Review: A Spinster’s Guide to Danger and Dukes

Historical rom coms with a dash of mystery and intrigue was not a genre mashup I thought I needed but here we are, loving every one I read. Manda Collins’ series (Ladies Most Scandalous) has been so damn enjoyable to read and A Spinster’s Guide to Danger and Dukes, released back in March, was no exception. It was a delight!

Here’s the book’s description:

England, 1867: Miss Poppy Delamare is living a lie. To escape an odious betrothal, she fled to London where she’s been hiding as the unassuming secretary Flora Deaver. However, when her beloved sister is accused of murder, Poppy cannot leave her to the wolves. Only a most unexpected—and unwelcome—collision interrupts her journey home . . .
Despite a rather dismal first meeting, Joshua Fielding, the Duke of Langham, has no intention of abandoning a lady in need. But he’s not above asking a favor. A fake betrothal will give Poppy and her sister the power of the dukedom and protect Langham from the society misses intent on becoming his duchess.
Yet the longer the ruse goes on, the more Poppy and Langham realize how false their first impressions were—and the less pretend their engagement feels. But before Langham can propose in truth, their search reveals a tangled web of lies and betrayals. With time running out, can Poppy and Langham find the real culprit—before Poppy becomes the next victim?

You could tell in the first two books (and especially the second) in this series that Poppy (known as Flora) was hiding something. I don’t think I would have guessed what it was though so that was a, well, I don’t want to say it was a nice surprise because the life she was running from did not sound like a nice one. But I liked that Collins was able to surprise me with the information about Poppy’s past.

The fake engagement trope can be a lot of fun to read - or extremely vexing. Thankfully, Collins’ story is the former. Granted, I couldn’t quite see how pretending to be betrothed to the duke would benefit Poppy but I was happy to go along for what was sure to be an entertaining and very bumpy ride. Langham, a man (and a duke at that), would naturally emerge from a broken engagement with his honour still intact. My concern was for Poppy. Even though the duke’s powers should help her sister, I knew that if the engagement was called off or even called into question, she would be judged by the ton and would definitely be found wanting. But she was a smart lady so if she thought a fake engagement could help, well who was I to stop her? (Not that I could, of course. She’s, you know, a fictional character.)

The mystery and hijinks in this story kept me guessing the whole way through and I definitely couldn’t have predicted the ending. I love that Collins can not only combine a frothy historical romance with a cleverly laid out mystery but combine it so well. Of all the recent historical mystery rom coms I’ve read, this was probably the one with the most sinister of mysteries. It was almost over the top but somehow, it worked! (And yes, I’m sure all that seems incredibly vague but I’m not about to give out any spoilers!)

I’m not sure if A Spinster's Guide to Danger and Dukes will be the last in this series - I hope it won’t be. But if Manda Collins has decided this is it for her Ladies Most Scandalous series, well, I guess I’ll just have to read whatever she writes next! I might even dive into her backlist sometime soon. This series is a fun one and you should pick it up if you’re looking for rom coms that are a little different than you’re used to - I think you’ll really like them too!

*An egalley of this novel was provided by the publisher, Forever, via NetGalley in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*