"Two women set their sights on marrying the same duke, but instead of becoming enemies, they find themselves falling in love - though not with him.

Harriet Lockhart never planned to marry. She has spent her life defying expectations, playing male roles on London's seediest stages, and doing whatever she pleases. When Harry is contacted by her hitherto anonymous father, she finds herself at risk of losing the trust fund that's subsidized her lifestyle - unless she begins to lead a more respectable life, starting with finding a husband.

Emily Sergeant, the picture of modesty, has only ever wanted to marry. And were it not for one mistake in her youth that rendered her a social pariah, she would be appropriately betrothed. Instead, she's due to wed the only willing - and most abominable - man in her small town. Desperate for an alternative, Emily flees to London to snag a less lecherous fiancé.

Worlds collide, dramatically and hilariously, when both women decide on the very same duke as their best possible chance at a tolerable husband and a secure future. A tongue-in-cheek romp through London's summer season, from balls to brothels, horseraces to duels, Harry and Emily compete for the duke's favor, only to find their true hearts' desires may be more compatible than they could have ever predicted."

I'm just saying, there could be a combination lavender marriage throuple situation here.

Lady Like is a very fun Sapphic Regency romcom!

I liked both the leading ladies and really all of the women characters (all of the men were horrible). The main characters' romance was a lovely development from an awful first impression to friends to lovesick. Harry was my favorite, but I appreciated that Emily was a believable small town girl in London.

Lady Like has a bit of a slow start. I wasn't really hooked to the story until about a quarter way in. After the introduction of Emily, however, I flew through this book. There is a third act breakup and, even worse, two miscommunication incidents, but it was resolved nicely enough to be mostly forgiven. A happily ever after for a queer couple in a historical romance is never straightforward, but it was accomplished here.

I appreciated the author's care and note to tell a queer historical romance and look forward to future releases!

Thank you, Random House Publishing, for the arc!

I love a good sapphic romance and Lady Like by Mackenzi Lee is well written, romantic and hopeful. I loved our two main characters romance and could not stop rooting for them throughout the story. I look forward to Lee's future work and I hope she writes more historical queer romances.

This was an absolute delight! A queer historical opposites attract romance with nuanced, loveably flawed characters, strong helpings of both humor and angst, and fairly high stakes for the genre. I went into this one fairly blind and was pleasantly surprised by wholeheartedly enjoying this book. Highly recommend this one--I hope the author writes more for adults, as I'd be highly anticipating the next!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc! Opinions are my own.

If you like the old timey vibes of Bridgerton than you will love this one. Two ladies in a very peculiar circumstances end up clashing and they somehow manage to click well. If you love gruff woman who know how to survive despite the time era they are in you will enjoy this one. Harry was my favorite just because I see how not girly she is and I feel really seen. I would have probably been the same way she is if I was in that time period. One hell of a ride with a nice tidy HEA. Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for this early e-arc copy of this one.

What happens when two women are competing over the same (quite frankly, mediocre) duke? Well ideally they fall in love with each other instead! Harriet and Emily both have their reasons for needing to secure an advantageous marriage, and as they have their sights set on the same man, their paths cross often, and they find themselves becoming friends. I appreciated the ways that Harry and Emily brought out the best in each other - pushing each other out of their comfort zones, exposing each other to new ideas and experiences, and ultimately reassuring one another that who they are is enough to be loved. Some of the plot points felt a bit contrived and while I can normally tolerate a lot (and suspend a lot of disbelief) with a romance, it was a little much for me at times and I felt like the plot would have hit better if it were a bit more simplified. Overall, I really enjoyed Lady Like and the author's note was fascinating to read and see all of the ways actual sapphic women in history inspired aspects of the book.

Imagine Bridgerton but make it sapphic—obviously I was all in from the jump. Lady Like by Mackenzi Lee delivers the regency romance drama, but with a queer twist that had me hooked.

Our leading lady, Harriet (aka Harry), is a total wildcard: part-time actress, part-time equestrian, and full-time not giving a damn about societal norms. She’s out here flashing the crowd during a shady theater gig like, “Boobs? You’re welcome.” Honestly, icon behavior.

Things take a sharp turn when Harry and her brother Colin are contacted by the father they’ve never met—who just so happens to be the soon-to-be king. Of course, Daddy Dearest is looking to legitimize his secret kids by marrying them off to boost his royal image. Which means Harry is now expected to become a proper lady and snag a husband. Yikes.

Enter Emily: the ultimate prim and polished society girl. She’s everything Harry isn’t—graceful, rule-following, and painfully aware of her standing. But when her one decent marriage prospect falls through, she finds herself in the same desperate boat as Harry—competing for the affections of a certain eligible duke.

What follows is a delightful regency rom-com filled with witty banter, scandalous schemes, and a slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers romance between two women who couldn’t be more different. As their rivalry heats up, so do their feelings—and soon it’s not the duke they’re vying for, but each other.

The drama? Delicious. The romance? Adorable. The spice? Surprisingly very very spicy.
The ending tied everything together in a way that felt so satisfying, I closed the book with a happy sigh.

Thanks to NetGalley and published for this ARC.
4 stars!

Lady Like is the story of two women (Harriet "Harry" and Emily) forced by unfair, sexist, and complicated circumstances to find husbands.

Emily is a "ruined" woman with awful parents desperate to avoid the match they're forcing her into. Harry is an actor who has just discovered the truth of her parentage and the strings that go along with her inheritance.

They've set their eyes on the same man.

After Emily has a disappointing encounter with said man, Harry agrees to help her "become more interesting" and get his attention back, but still plans to marry him. As they spend more time together, Harry and Emily become friends, realize just how very interesting, fun, kind, and smart the other is, and catch feelings.

When Harry's backhanded "help" is revealed, they are faced with what they actually mean to each other and how to get their HEA.

Lady Like is funny and a great story. It's in 3rd person present which I struggle with and the conflict wrapped up a bit too quickly for my tastes but I still really enjoyed it. This is Lee's adult debut. I am looking forward to what she does next.

Thanks to Lee, Dial Press, and NetGalley for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

This one just didn't get me hooked for some reason. It could have been the writing style or something else, but I just couldn't get through it.

Thank you to Dial Press Trade Paperback and NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a historically set sapphic slow burn. I found this enjoyable enough to get through. The cover drew me in but unfortunately I didn't love it as much as I hoped.

I thought I would like this a lot more than I actually did. The plot seemed interesting and the first few chapters were really good. However, I wasn’t a fan of the third act break up at the 70% mark. Some of the plot was fairly good but the miscommunication was just too frustrating. After a while the characters just felt superficial especially with such a predictable plot.

Plot: 3/10
Pace: 4/10
Ending: 8/10
Characters: 5/10
Enjoyability: 5/10
Writing Style: 6/10
Would I Recommend? Maybe
Favorite Character(s): Emily and Harry

Favorite Quote: ❝ “You defended yourself against his advances. You may have been the cause, but that does not mean you were at fault. I’m sorry if I never said that to you.” ❞

Rating: 4/5

Thank you to The Dial Press and Netgalley for an advanced reader's copy of Lady Like, by Mackenzi Lee! There is so much I loved in this adult debut: the laugh-out-loud absurdity (particularly the Shakespearian flair for well-crafted insults!), the high stakes for both main characters, the absolute leveling of a haughty, boring and embarrassingly horny duke, and the slow-and-steady development of the central relationship. Both of our main characters are facing bad odds for conventional marriages, and both of them NEED conventional marriages to avoid financial or personal ruin. While they both set their sights on the same duke, we know right from the start this guy isn't going anywhere, and seeing the ways they both use him is honestly delightful (he deserves it and more). I appreciated how carefully Lee built the friendship between our main couple and I LOVE when the threat of ulterior motives hangs over a couple now blissfully in love (give me pain! drama!). And while this is raucous and over-the-top in a lot of ways (which is so fitting for a female actor doing really terrible Shakespearian theatre honestly), there were a few lines that gutted me by surprise, see:

"She has done everything right. But, more important, she did one thing wrong, once. And now she has reached the final station of her cross."

And:

"Tell me everything will turn out all right."
"It might not... The world will not remake itself for you, but neither should you remake yourself for the world."

It does, however, wrap up a bit hastily (which is odd to say because it's also a fairly dramatic conclusion?) and there are some odd inconsistencies that surprised me (some mix-ups in address for the duke, an odd stopping point on an open door scene, etc. - these pulled me out of the story a bit but ultimately small quibbles!).

Really looking forward to seeing more from Mackenzi Lee!

3.5 ⭐️ Thank you to Dial Press Trade Paperback and NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was fully expecting sapphic Bridgerton and even though it did hit that mark it was a miss for me. The book didn’t really captivate me until 60-70% in and honesty it was hard to get to that point. The author went above and beyond developing the main characters story and rushed the additional characters. I would have loved to hear more about Colin’s story.

I do however feel like it is a good book if you’re looking for something historical with a bit of romance and love. I’m a sucker for a happy ending. I look forward to what this author has in store for the future!

Yes yes yes yes yes!!! I've gotten really into regency romances lately and I love that this is a rivals to lovers romance. This was a great readalike to Sorcery and Small Magics. I love it when girls kiss, and I think Mackenzi Lee does a great job with f/f pairings! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a review copy.

A historical romance that asks what if the love triangle doesn’t resolve in a typical way.
What if, instead the guy choosing one of the women, they instead chose each other?

Emily, reputation ruined by a tragedy in her youth and so still single, is being forced to marry an odious - not to mention dangerous - man by her parents.
Cousin Violet cooks up a scheme to take her to London as a companion and help for her new baby, while secretly finding her a better match.

There, when trying to catch the attentions of a duke, she meets Harriet who has also set her sight on the same man.

Harry is 34 years old, and happily unmarried
An actress in a sapphic Shakespeare theater group, she paints a picture of scandal in her men’s suits, short hair, not to mention her late mother’s own history
Her life is being turned upside down, because her preciously unknown father turns out to be the future regent. He’ll set her up with a home and inheritance, but it comes in the condition that she settles down into respectability and finds a suitable husband

This book opened with an amazing line, but the story itself felt a little slow to me until the ladies met each other.
After that though? The verbal sparring began and I was invested again. The two played off each other very well!

Harry’s brother Collin might have had to idea that Emily would give his sister some refinement while she helped Emily let her liveliness show, but I think most of the change was on Emily’s part

As for the side characters, I wish we had gotten more of Collin - he seemed quite interesting, with his secrets and respectability that wasn’t really
I also worry for Violet, but *that* could fill paragraphs

Thank you to NetGalley and Dial Press for the arc
Rounded from 3 1/2

Thank you to NetGalley, Mackenzi Lee, and Random House | The Dial Press for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I have conflicting feelings on this one. I enjoyed the concept of Harriet and Emily fighting over the same guy, both looking for security. But instead, they fall in love with each other. I was expecting a bit more bantering and scenes with them trying to be better than the other. There are a few, but not as many as I would have thought. Harriet and Emily both have had some horrible things happen in the past to make them who they are today. I was hoping to see more character development with Emily. She had the potential to take control of her life, but she still let others make decisions for her. I felt like Harriet and Emily were good together. I would have loved more stolen moments with them. Overall, I enjoyed it. I would read another book by Mackenzi Lee. If you are a fan of Regency Sapphic Romances, then you should give this one a try.

3.5⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Lady Like was such a fun read! The story is a sapphic tale set in Georgian, England that has subtle influences of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night (one of the best Shakespeare plays, in my opinion).

Initial thoughts: this was a great palette cleanser from some of my previous reads which were heavier (although there are some heavy topics, they were so well done here that I wasn’t overwhelmed). I liked both of Harry’s and Emily’s characters, two very passionate and headstrong women. I love the arc of rivals to friendship to realizing what they felt was more than that. I have thoughts on the Duke’s character and have some qualms about the way his character was handled that I will leave out for spoiler reasons but that was partly why my review was knocked down. The second reason I was taken a little out of the story was the modern phrases the characters used but set with the antiquated values of that society. This isn’t an exact deal breaker, and I understand that there have to be some compromises, but it was enough to pull me out of the story. I also feel like the story ended so abruptly that I didn’t get any closure or time to sit with all that I’d read.

I would like to give a shoutout to the author for the note/section in the back of the book talking about the history of sapphism in the Regency/Georgian eras. So many women (and members of the LGBTQ+ community) have had their stories or their sexuality erased in history due to the agendas of those trying to tell those stories. People of the LGBTQ+ have always existed and deserve to have their stories told and their love celebrated. It was interesting to read about the women who inspired our leads.

Thank you @NetGalley and @The Dial Press for the ARC or this book.

I found Lady Like to be quite predictable and hard to get into. The cover art absolutely drew me in and lead me to expect some Bridgerton vibes but it fell short of that expectation I'm afraid. Some parts and some of the banter were fun so I am giving it a 2 star score for that but it lacked creativity for me. I don't DNF books but I came close cause I was just hoping something grand would happen to wrap it all up.

Lady Like is a slow burn queer love story set in regency-era London. Emily, the picture of modesty, and Harry, an actress known for her insatiable sass and swagger, both need to marry to secure their futures. The obstacle? They both set their caps at the same duke. As a result, what begins as an enemies-to-lovers meet cute soon morphs into friends-to-lovers tension after they have to team up to ensnare his favor. The problem? They find themselves falling for each other instead of the duke.

This was subversive, feminist fun! Emily and Harry are delightful counterparts, well-matched in wit, temperament, and tenderness. Their tongue-in-cheek romance was easy to get behind because it unwinded with thought as well as with simmering tension. A perfect summer read for those who are looking for something light, sweet, and humorous.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC in exchange for my review.

3.5 stars

This was SO FUN!! Coming off of my bridgerton high (who isn’t?) and finding this gem was perfect. It was funny, it was cute, it was romantic. I really enjoyed the way this played out between them and how it all came together.