Critical reception

Riley's books Sister Mother Warrior (2022); The Duke, The Lady, and a Baby (2020); An Earl, the Girl, and a Toddler (2021); and A Duke, the Spy, an Artist, and a Lie (2022) have received starred reviews from Booklist, Library Journal, and Publishers Weekly.^{[9][10][11][12][13]}

Publishers Weekly called A Duke, the Lady, and a Baby a "bewitching Regency series opener".^[11] It criticized An Earl, the Girl, and a Toddler for its "choppy writing" that "slightly undermines the otherwise riveting romance".^[5] Publishers Weekly wrote of the final book in the Rogues and Remarkable Women series, "Riley masterfully plays up the will-they-won’t-they between husband and wife as the emotionally charged romance twists to its conclusion. This sends out the series on a high note".^[12]

Library Journal called Sister Mother Warrior a "sweeping, powerful historical novel based on two remarkable real women".^[13]

Her mystery debut, Murder in Westminster (2022), was reviewed positively by Publishers Weekly, which wrote, "Riley offers a vibrant picture of the roles Black and mixed-race people played in Regency life," though Publishers also noted, "the backstory introducing series characters sometimes feels clumsy and the modern language can be distracting".^[6]

Carole V. Bell of The New York Times wrote positively of Island Queen: "Though Dorothy’s life is extraordinary, the reason her triumphs and stumbles hit so hard is that Riley does a brilliant job of connecting those events to something bigger... Evocative and immersive, Riley’s narrative bears that weight with grace".^[14]