RIGHT. I've had enough of this book so I'm quitting while I'm ahead. This was awful.

The writing was strong enough for me to whack on an extra star, but good lord it was like reading the first three chapters of a book over and over again, never quite getting enough information or moving at a pace faster than a SNAIL to get interested. I read a review that called this amateurish and I am inclined to agree. There are so many plot ideas, so many little scraps of detail that have been stitched together and pushed into 300 pages and yet...it's achingly dull. Nothing happens! Our protagonist, the most significant character, is annoyingly naive (even for this time period) and doesn't actually drive any of the action. She has no notable development - she goes from being rude to people to lamenting her curse of being born female to going round and round in circles with the same characters. Most of these chapters felt like head-spinning deja vu - I'd read them already and yet, they kept coming back...

None of the side characters get much development and I suspect the problem is because there are so many of them. There's a phrase I got told during my own writing education - every character needs to be there for a reason. And a lot of these just seemed like they were there so another few pages could be banged out. There are the makings of a great story here and they were totally ignored for a two dimensional lead who tells everyone how independent and thoughtful she is while being the complete opposite in practice.

This book is a mess but the most infuriating thing is there were so many options the writer could have taken to make it an intriguing, exciting novel. Instead, we have spent 300+ pages skirting around the periphery, never quite committing to one idea, never quite getting our feet too dirty, never quite developing a character who is dull, despite all of the author's protestations to the contrary. The only reason I kept going as long as I did was to find out what happened to Violet's mother, but I genuinely do not care anymore.

I'm so disappointed and I can't quite grasp what other readers have found so funny about this book. It's like reading a teenager's inner monologue. A story about a lady detective is great - but when it takes 70% of the book to get to that job starting, there's something seriously wrong with your narrative.

Alright. Now I'm pissed off. Let's go cool down.

Violet's mother disappeared when she was eighteen, Now ten years later she is determined to find out what happened to her. She has hired a private detective- something young unmarried ladies don't normally do - to find any trace of her beautiful mother. In between times, her father keeps bring a string of young men home to try and marry her off.
She regrets hiring the detective as something seems amiss and turns another PI, This causes further confusion and so it goes on.
This book starts slowly but gathers speed,

I really enjoyed this book, it went at a good pace, had an intriguing story and great characters.

I highly recommend it!

Utterly charming and thoroughly enjoyable!
OK, confession time I thought this book was going to be a fun romantic comedy/historical romance - oh, how wrong I was and I am pleasantly surprised by how much I thoroughly enjoyed this feel-good humorous and charmingly fun historical mystery with one hell of a wonderful heroine taking the leading stage. I loved it and I cannot wait to see what happens next!

am addicted to historical mysteries and was simply delighted to find this story and author because it was so much more!

Laugh out loud moments, a charming heroine who is determined to be independent and just makes you feel good, and a mystery she is determined to solve. Plus so much more!!

Cannot wait for the next installment to see what Violet gets up to next!!

1896. Violet's father laments that she will probably never get married. He keeps suggesting suitors for her but she really isn't interested. Plus her mother went missing 10 years ago and she really would like to know whether she is still alive. So she enlists the help of a detective. But is he all that he seems. It appears that he isn't and she regrets her choice particularly when she finds out that the son of a former detective (with a brilliant reputation) now has a shop in Hastings. Although it appears that Mr Blackthorn does not wish to be a detective.

But Violet is persistent and she has some adventures trying to impress Mr Blackthorn with her skills. I adored this book so much. It is a light hearted read about a serious topic (a missing mother). I found it utterly addictive and I just wanted to keep reading to see how the story unfolded.

A great mystery that really picked up pace half way through.

Please let there be a sequel! Currently imagining what things look like for Violet Hamilton and Benjamin Blackthorn, both in terms of a relationship, but also what future detective cases come their way!

If you like your historical fiction to feature a sassy, feminist heroine and include a touch of both mystery and romance, then you’ll love this delight of a debut from Hannah Dolby.

We’re in late-Victorian Hastings on England’s south coast, with 28 year-old Violet Hamilton, who lives alone with her banker father since the unexplained disappearance of her mother ten years before. Having decided that marriage is not for her — based on her mother’s terrifying (and hilarious) description of marital relations — she stubbornly rejects every suitor that comes her way.

Violet is hopelessly unladylike: bold, opinionated, and very strong willed. A match for any man and certainly not marriage material. But, she has other ambitions: to lead an exciting, independent life … with a career … perhaps as a lady typist or a lady detective.

When Violet embarks on a mission to solve the mystery of her mother’s disappearance, the adventures that follow make for a rumbunctious romp of a read, involving a quirky cast of characters and all manner of shenanigans

I quickly warmed to the character of Violet, loving her spirit and total disregard for social conventions. She’s intelligent, with an inquiring mind and a caustic tongue, and tries valiantly to hold her own against the opposite sex, more often than not succeeding. She’s convinced that her mother is still alive and will stop at nothing to get to the truth.

Dolby has an easy, engaging writing style that bounces along at a jaunty, exhilarating pace, embracing a wonderful concoction of intrigue, humour and delicious sexual tension. I can’t say I found some of Violet’s behaviour wholly credible towards the end, but hey, this isn’t a story to be taken too seriously. Rather, just sit back and enjoy the ride.

Violet Hamilton has decided that after ten years since her mother went missing in the summer of 1886, she wanted to find her. She was 18 years old when her mother just disappeared one evening after leaving to meet friends & nothing had been heard from her since. Was she dead or alive? Violet always believed she was alive. Violet thought that hiring a private detective would answer all questions left outstanding.

This caused more questions than answers & led her to meet some incredible characters & to experience some life events that changed her life.

What a great book. The humour carries throughout as well as dealing with big issues from the time, it could easily translate to 2023. Violet is such a strong young woman who is fighting against the norms of life for women at this time, & she succeeds with aplomb. Oh, to be Violet with her strength & where with all.

Great debut novel by Hannah Dolby & I look forward to reading her further books.

Really loved the main character, and her strong and funny personality. The mystery detective aspect was so fun too. Benjamin is such a fun character and I loved the ending!

📕📕BOOK REVIEW 📕📕
No Life for a Lady by Hannah Dolby

A very enjoyable historical cosy romantic sleuth mystery! Something for everyone. Set in 1986 in Hastings/St Leonard’s on Sea wife and mother Lily Hamilton goes out and never returns. There was no signs of her anywhere and Violet and her father have made no attempt to find her, until now. Violet is a brilliant character. Strong in a way women are not expected to be. Intent on getting a job and earning a living. Determined to find her mother and never to marry. She is dreadfully naive, with no knowledge about physical relationships between husband and wife, but intelligent with a sharp wit.

Briefly, ten years after Lily went missing and despite repeated attempts by her father to introduce her to eligible gentlemen Violet is adamant she doesn’t want to marry. What she wants to do is find her mother and to that end she needs a private detective. What follows is a rather enjoyable romp with Violet breaking all the rules for a Victorian lady. But can she find out what happened to her mother?

I love the way Violet managed to persuade all her potential husbands that she really isn’t suitable. Full of tongue in cheek humour and inappropriate events Violet is a joy. Whether she would have really have been able to get away with everything she did just doesn’t matter. A well written and highly enjoyable easy read with a great protagonist. I hope to see Violet again as a fully fledged detective.

4.5⭐️

I want more, more, more of Hannah Dolby's new heroine, Violet. I sure hope Dolby creates a series for Violet so I can return to Hastings for more fun. Readers who love a fun detective story sprinkled with their historical fiction will enjoy No Life For a Lady. It's refreshing to read a book set in the late Victorian era. It's the perfect setting for Dolby's spot-on humor- appropriately subtle but, at times, laugh-out-loud enjoyable.

Bravo! Hannah Dolby for writing a thoroughly enjoyable debut novel. Please keep them coming.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an electronic ARC in exchange for a review.

1896. At twenty-eight, Violet's father is beginning to fear she will never marry. But every suitor he puts forward, she finds an increasingly creative way of rebuffing. Because Violet is a woman who knows her own mind - and her mind is on her mother, who went missing ten years earlier, vanishing from Hastings Pier without a trace. Looking for the missing is not a suitable pastime for a lady. But when Violet hires a seaside detective to help, she sets off an unexpected chain of events that will throw her life into chaos.

What a delightful read this book was. It's a romantic mystery. The women in this story are strong characters. Violet refuses to get married even though her father keeps introducing her to new suitors. Her mother had disappeared ten years ago, but no one knows if she just disappeared or was murdered. I quite enjoyed this different type of romantic mystery. It's easy to read and quite entertaining. I really liked Violet, she's quite naive and funny. Violet's father is a typical Victorian character, but he's also quite likeable. This well written book is the authors debut. I will be looking out for more from this author in future.

I would like to thank #NetGalley #AriaAndAries and the author #HannahDolby for my ARC of #NoLifeForALady in exchange for an honest review.

I love reading an author new to me and immediately wanting to read more of her writing!

Violet Hamilton is not the lady her father would wish her to be; he wants her to be safely married while she is of a mind not to get married at all. Her mother disappeared on them some years ago and Violet has long dreamed of finding her; to this end she has finally got enough money to hire a private detective - but is he any good?

I was first attracted to this novel by the striking cover - and when I read the blurb I knew it was one for me. There is so much more to it than that though; written with warmth and wit and such a lot going on! Our leading lady certainly doesn't suffer fools gladly and her observations on the many men her father produces are very entertaining! I would love to think this is the beginning of a series as it is certainly one I would follow. Beautifully crafted characters, superbly well-written and kept my attention all the way to the very end. A cracking read, highly recommended and easily meriting all five sparkling stars!

My thanks to the publisher for my copy via NetGalley; this is - as always - my honest, original and unbiased review.

“I realised that for a long time I had always thought of myself in terms of what I was not, rather than what I was.”

———
No Life for a Lady is both hilarious and uplifting. I enjoyed reading Violet’s journey into becoming a lady detective in the late 1890s—which for all we know is impossible in a patriarchal society. Despite being a historical fiction, the writing felt modern to me. It was easy to follow and the ending of every chapter made me eager to know what happens next. It was truly an enjoyable reading experience!

This book is so much more than the challenges of being a woman in the late 1800s. It also talked about how important it is to define your own life and not let others do it for you.

Overall, despite being slow-paced, I still had a great time reading this book. It was fun being a part of Violet’s journey into becoming the lady that she is.

A brilliant, compelling read, bursting with humour and wonderful insights, and with a heroine who is determined to be herself at all costs. There are some real gems of lines, for example, when our heroine Violet is told 'Manners cost nothing,' she replies, 'Rudeness is also free.'
This is an historical romance with a difference!

No Life for a Lady by Hannah Dolby is a delightful historical romance about a spirited woman who is ahead of her time.

Story Recap:
The year is 1896 and Violet, aged 28 is now past her marriage age and she’s determined never to marry. Violet’s mother went missing ten years ago, and she sets out to find out what happened to her. Her father is against her search, but Violet is a spirited young woman and she’s determined to do the search herself.

Will Violet find out what happened to her mother?

My Thoughts:
I enjoyed No Life for a Lady. As always when I read books set in this time period, I get frustrated with the limitations of being a woman during this time. However, it was fun to watch Violet ignore many of the rules and do her own thing. I loved her spirit and her ability to ignore social conventions.

The mystery of Violet’s mother's disappearance added to the story and I was fully invested in finding out what happened to her. The pacing in the middle bogged down a bit, but overall, I found the book to be very entertaining.

Recommendation:
I highly recommend No Life for a Lady to anyone who enjoys historical fiction. I received a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I laughed so much reading this book. Violet is a woman way ahead of her time, and doesn't have a problem speaking her mind and making it very clear what she wants and what she doesn't. Although her father wants her to get married, Violet makes up more ridiculous excuses each time, and you can't stop smiling at her creativity. She's sassy, independent (more independent than a women from the 1800s was), and won't stop at nothing to find the truth behind her mother's disappearance.

With the help of a detective, she sets on a journey to discover what really happened to her mom, and not even her father can stop her. There are a lot of hilarious moments, and this book definitely takes its readers on a rollercoaster of emotions.

I liked the idea of this book, but it was slow and the plotting felt off. I had a very hard time staying interested in it for the majority of the book. I would say that the last quarter of it picked up the pace and I felt myself being more drawn into the story.

While I did end up enjoying the story and characters toward the end, it was a journey to get there. Violet had all the makings of a great female protagonist. She is determined, curious, and independent. At times though, she is naive and quite frustrating, but you can see her growth in the book.

Overall while I did enjoy the writing style and parts of the story, much of the book was slow and I found myself bored.

Thank you, Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved this book. It hooked me and kept me turning pages until I was done. Finished it in two days! The character development was strong, and the premise was unique enough that it didn't feel like anything else I've read.