In this third installment of the Houses of Yorkshire series, the lovely Olivia Brannon's unconventional interest in antiquities, developed through her father's business, convinces her to accept an invitation that could change her future forever - the chance to evaluate a private collection housed at Cloverton Hall. She arrives to find that Lucas Avery, who was once an old friend but is now her adversary, has his own antiquities work at Cloverton that put her efforts at risk. When the two of them stumble upon a dangerous plot, they must decide whether to risk their future by working together to uncover the truth.

This book combines swoony romance, fascinating history, and fabulous character-building, all in one cozy mystery package. I highly recommend it!

This had everything that I was looking for from this type of book. It had everything that I was hoping for. I enjoyed the historical fiction element to it and had a great overall feel to it. The characters themselves worked in this world and I was engaged with the romance elements. I enjoyed the way Sarah E. Ladd wrote this.

Olivia Brannon is a passionate expert in the field of antiquities. But as a woman in regency England, she is held back from pursuing her dream to be a respected antiquities broker, while both propriety and a lack of fortune prevent her from traveling to distant lands as she also desires.

An underappreciated resource in the antiquities business her uncle inherited from her father, Olivia jumps when a rare opportunity comes her way. The widow of a longtime client of her father’s desires her collection to be appraised, but because her husband’s estate was entailed to a nephew, it needs to be under the guise of entertaining a house guest for a country party. Agnes Milton hires Olivia, even going so far as to furnish her with a posh wardrobe for the ruse.

At Cloverton Hall, however, Olivia encounters much more than she expects. One thing is the shallow, snobbish attitude of the other young women at the party, rivals in the ‘game’ of the marriage market. And rather than quietly fade into the background, Olivia’s unexpected presence and her lack of typical ladies’ pursuits makes her more intriguing to all. Including Lucas Avery, son of her father’s business rival and former friend. Both Lucas and Olivia are shocked to see each other again and both come bearing secrets, for Lucas has been hired by the nephew, Wainbridge, to appraise his uncle’s collection. When Lucas and Olivia discover counterfeit pieces, it sets in motion unexpected events that draw them closer to each other and to discovering the truth.

Olivia’s character was refreshingly real and stood up for herself and her ideals firmly but quietly, which I loved. I enjoyed this book very much.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Overall the story was interesting enough to keep me turning the pages. I just had a hard time connecting with the story at times. Sometimes it took its times but then it made other parts short lived and details sparse. Wish there had been more focus on Lucas and Olivia. I feel like it was insta love at the end of the book vibes because their encounters were so brief prior to. I was also disappointed that it is listed as Christian fiction on goodreads yet there wasn't an ounce of such in the book outside of closed door and clean language, it was just stated somebody cursed with no curse word. Also there was a lot of focus on alcohol intake and observation of such by the mfc as she didn't know what to make of dealing with talking to intoxicated people. It just felt unnecessary. Overall my favorite in this Trilogy was as they were presented. One being my favorite "The Letter From Briarton Park"
Thank you netgalley for allowing me to read. This is my honest opinion.

This is a great read!
This story shows how difficult it was for women to use their talents outside of the home along with intriguing details of how a person’s priceless collections would be verified, recorded, and sold.
There is intrigue as the question becomes who is supplementing fake pottery for the real items.
The main characters are well formed and the storyline is great!
I received a complimentary copy of this book. My opinions are my own.

Wow! How I love Sarah Ladd's books! I have loved them for a number of years, and this one does not disappoint!

Olivia was brought up to understand antiquities, but alas, she is female. When her father dies, her uncle takes over and treats her as a second place citizen.

Lucas was raised in a similar fashion, except he gains the business after his father fell into disgrace.

As these two renew their friendship during a house party, while working for competing clients, things change. When counterfeit pottery is found, things get more involved. Can the find the thieves and build a new life together?

Can love conquer and thieves be caught?

The Cloverton Charade was an historical romance with a fun premise. As far as the characters were concerned, I felt Alicia came across as more well rounded than Lucas; I felt we got deeper into her personality than his, whereas I would have liked a little more balance. In addition, their romance seemed a little sudden, with marriage proposed and accepted almost out of the blue after only the briefest of courtships. However, the story was entertaining and moved at a good pace throughout, and overall it was a pleasing read that I can recommend to fans of historical romance who enjoy a rivals-to-lovers twist. I am giving it four stars.

"Today was the day Olivia's entire life was going to change. It was the anticipation of something new-the anticipation of an adventure"
Olivia Brannon and Lucas Avery, whose father's were once partners in an antiquities business, reunite in this intriguing story of mystery and suspense. Olivia and Lucas, who are now antiquarians, are hired to make assessments of rare collections individually owned by the widow of Charlton Hall and the new heir to the estate. What evolves is a suspenseful game of charades and intrigue that will keep the reader engaged from beginning to end.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This was a very enjoyable read. The story was very interesting and I finished it in a day. The romance was perfectly done. I would highly recommend this book!

I’m a bit torn on how to rate this book. I liked it very much. The antiquities storyline was interesting, and I always appreciate that Ladd writes about characters who work, instead of focusing exclusively on the aristocracy. I enjoy learning more about what life was like for “normal” people. Olivia was a wonderful heroine—smart, ambitious, and brave. I appreciated her forthrightness and determination. She was the type of character I really root for.

What kept this from being a five star read for me is that this felt more like historical fiction or mystery, as opposed to historical romance. Ladd’s books typically offer a blend of mystery/suspense and romance, but I felt like this book tipped more to mystery than romance. At times, the romance felt like a little bit of an afterthought, and they moved very quickly to marriage. I know the characters had known each other since childhood, but they did not speak for years. The marriage felt very rushed; I would have liked to see the relationship build more.

Having said that, the book was still highly enjoyable, and I recommend it. Just know that the romance isn’t necessarily the focal point of this book. Thanks to the publisher for providing an eARC via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I thought this was such a fun mystery romance novel! The ensemble of characters were all so interesting and varied and I really enjoyed seeing Olivia grow in her own estimation of herself throughout the story. I also loved that there was only openness and honesty between Olivia and Lucas and that the betrayals happened with other characters. The antiquities storyline really drew me in and I had a great time reading it!

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a copy in a exchange for a fair and honest review.

THE CLOVERTON CHARADE by SARAH E LADD is an exciting Regecy romance novel that takes place in England, between Derbyshire and London.
Olivia Brannon, who has taken after her father and become an expert in antiquities, is delighted to be invited by Mrs Agnes Milton to a house party at Cloverton Hall in order to evaluate her private collection. This will be done in secret, as the elderly lady’s nephew, George Wainbridge has inherited her husband’s fortune, which is now practically non existant due to the money her husband spent on antiquiqities. George has invited the well known antique dealer, Lucas Avery, to assess his uncle’s vast treasure, many of the pieces acquired through Olivia’s father, in order to sell them and fill the Cloverton coffers.
It is interesting to see how the author describes the underlying goals of the characters, for example,Olivia wants to prove to her uncle Thomas, and the wold in general, that she is every bit as qualified as any man in the business, Lucas wants to improve his standing in the antiquites world after a scandal involving his father, and Mrs Milton wants to honour her husband’s memory. All of this takes place in the midst of a house party in which most of the guests are looking for advatageous liaisons……
Then the unthinkable happens…..
The idea of what is really important in life and what is counterfeit comes through clearly.
I cannot recomend this lovely read strongly enough.
I was given a free copy of the book by NetGalley from Thomas Nelson. The opinions in this review ae completely my own.