I didn’t realize this was a sequel to the author’s first book, Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord, but it can be read independently. Though at times confusing due to two concurrent mystery plotlines and numerous characters, I even started writing down their names to keep track.
It turns out that Lord Emery's death from the first book might not have been an accident, and her childhood friend, Duncan Shawcross, isn’t so innocent—he works in secret.

Queen Charlotte sends Lady Petra to investigate the death of the orphanage matron, as the queen is a patron. This book has three intertwined plots: the death of Petra’s late fiancé, the murder of the orphanage headmistress, and a political plot against the monarch (Bellowers).

At times, I found it hard to like Lady Petra. Yes, she’s headstrong, and often can easily believe the worst in people. It makes me wonder what kind of unhappy or unstable upbringing for her to be so judgmental. When upset, she doesn't let the speaker fully explain before jumping to conclusions, often getting it wrong.

It starts off slow but picks up pace and is worth reading through. It may have been easier if I had read the first book, but it wasn’t hard to follow. With two mysteries and romance interwoven, it was a good read.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Minotaur Books for a digital ARC for my unbiased opinion.

4.0

If you’re looking for a fun engaging, somewhat-liberal-with-reality historical mystery with a tiny bit of (not explicit) spice with an irreverent lady as heroin, this is for you. Of course, as the second in this Lady Petra series, definitely start with number one.

Lady Petra is back. It’s hard to create a follow-up to a successful book, but this is a pretty good candidate. She is still foolish sometimes and does things that puts others in real danger.

I might have been more engaged with the first book’s premise, which was somewhat unique. I don’t know that I caught on to the orphanage scenario as much, but this one is really complex and covers an interesting part of history. I may have felt the same with the first book to start too. Obviously, much is made up from possible issues of the time, but the larger event, winning the war against Napoleon and the following celebrations, is real. I’ve never read anything about it in other fiction. The Victorians usually get all the love in historical fiction settings, especially mysteries, and then they are never of the more humorous, cozy variety. I use cozy in the broad sense, not the cat-lady, happy-murder-case kind with puns for titles.

There are a lot of allusions to having sex or talking about it in historic euphemisms, but no actual sex. Not with Petra, but also not with Caroline and her paramore who seem like animals in heat. On that note, I wish this book had explained quickly why Caroline can’t marry “her Whitfield”. I had to search the first book for her name to remember that she is married to a navy captain who is gay and gone all of the time and the marriage was more of platonic love and convenience.

I’m not sure that I like conveniently recreating Petra’s past and upending everything she knew, but it is an interesting twist. Hopefully this allows her to move forward without being caught up what could have been.

All in all, I enjoyed this. It took a little bit to sort out what was happening and you may need some patience to get into a story like this. This is not necessarily for the typical historical mystery reader who wants something serious like others of the era such as Lady Darby or Wrexford and Sloane, though I love those too. If you read the first book, you know if this is for you.

Thank you to Celeste Connally, NetGalley, and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with a free advanced copy of this book for my unbiased review.

This was a fun and engaging regency mystery. The writing was fun and I was kept guessing throughout! But

All’s Fair in Love and Treachery is an engaging and fun mystery with likable characters. There were a couple of times I felt like rolling my eyes at the FMC’s behavior, but I set that aside, just went with the story, and ended up having an enjoyable time. I really like the female friend group in this series.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the advance reader copy. All opinions are my own.

I keep trying to read regency romance and it never works out. So this is going to be my last attempt. It's just not for me. Nothing wrong with the book, I'm the problem... it's me.

In ALL’S FAIR IN LOVE AND TREACHERY Lady Petra, who believes her fiancée suffered an accidental death, finds out in a letter that her current love interest, Duncan Shawcross, was responsible for her fiancée’s death. Lady Petra also learns that Queen Charlotte has assigned her to go to Lambeth at the Asylum for Female Orphans. Is Duncan truly responsible for the death of Lady Petra’s fiancée? What is the Queen requesting of Lady Petra at the Asylum for Female Orphans?

It is easy for me to return to Lady Petra’s world in this newest book in the Lady Petra Inquires series. I like the Regency Era setting, the characters who encompass Lady Petra’s life, and the intricate plot. The backstory involving Petra, Duncan, and Emerson (Petra’s dead fiancée) is as interesting as the main mystery. As I read this book, I am reminded of Rhys Bowen’s Royal Spyness series. Lady Petra is as headstrong as Georgiana Rannoch and also receives assignments from the Queen of England. I enjoy reading this Lady Petra Inquires series and look forward to experiencing the next book. Thank you, St. Martin's Press and NetGalley, for the chance to read and review ALL'S FAIR IN LOVE AND TREACHERY.

I enjoyed meeting Lady Petra and Duncan, the real love of her life. Her fiance Emerson Ingersoll was murdered, three years later she discovers this in a brutal fashion, blaming her lifelong friend, and the man she deeply loves Duncan, in the midst of trying to discover one murder, she is tasked with solving another, a request given by the Queen no less. In the midst of all of this we have the defeat at Waterloo and the celebrations that occured in London during this time period. A very entertaining story, well researched, and one I think you might enjoy.
I highly recommend. Thank you #Netgalley #MinatourBooks
carolintallahassee

3.5
I don't know. This seems like the kind of thing that is specifically designed for one of my reading moods, but I never seem to catch it at the right time. It's, you know, fine.

I’m a new enthusiast of Regency era mysteries and this one was a winner! Compelling mystery and great fun, I didn’t feel lost having not read the first on the series and I will certainly go back and read it. Such fun!!

I enjoyed this latest offering in the Lady Petra Inquiries series. I'm looking forward to the next offering.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced digital copy.

The story of a woman who loses her love only to be saved and then betrayed. It's a good story and had exciting plot lines but it did tend to drag a bit in the middle and I didn't find myself pushing to finish as much as I would have liked. The characters were well developed but I just couldn't get into the story line.

For fans of Bridgerton and Agatha Raisin, this cozy mystery set in Regency London, while the final battle with Napoleon is playing out, is such fun! It follows Lady Petra Forsythe, an early feminist of the noble class, who has some very forward-thinking ideas. When the matron of a home for orphan girls is found murdered, the Queen asks Lady Petra to find the killer. Meanwhile, her paramour, the dashing but very mysterious Duncan Shawcross, has disappeared, leaving some very difficult questions in his wake.

This mystery was such fun to read. The action moved quickly and the characters were colorful. I highly recommend it!

Thank you to St. Martin's Publishing Group and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance review copy.

All is Fair in Love and Treachery is a Modern Regency mystery. Lady Petra is an unconventional aristocratic lady and because of her family connections, she can get away with it.
She discovers her lover was involved with her fiancé’s death. She is asked by Queen Charlotte to investigate the matron’s death at an orphanage. It is non-stop action! In spite of the modern air (I am a more traditional Regency reader) I do like Lady Petra and her friends. It is a very enjoyable book and it was an interesting mystery.

All’s Fair in Love and Treachery picks up right were left off from the first book - Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord. I love when books pick up right where left off. I throughly enjoyed the first book and couldn’t wait for the second (it was a long wait and well worth it).
In the second installment, you find out how her fiancé, Emerson actually died, Shawcross’ true familial lines. AND a plot to kill the queen. As far as intrigue goes in regency-era, this book is filled with it. Sometimes there is a lull in the writing, but overall I was entertained by the sequel. I’m looking forward to the next installment! Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Oh I do like Lady Petra. She is on a mission for the queen. There has been a death at the orphanage. Her fiancé was found dead years ago and she has an affair going on. I like her friendships and how they help each other. The window transparency idea is a cleaver one. It would have been a good way for everyone to see them by just walking by a house. I like all the side stories that pull together to make this a book not to miss.

Having adored the first book in the series, I immediately requested the ARC when it became available on NetGalley.

It holds all the same charm and whimsy of the first book, so if you enjoyed the first for those reasons then I highly recommend this follow-up. The characters are delightful and I'm always going to be a fan when dogs are present as characters themselves!

While the vibes of the book were excellent, I struggled with this book overall. Perhaps because it has been quite some time since I read the first book, I was having a hard time trying to keep all the people straight. They used different names (first, last, or title) and I kept getting confused about who were who.

The two mystery plotlines ran concurrently throughout the book, and I found the ending satisfying in how the author wrapped it all up with a bow. I was a bit worried that I wouldn't "get it" having been confused for a good portion of the book, but it came together very well at the end.

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for a digital advanced reader copy. All opinions are my own and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

All's Fair in Love and Treachery by Celeste Connally is a complex follow up to her first book of the series, Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord.
In this installment, Connally continues to follow the (mis)adventures of Lady Petra, with misunderstandings both current and past playing a large roll in the storyline. While the plot line of a threat to the royal family and a secretive organization out to do them harm is interesting, the story gets off to a somewhat slow start; so much so that some readers may give up before the book truly takes off.
But take off it does, with intricately woven threads coming together to provide a surprising solution.
The book is well-written and full of clearly well-researched historical points of interest.
Thank you for the ARC of #AllsFairinLoveandTreachery to #NetGalley.

"All's Fair in Love and Treachery"' is the second book in Celeste Connally's Lady Petra series — something I didn't realize when I asked for the ARC. I found it difficult to follow initially but decided to just roll with it. As others have noted, it's a complex plot with many characters and subplots, and I might have enjoyed it more if I had started with book 1 in the series — nevertheless, the ending is clever; the author mixes romance and intrigue, along with a lot of period detail that makes for interesting reading.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I enjoyed this book. It was a bit convoluted for me throughout the story, and there were asides that didn't need to be included or at least not harped on from my perspective, but overall, I did enjoy the mystery and revisiting these characters. The book is fun and lively but also serious and makes social commentary, like book one did. The ending is very sweet and ties everything together nicely.

Another fantastic story by Celeste Connally. All the favorite characters from her first book return with a double murder to solve along with saving the monarchy from an insurrection that is being planned to occur during events near the end of the Napoleonic wars. It moves fast and there are lots of surprises. Hoping for another book in the series.