A Governess’s Guide to Passion and Peril is the latest release in the Lady’s Guide series by Manda Collins. This was a fast read full of romance and murder. I fell in love with Jane and Adrian and was rooting for them from the very beginning. Their story grabbed me from the very first page. Will Adrian and Jane be able to figure out who the murderer is and stop them before there are more victims? Read A Governess’s Guide to Passion and Peril to find out.
I loved reading Jane and Adrian’s story so much. I can’t wait to read the next one in the series. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves reading historical romance novels with strong female characters.

Jane was once the daughter of a prominent diplomat, but after his unfortunate demise and gambling debts left her and her mother penniless and scandal-ridden, she took a job as a governess to make ends meet. When she's reconnected with Lord Adrian, who she had once considered a friend and crush until he abandoned her in her time of need, she gives him the cold shoulder. But when a man is murdered under their very noses, the two must work together to solve the case and prevent any other deaths.

I love how every book in this series feels unique yet part of a larger set. They have the same feeling and we see some of our favorite characters time and time again, but they can be read as standalones (or so far apart you can't remember the previous novels...) and the mysteries are fresh and new. I really enjoyed this one, as I have the rest of the series. It's tricky to seamlessly combine both mystery and romance, but Collins does it so well. I will say that I predicted the killer from the first page they appeared on--they were written with rather obvious super villain vibes that I couldn't shake--and I thought the jump from hate to betrothal was rather abrupt (but, I will acknowledge, I'm only a rare historical romance reader). Overall, would recommend, particularly for fans of the series!

Thanks to Forever for my eARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

5 stars - 8/10

This series is so much fun. The murder mystery plots are always engaging, and I love the dynamic of headstrong women and men who are in love with them and willing to let them shine.

Adrian and Jane have history - sort of. She had an unrequited, girlish crush on him while he began working in the diplomatic with her father. Years later, when their paths cross, she has to try to put aside her anger at him from the past so they can solve a murder that might potential reveal details about her own father’s death.

The stakes always feel appropriately high in this series. There’s a lurking, subtle sort of danger that really works, and moments when the intensity ramps up. I loved see Jane and Adrian work together and soften toward each other. It’s a lesson in not being able to rewrite the past b it realizing things might not have been exactly as you’ve been remembering them.

There’s a tiny bit of insta-love, particularly on Adrian’s part, but it’s less jarring because they did know each other years earlier. They’re very sweet together, there’s good banter, and it’s fun when they finally flirt.

Characters from the previous books are featured in the best ways. They contribute to the story but don’t overpower it. All around, a great book and a fun story.

I have such mixed feelings about this one..I ADORE this series, and every previous book has been a 5 star read, but this one didn't have the same...something.

After sitting on it for a few days, I think the biggest thing, for me, is that everything was so fast. I would not have been mad if this book was 100 pages longer, if it allowed us to feel more of the tension and build up of the relationships. Jane and Adrien just got together and fell in love SO FAST. There was no tension, no build up. There were mentions that they knew each other previously, but that wasn't explored at all. It just felt like there was no depth, so when the love confessions came, it wasn't exciting.

The mystery was good, but the focus of the story was so much on that, that some of the other areas missed. I still love this series, and hope more are coming, this one just wasn't *as* good as the others, for me,

Jane and Adrian’s chance reunion turns into a murder mystery as they unravel the ruse that has covered up a serial killer in their midst.

I enjoyed a lot of the story, and it definitely picked up after the murder mystery began. My only complaint was that the actual unraveling of their feelings for one another happened too quickly. Sure, they knew each other before, but the context was different and those feeling were never mutual. Jumping from that to where they landed felt rash. I also wish authors would stick to giving readers monumental declarations of love…I don’t want to have the first time of them says it just blend into the page.

The resolution to the mystery was fairly predictable but well executed and even without any knowledge of the other characters I think this could be enjoyed as a standalone.

Book four of the Ladies Most Scandalous series and it’s not long before many favorites make an appearance. This story revolves around Jane Halliwell, working as a governess after her father’s death. When her employer is murdered, she joins forces with the handsome Lord Adrian Fielding who broke her heart when young. Together they face the “ton” and search for the killer, all while trying to keep themselves safe.
This historical murder mystery is great for fans of Bridgerton, whodunnits, and anything in-between. I loved that many favorite characters from the past books like Caro are tied in, as well.
Thank you to Forever for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed this latest installment in the Lady's Guide series from Manda Collins! I particularly liked how our main female character didn't give up once she realized how much of the murder was connected to her father. The serial killer aspect of it was a fun new twist, but I liked that the overall tone of the book was still cozy. The FMC and MMC duo was so charming and I liked that they had to reconcile with each other. The history worked well for them. This was cute.

London - 1869

Miss Jane Halliwell is employed as a governess to Margaret, 16, the daughter of Viscount and Lady Gilford. Jane is having a difficult time getting the girl to pay attention to her studies as there are many people arriving at her Belgrave home for a symposium on horticulture. Her father is well known for his rose garden.

In her spare time, Jane enjoys writing detective novels. Margaret and Jane have both been told to stay away from the people attending the symposium. But, when Lady Gilford finds they are less one woman for dinner, Jane is told she must join them.

Lord Gilford had served with Lord Adrian Fielding for the foreign service. (Adrian is the younger brother of the Duke of Langham.) Now, they are both back in the UK and working for the Home Office. The symposium is actually a front for a secret diplomatic mission. But when Jane discovers Lord Gilford stabbed to death in his study, the police come in to question all of the attendees. Jane is once again called upon to keep everyone calm. It appears some other suspicious deaths were actually murders.

Jane and Adrian had known one another years ago and now that they are both working to find the murderer, they are also drawn closer to one another. Could this spark an attraction between them?

There is certainly a lot of intrigue in this book which is usually not my cup of tea, but I must say that the author handled it all quite well and kept it very interesting. Enjoy!

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Thank you so much for an advanced copy of A Governess's Guide to Passion and Peril! This book was so fun.

This is one of my most fun historical romance series, and this book did not disappoint. I enjoyed it immensely, and I found the characters so charming. Two thumbs way up!

A Governess’s Guide to Passion and Peril is fabulous. I adore this Ladies Mist Scandalous series and this one adds a new element indeed. Really fun read!

The fourth installment in the Ladies Most Scandalous series. I have to give props to the author for creating and centering her stories around strong and independent women. It is always a bonus to have that in a romance, especially in an historical romance. I also love the mystery and romance genre being molded together, however, I wish there was more focus on the romance or that the mystery balanced more with the romantic aspect of the story. At times, I struggled to believe in the chemistry between the main characters. and that possibly impacted my overall enjoyment of this installment in the series.

ARC provided by NetGalley and Forever Grand Central Publishing, and I have given my honest and voluntary review.

A delightful fourth instalment in the series
I had the pleasure of reading the book thanks to a #gifted copy from @hbgcanada
I also received the eARC from @readforeverpub via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

After reading and enjoying the first three books in the series, I had high hopes for the fourth and I was not disappointed.

There was murder.
There was romance.
There were strong and fierce women who dared to be more than what society told them they could be.
There was humour and laughter.

It was a quick read for me as once I started, I did not want to put it down. I love the story of Jane, the daughter of a diplomat who has fallen down the ranks of Regency society and now works as a Governess and Lord Adrian Fielding, also a diplomat and who worked for her father. After years of not seeing each other, they find themselves in each other’s company during a rose symposium Jane’s employer is hosting. After a murder takes place, Lord Adrian begins an investigation with the help of some friends we met in previous books, and Jane joins in, forcing the two to spend time together and, because it’s a romance, fall in love.

We also get to catch up with characters from the previous books, and perhaps there’s some scene-setting for future books in the series? I don’t know if this is the final one or not!

While I figured out the killer pretty early on, I still immensely enjoyed how Jane and Lord Adrian solved the crime.

I’m thrilled to have this book on my shelf alongside the first two; now I need to pick up the third in the series!

This was just an okay read for me. Definitely not my favorite of the series. I wasn't wowed by the chemistry between the main characters and didn't love the narrator (which maybe contributed to my mediocre experience). Part historical Regency romance and part murder mystery. Likely to be popular among the Brigerton loving crowd. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

A Governess's Guide to Passion and Peril by Manda Collins is book 4 in the Ladies Most Scandalous Series. This is the story of Adrian Fielding and Jane Halliwell. Jane once dream of having a home and family of her own but due to something happening she won't reach that goal. Instead she is a governess helping to young ladies into the life she had dreams of. Adrian considered Jane a friend but when he arrives on the scene after not being fully in her life he is met with a different women. Jane isn't friendly towards him instead is somewhat icy to him. Enjoyed their story.

I just love Manda Collins' writing and her books are always so easy to enjoy. I have tried other mystery historical romances since I've read A Spinster's Guide to Danger and Dukes last year and more often than not, it's a failure for me... but with Manda Collins, there is just something that I absolutely love. Her stories have such heartwarming characters that you can easily relate to and fall for. The mystery part is always quite intriguing and has a real impact on the characters' life which makes it the more intriguing. The forced proximity you get from it all makes our MCs form a deeper relationship and forces them to talk and acknowledge their feelings in the best of ways. (Nothing like a near death experience to make you realize who you care about, haha!) It's always such a fantastic ride and this one was no exception.

Jane was absolutely fantastic in how she went on with her life and did not hesitate to work and find something for herself after all that happened in her past. She's strong and always ready to act. Lord Adrian was just perfect with how he wanted to protect Jane so bad and got mad at being unable to sometimes. And the jealousyyyyyy, I so freakin' love a jealous man, especially when all of his friends have good banter and will never let it die.

This book is lighter on the steam level which, I'm gonna be honest, I was needing after some smutty reads. It was just a perfect love story with a little bit of spice and let's not forget about that tension. I enjoyed how those two worked things through and did not hesitate to talk about the past and make sense of what had happened. That's the only way second chances can work for me, and it was done perfectly.

The mystery part was quite interesting and I had my suspicions throughout the read which made it fun to find out more and more clues that led to finding the murderer.

This series is really a must if you enjoy mystery or historical romances, it's a perfect mix!

Thanks to the author, NetGalley, ForeverPub and HBGCanada for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

4.5 stars

A regency romance and a locked room murder mystery rolled into one book? Sign me up!

I love this series and Jane and Adrian's story was a fun one! I raced my way through this book - the mystery was low stakes but it had me on the edge of my seat and I loved seeing the characters from the previous three books pop up!

Kate, Caro, and Poppy are my girlies and I loved seeing Jane join their little murder club. Also that conversation they had...amazing! But how I wish it was longer!

The mystery itself was intriguing and I got to admit, that I actually enjoyed it more than the romance. As much as I love Jane and Adrian together, I feel like the story was missing the relationship building. They got together too fast for my liking. I needed more pining and angst!!!!

I enjoyed the introduction of the new character - Will Gilford and I have all my fingers crossed that his book will be next! Manda Collins please never stop writing this series!

This is the fourth episode of this series. Jane and her friends get involved in another murder. This one is personal to Jane Halliwell, as it seemed related to the death of her father a few years earlier which dramatically changed the circumstances of both Jane and her mother. Love interest for Jane in this episode. Entertaining historical mystery series.

I've generally enjoyed Manda Collin's Lady's Guide series, and while this installment didn't quite live up to the shine of some of the earlier books, it was still plenty fun to read.

Jane Halliwell lost her money and her social standing after her father's suicide, and has worked as a governess ever since. When her employer - and long-time family friend - is murder, she's forced to team up with the man who broke her girlish heart, Lord Adrian Fielding, to solve not just this crime, but a string of murders going all the way back to Jane's father. Pushed together, feelings begin to rekindle, even with danger at every turn.

The combo of a murder mystery and a historical romance is always a delightful one, and it continues to work pretty well here. That said, the outcome of the mystery was a little too obvious for my taste, given how long it takes the characters to put the pieces together. And while there's solid chemistry at times between Jane and Adrian, both characters felt a little flat to me, especially in comparison to their livelier counterparts from earlier books.

All that said, A Governess's Guide was solid but not particularly memorable, and enjoyable enough to keep me entertained.

3.5/5

I always look forward to a new Manda Collins book! She has a real talent for weaving romance into intrigue and mystery and this book is no exception!

I loved Adrian and Jane's connection right away. It was funny to see everyone around point out that he had feelings for her repeatedly and him not realize it himself. The poor guy was so jealous and didn't even realize it. I also liked Jane as a character. Her history as a diplomat's daughter made her an unusual character and she was fun to read about.

I enjoyed the mystery element of this book as well which is somewhat unusual for me. I often am just invested in the romance but I wanted to know the culprit in this case. It was also a lot of fun to see Adrian and Jane investigate together! I liked that at the end of the day they worked together as partners and had each other's backs.

If you like historical romance with a mystery plot Manda Collins is always my go-to recommendation!
Her older books are a bit more romance with a bit of mystery and the more recent ones are about equal romance and mystery. The plots are always interesting with strong and smart female characters.

🌶️🌶️ - This one has two spicy scenes that have very little description. I would describe it as door barely ajar.

I have loved this series since book 1! In book 4 we are following Jane who is working as a governess after misfortune falls on her family. While in employment she meets up with childhood friend and former crush Lord Adrian. I really enjoyed the relationship between Jane and Adrian and also loved that we were solving the mystery of many mysterious deaths. I always love a good mystery with my romance. I really hope we get more in the series! Thank you Forever for my gifted copy for review!! This one is out now so be sure to go and pick it up. These do not need to be read in order to enjoy them!