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cari1268's review against another edition
3.0
This was a meh read for me. It's hard to pick out what I didn't like about this book. Perhaps, it was the slightly forgettable characters or hard-to-swallow plot. The hardcore feminism preaching definitely grated on me. I'm as outraged as the next woman about the lack of opportunity for women during those days. However, the outcry started to feel like a lecture. And marriage was always cast in a bad light. Besides all of that, the characters sounded and acted too modern.
There were parts to the story that I really enjoyed. It was fun to see how everything fit together in the end and I imagine many younger teenagers will get in to this series. As for me, I wanted to like this book more than I actually did. If I see the second one at the library, I might pick it up to give the author another try.
2.5 Stars.
There were parts to the story that I really enjoyed. It was fun to see how everything fit together in the end and I imagine many younger teenagers will get in to this series. As for me, I wanted to like this book more than I actually did. If I see the second one at the library, I might pick it up to give the author another try.
2.5 Stars.
cathyatratedreads's review against another edition
3.0
Fairly entertaining. I liked the premise and it was carried out fairly well. I think it's more interesting for setting and period rather than the mystery, which I didn't think was really gripping. But I enjoyed it. I also thought that the author was a bit too heavy-handed on the message of "women back then didn't have many options," and that the main character, despite her rough childhood, used mild expletives a bit often for believability's sake in the time period. Even so, worthy effort.
katetj's review against another edition
5.0
More reviews can be found at my blog: Nomalicious Reads
I'm not sure that I can describe how much I fell in love with this book. It was phenomenal and I'm shocked, ashamed and a little outraged at myself for taking so long to discover this purely stunning masterpiece! So glad that I have (thanks to Kristi) and I'm going to be recommending this to everyone!
I'm a big Nancy Drew fan, so when I read the synopsis it instantly reminded me of Nancy but in the 1800's. And any book that gives me 18th century England combined with a girl detective will have me quickly clicking my ever open tab of The Book Depository to order a copy stat!
But not only does Mary have the sleuth skills of a detective, but she has awesome kick-ass moves that growing up on the street and the training at the Academy gave her at her disposal, not to mention her lock picking skills... would it be entirely wrong for me to say that I would love to be able to pick locks? For only good reasons of course (not that I could go and add that on my resume).
Then, The Man from the Wardrobe met Miss Closet... I mean then James met Mary, under very strange and hilarious circumstances, if I didn't already fall in love with the book previously, this scene would have done me in, instantly!
James and Mary's interaction with each other throughout the book will have you in peels of laughter and then sighing... at all the right moments. They are both thrilling and fantastic characters that I can't wait to read more about them!
A Spy in the House is not based solely on romance, but we do have little sparks flying around! (so don't be afraid it's non-existent) But it is mainly about the mystery. James and Mary come together, at first reluctantly to solve the big mystery, each of them having a different stake in the outcome, they decide that if they work together they can achieve the results they want faster, only problem being... they don't trust each other and watching them slowly come to terms with each other and finally trusting the other was one of the best parts of the book, and in the end they make a fantastic team!
I can't wait to see if James ever finds out about the truth about Mary and The Agency and I especially can't wait to delve deeper into Mary's past, especially about her father and her possible relatives... which seems like it will be very important in future books!
This book also made me ball my eyes out at a certain part... because I'm a wuss and I just want to say: Nooo Y.S How could you!? (It's okay, I don't hate you, even though you made me cry!)
Another thing I loved is that Mary wasn't a perfect detective either, she was an inexperienced novice that made mistakes, so I can't wait till book two finally arrives in my mailbox so I can see how she has grown from these past mistakes to becoming a better investigator!
After I finished the last page of A Spy in the house I immediately bought the third book (as I already bought the second, shortly after I started), I even bought the third in paperback as the hardcover hasn't been released yet, which I'm going to make sure that I buy when it's out... Although both covers are beautiful... and I think I may just buy the remaining paperback ones also.
The Agency
A Spy in the House
by Y.S Lee
Is an amazing book that is going in my favourites and will be one of my most read books of all time gets:
nomalicious nomnom noms
I'm not sure that I can describe how much I fell in love with this book. It was phenomenal and I'm shocked, ashamed and a little outraged at myself for taking so long to discover this purely stunning masterpiece! So glad that I have (thanks to Kristi) and I'm going to be recommending this to everyone!
I'm a big Nancy Drew fan, so when I read the synopsis it instantly reminded me of Nancy but in the 1800's. And any book that gives me 18th century England combined with a girl detective will have me quickly clicking my ever open tab of The Book Depository to order a copy stat!
But not only does Mary have the sleuth skills of a detective, but she has awesome kick-ass moves that growing up on the street and the training at the Academy gave her at her disposal, not to mention her lock picking skills... would it be entirely wrong for me to say that I would love to be able to pick locks? For only good reasons of course (not that I could go and add that on my resume).
Then, The Man from the Wardrobe met Miss Closet... I mean then James met Mary, under very strange and hilarious circumstances, if I didn't already fall in love with the book previously, this scene would have done me in, instantly!
James and Mary's interaction with each other throughout the book will have you in peels of laughter and then sighing... at all the right moments. They are both thrilling and fantastic characters that I can't wait to read more about them!
A Spy in the House is not based solely on romance, but we do have little sparks flying around! (so don't be afraid it's non-existent) But it is mainly about the mystery. James and Mary come together, at first reluctantly to solve the big mystery, each of them having a different stake in the outcome, they decide that if they work together they can achieve the results they want faster, only problem being... they don't trust each other and watching them slowly come to terms with each other and finally trusting the other was one of the best parts of the book, and in the end they make a fantastic team!
I can't wait to see if James ever finds out about the truth about Mary and The Agency and I especially can't wait to delve deeper into Mary's past, especially about her father and her possible relatives... which seems like it will be very important in future books!
This book also made me ball my eyes out at a certain part... because I'm a wuss and I just want to say: Nooo Y.S How could you!? (It's okay, I don't hate you, even though you made me cry!)
Another thing I loved is that Mary wasn't a perfect detective either, she was an inexperienced novice that made mistakes, so I can't wait till book two finally arrives in my mailbox so I can see how she has grown from these past mistakes to becoming a better investigator!
After I finished the last page of A Spy in the house I immediately bought the third book (as I already bought the second, shortly after I started), I even bought the third in paperback as the hardcover hasn't been released yet, which I'm going to make sure that I buy when it's out... Although both covers are beautiful... and I think I may just buy the remaining paperback ones also.
The Agency
A Spy in the House
by Y.S Lee
Is an amazing book that is going in my favourites and will be one of my most read books of all time gets:
nomalicious nomnom noms
heidenkind's review against another edition
2.0
For the most part this book is okay, but it lost me when Mary's race was used as the big story twist. I'm not down with that. Also, James is an ass.
2blueshoes's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
I really enjoyed this series when I read it years ago, and revisiting the first book again was fun. The writing and dialogue are so witty and intelligent. The characters are diverse, interesting and easy to love. There is some fascinating history involved. The mystery really keeps you guessing. There is some light romance as a subplot. One jalapeño out of five. This book is really fun. Highly recommend.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Child death
cimorene1558's review against another edition
4.0
A nice YA historical mystery. This is what you might call alternate history or even historical fantasy in a modest way, as the protagonist's circumstances are pretty much impossible in Victorian society as it actually was, but it's very well done, and obviously a lot of research went in to making everything as authentic as possible, given the basic impossibility of the Agency itself. That said, it's also very YA, lots of unanalyzed angst and people running around with feelings they don't understand and can't pin down. I won't read any more because of that--anyone who reads my reviews much will know I have little patience for YA angst--but I'd definitely recommend it to teens because of it.
that_crazy_fangirl's review against another edition
3.5
This was a pretty good book. It was kind of slow in the beginning, but it got better towards the end. 3.5 stars.