A Spinster’s Guide to Danger and Dukes by Manda Collins Book Review

A Spinster’s Guide to Danger and Dukes by Manda Collins Book Review

If you love the enemies-to-lovers trope, fake engagements, romance, with a mix of mystery, then A Spinster’s Guide to Danger and Dukes is the perfect read for you.

The first meeting between Poppy Delamare and the Duke of Langham hadn’t been at all amicable. She found him arrogant and snobbish, while he found her critical and know-it-all. And then they find themselves together on a train trip to the village of Little Kidding. Poppy is returning two years after her escape from an arranged betrothal to help her sister who’s been accused of murdering her own husband. Joshua, the Duke, is visiting the family’s estate to attend his grandmother’s birthday party where she invited all eligible young women in the hope of finding him a wife.

Putting aside their differences and mutual dislike, Poppy and Joshua decide to help each other: she will pretend to be his fiancée to keep away all the women hoping to become the next duchess, in exchange, he will use his influence to prove her sister’s innocence and clear her name. And, of course, the more time they spend together, the less they need to pretend to like each other.

What I loved most about A Spinster’s Guide to Danger and Dukes is the two main characters and their development throughout the story. Their initial dislike turns into a truce when they agree to help each other and the more time they spend together, the more they talk and trust each other, revealing their true characters so that their fake engagement starts to feel more real. Poppy is a headstrong and fierce female protagonist. To escape an engagement to her stepfather’s odious secretary, she fled to London, she changed her name, and started a brand-new life working for newspaper columnist, Lady Katherine. She didn’t expect her sister to take her place in the betrothal and, when she is accused of murder, Poppy doesn’t think twice to give up the life she loves and help her. While, initially, Joshua seemed to be a pompous aristocrat, he turns out to be a wonderful character. He is generous and caring and he appreciates Poppy’s independence and frankness. Together, these two characters create a story that is funny, romantic, steamy, and suspenseful. I enjoyed their banter and their chemistry was incredible.

I love this series because it perfectly mixes romance and mystery, it is well-written, well-developed, and with a lively pace, and I think that A Spinster’s Guide to Danger and Dukes is my favourite novel so far because I do love a good fake engagement and this one is quite entertaining. From the very first page, when Poppy and Joshua meet at the train station, to the last page, I was completely addicted to this romantic, entertaining, but also twisty story and I kept thinking about it even days later!