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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
This was just okay. Cute banter between Poppy and Joshua but it felt very predictable and drawn out.
*I received an ARC of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review with my honest opinion.*
*I received an ARC of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review with my honest opinion.*
Poppy Delamare (alias Flora Deaver) fled home at a young age to escape a horrible marriage and has not looked back. But when she reads in the newspaper that her stepsister--who was married off to that same horrible man--has been arrested for his murder, she rushes home without a second thought. She is thrown together almost from the start by Joshua Fielding, the Duke of Langham, who she strongly dislikes. Mostly, she dislikes his arrogance and his apparent belief that he has the right to butt inter her affairs. But when they find out they can each help the other with their objectives, they work out a pact to pose as an engaged couple while back at home. Will they find true love through a fake engagement? Or will Poppy and her loved ones end up dead instead?
First of all, content and trigger warnings are provided up front, which is highly refreshing! (They include fat shaming, violent death, fear of enclosed spaces, abuse, and others--but most are referred to rather than described. Also an open door scene). While our heroine, Poppy, sees Langham as being the arrogant and high-handed one, I personally found her to be haughty and prejudiced against the rich. The way the book is written I initially thought it could easily be categorized as an upbeat YA book, perhaps with the exception of an open-door scene. Poppy is a strong woman, but it is made clear that in her time and place she would not have had much success without the backing and support of a powerful man's name to give her oddness some legitimacy (an element that is sometimes forgotten by other authors in their historical mysteries). I found the story to be interesting and satisfying, and while it does not have to be read in order with the other books in the series, I found it more interesting having done so.
First of all, content and trigger warnings are provided up front, which is highly refreshing! (They include fat shaming, violent death, fear of enclosed spaces, abuse, and others--but most are referred to rather than described. Also an open door scene). While our heroine, Poppy, sees Langham as being the arrogant and high-handed one, I personally found her to be haughty and prejudiced against the rich. The way the book is written I initially thought it could easily be categorized as an upbeat YA book, perhaps with the exception of an open-door scene. Poppy is a strong woman, but it is made clear that in her time and place she would not have had much success without the backing and support of a powerful man's name to give her oddness some legitimacy (an element that is sometimes forgotten by other authors in their historical mysteries). I found the story to be interesting and satisfying, and while it does not have to be read in order with the other books in the series, I found it more interesting having done so.
Poppy Delamare (alias Flora Deaver) fled home at a young age to escape a horrible marriage and has not looked back. But when she reads in the newspaper that her stepsister--who was married off to that same horrible man--has been arrested for his murder, she rushes home without a second thought. She is thrown together almost from the start by Joshua Fielding, the Duke of Langham, who she strongly dislikes. Mostly, she dislikes his arrogance and his apparent belief that he has the right to butt inter her affairs. But when they find out they can each help the other with their objectives, they work out a pact to pose as an engaged couple while back at home. Will they find true love through a fake engagement? Or will Poppy and her loved ones end up dead instead?
First of all, content and trigger warnings are provided up front, which is highly refreshing! (They include fat shaming, violent death, fear of enclosed spaces, abuse, and others--but most are referred to rather than described. Also an open door scene). While our heroine, Poppy, sees Langham as being the arrogant and high-handed one, I personally found her to be haughty and prejudiced against the rich. The way the book is written I initially thought it could easily be categorized as an upbeat YA book, perhaps with the exception of an open-door scene. Poppy is a strong woman, but it is made clear that in her time and place she would not have had much success without the backing and support of a powerful man's name to give her oddness some legitimacy (an element that is sometimes forgotten by other authors in their historical mysteries). I found the story to be interesting and satisfying, and while it does not have to be read in order with the other books in the series, I found it more interesting having done so.
Thanks to Partner @NetGalley and @Forever for my e-book copy!
First of all, content and trigger warnings are provided up front, which is highly refreshing! (They include fat shaming, violent death, fear of enclosed spaces, abuse, and others--but most are referred to rather than described. Also an open door scene). While our heroine, Poppy, sees Langham as being the arrogant and high-handed one, I personally found her to be haughty and prejudiced against the rich. The way the book is written I initially thought it could easily be categorized as an upbeat YA book, perhaps with the exception of an open-door scene. Poppy is a strong woman, but it is made clear that in her time and place she would not have had much success without the backing and support of a powerful man's name to give her oddness some legitimacy (an element that is sometimes forgotten by other authors in their historical mysteries). I found the story to be interesting and satisfying, and while it does not have to be read in order with the other books in the series, I found it more interesting having done so.
Thanks to Partner @NetGalley and @Forever for my e-book copy!
I really enjoyed this book. Smartly written, and witty in such a fantastic way. I have to go back and read the precious two books in this series!! I highly recommend.
Poppy has a lot of troubles at present: she’s been lying to her employers and friends about her identity for two years, her sister’s under arrest for the murder of her husband, and someone just stole her purse. When the stuffy and arrogant Duke of Langham steps in to offer her a way to get to her sisters side and help determine what really happened, Poppy begrudgingly accepts. All she has to do is agree to be his fake fiancé for a week at a house party. The two quickly come to understand that Poppy’s sister is in more trouble than they realized and that it’s going to be much harder to end their “engagement” then they originally supposed. But while the former is a problem they must solve, increasingly neither Poppy nor Langham is upset by the idea of being together permanently…
This series is so great. It’s a fairly close mystery/romance split and I loved both plots equally. Poppy’s backstory really worked—I think it’s actually quite hard to pull off an evil villain but Manda Collins nailed it in her stepfather who is absolutely The Worst. He’s not even the only terrible person in this book, and it’s extremely satisfying to see all the terrible people get their comeuppance but the end. In addition to the mystery, which has an almost comical occult element (based on real events from history!), the romance between Langham and Poppy is so believable. They are obviously attracted to each other physically, but their appreciation for each other comes out of their conversations, kindness, wit, and crime solving, not their looks. It’s a bit of slow burn as the result, but the pay off worked really well for me. I would have liked a little more time at the end of them together to really solidify their relationship, which is knocking this down from 5 stars to 4.5 (would not have minded one more intimate scene either…).
I genuinely have been loving this series and hope it continues!! Adrian next?!
This series is so great. It’s a fairly close mystery/romance split and I loved both plots equally. Poppy’s backstory really worked—I think it’s actually quite hard to pull off an evil villain but Manda Collins nailed it in her stepfather who is absolutely The Worst. He’s not even the only terrible person in this book, and it’s extremely satisfying to see all the terrible people get their comeuppance but the end. In addition to the mystery, which has an almost comical occult element (based on real events from history!), the romance between Langham and Poppy is so believable. They are obviously attracted to each other physically, but their appreciation for each other comes out of their conversations, kindness, wit, and crime solving, not their looks. It’s a bit of slow burn as the result, but the pay off worked really well for me. I would have liked a little more time at the end of them together to really solidify their relationship, which is knocking this down from 5 stars to 4.5 (would not have minded one more intimate scene either…).
I genuinely have been loving this series and hope it continues!! Adrian next?!
I was really prepared to like this book but i was so bored. The author relies too heavily on the previous books to endear you to the characters so it feels like there’s no introduction to them or anything. Also, it’s enemies to lovers but the enemies part was in another book so it isn’t really. Pretty much as soon as this book starts they like (or at least tolerate) each other. Not my vibe at all
This was such a fun one! It's a blend of enemies to lovers/ fake dating romance, mystery, murder, and a secret society for added fun.
Enjoyable. I'll probably try some others from her series.
Sweet, happy, feel good book! I love this series with smart, women detectives and it’s always nice to see good people who’ve been dealt a tough hand eventually finding happiness and true love.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
It knows what it is and that's something I've appreciated about this series. This one does get more graphic than the first two but not terrible. It's very fun and easy.