Thank you for allowing me to review this book. It was an interesting mix of romance and historical mystery.
Lady Mary, a youngest daughter of a wealthy family in Victorian times is a quiet dormouse. Sadly, neglected by her family she has led a life mostly away from the limelight. Her character is well written and it is interesting to follow as she gradually shows another side to this.
Colonel Trefusis is an Officer who has experienced the Crimea War at Sebastapol from which he is still suffering, although he tries to keep this hidden. He is also an interesting character.
The pair meet at a social gathering at Lady Mary's family home and become interested in each other as a broach was reported stolen by a guest. Neither believe her story. Hence, the mystery as they work together to discreetly solve the case. Over the few years the pair bump into each other again and the relationship develops. Subsequently aided by Lady Rolle, who is absolutely a fun character.
Would I recommend this book? If you enjoy easy reading mysteries, which are easy to solve either romance thrown in, then yes.
The footnotes at the end explain that this us the second book about Lady Mary's family. The first was about her elder sister. I was unaware of this and do not feel that it mattered as I read this.one The first I have read by Sarah Fergason. The characters were also real people, although this is still a work of fiction.

Lady Mary Montagu Douglas Scott, youngest daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Buccleuch, is a woman who prefers to be invisible. Then she meets Colonel Walter Trefusis (Tre), who works in military intelligence, and they find an instant connection.

A valuable brooch goes missing at a family party. Mary suspects who is responsible but has to prove it. With Tre's help, she confronts the thief and resolves the mystery. As a result, she finds herself called on to help in other cases, involving stolen money and documents, where her observational skills and ability to read people prove crucial to uncovering the truth.

Mary has a difficult relationship with her mother, Lady Charlotte, but this improves as the story progresses. Tre's redoubtable Aunt Louisa also helps, with her no-nonsense approach. She is very fond of her nephew and thinks he and Mary are the perfect match.

It is obvious that Mary and Tre are attracted to each other; however, they fight against their mutual attraction for most of the novel.

I enjoyed this story and found Mary and Tre engaging characters. The authors' note at the end explains that Mary and Tre (and respective families) were real people, not fictional creations, which gives an additional layer of authenticity.

Other characters are well-presented. There is a ghastly titled woman near the start of the story (it is her brooch that goes missing), but Mary has her measure. Aunt Louisa is delightfully down to earth and a real force of nature and she brings about change in several people, not least Charlotte.

Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, has written the novel alongside Marguerite Kaye and the partnership works well. This is the second novel in a series that I suspect has more life in it. I would be happy to read more books from these co-authors.

I received a digital ARC of this book from Mills & Boon, in return for an honest appraisal.

Excellent read for lovers of historical novels , I’m not a huge fan of the genre but I was intrigued by the author. It was enjoyable but I don’t think I shall read another one for a while.

I was pleasantly surprised when I read this. I was not sure what to expect and not sure if Sarah Ferguson was relying on her name to sell her book. It was well written and held your interest throughout. I loved Mary’s character and it was interesting to read the historical references at the end of the book giving the real life characters the book was based on. The book covered the issues women had to deal with in those times to establish themselves as individuals with the ability to think for themselves and able to do more than just sit at home with their needlepoint!
I enjoyed following Mary’s life and her determination to have some adventure in her life. Meeting Tre was obviously a big moment and, although he had issues of his own, was broad minded enough to allow Mary to live the life she wanted, even though it took a couple of meetings to finally get them together. The background story of her family life was interesting, seeing how her mother dealt with her own marriage and how she allowed Mary to indulge in her mini adventures. Worth a read.

Lady Mary Montagu Douglas Scott is the daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Buccleuch and the youngest. She is often overlooked by her peers. She craves her own independence. Whereas her parents wished that she would get married and have children. But she wants more in life until she meets Colonel Walter Trefusis, who she calls Tre. She finds they have instant connection. With Lady Mary’s great observation skills and Tre’s connections they go on a journey solving crimes of stolen money, jewellery and documents. This story is not only deep in history but also bravery of Lady Mary trying to prove her worth in society.
Mills and Boons is not my usual type of book I read but I was intrigued in the author Sarah Ferguson, and I wasn’t disappointed. I was surprised how good this book was and really felt for Lady Mary. Torn apart by doing her duty for her parents but trying to find her ow identity. This is a great read from the author 4 stars from me.

I wasn't sure what to expect when I started reading this book. I did find it a very compulsive read, it didn't seem to fit into any particular genre, either historical, romance or mystery. This made reading it more compelling.
Set in the Victorian period, the book was far from stuffy, it had a modernity about it and could be related to the more recent times. The main protagonist Lady Mary did not fit into convention, at times she appeared confident and forward thinking but there was a vulnerability to her and I thought this book could develop in many different ways. There was excitement and expectation and it wasn't long before I had myself fully invested in Lady Mary, hoping all would work out for her, without too many of the challenges of life at that time.
I did enjoy this book. The historical notes at the end did help and added some credence. I would enjoy reading more like this.

Thank you for letting me read this ARC. I really enjoyed it and have never read anything by Sarah Ferguson before. I really enjoyed Mary's story from left behind youngest daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Buccleuch. The scene is set beautifully with bagpipes, royalty, servants, beautiful grounds. She forms a great bond with Colonel Trefusis whom she affectionately calls Tre. Together they solve a mystery surrounding the snotty and snooty Mrs Fitzherbert - Smythe, which tightens their friendship and affections.
This is a slow burning love story that is written well. Mary is a natural detective, young and beautiful, independent, Can she be tamed enough to build a life with someone? I absolutely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys this genre or is curious about it.

This is the story of Lady Mary, the youngest daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Buccleuch.
She describes herself as a dormouse that nobody notices or sees which helps her in her life, solving crimes.
She meets Colonel Trefusis and both like each other, but life never goes smoothly….
I struggled a bit with this book, even though I very much likes the idea of the story.
The historical background notes at the end were very good.

I requested out curiosity and found it better than I expected. It's an entertaining historical romance that I liked and made me root for the characters.
3.5 upped to 4
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

Mills and Boon books are not my usual reading material, but I was intrigued by the author, Sarah Ferguson, and so requested this book from NetGalley. I was really pleased to receive an ARC and was pleasantly surprised by the book.
Lady Mary Montagu Douglas Scott wants more from life than what is traditionally expected of the daughters of nobility in the Victorian era; marriage and servitude to her husband are not for her.
Colonel Walter Trefusis, known to Mary as Tre, is 13 years her senior and fought in Crimea. He talks about his ‘curse’ or ‘condition’ which we would now refer to as PTSD from the war.
The story is broken into 4 parts; in the first Mary finds herself running a shooting party for her parents and has to handle a situation when one of the employees, a close friend, is accused of theft. It turns out that Mary is well suited to be an amateur sleuth. Parts two and three follow more cases where Mary and Tre work together to uncover a crime.
This is the second book in the series, by Sarah Ferguson and Marguerite Kaye, but is a standalone story the first being about Mary’s older sister Margaret. I’d now be interested to look out the rest of the series.
I liked our heroine, Lady Mary Montagu Douglas Scott, who is based on the real life youngest child of Walter, the 5th Duke of Buccleuch and Charlotte, Duchess of Buccleuch who were distant grandparents of the Duchess of York. She did marry Colonel Walter Trefusis, who was 13 years older than her, but that is all that is currently known. Though the story is fictitious it is based against a backdrop of historical events and locations. The author’s notes at the end are well worth a read to learn about the historical research that went into the book, and gives you an idea of where the story ends and where real life takes over.
With thanks to NetGalley and Mills and Boon for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Firstly thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

I love a historical fiction novel, and especially when romance is involved. This book was a nice read, It didn't blow me away, or change my life, but it was nice. It's the first book by Sarah Ferguson that I have read and I didn't have too high expectations so was nicely surprised. I might consider looking for other books by Sarah.

An interesting Read especially for those of us who love History & anything where women go against what society dictates they should be & do! I would have given the Book 5*'s except that for me there were one or two chapters which dragged their feet so to speak & which annoyed me . But as a Historical Romance it worked well & there are some interesting characters to be found within it's pages . #NetGalley, #GoodReads, #Amazon.co.uk, #FB, #Instagram , #<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/358a5cecda71b11036ec19d9f7bf5c96d13e2c55" width="80" height="80" alt="100 Book Reviews" title="100 Book Reviews"/>, #<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/ef856e6ce35e6d2d729539aa1808a5fb4326a415" width="80" height="80" alt="Reviews Published" title="Reviews Published"/>,#<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/aa60c7e77cc330186f26ea1f647542df8af8326a" width="80" height="80" alt="Professional Reader" title="Professional Reader"/>.

A Most Intriguing Lady by Sarah Ferguson is an interesting take on Scottish Victorian history. I'm not knowledgeable enough about the period to know how many liberties have been taken with either the setting or the characters (who actually existed). But it's a glorious sweep of a novel, easy to become immersed in.

Honestly? I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. My favourite bit was the historical note at the end (which is both a praise for the historical note and a criticism of the book itself) but I did find myself gripped by the story, and enjoying the ride along the way.

The book is a romance between Mary, youngest daughter of a Scottish duke, and her third cousin (yikes but eh, third cousins is okay I guess), a military man nicknamed Tre who is reeling from the trauma he experienced on the battlefield. They are both real people, but aside from their names and the positions very little is known about them. The two bond over solving mysteries together which I absolutely loved. It gave us plenty of fun adventures, and gave Mary and Tre something to bond over and spend time on together, so their relationship grew very organically over the course of the book.

So while I enjoyed the main plot immensely, it was the little details that let this book down for me. Mary’s characterisation felt very inconsistent; for the first half of the book she would talk about how she’s mousy and shy, but her actions demonstrated the opposite. And then, later on, she said those four words that we all dread: “not like other girls”. For wanting to be friends with her husband, apparently. I wasn’t a huge fan of the way women’s bodies were described (especially for a book written by two women, shout-out to Marguerite Kaye whose name should also be on the cover). Weirdest of all were the repeated, shoe-horned in references to Princess Beatrice (daughter of Queen Victoria), which of course reminds of us Princess Beatrice (daughter of the author) – except it was always in the context of Mary not wanting to end up like Princess Beatrice.

All in all there was a strong core to this book, but the details and inconsistencies let it down for me.

I received a free copy for review. All opinions are my own.

Free courtesy of Netgalley.

This is the second book written by Sarah Ferguson, I haven't read the first one, which was based on the main character's older sister but it didn't matter as this book is quite separate.

The book is based around the youngest daughter Mary, who has been abandoned by her parents most of her life whilst they continue being Duke and duchess Buccleuch. She is raised mainly by the servants and has made great friends with the gamekeeper's son, who has taught her to shoot.

Whilst her parents are in residence, holding the yearly shooting party, she meets Tre a Colonel in the Army, who is there to discuss business with Mary's father. He catches her on the roof of the house, whilst she is supposed to be at dinner and is intrigued to get to know her.

Whilst the shooting party is going on a valuable broach goes missing and they team up together to solve the mystery. Even though they get close, with Tre's illness and Mary's unwillingness to be promised to anyone the part company.

But their paths are destined to cross as they both are keeping secrets to help others.

This book is for anyone who likes period drama and it is very well written, with Sarah's insight on society and her co-author's ability to help write the story. It is a wonderful book and I would recommend it 😊

Her Heart for a Compass was the first best selling novel written by the Duchess of York and coauthored by Marguerite Kaye, telling the story of Lady Margaret. This is the second. A Most intriguing Lady is set in Victorian Scotland with a backdrop of castles and aristocratic society, Lady Mary Montagu Douglas Scott is constantly overlooked and underestimated by the rest of her peers, family and high society acquaintances. Beneath a shy exterior lies a fierce intelligence and talent of observation, both excellent qualities when solving crimes, especially when the aristocratic victims reputations are at risk. Mary meets Colonel Walter Trefusis in her parent’s castle when she sneaks out of the formal dining room. After an incident during a grouse shoot an alliance is formed between the pair as they set out to solve these crimes. A friendship and romance slowly develops Tre realises that Mary is not a wallflower, but full of surprises.

I enjoyed the intertwining of historical facts and fiction, so well researched and put together in a way that the reader could imagine being there. The descriptions of the castle, grounds, food and fashion are described in great detail. The novel illustrates how restricted women were, controlled first by their fathers, then either by their husbands or senior males in the household. The status of both men and women also restricted their lives: societal expectations influenced sex lives, who they could be friends with etc. The characters are likeable and honest- they are unsure if they want to give up their lives to be together. Lady Margaret, the heroine of the first book and Mary’s sister makes cameos throughout the novel, as does their mother Lady Buccleuch showing how she has become more understanding and sympathetic towards her daughters. which is interesting as so many series authors fail to make use of this as a way to maintain the reader’s interest, the book can be read as part of a series or as a stand alone novel. The novel is clearly signposted and methodologically set out, enjoyable to read combining both a love story and the solving of crimes.

An enjoyable read and I look forward to reading more in this series.

This is the first book I have read by Sarah Ferguson, and I really enjoyed it. Lady Mary appears to be shy and retiring, and the story begins when she has escaped from the formal dining room in the Scottish castle where she lives with her aristocratic parents. When Colonel Walter Trefusis notices her they strike up an unlikely friendship.
Following an unfortunate incident at the grouse shoot, the Colonel (Tre) and Mary form an alliance to solve crimes, and a low key friendship and romance develop. The story is well researched, with lots of rich historical detail. The castle and settings are described perfectly, and the characters are realistic they spring to life on the page. Mary is a strong determined woman, and she finds the restrictions of aristocratic women in Victorian times difficult, eager to work with Tre solving crimes.
The plot unfolds at a steady pace and there is a real sense of history in the formality of society at the time. Magnificent courses of foods when dining and fashions are excellently described, along with expectations of how female Victorian women are expected to behave.
This is a steady paced plot, packed with well researched rich historical detail,

I absolutely loved Her Heart for a Compass so I was so excited to read more by Sarah and Marguerite. In the last book we met Lady Margaret Montagu Douglas Scott, now its time to meet her sister Lady Mary. I loved the nods to a few of the characters from the first book, especially Lewis.

The book is split up into sections and the first part lays the foundations and backgrounds of the two maim characters Colonel Walter Trefusis, whom is affectionately known as Tre by Mary. I don't want to give any spoliers but I was fascinated with Queenie and ended up down a Google rabbit hole with this storyline.

What I enjoyed most is how vivid the scenes were, you almost felt as if you were there, but written in a way that were never weighed down with an overload of detail. I loved the historical facts that were combined into historical fiction and the amount of research that went into this story. I loved it, its an easy 5 star read.

I absolutely flew through this book, as I knew I would having thoroughly enjoyed the first in the series!

The characters are engaging, the pacing brilliant, and whilst set in the past it is still written in a way that you can enter the mindset and truly place yourself in the shoes of Lady Mary and Colonel Trefusis.

I loved the nods to the previous book, which was about Lady Mary’s sister Lady Margaret, but very much enjoyed that both books could be read as stand alones too.

I enjoyed both the crime solving and the romance arcs, they worked really well together. The continuing character progression of Charlotte, Duchess of Buccleuch, made my heart full…how she is now a bit more introspective and aware of both her daughters needs and her own. That women can be more than wives and mothers if they wish to be.

Spoiler Alert:

I really enjoyed that both the main characters had reservations about their romance, they had their own interests and pursuits, and weren’t necessarily going to immediately ‘leave’ their lives for each other. This gives a refreshing take on the restrictions posed by society, status, and sex at the time, when everyone was expected to play by the rules and follow suit. It shows the dilemma of women, being in control of their father and then their husband, but wanting to be their own person and not play the role set out for them.

I would recommend this book to history lovers such as myself, and those that like mysteries and romance…there is something for them all here!

This is the first book I have read by this author and was very surprised. I was engaged from the very first page and found it an interesting and easy book to read.
Although from the author’s notes at the end of the book I am sure that some of it is historically correct I did find the book a little shallow in the way the characters were formed and would have liked them a little more rounded.