Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord by Celeste Connally - Book Review

Series: Lady Petra Inquires #1 

Publication Date: 14th Nov 2023 

Genre: Historical Drama 

2 Stars 

One Liner: Ugh! 

Lady Petra Forsyth has decided to lead a spinster’s life when her fiancé dies a few weeks before the wedding. With her inheritance to provide for her expenses, Lady Petra has no need for a man or marriage. 

When she gets to know that a longtime friend has passed away due to melancholia and a certain questionable physician seems to be involved, Petra wonders if there’s more to it. After all, not many people were informed or even invited to the funeral. Her quest for truth triggers a series of events and puts her life at risk. 

The story comes in the third-person POV of Lady Petra. 

My Thoughts: 

I’m always ready to read a historical mystery or romance. The premise promised some fun and sleuthing, so I was excited to read this one. Unfortunately, the results were below average. 

The book does have a few good points, like little Teddy, the street urchin, and Annie, the maid. The Duchess is also cool. Someone you’d want on your side. 

However, the not-so-good points outweigh by a large margin. 

First, the opening has to be strong enough to hook the reader. Here, we get a bunch of names and lengthy conversations that ‘bring us up to date’ about the FMC. 

Second, it’s hard to enjoy a book when the heroine doesn’t appeal to you. That’s my problem here. I could not like Lady Petra despite her being a feminist, LGBT+ ally, and whatever. She’s judgmental, jumps to conclusions, and acts like a typical privileged woman of the ton. 

Third, the so-called potential love interest Duncan sounds great in theory. However, he is limited to being a cardboard cutout with zero personality. The chemistry is minus ten. It isn’t even there. Things happen because well... checklist, possibly. 

Fourth, the writing is chaotic. I know this is still in the editing stages and is an uncorrected proof, but the book will need major structuring to get rid of the filler content. I also know the book is the first in the series, and some of it is necessary for world-building. However, we don’t need to be introduced to many characters who serve no purpose. 

Fifth, the mystery is boring, too. The concept is very good. But once again, the execution doesn’t have it appealing. It’s neither surface level nor detailed, leaving it hanging nowhere. Even the villain doesn’t get more than a couple of scenes to show his villainous side. 

Sixth, there’s no denying that the book tries to achieve too much – racism, homophobia, women’s rights, misogyny, sexism, abuse, institutionalization, classism, etc., and a heroine who wants to fight it all. It could have still worked. This doesn’t. 

Seventh, there’s a cliffhanger in this one about the FMC’s personal life. Let’s say I couldn’t care less by that point. I tried and failed. 

To summarize, Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord might appeal to some readers, but it definitely didn’t work for me. Moreover, it even gave me a headache on both days I read it. That doesn’t happen often, so I find it hard to be lenient. Sorry! 

Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin’s (Minotaur Books), for the eARC. 

#NetGalley