This is one of my favorite kinds of stories: British lady has to solve mystery/murder due to circumstances that happen to her. Turns out she’s good at it and improves her own life. Plus this one had a little historical context for how women had zero rights back in the late 1700s.

I loved Tiffany and can’t wait to see what she’s up to next in the series.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the advanced copy of the audiobook in exchange for my honest opinion.

I loved how unique this book was! When her half brother dies suddenly, Tiffany, a woman in her 40s living in an 18th century world, sees no alternative to surviving besides assuming his identity and acting as the Duke’s librarian.

Tiffany is such a relatable and wonderful character. She is kind where her brother was not and has to figure out how to pass through a very male-centric world posing as her brother (while also switching back to act as herself). It makes for some humorous interactions and reminds me so much of the comedic plays from that time period (but with a more modern flair).

Though the mystery comes later on in the book and sometimes feels secondary to the overall story of Tiffany taking on her brother’s persona, I was not bothered by this at all!

The audiobook narrator did a great job distinguishing characters and making for an enjoyable listen.

Thank you to #NetGalley and #DreamscapeMedia for an ARC audiobook in exchange for an honest review

This was a wonderful historical fiction/murder mystery with a dash of romance thrown in.
Tiffany Woodall is a spinster who lives with her half brother. When he dies, she has no funds, and will have no place to live because her cottage was provided with her brother's job. So she buries her half brother's body and dresses up as him, and takes over his job of librarian for the Duke. While on the job Tiffany realizes that her brother's death may not have been an accident and there is a murderer on the loose.
This book has me invested the whole time, it had wonderful characters. I listened to this in one day, and look forward to the next book in the series. I loved the author's note at the end.
Thank-you to Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for the advanced listener copy. Marni Penning was a wonderful narrator.

Thank you Dreamscape via NetGalley for the ARC.

What a fun book! It reminded me of C.J. Archer's Murder at the Mayfair Hotel series. I loved the premise of a 40-year-old woman (spinster) in 1784 taking on the pretense of her recently deceased pig of a step-brother in order to be granted the privileges of men in her time (i.e. walking out unchaperoned, working in a library, owning land, etc.).

For the most part, wonderfully executed with a murder mystery and touch of romance thrown in. I would have liked a little more backstory (the book starts with Tiffany finding her brother's corpse, but could have benefited from setting the stage a little more first, although the strange circumstances do intrigue the reader from the start) and I would have enjoyed Larsen digging a little deeper with her characters and relationships for a richer experience. But overall a delightful read and one I've already recommended to friends :)

Marni Penning's audiobook narration was excellent: superb accents, interpretation, and voices to differentiate the characters.

When Tiffany’s half-brother dies unexpectedly, she buries him in the garden and then assumes his identity. She sees it as the only way to keep her cottage and money. As a spinster in 1780s England, she has few options. Of course, being two people is quite complicated. When a servant at the palace is found poisoned, a death that looks very similar to her brother’s, Tiffany realizes she might be in danger.

Tiffany is a great main character. She’s determined and funny and loves reading novels, which she was never allowed to do before. She’s also very aware of society’s inequalities and determined to help when she can.

A Novel Disguise is a nice mix of romantic comedy, because of course Tiffany has a love interest and of course hijinks ensue, and murder mystery. It’s also very well-researched without showing it off. The details of daily life for both the aristocracy and servants are fit in well. It also shows us a bit how the justice system worked and the prejudices of the era. The mystery, once it got started, had plenty of suspects, clues, and red herrings. The characters are an appropriately quirky group.

I listened to the audio version which was well done. The book is told from Tiffany’s point of view and the narrator captured her voice well. I’m looking forward to Tiffany’s next adventure.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fun mystery and I loved Tiffany. She was an amazing character and I adored how strong she was.

I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the audio version. I enjoyed the novel mostly, but I have to say it was a bit farfetch throughout the book. Very very unrealistic with the subject matter that is talked about and what would really happened from that time period. But if you are looking an easy fast read you will like this one.

This was such a fun read. I couldn’t put it down. It’s is a 1800 romantic mystery. This is one I want in my private library and would love everyone I know to read. Highly recommend.

A Novel Disguise is a fun, witty and cosy historical mystery with a great set of quirky characters. Firstly it was nice to see a FMC who is more mature, in her 40's instead of the usual teenager/20's. This had such a great premise with a great mystery and to top this all off a lot of research went into this to make it as accurate as possible for the historical aspects. Overall I found this to be an interesting quick read and I would recommend to anyone who loves cosy mysteries.

This was a wonderful book. I have no criticism, honestly. The characters were real and clearly well-researched for the time period in which it takes place. The plot was surprising, and it left me guessing (in the good way) at every turn, wondering what would happen next. The climax was just as good. I was on the edge of my seat.

Thank you for the opportunity!

This was an enjoyable historical cosy mystery. I loved the aspect of Tiffany pretending to be her brother, and needing to deal with making sure people weren't suspicious.

I also loved her reasons for doing so - she had nowhere else to turn, and she wanted to keep her home. This book was a cosy, oftentimes humorous, way of reminding readers what it was like for women at the time; to own nothing, to be nothing, apart from their male family members. When Tiffany is left alone, she does what she must to keep the life she's grown to love.

I loved that Tiffany was allowed to be a strong female character while also conforming to aspects of the historical time she was in. Yes, she was pretending to be her brother and loved the freedom of masculinity, but she still longed for elements of her feminine life. She was also able to make a stand against abuse and helped to protect other characters from it also.

The mystery element wasn't that hard to figure out - most elements I'd had theories about early on, but it honestly didn't matter in this book. To me, the mystery wasn't the focus. Tiffany's life was. It didn't matter if I knew where the story was going, it was just enjoyable to be along for the ride.

I also really connected to her love of reading and literature - I'm definitely hoping that the author writes more stories about Tiffany, because I would absolutely love to read more of her adventures!

And don't get me started on Samir! He was honestly the best male character in the book and I'd love to see where their story goes from here! I loved his attempts to save the moment when all he ever did was make them worse. Hilariously over-competent and I loved it!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an advance copy of the audiobook! I loved it!

I absolutely did not expect to like it so much!

Tiffany is forty years old and she runs her brother’s house. When Uriah unexpectedly dies she realizes that she is about to lose her income and her home, so she decides to take her fate in her own hands. Since she and her brother looked very much alike, she dresses up as him and takes over his job as a librarian.

I enjoyed this book immensely, and I adored Tiffany. She had her hands full being a librarian and still running a household, while making sure nobody discovered her ruse. In the meantime she was struggling to escape the advances of the local rector while falling for the handsome bookseller/constable.

This book is a brilliant comedy with well written characters and a murder mystery. There is even a touch of romance, and isn’t it refreshing to see a forty year old heroine? Gimme more!!

I was pleasantly surprised by how well researched this story is. There’s an author’s note explaining parts that you might doubt are historically accurate, and there is even a bibliography. You don’t see it often in fiction!

The ending did not tie all loose ends and I was a teeny-tiny bit disappointed, but otherwise it was a very entertaining read. Highly recommended to all historical fiction lovers!

It was refreshing to watch this 40-something Georgian spinster use her ingenuity to come up with a way to not only support herself, but to help solve a few crimes.

Miss Tiffany Woodall finds her brother dead and decides to impersonate him to keep her cottage and income. When similar deaths occur at the Palace, it's clear this lady librarian is in for a challenge.

I was biting my nails, waiting for Tiffany to be discovered, but she played the part of her half brother, Uriah, quite well. She's a very smart and likable character and I was delighted at the job she had--to procure (and read) all the novels and to sort the library at the Palace. The friendships forged and secrets kept were intriguing and I was guessing who-dun-it right up until the end.

Samantha Hastings did a phenomenal job of creating and entertaining and easy-to-delve into story, while maintaining a solid historical backbone and a strong mystery element. I hope there's more to the Lady Librarian Mystery series!

Content: mild-moderate descriptions of death by poison; mild moments/talk of abuse; some innuendo, blackmailing, talk of affairs

A Novel Disguise is a period drama mixed with murder mystery. You could say it’s a mixed of downtown Abbey with Sherlock Holmes, perhaps.

The story follows Tiffany as she impersonates her brother after his death. Eventually she finds out he was murdered and did not die of natural causes.

I feel like this book could have been better - like you can feel the potential, but there’s a lot of lose threads. For example, she is trying to find her brothers Diamond pin, but then when she finds it her life doesn’t change, nothing really happens.

She’s in love with Samir, but we don’t get a big scene where they get together. Some of the characters were underdeveloped. The duchess completely changes from being bad to nice without a big coming of truth moment. I really wanted to like this book, but in the end it felt a bit flat.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy is exchange for my honest review.

This is the first book I’ve read by Samantha Larsen and I whole heartedly loved it!

I instantly loved Tiffany and like her would have done absolutely anything in my power in that day and age to keep my home. WOMEN RULE!
I really enjoyed this fun historical mystery, and it was quite unique. I love the time period, the characters, and Tiffany switching of identities. The twists and turns during the book were fantastic.
The narration of the books was beautiful done and her character voices were spot on!
This would make a wonderful movie!
I can’t wait to see what is to come in the next book!

I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley.com.

I enjoyed this charming Georgian era mystery novel. In it, a 40-year-old spinster, Tiffany, whose half-brother, on whom she depended for her livelihood, unexpectedly dies. Recognizing that his death threatens the security of her home and future, she decides to impersonate him and take his place as librarian for the local Duke and Dutchess.

Things become complicated when another servant of the Duke and Dutchess dies of poisoning, and Tiffany realizes her brother was also murdered. Figuring out who is being targeted, by whom, and for what reason becomes critical.

The story is enjoyable, and I really appreciated the author's note at the end of the book that addressed the plausibility of the characters and action in the book.

*I received a copy of this book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this opportunity*

Miss Tiffany Woodall has a decision to make. She could either:

A) Call for help, have her deplorable half-brother buried by the church, and accept her fate as a penniless spinster at the mercy of the predatory rector.

B) Bury Uriah in the back garden and assume his identity-- thus allowing Tiffany to keep her home, work as a librarian, and (for the first time in her life) have the independence to make decisions for herself.

Thus begins Tiffany's new life as both her brother, and herself. However, when another servant in the Palace dies tragically, Tiffany begins to worry her brother's death may not have been as benign as she first thought. Throw in the issue of beginning to fall for the very man who could have her arrested, and Tiffany may have bitten off more than she could chew.

A NOVEL DISGUISE was a fantastic story. I loved the period (and modern day) appropriate commentary of social injustices including: women's rights, racism, and even treatment of the LGBTQ+ community. Rather than being awkwardly inserted into the plot in an attempt to modernize a historical fiction book, these issues were integral in character development and motivation, as well as the murder mystery itself. It was also very obvious the author did extensive research on the time period, but it never felt as though I was reading a history lesson.

This book is one of the best historical cozy mysteries I've read, and I can't wait for the next installment of the series!

Loved this book so much! It hit all the spots and made me so invested not only in Tiffany the main character but also in the mystery that was unfurling! I was captivated and this book held my interest the entire time. i highly recommend this.

Historical cozy mystery with a Mrs Doubtfire twist!

This was such a fun read and an absolute rollercoaster of emotions! I laughed, scowled, swooned and got fired up at the injustices that were highlighted. I haven’t read very many historical cozies but after A Novel Disguise I will for sure be expanding my TBR!

I read the audiobook version and Marni Penning did a fantastic job bringing the story to life!

Thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the advanced copy!

This was a cute book. I liked the plot and the characters. It reminded me of a Shakespeare in Love theme. It was easy and breezy. A great beach or summer read that wasn't too heavy.