fully absorb myself into this story. Maybe I need to read the other books in this series, first. I was hoping it would work well as a standalone as so many other murder mysteries do.


Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

I had real hopes for this one. Started well, and I found that though I’d not read any of the previous books in the series I wasn’t lost or hampered by not knowing the backstory. The characters and the premise behind their relationships peaked my interest immediately. But then the wheels started to come off for me. We were never made to feel any empathy toward the victim, Wrexford and Sloane constantly hesitating over whether they should even become involved in the investigation, and there are numerous issues with constant repetition—Charlotte’s worry that her marriage to Wrexford will force her to compromise her principles, Charlotte’s worry about her upcoming reunion with he estranged family, etc. The mystery and investigation would start to grab my attention, only to have it diverted by emotional dithering. The first half of the book simply dragged. And by the time I got to the second half I found it difficult to remain interested. A mildly entertaining read, but not one that I would wildly recommend.

Charlotte and Lord Wrexford are at it again. Murder has been brought to their door and they are going to solve it. I have not read the other books in the series. But for the most part I was able to read along and understand what was happening. I did feel that there were too many characters, albeit second string characters. Almost every page seem to introduce a new character, plant or place and I did have trouble keeping up with that. I loved the humor and quips throughout the book and enjoyed the historical setting. Thank you to Netgalley and Andrea Penrose for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

I was delighted to see there was a new Wrexford and Sloane book, so I began reading it immediately. As usual, the quality of writing and production (editing grammar, spelling, punctuation, etc.) were excellent, along with an interesting mystery. Some of these historical mysteries that carry characters from book to book can begin to get a little "thin" on story line and lose their initial impetus. So far, for this author that has not happened, fortunately for us fans and readers. The only things that rather "threw" me were references to previous books' characters (NOT the main ones), which stories I didn't really remember because I've read so many books since the last W&S book. For me, that wasn't important in the grand scheme of things, but it was a little distracting. Still, the author gave enough background on the character that you understood how good (or bad) the character was. It is still interesting to see the continuing growth and sometime conflict for our two leads and the other characters that surround them. I enjoyed this book as much as the previous ones and look forward to the next installment. #NetGalley #MurderattheRoyalBotanicGardens

This is another superb instalment in this wonderful series which kept me enthralled throughout! The characters feel like old friends that I enjoy spending time with, and for each story the reader becomes more deeply embroiled in their lives. The story is fiendishly well plotted, with lots of twists and turns that keep you guessing and I was on tenterhooks, turning the pages to find out how it all fitted together. Alongside the crime solving are the relationships between the various characters which are lovely to follow and give the books such an emotionally satisfying edge. All in all, absolutely loved it and can’t wait for the next one!