Never Underestimate a wallflower Lady Hannah Simmons is a quintessential wallflower unassuming dowdy yet ignored by most But underneath her plain exterior Hannah is hiding a thrilling secret Unbeknownst to the rest of the ton she is Queen Victoria s leading femme fatale slipping unnoticed through the streets of London and listening to scandalous whispers from lords and ladies But with daggers in her stockings and pistols in her pockets Hannah s mission is to apprehend a deadly killer Private Investigator to the Prime Minister damaged yet devastatingly handsome ex war hero Duke Robert Killian always puts duty first However when he finds himself competing with the intriguing Lady Hannah on the same daring task his blood boils with frustration and desire Is it possible to seduce this vexing woman whose not afraid to put herself in danger and achieve the upper hand Hannah enjoys Killian s attempts to distract and tempt her but she has never faced an adversary she couldn t overthrow And Killian has never met a challenge he couldn t conqueruntil now The gauntlet has been thrown can they finish their jobs and resist the temptation Keep your friends close and your enemies even closer The Secret Life of a LadyWhat great fun especially for those who just can t wait for the next Bridgerton season A swoony Regency histrom mystery that kept me rapt throughout Recommended 1836035349 A THIN PLOT AND A SUBPAR MYSTERYSafe to say this book did not thrill me It was short enough for me to want to finish it and Hannah the female lead made it somewhat endurable What I liked Hannah The female lead Hannah is a secret badass spy I liked how she was able to take care of herself and even save Killian the male lead a couple of times I understand why he was fascinated with her. What I didn t like Plot I was very much not impressed by the plot of this book It felt super thin and at times barely coherent I didn t really ever understand why Hannah and Killian decided to fake court as it seemed like none of them gained anything from it It s stuff like that that s just too hard for me to overlook Mystery Added to the above issue the mystery of this book was so obviously not a priority It was hardly planned out at all played little to no role in the plot and was easily seen through about halfway through the book It felt like an afterthought Killian There was one thing in particular that bothered me about Killian He had this tendency towards very flowery speech I didn t find that sexy romantic or even plausible Just annoying ARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review 1836035349 This was so close to 4 stars it just felt like something was missing and I think it was their relationship. We follow Lady Hannah Simmons a spy I m actually not sure was she was supposed to be working for the queen solving crime and other slay girl things She s described in the synopsis as femme fatale which is exactly the opposite of what she as she has no idea how to use her feminine wiles which is disappointing I was expecting a seductress and instead got a little nervous thing Simmons ends up clashing with Robert Killian a private investigator as they are attempting to solve the same murder. I loved a lot about this the setting the murder mystery the side characters the dialogue But the romance felt so lacking I felt like I was two minutes in before he was already trying to lay one on her Which fair play but he had this whole speech about how he is a perfect gentleman and comes from excellent breeding I digress I wish time had been spent building up the romance or at the very least the tension It s fair to build a relationship off of a lust but even their initial connection felt out of nowhere We didn t really know Simmons or Killian as characters before they started boinking. I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily 1836035349 It was almost a 4 star for me I thought so until half way through the book but in the end I missed several things. I don t like it when the romance develops too quickly Here by the second chapter they re practically smitten with each other That might not have been a problem but the author tried to create an enemies to lovers or at least rivals to lovers relationship and it didn t work. Then I missed tension It s a mystery that our protagonists are trying to solve but there s not that much searching for clues or stakes in the end There are far intimate moments between them than mystery And honestly it was pretty clear from the start who the culprit was and I m normally terrible at guessing. Underneath the desire to write historical fiction with spicy scenes we lose the stakes of a mystery genre and that s a shame because apart from these points I enjoyed my reading the style is fluid and the characters have personality. A few passages pulled me out of my reading the use of modern day words when we re in the early 19th century but apart from that it s a fairly solid novel and most of the points that bothered me are personal preferences. Thank you to Darcy McGuire Boldwood Books and NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review 1836035349 What a fantastic blend of historical romance and spy thriller I can t decide what I loved the relationship between Hannah Simmons companion secret agent and Robert Killian Duke secret agent or the mystery plot which has both trying to track down the person responsible for a murder Hannah and Robert have similar jobs but report to people who have different views on justice They each have trauma in their pasts that drive them These traumas come out and bring them closer as their relationship develops The pace is fast and characters are compelling I truly hope the secondary characters get their own books This would be a great start for a series 1836035349

The Secret Life of a Lady By Darcy McGuire

1836035349

9781836035343

English

282

Kindle Edition

Perfect for fans of Bridgerton I would love to see this play out on screen 1836035349 The Secret Life of a Lady is the first book in a new series of historical romances Miss Hannah Simmons may appear as a wallflower to society but she leads a double life as Queen Victoria s top spy on a mission to apprehend a dangerous killer When she crosses paths with damaged yet irresistible war hero Duke Robert Killian now Private Investigator to the Prime Minister they find themselves competing on the same task sparking both frustration and desire I quickly devoured this historical romance and I loved the balance of plot and romance There s absolutely no filler in this book and there s always something exciting happening new information uncovered in the murder mystery plot or developments in Hannah and Killian s relationship Hannah is a really strong character and her relationship with Killian was perfect and very sexy I also loved seeing Hannah s relationships develop with her new friends and I m very intrigued to see whether the future books in this series continue to focus on Hannah and Killian or whether the focus will shift to her new friends I hope that the other ladies get their own books but either way I am definitely going to carry on this series There are so many interesting side characters and stories to be told in this world that I just can t wait to see what s next. So I loved the historical setting the spy investigator mystery action and the romance between the main characters it was everything I wanted Disclaimer I received an ARC from NetGalley but this is my voluntary and honest review 1836035349 I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book given to me by Boldwood Books via Netgalley All thoughts and opinions are my own. An intelligent historical novel with sensible believable characters The Secret Life of a Lady by Darcy McGuire is about romance and passion but also encompasses themes as women subjugation and poverty in 19th century London. I enjoyed how he assumed his classism and prejudice and how he evolved to a modern approach due to his feelings for Hannah A humble alpha male The heroine is strong and determined a warrior but has a soft core. 5 Well finishing this book was hard It took me 9 days and it s only 278 pages Honestly I didn t liked it which is very sad because it had a lot of potential the writing was beautiful but the characters let s just say they are not favorites of mine at all The romance is instalust which I don t like at all it s almost impossible for me to connect this way But I might have liked it better if the scene weren t so cringe For the story the murderer was oblivious it would have worked better if characters were introduced. I wouldn t have been against detective work scenes and maybe less ones So yea not a fan of it but I hope you will like it than me 1836035349 Darcy McGuire s debut book was such a delight Hannah was such a bada female lead A female spy working for the Queen I was hooked The entire book is filled with strong women General Robert Killian Duke of Covington made for the perfect tortured hero He is struggling with what took place during the war and he doesn t believe himself to be a good man As he works to solve a murder under the direction of the prime minister he encounters a beautiful and fierce woman that defies all the rules of society There is so much angsty tension and banter between Killian and Hannah and I ate it up Killian helps Hannah explore her sexuality The spicy lessons were great This is one of my favorite tropes The mystery and suspense of who the killer is was great This story also leaves the door open for future books I have my fingers crossed that broody and love hating Drake will get his own book If you love spicy historical romances with a dash of murder mystery and espionage this book is for you releases on June 14 2 1836035349.

, Excellently written but the intercharacter relationships were too shallow for me I will say I loved Drake he s hilarious so hopefully we get his story, Killian and Hannah are wonderful characters both credible and relatable The building of attraction and intimacy was excellent beginning with mutual care respect and gentleness, Killian is a tortured soul but also a very resolute and pragmatic duke aware of his duties and responsabilities: The sensuality passion and humor between the romantic couple and how they partner in a common mission are also interesting. I liked the secondary characters hoping some will have their own story: I also liked the writing style and how the author described some dramatic aspects of 19th century London poverty while bringing some resolution and compassion 1836035349 2