The Julia Quinn quote on the cover of Unladylike Lessons in Love would lead you to believe that this book is a romance first and a mystery second, but I feel like I should manage your expectations a little. It has an HEA and more steam than say Manda Collins’ Ladies Most Scandalous series, but I’d still call it a romantic mystery. So let’s get into it.
I really liked Lila Marleigh. She’s a working class, mixed (Indian & English) woman whose father kept a mistress and brought the children to England. His wife agreed to raise Lila and her sisters, but basically booted them out as soon as they could go to boarding school. She now runs a salon/gaming hell. Lila gets roped into helping the daughter of her parents former housekeeper who was hanged after being accused of stealing. The daughter’s beau, who is Indian, is accused of attacking a woman at a party held in Ivor Tristram’s home.
But Ivor Tristram? He’s mid at best. What Lila Marleigh found attractive about him, I do not know. So while Unladylike Lessons in Love has more sex than a typical romantic mystery, the chemistry wasn’t there for me. As they work to solve the case, they’re continually thrown together, but overall the case took too long to solve (I ended up skimming the last 25%). That said, I’m intrigued enough about Lila’s non-relationship with her estranged sisters that I’d come back for those stories.
3 stars
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If you’re looking for more historical mysteries, check out 4 Series to Check Out If You Love Miss Scarlet & the Duke.