I think historical romances are just not for me at this point. I did not like the main characters and overall just really struggled with the negative tones of the read.

Miss Caroline Hardcastle is half of the writing duo who writes a column all about crime. When her friend is kidnapped she must work with Lord Valentine Thorn who broke her heart to try and find her friend. Will working together bring them closer together and will they give their relationship a second chance?

I think that this series is a lot of fun. It combines two of my favourite genres; romance and mystery. This one felt like the plot focused more on the romance rather than the mystery which as a fan of romances I really enjoyed. I preferred the romance in this one compared to the first book but I felt that the mystery wasn't as developed. Overall this was a good read and I am looking forward to the next book in the series.

Thank you to the publisher for my eARC copy of this book. Unfortunately I didn’t love this book and therefore didn’t finish, I just didn’t connect with this one. Not for me, sorry.

Manda Collins follows up 'Ladies Guide to Mischief and Mayhem' with 'An Heiress's Guide to Deception and Desire, another witty and fun Victorian era romance/mystery.

This time the story focuses on Katherine's writer sidekick in mischief, Caro aka Caroline Overington as they try to locate their kidnapped actress friend Effie, who is bethrothed to the cousin of Caro's ex Val Thorn.

Katherine, her husband (and love interest in the first book) Detective Inspector Andrew Eversham, Caro and Val - delve into the theatrical world to find out who wanted her gone. Along the way, sparks continue to fly between Caro and Val, and thanks to a drunk suspect, Val and Caro are forced to pick up where they started.

While its a bit slow to get into, the pace eventually picks up. Val and Caro's barbs were the highlight of the first book, but it felt at times a bit lacking in this one. One strength is Collins ability to skewer the patriarchal stranglehold for women, along with how the male characters of the book realise their privileges and the double standards they benefit from. If you love mystery and historical romance, this is well worth adding to your TBR pile.

Not my usual genre but it’s good to give new things a try and I’m glad that I did. What a wonderful read and also a reminder of certain tv shows! I’ll be reading more by this author. Well done.

This was an absolutely addictive and entertaining read and I really enjoyed it. The characters were well written, the period details excellent and the romance phenomenal (Val and Caro were destined for one another) and their flirty banter was utterly entertaining. I loved it!

I liked this romance, despite its anachronisms, despite the slightly doormat-y hero, despite the very 21st century heroine, despite the not so mysterious mystery.

I read way past my bedtime and that alone is worth 3 stars.

Thanks to the publishers for providing a review copy via NetGalley.

This is the second book in a series, but it is entirely possible to enjoy this one as a standalone. Collins does a great job at subtly providing the important information from the first book, throwing it out little by little as lifesavers throughout the first few chapters while immediately submerging the reader in the action.

Caroline and her friend Katherine are the writers duo behind England's most read newspaper column, mainly chronicling instances of crimes against women. They've built up quite a reputation for themselves as sleuths, which comes in rather handy when an actress friend of theirs gets kidnapped. The case brings Caro's former secret fiancé Valentine back into her life. Despite still carrying around a lot of hurt feelings, Caro reluctantly tolerates Val's involvement in her investigation. She's eager to solve the case, and not just because she wants her friend back safe and sound. But when a night out at the theatre ends in a surprise engagement, Caro and Val find themselves growing closer together once more.

Despite leaning more heavily into historical romance than mystery, the case Caroline and Katherine are investigating was rather well-developed with just enough twists and turns to keep it entertaining. The solution to the mystery, however, was a bit of a let-down and it all wrapped up rather quickly in the end. But given that this book leans more into romance than mystery for the entirety of the story, it didn't bother me too much.

Thank you to netgalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to have access to an eARC for this book in return for an honest review.

Apologies for taking so long with the feedback.

This is a historical romance usually I don't like this genre of books because they focus more on historical and not on the romance but this is amazing and perfect and I would love to read more from this author again

I believe this book is the sequel to last year’s “A Lady’s Guide to Mischief and Mayhem” – which I haven’t read- and has some of the same characters I believe. This new book centres the story around Caroline Hardcastle,Lady Katherine Bascomb (now Lady Katherine Eversham) unmarried friend. Caroline was briefly betrothed to Lord Valentine Thorn, the son of the Duke of Thornfield four years ago but broke it off when she heard Valentine’s brother snobbishly disparaging her family and Valentine didn’t defend her. Caroline and Valentine have spent the intervening years both yearning for each other and detesting each other.

The mystery centres around Effie Warrington, a stage actress, and one of Caroline and Katherine’s friends, she has gone missing after being taken from her carriage and it appears that Valentine’s cousin, Frank, was involved with her. Is he involved in her disappearance? Caroline and Katherine (and, of course, Valentine) investigate, they uncover facts that Valentine hasn’t mentioned. As they piece together the full story, it looks as though other people may have not told the full story either. Who can they believe?

Caro, Katherine, Val and Katherine’s Husband who is a Police Detective investigate.
This is an enjoyable, fun book.

This series improves with each book and I had a lot of fun in reading this one. There's a mystery elements, a lot of humour, a romance that made me root for the characters.
It was an highly entertaining and compelling story that I couldn't put down.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I love a good banter. This romance/thriller of Manda Collins delivers nicely on that.

The plot is a tad complex, but the characters are well-developed. This is actually the 2nd book in a series. Although I have not read the first one, thi one still totally made sense, I could easily follow the storyline and understand the characters. However, all those references/explanations that helped me understand the situation I can easily imagine to be annoying for those who read the first book.

The story is set in 1867, which is - mind you some 30 years after the end of Regency England and more than 50 years after Pride and Prejudice is published and 30 years after it was added to school reading lists - still very mid-19th century, this is somehow reflected in the slow flow of the story and in the characters of the villains, yet the hero's and especially the heroine's mannerisms, thoughts are so 21st century, so feminist. It was an interesting combination, which played alongside nicely most of the time. In the end the story turned to a mock Bridgerton-ish sex scene, this could have been spared I think and the end result would have been perfectly coherent in approach.

Still, this was a lovely take on the enemies-to-lovers trope, a genuinely good read.

Thank you to Netgalley for letting me receive this in exchange for an honest review (my first one)!

2 years a go, Caro and Valentine were secretly betrothed until their class differences and his family's judgement get in the way. When Caro's friend Effie goes missing, she is called in to help find her. Effie, however, was betrothed to Valentine's cousin Francis who asks him to help using his aristocratic connections. Forced together to solve the case, will Caro and Val's romance be rekindled? Or will they be forced apart again by their class divide?

Tropes: marriage of convenience, forced proximity.

I think the most important thing with this book is to expect a mystery featuring romance, rather than a historical romance. If you do that, you will enjoy it so much more! At times, I found the romance lacking. It was a bit rushed, and I didn't really feel any chemistry between Caro and Val most of the time. However, the mystery was very engaging and I didn't see the ending coming.

As someone who has read a lot of historical fiction, the author did a good job in accurately reflecting the time period whilst introducing the modern feminist angle. Often this is not balanced well, so I was relieved to see it done well here.

Overall, if you want a fun and light-hearted historical mystery, I would recommend picking this up.

This gave me major Bridgerton vibes! The modern classic we were crying out for! Love!!!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me access an advance copy of this book in exchange for my feedback.

This was light-hearted and fun and doesn't take itself too seriously which makes it easy and enjoyable to read. The characters are well-rounded and the romance clearly thought out. I did find the plot to be a little rushed and not as well developed as it could have been but this novel was clearly more character-centered than plot-heavy which was fine, it just didn't dazzle me.

The dialogue was snappy and downright funny in places and I really did enjoy it. The setting felt a little lackluster and some of the side characters felt a little bit unnecessary. It's a solid, enjoyable light historical romance though, and well worth the read.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this in exchange for an honest review.

A fun book with likeable and well rounded characters. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for a review.

What a light and fun historical romance.

I believe this is the second book in a series, and since I didn't read the first one, I felt like I needed a bit more introduction about the characters, and instead I was thrown headfirst into Manda Collins' world. However, the best parts about An Hereiss's Guide to Deception and Desire are Caroline (Caro) and Val. They are so incredibly charming, their banter and attraction make this such a fun and interesting book.

Although there is an element of mystery throughout the plot, I think the delivery was a bit of a letdown. There's a ton of build-up and the conclusion wasn't as satisfying.

But, if you are a reader looking for a lighthearted fake-engagement/ enemies to lovers, romance, you will definitely have a good time with this one.

Unfortunately, this didn't work for me. The moment I started reading this book, I felt like I missed out on all these character introductions, which would probably have been made in book one. This put me off, and to be frank I never was able to fully get into it after that. Sure, there were some nice bits, but overall I didn't have all the information I needed to wholly enjoy this.

An incredible follow up to A Lady’s Guide to Mischief and Mayhem. I’m thrilled to see more characters get their stories fleshed out. I am obsessed with the romances and the historical setting is so much fun! Can’t wait for the next Manda Collins book!

this was a great, fun and witty read!! i'd recommend it to everyone who's into period romances with a sprinkle of wit and intelligence and entertaining writing. the characters were so much fun to follow!

— thanks to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with the digital copy of this book.