Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a free ARC in exchange for a review!

After reading this book and the previous Unladylike Rules of Attraction, I can wholeheartedly say this book is superior.

Although there is a similar issue of the love interests getting incredibly physical and "in love" very fast, this book does include a massive life-or-death situation which makes their craziness way more understandable. They still come off horny af but you can get why at least. Declaring that one half of the couple is in love at 30% in still feels a little ridculous, but I was willing to go with it.

I also could not get why <spoiler> Mira was so against telling Finn about their kid. I get that she didn't want to be pity married but like she was acting like he'd kill her or something. It was a bit much. I would have rathered some sort of reason like she wanted to be independent or he said he didn't like kids or something, you know? </spoiler>

I also did not know that this book was going to go to the place of *trigger warning for child SA* <spoiler> Jonathan apparently sexually abusing Mira. It felt like it came a bit out of nowhere to me, and also just like that's a lot with no trigger warning in the book. I don't wish a bigger thing was made of it because obviously that's horrific, but also it just felt like a real "huh?????" moment. </spoiler> so if that is upsetting for you, be careful here because it sort of comes out of nowhere.

Finn and Mira did make a cute couple though, and the mystery of who killed Stephen was enjoyable. Lucretia was a highlight character for me, I loved her frank and flippant view of the world.

I would reccomend this one over the other, but due to the stuff I outline above, I am still going with a 3 star rating, but a higher feeling one than the last!

I really enjoyed the mystery elements to An Unladylike Secret, which kept me guessing throughout and offered a refreshing twist on a typical Regency romance.

I must admit that I couldn’t put it down. I loved the characters, the mystery, the romance between Mira and Finnegan, and also the setting of the coast of Devon.

CW/TW: SURPRISE PREGNANCY (ON OAGE), GROOMING AND A SEXUAL RELATIONSHIP WITH A STEP-BROTHER (OFF-PAGE)


1.5/5
First of all, the cover is misleading. The main male character has a light BROWN skin and has dark, curly hair as we see in the second chapter. He's was born in the West Indies (Saint Kitts) and his mother was from Gambia. It's all revealed in chapter 8. And who does the cover present? A BLOND, WHITE guy. Blonde. White. All the things that Finn is not. It's explicitly said in the text that his half brother, WHO DIED 10 MONTHS EARLIER, was a "blue-eyed golden-cherub, the counter to Finn.". Did the artist somehow confuse A DEAD MAN WITH A MAIN MALE CHARACTER?

The female character is from India and somehow, whoever created the cover included that. But they completely ignored MC's race and looks and made him to look like a generic white guy. Are you serious? How come nobody caught that?

I was wondering why didn't the actor catch it or demand the cover to be changed but tbh I gave up on the idea. The way she wrote the books and characters was just strange and she clealry didn't care enough.

Anyway, onto the plot. It's giving soap opera, not of a good kind. The sex scene was completely out of nowhere at 22% of the book, it was way too early with no build up whatsoever - whiich is basically a theme throughout the book. I get it, you almost died together, but you barely had a conversation TWICE, and MMC doesn't know that FMC is the reason everyone thinks he's the murderer! Come on, this is historical romance, I needed more buildup than that which was absolutely nothing.

FMC bemoaning that MMC hates her circular was so over the top and I didn't like that whining. 1) he didn't know you were behind it, and 2), YOU MADE PEOPLE THINK HE MURDERED HIS OWN BROTHER, what is wrong with you! FMC really annoyed me. She was constantly whining about Finn not having freedom to love anyone (her) while SHE WAS THE REASON. If she hadn't published that article, nobody would think he was guilty!

And then she had a few opportunities to tell him the truth and all she said was that she only worked for Aurelius and that he's there and her friend. You are Aurelius you idiot! Just tell MMC that! But noooooo, why would she.

The accidental pregnancy happens at 60% of the book. There was nothing in the book desription, nothing at the beginning of the book, no warnng whatsoever.

At 65% FMC is talking about pregnancy and hercondition and her nausea and how her body will change constantly every 2-3 sentences and I am hating every single second of it. Nowhere in the description there was even a hint of a surprise pregnancy and I avoid those books. I hate being tricked like that by the author.

It got worse. Apparently, FMC had been groomed by and had a sexual relationship with her step-brother (half brother?) when she was still living in her step mothers house. Was this even hinted at before? No, we find out at 89%! 89! The book's almost done when the author decides to hit us in a head with trauma again! And then, because of course, FMC and MMC are almost killed! Again!

If I had known this would turn into traumatic soap opera, I wouldn't have request it. Which is a shame because I enjoyed some parts of the book. But the author just dumps trauma for trauma's sake with no hints in the book description or at the beginning of the book at all and it's annoying. I hate it.

The female character was like a more miserable and unlikable version of Penelope Featherington, always bemoaming about her misfotune - which she brought onto herself. She whines about not having any relationship with her sisters - and she pushed them away and went no-contact for absolutely no reason. She complains about MMC not being able to be with her - but she was the reason he was a wanted man. And so on and so on.

And MMC? Well, he's either arrogantly cheeky or a coward. Axts like a rake and at the very sound of trouble abandons FMC. Ugh.

The other characters were all so over the top and were walking stereotypes. Most of them was suddenly gay for representation sake but they weren't even well-written, it was just bunch of stereotypes and tropes.

The male gay friend was just that: a male gay friend. A "dandy" as called in Regency: only caring about his looks and how fashionable he was, overly feminine for some reason, you know, the every gay best friend from a sitcom you can imagine.

The best friend was a bluestocking who only cared about the plants who suddenly realized she's gay and decided to move in with her new girlfriend after a month of meeting her. Aka every bookish lesbian from sitcoms.

The very feminine and badass lesbian who took no shit and always said what she wanted, aka every girlboss ever in existence.

The widow who was silly, liked parties and wanted a rich husband and a bunch of lovers. That was her whole personality.

I hated how they were written, it seemed like the author only included them for points, not because it made sense. They were all badly written with no personality.

The writing was horrible too. I'm not sure if the author ever learned about pronunciations or synonyms or SUBTLETY because there were none. The author doesn't use the words like "him/her/his etc, she mostly uses full names every single time. She is constantly repetitive, using the same phrases or descriptiosn every time. She lacks subtlety - when FMC started duspecting she might be pregnant, she brought it up in every other sentence. About the fact that she was pregnant. About "growing a new life". About changes in her body. About being pregnant. About the baby in her making her tired all the time. About being nauseous. Did I mention she was pregnant yet?

And the ending was so abrupt I wondered if I got the whole book - but yeah, the acknowledgments were on the next page. It felt like it was not just an open ending, but a sudden one too. She was almost killed again, reunited with him and they both almost died again, were saved by one of their captors and confessed their love - all in last chapter. And that's it.

What about all the things that were supposed to happen in this book, like, you know, the main point of the book which was proving MMC's innocence? Was the circular published? What was the reaction? Did the Bow Runner drop the case? What about the Antigua case? Or the triplets? WE GOT NO RESOLUTION WHATSOEVER.

I was surprised that FMC told MMC about her pregnancy tbh.

This was the first and last book I have and will ever read from this author. It was so convoluted and badly written with a trauma dump after trauma dump for just trauma's and drama's sake. Nothing was resolved, nothing was fixed, everything was just there, mostly hanging there by a thread and nothing was really resolved.

Thank you, NetGalley and Boldwood Books for sending me this ARC.

I loved this book, and adored these characters. The chemistry between Mira and Finnegan was everything I needed and more. It’s that perfect kind of read that keeps you up late, turning pages, and smiling like a fool. Honestly, I couldn’t get enough of them.

2⭐️

This plot had so much potential. I love a good regency gossip column, and the idea of the love interest being someone she accidentally accused of murder was intriguing.

I really enjoyed the side characters in this one. Kenneth once again is a star, I love him dearly. Ursula and lucrettia bounce off each other really well. The scene of them all in the parlour is hilarious and without a doubt my favourite part of the book.

The romance sadly left much to be desired. It's insta love, and there's no tension. Maybe I interpreted the blurb wrong because I was expecting enemies to lovers vibes. I didn't feel the chemistry, and there's no real development for the romance side.

The writing felt rushed. We dive straight into the plot, and the ending feels like it just cuts off. There's so many unanswered things. The Antigua court case? Is he cleared of murder? Does she still move in with her sister? I'm also quite interested in whether lucrettia finds a new husband. the plot winds up quite muddy, and the mystery element wasn't particularly compelling.

I had also incorrectly assumed that this was a trilogy and that we would solve the mystery of the triplets in it, but it looks like they are perhaps due their own books. I think sadly I will give those a miss.

I received an advance review copy of this book, and this review represents my honest opinion. Thank you to netgalley, the author, and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

This was okay. I liked the concept, the mystery and the romance. But it felt a bit much, like it was taking on too much and then didn't flesh anything out properly. There isn't much development and then everything is rushed so it feels flat. The characters are likable enough but felt a bit one dimensional, they didn't really grow

I love a good historical romance from time to time, which is why An Unladylike Secret caught my attention. Here we follow Mira, who writes a society gossip circular under the pen name of Aurelius, and everything changes when one of her circulars sends Finnegan Underwood on the run for murder. After this, she goes on a journey to find the real culprit with Finn joining her.
This book was the definition of a rollercoaster, not only the plot but also my feelings toward it. From the beginning I enjoyed the dialogue and the characters, Finn and Ursula being my favorites. However, it didn't take long for me to have problems with some things.
While I was getting attached to the characters, the plot felt all over the place. A lot of things happen in this book, and I always complain about books with no plot, but this one tries to tackle too much. Everything is resolved quickly and ends up being very superficial.
The mystery wasn't compelling enough, and the romance developed far too quickly. Both lacked, but were enough to keep me reading. With the mystery, barely anything happens until the very end,and I didn’t like how easy to solve it was. As for the romance is established right at the beginning, with little development through the book.
I also struggled with Mira throughout the story. She was a bad partner to Finn, a bad friend, a bad sister and a bad investigator, and she never changed. I get that she's a complex character, but she barely grew as a character and it was very frustrating to see that. Finn was a great character to read, and also the only reason I finished this book.
While the plot didn’t appease me, the writing and the character were the highlights. Even though this book didn’t work for me, it might work for you.
~
Thank you to HarperCollins UK and NetGalley for providing this eARC. All opinions are my own.

Release Date: 10th April 2025
Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

It has been such a privilege to have reviewed all three books in this series from the very start! As I've mentioned in my very first ARC review, Unladylike Lessons in Love (Book 1 of the Marleigh Sisters) was the first ever book I was approved for on Netgalley. As such, this series holds a special place in my heart. I'm proud to say that Amita Murray has steadily built her Historical Romance (HR) voice over the last two books.

This novel, An Unladylike Secret, centres on the third Marleigh sister, Mira. She is a society gossip writer who prides herself on her work until one of her circulars pins Finnegan Underwood as a murder suspect. When Mira is sought out to help the Underwoods in the countryside, she must face the consequences of her accidental actions.

On the coast of Devonshire, our dashing hero Finnegan is on the run after being accused of murdering his brother. The accusation is fuelled by Mira's unfortunate reporting and his racial background. What happens when these two unknowingly cross paths and sparks fly?

I have also said in my previous review of Book 2 (Unladylike Rules of Attraction), The Marleigh Sisters series are an antidote to the marketing ploy Bridgerton has created within HR publishing spaces. Amita Murray is dedicated to creating true diverse stories grounded in the reality of the era she writes in. Putting the history in historical romance, if you will!

It still very much rings true especially with the parallels of Mira being a gossip writer in this novel. I really appreciated the way Mira handled her mistake with the circular that led to Finnegan's plight. On top of that conflict, I truly admire Amita's commitment to giving the main characters in-depth backgrounds. They also have such rich life stories. With Mira, we were already familiar with her general life backstory having seen it with her sisters. They are all Indian daughters of an English Earl and his Indian mistress. All of them lived as a happy family in India until their parents tragically drowned. The girls were then sent to live with their stepmother and stepbrother in England. The girls were then abused by the two in various manners.
It was intriguing to see the trauma from Mira's eyes and how it manifested within her.

Whereas with Finnegan, he shares a similar background to Damian, the hero from Book 2. They are both freed mixed Black men. However, the way they came by their respective freedoms was surprising to me and it sets the course of their lives. It's particularly poignant with Finn in this story. This theme lends itself to how everyone immediately assumes he killed his white half-brother.

Speaking of the murder, as always Amita kills it with the murder mystery of it all. As this is an ARC review, I will keep the details to myself for now. However, what I can say is that the book does not go the way I had anticipated to go - in the best way of course. The conflicts were very interesting as they were more external. I thought there would be a bit more interpersonal between the two of them. That being said, I did enjoy reading Mira's secret hanging over their relationship and how it played out in the book.

Now let's dig into the romance. Having followed this series from the start until now being three books in, I am so happy that Amita found her groove with the romance in this novel! She really ramped the sex scenes in this installment. I love Lila and Anya's stories but their couples' sexual tension pale slightly in comparison against Mira and Finn. It does make them feel very intense. However, with the way their connection is built, it works very well. It is very much a relationship that is rooted in truly seeing the other person when they have been overlooked their whole lives. Having that sort of connection is rare and can be intense. Though I will say that early on in the book, it did feel a bit like insta-love but it works for the direction of their relationship. Especially since there are pressing matters with the plot. It did help raise the stakes of the book even more.

Overall, I did enjoy this book. I cannot wait to read more of Amita's works! I recommend this title for anyone interested in historical romance novels centred on Indian heroines. This is also a series that is grounded in the real historical aspect of HR novels. If you’re into that, murder mysteries and compelling characters and themes, this book is for you. Happy Reading everyone and I can’t wait for this book to be in everyone’s hands!

Thank you to Amita Murray, HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction and HarperCollins for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I have been reading and enjoying the Marleigh Sisters series since the first book and each time a new story comes out it becomes my new favourite. I love the writing style and there is the right mix of romance and mystery, and, in An Unladylike Secret, we have murder, scandal, smuggling, and adventure.

The protagonist of the novel is the third younger of the Marleigh Sisters. Daughters of an English lord and his Indian mistress, the three sisters were brought to England after the death of their parents and raised (and mistreated) by their father’s wife and their son. The three sisters became estranged and started leading an independent life and now Mira is the true writer behind Aurelius, the famous journalist who reveals all the aristocracy scandals. Her latest circular about the disagreement she overheard between the two Underwood brothers led everyone to believe that Finnegan Underwood had murdered his brother a few days later and he is now on the run. Feeling responsible and not sure of Finnegan’s guilt, Mira heads to Devonshire to investigate. She certainly doesn’t expect to find herself involved with smugglers or adrift on a boat in the middle of the night with a handsome and charming suspect. Used to be alone and independent, Mira is surprised to find herself surrounded by friends ready to help her and a man who becomes harder and harder to resist.

I must admit that I couldn’t put it down. I loved the characters, the mystery, the romance between Mira and Finnegan, and also the setting of the coast of Devon. Mira, like her sisters, is still haunted by her past and her upbringing and Finnegan, too, has his own demons to face. Their characters develop quite well and the story flows easily, keeping me glued to the pages. I am looking forward to the next book in the series!

I really tried to like this regency romance, and in theory it was everything I love. However, I just couldn't get on board with the writing style. I'm sure it would work for some people, but I found the book a real struggle to get through. The plot had promise though!

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

I’m honestly not sure how I feel about An Unladylike Secret. There are plenty of elements that really appealed to me, not least the diversity of the characters with the FMC being of colour, along with multiple other characters, and with LGBT+ rep – though the gay character’s stereotypical obsession with his clothes was perhaps a little disappointing. I also liked the mystery element and the idea that Mira was determined to prove Finn’s innocence and save him from the gallows. The strong female characters, particularly for the time, were excellent, especially showing how women could work and hold their own in society, as well, as showing how women supported each other.

However, the fact that Mira writes a gossip circular felt rather overdone (hello Lady Whistledown!), and I really wasn’t a fan of the accidental pregnancy element of the story. More than anything, I’m deeply confused by the cover of the book, which shows a white man as Finn, when he is clearly described as the bastard son of an African slave woman in the Caribbean and an English slave owner, and as therefore being mixed race. It’s a key component of the book as he stands out as a fugitive, so I really don’t understand this creative design decision, which is very misleading.

Overall, I thought the book was enjoyable, but it didn’t have the pace that kept me desperate to read more.

Thanks to NetGalley & HarperCollins UK for the ARC. This is my honest opinion.

Enjoyable book for a beach read or a time when you cannot delve into heavier material. Light-hearted and well-written

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This read was quick and enjoyable, great for right now when I feel I don’t have much time or brain power for as much reading as I’d like! That’s not to say this is a ‘light’ book - despite comedy and enough romance to make it historical romcom it does touch on heavier themes including racism, estranged families and misogyny. I did feel some of these themes were dealt with in a heavy handed way which felt a bit too 21st century at times, but this didn’t mar my enjoyment of the characters too much. There’s a fairly satisfying though a bit far fetched mystery too, so all in all, an enjoyable read.

Oh dear! What a big mess!! Seriously, reading this gave me hives!!! Firstly, it’s a bit too similar to Bridgerton for my liking but I guess that was advertised and if Julia Quinn read it and didn’t have a problem, then who am I to judge. Secondly, love do you know what synonyms and pronouns are? It’s probably the first rule they teach in elementary school: you should avoid to use the same word in two consecutive sentences! Here, there are pages where whole paragraphs are just a repetition of the same noun!! Okay I understand that in the dialogues it can be seen as quirky or funny and in the fashion of a long back-and-forth but once is okay, twice a bit boring, thrice is quite extreme!!!
In the second chapter there is this sentence “Mira never named anyone in her circulars. But her descriptions were so good that people knew who she was talking about” that comes right after a passage where the names of Finnegan Underwood and Stephen Underwood are mentioned in every other sentence. Was the author scared that her actual descriptions weren’t good enough to make us readers understand? In truth, they aren’t but maybe instead of the constant repetition she should have tries harder to make them work?? Also personally I’m a big fan of rephrasing! Try it more maybe? I think the author should try to take one from Mira and work on avoiding mentioning the names of her characters when it's obvious who she's talking about and maybe use a pronoun...

While this book is actually the third one in a series, it can totally be read as a stand alone because there are so many superfluous parts and dialogues that basically explain everything that is important to understand the story.

Sorry, I tried. But the way it was written made it a big no-no for me!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC!

This story follows Mira as she tries to unravel the mystery of who killed Finnegan Underwood's brother and prevent Finn from being convicted of the crime.

I enjoyed the friendships in this book, and the development of the relationship between Mira and her sisters. . There were a lot of elements for the story to balance: the mystery, romance and the family history, as well as a lot of character development from Mira. I liked the parts of this that were done well, seeing Mira grow and become a stronger person who can rely on those around her was excellent, for example.

For me personally, the romance felt a little rushed and not as developed as I would've liked. I also felt the ending wasn't paced as well as it could've been, that there was a rush at the end and not much time to savour the romance.

Overall I'd give this 3.5 stars, I had a fun time while reading and the elements that worked for me were excellent. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I mostly enjoyed this. I liked Mira and Finn and despite their romance going from 0 to 100% within a moment of them meeting I found them cute and the story readable. I didn't love the pregnancy element.

★★★★☆ (4/5 stars)

In this charming Regency mystery romance, Mira Marleigh has a secret life as a writer who dishes out juicy gossip in her circulars. One scandalous circular lands Finnegan Underwood in hot water, forcing him to run from murder accusations. To get to the bottom of things and absolve her guilt, Mira heads to the Devon coast, where she runs into Finnegan—now a sly smuggler—and gets caught up in a world of intrigue and unexpected romance.

What I loved
- Heroine of colour and multiple side characters of colour!
- LGBT+ rep!
- A good mix of romantic tension and a real mystery
- Some spicy scenes, but not too many

What to Watch Out For
- The book starts in media res of the situation, not a gentle lead in like you might expect
- Potential trigger warnings for drowning, family estrangement, and pregnancy

This is a perfect read if you're into Bridgerton-style historical romances with a mystery twist, or historical stories with strong, independent female leads.

Thank you to HarperCollins UK and NetGalley for providing a review copy of this book at no cost and with no obligation. I reviewed this book voluntarily, and all opinions are my own.