Michelle Blanchard Ardillo

First of all, I am a devoted fan of the Great British Bake Off show and have watched each season many times. I love a good cooking show, and I’ve watched the cooking shows made by previous winners of the GBBO, like Nadiya Hussain, the 2015 winner. I also love all things British, all things royalty, and all things cozy mystery.

So, of course I jumped at the chance to read this book when I read the description in NetGalley:

September, 1815. Autumn is in the air as Lady Petra Forsyth and some of the most illustrious members of the ton descend upon Windsor Castle for a week of royal celebrations, with the highlight being Queen Charlotte’s inaugural patisserie contest for the best bakers employed by England’s finest houses. Not only is Lady Petra’s own cook one of the contestants, but Her Majesty has requested that Petra herself serve as one of the judges.

Revenge, Served Royal by Celeste Connally is the third book in the Lady Petra Inquires mystery series.

Full disclosure: when I requested this book from NetGalley, I did not realize that it was book #3 in a series! I usually don’t jump into a series halfway after all of the base information about the main characters has been disclosed. So, I knew as I was reading this book that I was missing some vital background details. Like, for instance, why won’t Lady Petra marry Duncan? This fact is referenced several times, but I found it very frustrating that I didn’t know WHY, since it is very clear that they love each other, they are both single and otherwise available, and he doesn’t mind (in fact he seems rather proud) that she is unusual for women of this time period.

The setting for this book is Windsor Castle outside of London, England, during the Regency Era. During the reign of King George III and Queen Charlotte (see Netflix blockbuster series Bridgerton for more on that, lol), with King George III being too ill to govern, his son was Prince Regent from February 1811 to the death of King George III in January of 1820, when he ascended to the throne as George IV. Until then, however, he was the Prince of Wales, later made Prince Regent by virtue of his father’s debilitating mental illness, and nicknamed Prinny by his royal subjects. (Yes, I read a lot about British royalty and watch waaaaay too many documentaries about the Royal Family!)

If that part of British royal history is a bit too far back for you, just think that Queen Victoria reigned from 1837 to 1901 and she reigned because her uncle, William IV, was the THIRD son of George III. William IV had lots of children, but at the time of his death he had no surviving legitimate children. George III’s second son Prince Frederick died in 1827 having had no children. George IV had but one child, Princess Charlotte, who died in 1817, and Victoria’s own father Prince Edward, the fourth son of George III, died in 1820, leaving her heir to the British throne!

I did enjoy this book, however, even as a cozy mystery, it did creep along at quite a slow pace, until things heat up near the end. There is a death, and Lady Petra is determined to find the killer, but she is also rather busy swooning over Duncan, keeping her Aunt Ophelia safe from harm, and not the least of it all, judging a baking contest devised by the Queen herself at Windsor Castle to name the best baker in all of England.

My favorite parts of the book were those where the bakes were described. Each time the bakers (cooks from the great houses/castles/manors of England) were given a challenge, the end results were described in such a tantalizing way I wanted to book a flight to London and have afternoon tea where I could sample some of them! I won’t divulge the winner of the contest, because that would be a spoiler, but I didn’t find that particular plot point very satisfying.

In other reviews of this book, there is mention of the fact that Lady Petra is a woman ahead of her time. She is an excellent equestrian who won’t be bothered with riding side-saddle as proper ladies like Elizabeth II always did in military parades. She even has a riding costume specifically designed and tailored to allow her to convert from a side-saddle skirt to regular jodhpurs. Next, comes her self-defense skills, the genesis of which I guess is described I previous books of this series. She has a lock-picking kit and a holster for a dagger, specially designed and tailored to wear on her leg, hidden by her Regency-length skirts. And, finally, she is wicked smart, quick, and outspoken. If you take all of that together, it is hard to imagine this young, single, beautiful young woman with all of these qualities living in Regency Era England.

I am just intrigued enough to start the series at the beginning with Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord (finalist for the 2023 Agatha Award), followed by book #2 All’s Fair in Love and Treachery.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books, and Celeste Connally for an enjoyable read!