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3.57 AVERAGE
3.57 AVERAGE
greatly preferred this one over the first :) will definitely read the 3rd!
One Thing Leads to a Lover by Susanna Craig
Love and Let Spy #2
Wonderful way to escape! Thoroughly enjoyed this book that might not be very realistic but was definitely a fun and engaging read!
What I liked:
* Amanda: good mother, good wife-widowed, good daughter, complies with societal rules, non-assertive, bored, wants “more” – ripe for…what is coming her way.
* Magpie: major, spy, knight, mimic, good with disguises, more than he appears to be, interesting past, carrying heavy guilt, a good man – deserving of so much more.
* Major Zebadiah Scott: spymaster, matchmaker, interesting, good man, looks out for his operatives, likable.
* Jamie and Philip: Amanda’s sons, loving, intelligent, opposites, added something special to the story
* Mrs. West: Amanda’s mother, caring, overprotective, controlling, loving, put society before her daughter’s wellbeing (in my opinion)
* The plot, writing, and series
* The romance as it grew between the main characters…so much fun! Both Amanda and Langley were matched well, both said what they thought and acted assertively to achieve their goals in life and in their relationship.
* That neither of the main characters were easily cowed by the other
* The growth in both characters
* It made me smile and care and hope there would be a happy ending for everyone
* Hearing about the other spies and people working with The Magpie…wondering about them, would Hopkins be okay, Fanny, Collins, Jeremy, and others – hope to hear about them in the future.
* The intriguing snippet that is a lead into the next book
* That this book stands alone and is not a cliffhanger
* The smile it left on my face when I finished the book.
* All of it except…
What I didn’t like:
* Those I was meant not to like…they were easy to dislike and wish the worst upon
Did I enjoy this book? Yes
Would I read more in this series? Definitely
Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington-Lyrical for the ARC – This is my honest review.
5 Stars
Love and Let Spy #2
Wonderful way to escape! Thoroughly enjoyed this book that might not be very realistic but was definitely a fun and engaging read!
What I liked:
* Amanda: good mother, good wife-widowed, good daughter, complies with societal rules, non-assertive, bored, wants “more” – ripe for…what is coming her way.
* Magpie: major, spy, knight, mimic, good with disguises, more than he appears to be, interesting past, carrying heavy guilt, a good man – deserving of so much more.
* Major Zebadiah Scott: spymaster, matchmaker, interesting, good man, looks out for his operatives, likable.
* Jamie and Philip: Amanda’s sons, loving, intelligent, opposites, added something special to the story
* Mrs. West: Amanda’s mother, caring, overprotective, controlling, loving, put society before her daughter’s wellbeing (in my opinion)
* The plot, writing, and series
* The romance as it grew between the main characters…so much fun! Both Amanda and Langley were matched well, both said what they thought and acted assertively to achieve their goals in life and in their relationship.
* That neither of the main characters were easily cowed by the other
* The growth in both characters
* It made me smile and care and hope there would be a happy ending for everyone
* Hearing about the other spies and people working with The Magpie…wondering about them, would Hopkins be okay, Fanny, Collins, Jeremy, and others – hope to hear about them in the future.
* The intriguing snippet that is a lead into the next book
* That this book stands alone and is not a cliffhanger
* The smile it left on my face when I finished the book.
* All of it except…
What I didn’t like:
* Those I was meant not to like…they were easy to dislike and wish the worst upon
Did I enjoy this book? Yes
Would I read more in this series? Definitely
Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington-Lyrical for the ARC – This is my honest review.
5 Stars
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The book is part of the love and let spy series but no overlap with the previous books. Can be read stand alone. The epilogue of “Who’s That Earl” sets up the start of this book, suggesting this is the second book.
The widowed countess has gone through live letting other people direct her. Now she’s chafing at the lack of self-determination and wishing for an adventure. She has a decent character arc of discovering her own strength when she asserts herself, and takes a chance at adventure. She probably ought to be more concerned by the danger to her family but it’s forgiveable in the constraints of the story.
Magpie is struggling with guilt from the death of a colleague for which he believes he is to blame. The plot with the countess draws parallels with his past and he learns to forgive himself and let go of the past. Otherwise his character arc is a bit flat. Sometimes their class differences bother him, sometimes they don’t. He has moments of questioning who he truly is after a lifetime of role playing but that conflict doesn’t really play out.
There’s good chemistry between them and two good spice scenes. The plot moves along well enough to keep interest.
The widowed countess has gone through live letting other people direct her. Now she’s chafing at the lack of self-determination and wishing for an adventure. She has a decent character arc of discovering her own strength when she asserts herself, and takes a chance at adventure. She probably ought to be more concerned by the danger to her family but it’s forgiveable in the constraints of the story.
Magpie is struggling with guilt from the death of a colleague for which he believes he is to blame. The plot with the countess draws parallels with his past and he learns to forgive himself and let go of the past. Otherwise his character arc is a bit flat. Sometimes their class differences bother him, sometimes they don’t. He has moments of questioning who he truly is after a lifetime of role playing but that conflict doesn’t really play out.
There’s good chemistry between them and two good spice scenes. The plot moves along well enough to keep interest.
Susanna Craig might be my new go to for stress-free romance fun. She does a great job balancing both a budding relationship with strong chemistry and a just-complicated-enough spy plot without it going off the deep end. Often in series like this the books will start strong but escalate wildly later in the series, seemingly just because the author was running out of ideas. There’s still time for the Live and Let Spy Series to go wrong, but Craig hasn’t disappointed me yet!
In One Thing Leads to a Lover, we get to watch Amanda, an overly-sheltered widow with two young kids slowly fall for Major Langley, the charismatic but anxious intelligence officer who has intruded on her quiet life while trying to retrieve vital information for the crown. Amanda is painfully aware that this may be the most exciting thing to happen for the rest of her life, so she grabs onto the adventure with both hands despite Langley doing his absolute best to keep her out of it.
I alway love a woman going for what she wants, especially in a regency romance! I thought the kids were pretty well written too, and the scenes where Major Langley suddenly finds himself in charge of two youngsters were a lot of fun. Overall this isn’t a book with a lot of surprises, but it's exactly what you want to pick up at the end of a long week when you have exactly two brain cells still (mostly) functioning.
Since most of the book is spent with everyone fighting over a french cookbook, I paired this with a French 75 - one of my favorite guilty pleasure cocktails! When I used to travel for work I would always order one on layover and people-watch or read the book of the week.
For more reviews like this check out www.lonslibrary.com or find me on Insta @lonslibrary
In One Thing Leads to a Lover, we get to watch Amanda, an overly-sheltered widow with two young kids slowly fall for Major Langley, the charismatic but anxious intelligence officer who has intruded on her quiet life while trying to retrieve vital information for the crown. Amanda is painfully aware that this may be the most exciting thing to happen for the rest of her life, so she grabs onto the adventure with both hands despite Langley doing his absolute best to keep her out of it.
I alway love a woman going for what she wants, especially in a regency romance! I thought the kids were pretty well written too, and the scenes where Major Langley suddenly finds himself in charge of two youngsters were a lot of fun. Overall this isn’t a book with a lot of surprises, but it's exactly what you want to pick up at the end of a long week when you have exactly two brain cells still (mostly) functioning.
Since most of the book is spent with everyone fighting over a french cookbook, I paired this with a French 75 - one of my favorite guilty pleasure cocktails! When I used to travel for work I would always order one on layover and people-watch or read the book of the week.
For more reviews like this check out www.lonslibrary.com or find me on Insta @lonslibrary
3.5 rounded up
If this whole series is orchestrated by a match-making Spymaster General, I am all for it.
If this whole series is orchestrated by a match-making Spymaster General, I am all for it.
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
WELL, WELL, WELL. I SEE THE AUTHOR THINKS NO ONE READING THIS HAS EVER SEEN SCARECROW AND MRS. KING. SHE DIDN’T EVEN CHANGE THEIR NAMES. That has to be toeing the line of plagiarism doesn’t it!?!? How lazy can you be???
deeply cute. it fixed my problem with book 1, which was that it was a spy story that had nothing to do with him being a spy. and i will always love an mmc bonding with precocious kids