Lady Like - Mackenzi Lee - ★★.½

AUTHOR: Mackenzi Lee

GENRE: Historical Romance

PUBLICATION DATE: September 9, 2025

RATING: 2.5 stars.

In a Nutshell: A historical Sapphic romance set during the Regency period. Interesting characters, but average plot development. Started off well for me, but it couldn’t sustain the vibes. Anachronous and inaccurate in various ways, so better if read as a fantastical version of history. Fairly ribald, though the spicy scenes are not that explicit. Might work for readers looking for mindless entertainment because it does offer many moments of fun. This is an outlier opinion.

Plot Preview:

Thirty-four-year-old Harriet Lockhart, the daughter of a prostitute, plays male roles in bawdy Shakespeare productions on Drury Lane. She lives life on her own terms, so when a mysterious letter comes out of the blue, she is surprised to learn the identity of her benefactor, and aggravated at his condition for continued funding: she must start living a respectable life and find a decent husband.

Twenty-five-year-old Emily Sergeant has spent the last eight years of her life trying to prove to everyone in her small village that the mistake she made at seventeen was a one-time lapse of judgement, and that she is a decent girl. But even her modest disposition cannot stand the thought of being betrothed to the horrid Robert Tweed. Desperate for an alternate plan, she goes to London, hoping to snag a better husband.

In London, the two women end up shortlisting the same fellow as a potential suitor. What now?

The story comes to us in the alternating third-person perspectives of Harriet and Emily.

Bookish Yays:

💝 Harriet. While her character wasn’t relatable to me, I love how she was sketched: independent, intelligent, and assertive, and still having a vulnerable side. The most well-rounded character of this book.

💝 The significance of the title. What does it mean to be ‘ladylike’? Nicely explored.

💝 The author’s note. She calls the plot a mix of history, fiction and fantasy, which is fairly accurate, especially considering the lack of homophobia in the story.

💝 The cover. Apt for the book in its colour and artwork.

Bookish Okays:

💕Emily. While her secret side is much more colourful and interesting than her displayed personality, there isn't any explanation of how she is such a rebel, especially coming from a conservative family in the small country village. Her behaviour beggars belief at times.

💕 While I have no issues with the portrayal of the easy acceptance of homosexuality in the ton (chalk it to creative license), I find it tougher to accept how instantaneously Emily converts to ‘Sapphism’. Given the past of the two characters, they might tend toward bisexuality as well, but I guess this was a bit too rebellious a concept for a historical work.

💕 The secondary characters generate mixed feelings. Some are good (Emily’s cousin Violet is the best!), some are stereotypically annoying, and some change their behaviour almost abruptly. One of the characters – ironically, the only character based on a real person – is totally unrealistic.

💕 While there are some hints offered about the period such as the mention of the ‘mad king’ and the fight for suffrage, the actual year isn't mentioned outright. I wish the period had been better clarified. Not all readers know England’s history in detail, after all!

💕 The book has plenty of humour, with many scenes being genuinely witty. Unfortunately, the jokes also feel forced at times, like the plot is trying too hard to generate a laugh in any way possible.

💕 The romance between contrasting personalities has great potential, but the execution is not always spot on. The connection feels slowburn yet instantaneous. More importantly, the chemistry is missing.

💕 There’s a nine-year age gap between Harriet and Emily, which is quite surprising for a Sapphic historical romance. While such gaps were common in historical relationships, I wish the point had been brought up in the book, at least in a conversation. Emily’s age is mentioned a couple of times as being old for the marriage market, so the other side also could have been explored.

Bookish Nays:

💔 The tempo is fairly slow. While literary works can get away with such pacing, romances need to be tighter.

💔 Plenty of anachronisms. While a few such writing choices can be ignored as they were just a kind of ‘alternate history’, many of them were glaring gaps of social etiquette that would never have been accepted in that era. One can't read this book expecting any kind of historical accuracy, even though one character is from actual history.

💔 The second half is really weak, making an otherwise okay story go way over the top, with too many coincidences and too few explanations.

💔 The ending is much too convenient and hence doesn’t create an impact.

💔 For a book where one lead character has her roots in a whorehouse, risqué content is to be expected in her arc. However, the book opts for vulgarity even when it is not needed. The sex scenes are closed-door, but the ‘door’ closes only after an extended and descriptive foreplay. What is most annoying is the repeated references to breasts (49 occurrences of ‘breasts’ in a single book!), dildos, c*cks, and their ilk in regular conversation. (On an aside, it is weird to see Londoners saying “ass” instead of “arse”. Editing issue.)

💔 One key subplot seems to have been forgotten after a point.

Overall, the book did start off decently, and while it wasn’t gripping, it also wasn’t boring. The second half, however, brought the whole experience down.

I am not a regular romance reader, but I do like to try books that seem to approach the genre differently. This book appeared to have that potential from what was written in the blurb. However, the execution wasn’t so satisfactory to me. Perhaps if you are willing to let go of logic and read this as an imaginative popcorn Sapphic romance, you might enjoy this better. Mine is anyway an outlier opinion, so do read other reviews to take a more informed decision.

Recommended to those who enjoy historical Sapphic romances more for the romance than for the history.

My thanks to Random House Publishing Group and The Dial Press for providing the DRC of “Lady Like” via NetGalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.