This book was quite enjoyable! I think it weaves a strong woman who is expected to be submissive and the wife to her husband and a mother to her children at home so basically the expectstions from women at the time with a clever heroine who longs for independence and to be free of these expectations. She is trying to find her own place in society. I really liked the mystery aspect of this book and felt that Tre and Lady Mary really complimented each other. This was a great read!

Lady Mary is a dormouse with a secret, and Colonel Trefusis is a spymaster who may have met his match.

I received a free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
This is the second book in the Buccleuch Family, but serves as a standalone.

Our main narrators are Mary, the youngest daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Buccleuch.
She has led an isolated life, with her parents and older siblings having little time for her. The silver lining has meant that she has been free to develop her own mind and interests; and only pretends to be a meek and mindless young lady when her parents, or other members of society are around.
She fears being made to marry, and step into the suffocating role of mother and wife.
She is also very adept at solving problems subtly, and is careful to resolve issues without hurting the reputation of people, if she can help it.

Colonel Trefusis, or Tre as Mary calls him, is a survivor of the last war. Now, he is establishing a network of spies, to try and prevent future wars, or minimise the damage.
He witnesses one of Mary's daring moves, and later witnesses the meek persona she has established. He finds himself drawn to help her when problems arise.

There is also a third narrator - Mary's mother, the Duchess of Buccleuch.
I found Charlotte's sections jarring, and not fitting with the rest of the book. I didn't think they added anything to the story. They didn't give us a better view of the main characters, or the plot, or anything else.
It was mildly interesting to read how Charlotte's fine society marriage started strongly, but they've since drifted apart.

I did not like this book, which is such a shame, because it had a great premise. A lady detective, and a spymaster, set in the Victorian era, where feminism is just starting to emerge.

I thought the book was badly written.
The plot has some good ideas, but it was really poorly executed.
There are three main mysteries crammed into this book. And it all felt like a rushed affair.
The first wasn't a mystery.
The second had a culprit who didn't exist in the book until after Mary had already visited him, and decided he was the behind the embezzlement. You don't even get to see this interaction, Mary tells Tre about it after the fact, which I thought was a poor and rushed choice.
The third is the biggest and most dangerous assignment - but when I saw that there was only about 10% left of the book, and Mary was just completing her training - I was disheartened, because how could this big job be explored properly in less than 40 pages (and wrap up the romantic element, too).

I didn't like our main characters.
They were both dunces, but particularly Mary.
We are repeatedly told how independent and ingenious Mary is, but she comes across as whiny, and woe-is-me. She makes no visible effort to create a life for herself - we are told that she does some lady detective work, but for most of the book, she's meekly following her mother, generally unhappy and dissatisfied with everything.
Her investigating skills leave a lot to be desired. She jumps to conclusions, ignoring any facts that don't fit her theory. She then manages to "finagle" (bluntly ask for) information that supports her theory from the staff.
(I'm a fan of Miss Scarlet and the Duke and was hoping for something in a similar vein, but was sorely disappointed.)

I really enjoyed this book.Loved the era it was set in and the love story.Look forward to more books from Sarah and her Co author.

Curiosity made me want to read this book set in Scotland and what a book it was. I loved it from beginning to end. Great attention to detail and history which made for an excellent read. I really loved this book from The Duchess of York. I m looking forward to future books from Sarah Ferguson.

Pleasant read but felt slightly stilted. The characters are engaging and the story enjoyable but I just felt like something was missing as couldn’t keep my attention for more than a chapter at a time.

Thank you Netgalley

The second historical romance from Sarah Ferguson and Marguerite Kaye is an engaging and enjoyable story which keeps the reader intrigued throughout. The story is well researched and richly detailed and the characters are likeable and well developed as the plot progresses.

I did not expect to enjoy this book; but I did. It was thoroughly entertaining and Kept me interested throughout. A mix of romance and crime set in years gone by.

Enjoyable historical romance but I probably won't read it again, I think I enjoy my romance more modern!

An enjoyable historical romance with light mystery elements. Though I found the age gap not to my taste, the two main characters Lady Mary and Colonel Walter 'Tre' Trefusis as being good matches for each other. The mysteries that drive this novel forward are very Nancy Drew-inspired and light-hearted. Unfortunately the pacing was slow and the romance could have done with more development. It felt like they both admitted their feelings for each other a bit too soon and there wasn't enough sexual tension, I would recommend this for anyone who enjoyed Bridgerton or A Lady’s Guide to Fortune-Hunting.

I haven't read a Mills and Boon book in 30 years and I don't think this book will make me start again.
It was fine in as much as I remember a historical romance book to be. The meeting between the hero and the younger heroine and the progression of their relationship until the inevitable happily ever after.
The are a few little nods to the fact that the author is in fact Sarah, Duchess of York. Comments about Queen Victoria''s Daughter Beatrice, which is of course when the current Princess Beatrice's name came from and other little things like that. All in all it was ok, but I don't think I would read another one of hers.

When Lady Mary Montagh Douglas Scott is growing up she is very much left to her own devices as her parents are, due to their rank in Queen Victoria's time often at the Queen's beck and call. Due to her older sister's behaviour she is now living away from family and Mary's friends and companions are the staff at the Hall where she lives. She develops skills in balancing, like a circus performer and is seen by a guest at her parents' dinner.on the edge of the balcony, the man, Colonel Walter Trefusis has his own secrets and is also being tasked with setting up a spy ring to protect the Queen and country against plots that are developing. As Mary is often overlooked by people she is able to discover many secrets and detect crimes in the society to which she belongs. Walter and Mary develop a friendship or alliance. Later after encountering his Aunt at a Spa where she has accompanied her mother, she learns of Walter's other problems. Through the Aunt's observance she is able to persuade her mother that she is not failing from a mysterious illness but just bored and not engaging with the world. Her mother is fulfilling her father's requirements as a hostess but comes to the realisation that she needs to be more proactive too. This novel is a gentle romance but also highlights the downtrodden aspects of ladies of Victorian High Society. I loved the way Mary observes people and is able to see what others fail to do so and sort out wrong doings. Enjoyable read!

I 100% read this book because of it’s royal connection. In my defence I do love this Victorian era where upper classes are so rigid and heaven forbid somebody steps out of line. I don’t recall every reading any Mills and Boons books as an adult, pretty sure I may have as a teenager.
Initially, I was wondering why I was reading, but have to say, it grew on me and I really enjoyed it in the end. The writing is flowery - why write something in one sentence when a paragraph can be written, but over time I got into it and quite enjoyed the detail. It’s like watching Bridgerton, all the glamour of large homes, upstairs/downstairs drama and manicured gardens. It does take 5 years for our boy and girl to get their happy every after, but thankfully we only read about their interactions during the book, and large elements of time are skipped. There’s a bit more drama, aside from the romance element and it does add positively to the reading experience, so this is all good.
I do feel some books written now about this era (and not just this book) are written with the lense of today (think girl power). This always takes away from the book for me.
Not sure Im going to go out and buy the first book (this is 2nd in a series, but can be read independently) but if I happened to see it in a second hand shop, or hotel book swap, I think I’d be in there.

The concept of this was rather nice and I was looking forward to the Victorian Lady Nancy Drew! It didn't disappoint. There were just enough cases to keep you...intrigued (wink!).

I expected a little more from the final case but it just seemed to wrap up pretty abruptly.

Overall, it was rather slow paced and i had to struggle through a bit but I made it through. I'd say totally worth it.

Thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollinsPublishers for providing me with this ARC (and The Duchess of York for the hardcopy ) in exchange for an honest review!

I received this book for Netgalley in exchange for an honest, independent review.

Lady Mary Montagu Douglas Scott is overlooked and underestimated by her family. However, she has a secret: she finds missing money, recovers stolen jewellery and saves the reputations of those in society.

After forming an unlikely friendship with Colonel Walter 'Tre' Trefusis, who is 13 years her senior, there is another case to solve, but Mary ends up finding herself falling for Tre.

Full of scandals, seduction and secrets, A Most Intriguing Lady is a historical romance which many will enjoy.

Sadly, I found it a bit too slow-paced. However, this did ease towards the end, and I really enjoyed Mary working undercover in London.

I do not tend to read historical romance, so this could also be why I found it a little slow. There is another book prior to this featuring Mary's family, Her Heart For a Compass, but I feel this one could be read as a standalone.

I enjoyed the characters of Mary and Tre, and loved seeing their relationship develop despite their age gap and what Mary felt were the wishes of her family.

I also enjoyed reading the little 'extra' at the end, about the author's historical research and the real-life links to the characters/locations.

Definitely one for Bridgerton fans, and those who read Mills & Boons books regularly.

This is historical romance and is the second in an interconnected series. I hadn't read the first, but this works as a standalone too.

Our two main characters meet at a dinner party at her parents home, he is a war veteran, while she is quiet, unassuming, fading into the background... apart from the fact she goes out and does a sort of tightrope walk along a wall secretly in the middle of dinner. He spots her and is intrigued. They have a connection and they even end up investigating a crime together but then they part for 3 years.

When they meet up again, she's essentially been secretly Nancy Drew-ing for people but the timing still isn't right. Is it ever going to be for them?

This is based on real people, but only seemingly in the sense that there were people with those names who were married, but not a lot else is known about them.

Personally, people taking years to get together is not something I'm particularly a fan of, but then those does come across as more of a historical fiction with romance rather than a straight up historical romance. There is more of a plot than I expected, with the crime solving sliding into spying as the story progresses.

3.5 stars. Not quite what I expected, but still enjoyable

I was extremely curious as to what this book would be like, even though Mills and Boon is not my usual go to. I have to say, the fact the Duchess of York wrote it was another huge factor. I was pleasantly surprised by how easy this story was to read. It was almost like watching an episode of Downton Abbey. If you are a fan of Catherine Cookson, then you will definitely love it. The story revolves around a Duke.s daughter who secretly moonlights as a Private Detective for people in high society. Along the way she meets a man who challenges her ideas on love and marriage. This storyline kept me intrigued as I wanted to know if they would get together. Would definitely recommend if you like historical romances.

I enjoyed this followup to Her Heart for a Compass. This book focuses on Margaret's younger sister, Mary and her journey finding her place in society, her family and her relationship with Tre. I loved the intrigue aspects, with Mary playing such a big role in solving a variety of crimes, particularly her stint undercover with the Brazen Hussies.

This is a typical Mills and Boon romance. It has obviously been researched carefully with real life people and places intertwined with fiction. It is the detail that saves it from being bland.

This was a thoroughly enjoyable story, set in the Victorian era, where women were still very subservient to men but beginning to rebel. reminded me of Georgette Heyers' stories but a different era. Some great situations and descriptions. The characters were very well depicted and appealing with a satisfying conclusion.

Well what a surprise this book was. I kept on open mind starting this book as I wasn't sure how good it would be but it only took a few pages to get really involved in the book and want to keep reading to find out what was happening.

Very well written and a great book overall. I have read a lot of books and this is up there with the best of them. Highly recommended. A star from me.