4⭐️

A Spinster's Guide to Danger and Dukes was a fun time. It had banter, a strong female lead, a brewing romance, and fake dating (betrothal?)!!

I loved Poppy, she was quick witted, knew what needed to get done, and was fiercely loyal to her sister. Despite odds being against her favour, she did whatever she could to clear her sister's name.

Langham was fun too, it was nice to see him support Poppy, and the way he fell for her was so sweet. The two of them together were definitely a power couple, and while the ending was a tad cliché, I was glad for it. This mystery kept me on my toes; I did not know how it would unravel till they figured it out!

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I didn’t finish the first of this series so not sure why I thought this would be any different. There’s something offputting about the writing. Just not for me.

This book feels on par with its predecessors. If you enjoyed the rest of the series by this author then I’m sure this one will also be a hit. It’s filled with murder, complicated families, falling in love, and most importantly being true to oneself. It has strong characters who aren’t afraid to be themselves, but also allows them moments of vulnerability and being strong enough to lean on others; which in my opinion is always a good thing.

It’s definitely a series that hits a lot of strong notes when it comes to women’s independence in the 1800’s (truly this is a book for fans of Evie Dunmore). And that is who I would target this books towards. It shows how it only takes a handful of people being their authentic selves in order to help create change, which is a good message to have in these less than ideal times. I will always be excited to see a strong female main character and that’s what we have in Poppy.

As much as I enjoyed this series (and this book in particular), I could have used more relationship development between Poppy and Joshua. I personally need more when it comes to my romances but this is a book that is trying to straddle the line between the genres so I understand why some other plot points become more important for the story. It was still an engaging read and I’m sure anyone who enjoyed the rest of the series will be excited by this one as well.

Such a fun book! FMC Poppy is such a great character - strong, smart, unashamed of who she was and is - and MMC Joshua (Duke of Langham) likes her and eventually loves her because of these traits. Both the romance and the mystery elements are compelling, and all of the secondary characters were entertaining. I had not previously read the other books in this series and now both are waiting on my Kindle! The angst here is more about the murder than the romance which I actually really liked. The villain is not exactly hard to figure out but the path to the discovery is interesting.

4.5 stars rounded up to 5. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a complimentary ARC of this book. The opinions herein are my own.

A Spinster's Guide to Danger and Dukes is a well written Victorian Romance wrapped up with a murder mystery.

This book was well balanced between the mystery that brought the main characters together and the romance that develops over the solving of that mystery to save her sister from hanging.

In this enjoyable book Ms. Collins gives us - fake betrothal, dislike to love, a headstrong FMC, vulnerable yet caring MMC, and romance you see build through their getting to know one another.

I have yet to read the other books in this series but this book can be read as a standalone, I didn't feel like I was missing any information to thoroughly enjoy figuring out who-dun-it along with the characters.

The romance was fun it all just worked really well for me.

Thank-you to Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and NetGalley for providing me with a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.


#ASpinstersGuidetoDangerandDukes #NetGalley

I love a good enemies to lovers with slow burn and engagement of convenience! Manda Collins writing is very easy to read and such a great story. We meet our MFC,Poppy, in a train station running to save her sister when she runs into the Duke of Labgham who swoops in to rescue our damsel. But our damsel doesn’t need saving so a relationship of convenience is born. Will this relationship be more than they bargained for?

I love this series! I adore the independent women who are the stars of the show, and the men that let them shine.

This book is no different. I love the stubbornness of both Poppy and The Duke. It makes their banter and humor so much fun. I also loved underlying mystery. This book is particularly fun because where else are you going to get a cult, a fake church dedicated to Lucifer, and some nice spice all within the span of about 10 minutes?

I also loved the cameos at the end with our dear friends from the first two books. It made me want to reread their stories, too.

I hope this series continues, because I am a big fan!

This is my first Manda Collins book and though it's part of a series, it can definitely be enjoyed as a standalone. I don't read a ton of historical romance but this one was fun and I didn't feel bogged down by any of the historical language or aspects. I liked the mystery part of the story a lot and it just felt like I was being taken on adventure with Poppy and Joshua. The chemistry was great, the story was well-plotted, and it kept me always turning the page and not wanting to put the book down so I could know what happened. Tempted to go back and read the series in order!

A Spinster’s Guide to Danger and Dukes is a charming historical romance with a mystery subplot. Manda Collins does a masterful job of blending the genres together into a throughly good story.

4.5/5 stars

Poppy Delamere escaped home and a forced marriage, and has been supporting herself working as a secretary in London. But when she learns that her younger sister Violet is accused of murder, she races back to the countryside to help clear her name. At the train station, she runs into the Duke of Langham. They are heading to the same village, as Langham has been summoned for his grandmother’s birthday celebration. As they ride the train together, they devise a plan. Langham will help clear Violet’s name while Poppy pretends to be his fiancé to ward off the prospective brides waiting for him. But as the two pursue their goals, what happens when they develop an attraction to each other? And discover they actually like one another too?

Poppy is a fantastic FMC. She’s smart and driven, and doesn’t apologize for these traits. And Langham loves it. He’s so used to everyone fawning all over him because he’s a Duke that he appreciates when Poppy is unintimidated by him. For her part, Poppy is always slightly surprised when Langham takes her seriously, since most people write her off. I adored the way these two worked together to solve the murder mystery while bantering their way around the countryside.

This is my first romance by Manda Collins. I’ve been meaning to check out this series for a while, and was happy to discover the books don’t need to be read in order. But now that I’ve met Poppy and Langham’s friends, I plan on going back and reading the rest.

A Spinster’s Guide to Danger and Dukes blends historical romance with a touch of mystery and humor. If you like a slow burn love story with lots of forced proximity, read this book. Manda Collins creates engaging characters whose intelligence shows through while solving a murder and even while pretending to be engaged.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

As always, Manda writes an excellent mystery with a dash of romance. Buckle your seats, this story is one wild ride. Several red herrings, so I did figure out the villain but I was made to wonder at times who it really was lurking around stirring up mayhem. Langham and Poppy’s quest to find the villain and help Violet is the storyline I absolutely love. It was smart, clever, well written, funny at times, and really fun to read. And of course, the romance, love and HEA is the icing on the cake. If you love suspense as much as I do, pick up this book, or this series. You won’t be disappointed.

But is this the end, Manda? How about Adrian and Jane? Could they have a story lurking in the dark recesses of murders, mystery and mayhem.

Bridgerton with a murder mystery. Yes, please. I devoured this book. It hooked me from the first page. This is the third book in the series and my first. I was able to read this as a standalone. I really liked the fake engagement of Poppy and Joshua. Sorting the clues and finding the culprit. A smashing job.

A Spinster's Guide to Danger and Dukes is my favorite in the series, Ladies Most Scandalous. This regency romance mystery brings together Poppy and Joshua, the Duke of Langham. These enemies (read previous books to understand their history) form a pack to dupe his family with him helping her to clear her sisters name.

Their charade is one no one in his family saw coming as ladies are literally waiting to become his betrothed. Poppy and Josh have obvious chemistry as they investigate the mysterious death of her sisters husband. Their romance was sweet, especially the dashing duke manners.

This series keeps getting better, please tell me there will be more books.

Thank you Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the complimentary copy.

I swear this series just keeps getting better and better 😍

We finally get Flora's story, well actually her name is Poppy, as she teams up with Duke of Langham to help her sister, Violet, who has been accused of murdering her husband. The Duke of Langham promises to help her find the truth – but only if she poses as his fiancée for the weekend. I absolutely love the fake fiance trope and it was done so well here!! Any time Poppy and Joshua shared a scene - it was delicious and I couldn't get enough. The mystery itself was intriguing and held me captivated throughout the entire book. I was genuinely surprised by the culprit (and some of the twists that the case took) and I felt that justice was served.

Even though this is book 3 in the series, it could definitely be read as a stand-alone! Although I highly recommend reading the first two books as well!!

Some things to look forward to:
-fake engagements but really real feelings
-knowing how each other smell
-Poppy being a badass
-satanic cults!?
-sexy times in caves!!
-wholesome friend group content

I can't wait for the next book! I've seen the little hits you've dropped Manda Collins!

I liked this one. I enjoyed the mix of the murder mystery and the romance between Poppy and Langham. It did end up feeling a bit long, like things were just moving too slowly for me, and I lost a bit of momentum while reading. It didn't feel as urgent to pick it up and find out how it all got sorted out.

But, overall I did enjoy the read and I like Collins's writing as a whole. Now I need to go back and read book 2 as I accidentally missed it.

Manda Collins does it again! The Spinster's Guide to Danger and Dukes left me breathless. I love Flora, aka, Poppy! I was a bit unsure about Joshua, but in the end, I adored him.

Manda's books always give me such a burst of pride because of the strong women in this series, and Poppy is one of the best! I also had no idea who the true culprit was until the very end. Manda has a way of doing that to me. I never know who the bad guys are until the end, which makes me very happy.

I'm happy to award 5 stars to this glorious book.

My experience with this book was a tad hindered by the fact that I didn't know it was the third book in a series. I saw some reviews say it can be read as a standalone––and it's true––but for me, I couldn't get connected to the characters or the plot and I attribute it to reading the third book first. The writing was good (though I do wish it had been told in first-person POV), the mystery plotline was interesting, and fake engagements are always fun, but it wasn't as up my alley as I had hoped.

If you like historical fiction that blends mystery and some romance (with an open-door spicy scene), this book/series should be for you!

Thank you to Forever/Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for this eARC!

I devoured an ARC of A Spinster's Guide to Danger & Dukes by Manda Collins. This is peak historical romance.
An independent woman reluctantly accepts help from a seemingly snobby duke to save her sister. Featuring: Fake engagement! Secret society! Witty repartee! Steamy folly scene! Proposing..."for propriety". This book has my heart!

Poppy and the Duke of Langham embark in a fake engagement to uncover who really killed Poppy’s brother-in-law.
It’s a cute read with a dash of murder mystery.
I liked spunky Poppy and was drooling over the dreamy duke.
I liked the formalities but also the ease Poppy and Langham interacted with each other.
It was also fun to read about good old fashioned sleuthing without modern amenities.

I read the first two books in this series and really enjoyed them, though I must say, I enjoyed the first book leaps and bounds over the second one. This third installment falls somewhere between the two.

To avoid an unwanted marriage, Poppy Delamare skips town, changes her name, and starts working for two of the most scandalous ladies in town—as one does to avoid a man. However, when word reaches her that her sister’s husband has been murdered and her sister is being accused of said murdering, Poppy jumps into action, running into the dashing Duke of Langham in the process. Said duke has been having relationship problems of his own, in that his grandma desperately wants him to settle down and marry. Now, settling down is a fate worse than death for our duke, so he recruits Poppy to act as his fake fiancee while helping her investigate the murder of her brother-in-law and clear her sister’s name.

But what happens when their fake relationship turns into something real?

Review

Okay, so like its predecessors, this one started out slower than molasses in January. But when it began to pick up, it was quite enjoyable. Poppy and Josh (the Duke) have obvious chemistry and he was quite sweet with her despite his former lothario ways. Of course, it was a little predictable, and you know the two are eventually going to fall in love and all that jazz, but it wasn’t too rushed and their connection felt genuine. The ending was also, in my opinion, a little anti-climactic, and there were occult aspects that made me raise my eyebrow more than they intrigued me. Yet, it was a good read, and I have a feeling we aren’t done with these scandalous ladies just yet.

I absolutely loved the first two books in this series, and book 3 is no exception! "Flora" shows up in book 2 but there is definitely some mystery around her, that comes to light in book 3 as we discover that "Flora" is really Poppy Delamare. She fled her family to escape a forced betrothal and has been hiding out in London, until she reads that the man she was supposed to marry is dead, and her sister is the prime suspect in the murder!

As she is on her way to see her sister, she runs into the Duke of Langham, and ends up sharing with him the truth of her identity and the situation her sister is in. The Duke is returning home for his grandmother's birthday, and knows she is set on finding him a bride, no doubt filling her home with eligible women he is not interested in. So Langham makes a proposal of sorts - Poppy pretends to be his fiancé to keep him from the women his grandmother would want him to marry, and he will use his power and title to help her sister be exonerated from the murder of her husband.

I am such a sucker for fake engagements that, at some point, they want to become real, and this book delivered! Poppy and Langham decide early on to trust each other with the truths of their pasts, and the friendship and bond they form is so sweet! Poppy is fierce and intense, but that never scares Langham off. He wants to protect her, but never trap her. Langham also absolutely falls first and I adored seeing him realize his feelings and attempt to win her.

I will admit the last 50 or so pages went a little off the rails in the mystery section, but I still loved it! This whole series has such a good balance with mystery and romance, which I enjoy so much! This series is so fun! I would definitely recommend this entire series, and reading the books in order!