📖 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐋𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐛𝐲 𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐲 𝐌𝐜𝐆𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐞

‘𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳, 𝘮𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘔𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘚𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘫𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘮𝘴.’ 𝘏𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘢𝘳. '𝘈 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶.'

𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐲 𝐌𝐜𝐆𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐞’𝐬 debut book was such a delight. Hannah was such a bada** female lead. A female spy working for the Queen?! I was hooked. The entire book is filled with strong women.

General Robert Killian, Duke of Covington, made for the perfect tortured hero. He is struggling with what took place during the war and he doesn’t believe himself to be a good man. As he works to solve a murder under the direction of the prime minister, he encounters a beautiful and fierce woman that defies all the rules of society.

There is so much angsty tension and banter between Killian and Hannah and I ate it up! Killian helps Hannah explore her sexuality. The spicy lessons were great. This is one of my favorite tropes!

The mystery and suspense of who the killer is, was great. This story also leaves the door open for future books. I have my fingers crossed that broody and love hating, Drake, will get his own book!

If you love spicy historical romances with a dash of murder mystery and espionage, this book is for you!

'𝘋𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘴𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦, 𝘔𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘚𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴? 𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘥𝘢𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘴? 𝘒𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘺 𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵?'

'𝘈𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦.' 🫠

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐋𝐚𝐝𝐲 releases on June 14!

𝘛𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘴:
💖 𝘏𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘙𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦
🎭 𝘌𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦
🩶 𝘛𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘏𝘦𝘳𝘰
🥵 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘴𝘵𝘺 𝘉𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳
🫶🏼 𝘋𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘗𝘖𝘝
🔥 𝘚𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘺 (2🌶️)

Read if you like:
Blackmail, spies, a badass fmc, mystery and action
3.5 ⭐️

The plot was great in this book! It was very fast paced and had lots of action. I was hooked the whole time trying to figure out who the murderer was.

This book wastes no time, it gets straight into the mystery and there’s no filler chapters.
The romance was fast too, I felt like they developed feelings for each other too quickly (despite it starting with an enemies to lovers vibe). I would’ve loved to see more time together, conversations and more flirty touches.

If you want a fast paced action read and you don’t mind a fast developing relationship, I’d give this book a go!

I finally get the first book in a series?!?! AND ITS HISTORICAL ROMANCE?!?! I am deceased! I cannot get enough of historical romances lately and this one did not disappoint! It’s in my top 3 for sure! I cannot wait to read the rest of the series when they come out!!

I loved this book - I flew through it in one sitting, I was completely hooked!
Hannah was extremely likeable and I loved that we had a strong FMC 'femme fatale' in a historical romance. The chemistry between Hannah and KIllian was certainly steamy and the 'spicey' scenes were perfect.
Paired with the romance we have the subplot of the murder mystery which kept things fun and interesting. The lack of 'filler' meant that the pace was extremely fast, - unlike many other historical romances I have read.
The use of the Victorian Era was extremely clever, it reminded me of Bridgerton in all the best ways without being too similar in terms of the high society and spice.

***Thank you NetGalley***

NO SPOILERS.

"The next time a woman issues a warning...pay attention."

I LOVED this.

I was a little concerned at first with how quickly the story jumps into itself but as the book progressed I was so hooked. This is a really fast paced read which I appreciated (I get bored pretty easy) and the writing flows beautifully.

The FMC is so fierce and I loved that while her character evolves as the story goes on, she doesn't lose that side of herself.
The MMC is just *chefs kiss*, seriously. I don't even really need to say more than that.
Lady Phillipa also really makes me think of Lady Danbury from Bridgerton and I am living for it.

If you like a period romance with murder, mystery, spice, banter, and that little something that means you just can't put it down - this is the book for you.

The Secret Life of a Lady is the first book in a new series of historical romances. Miss Hannah Simmons may appear as a wallflower to society, but she leads a double life as Queen Victoria’s top spy, on a mission to apprehend a dangerous killer. When she crosses paths with damaged yet irresistible war hero Duke Robert Killian (now Private Investigator to the Prime Minister), they find themselves competing on the same task, sparking both frustration and desire.

I quickly devoured this historical romance and I loved the balance of plot and romance. There's absolutely no filler in this book, and there's always something exciting happening - new information uncovered in the murder mystery plot, or developments in Hannah and Killian's relationship. Hannah is a really strong character and her relationship with Killian was perfect (and very sexy!).

I also loved seeing Hannah's relationships develop with her new friends, and I'm very intrigued to see whether the future books in this series continue to focus on Hannah and Killian, or whether the focus will shift to her new friends. I hope that the other ladies get their own books but either way, I am definitely going to carry on this series! There are so many interesting side characters and stories to be told in this world that I just can't wait to see what's next.

So, I loved the historical setting, the spy/investigator mystery action, and the romance between the main characters - it was everything I wanted!

Disclaimer: I received an ARC from NetGalley but this is my voluntary and honest review.