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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
4.5 stars. This had a great combination of intrigue, action, drama, and romance. There were several twists that I didn't see coming. This book appears on NPR's top 100 Romance book list, which is how I heard about it, and I definitely think it deserves it's spot. As a side note, I really recommend the audiobook - the French and British accents really adds some realism to the story. The narrator, Kirsten Potter, has also narrated another audiobook I enjoyed, Station Eleven.
I am seriously conflicted. My rule generally says that if I don't finish a book, it would be unfair to give it less than two stars. To give a book one star means that it was truly dreadful, but I can't say for certain that a book didn't redeem itself enough to be above dreadful if I haven't finished the book. However, normally when I DNF a book, it just annoys me or I lose interest. With this book, I was literally seething. By the end of the 40% that I did finish, I'm pretty sure I hated every single character and the entire premise of the story. Therefore, I am willing to break my rule and give this piece of trash 1 star.
Katyana's review (sorry I don't know how to link things in my review but it's the second review of the book) pretty much sums up everything I want to say, but this book irritated me so much that I'm going to write a review anyway.
The heroine, Annique, starts out great. She is obviously very skilled in her profession and able to cope with difficult situations. But then she lost all credibility when her backbone disappears under her insta-lust for Grey. Despite all her skills, she continues to wilt under Grey's nonexistent character. Then it's revealed that the heroine is blind, and I thought great, this is cool, we get to add more depth to how competent she is at her job. Not only is she a great spy, but she manages to be completely independent and a great spy while blind. But this again, is quickly lost under her immense inability to act like a sensible captor around Grey, Doyle, and Adrian. Despite being held captive, being drugged, being touched against her conscious wishes, and being provided with inappropriate clothing with the intention of humiliating her. You would think, that as a captive, she would not be so willing to flirt with, converse with, and save her captors.
Grey was an entire problem too. Firstly, he seemed to have no real personality beyond hating Annique (for something that he has absolutely no concrete proof of her doing), lusting after the heroine, and being a spy who relies largely on his brute force. For the first point, you would think that if you were planning on kidnapping someone, and spend 6 months tracking them across Europe, you would at least take the small amount of time that is necessary to check that the person you are tracking is actually the person who committed the act. But no... that's just too much work for a professional and accomplished spy like Grey. But aside from that rather large oversight, Grey does a great job making his character a complete asshole. The way he treats Annique is despicable. Interestingly, there are ways for a captor to keep their captive without being such a disgusting creep. In the time that Grey keeps Annique, he treats her just as badly as LeBlanc.
Given the above, it's no wonder that I was not a fan of their romance. The 40% mark when I quit the book, was also the exact moment of Annique and Grey's first kiss. Funnily enough, due to Grey being such a douchebag and Annique displaying absolutely no spine, the insta-lust was not enough to convince me that their romance had any depth or caring feelings at all. I have no idea how Annique could be attracted to and trust someone who drugged her with opiates and then proceeded to hold, cuddle, and touch her without permission. (I have seen a particular point made in some other reivews that I wanted to address: some are saying that he fights off her advances and thus does not violate her in any way. However, in the bedroom at the inn, and in the carriage, he uses his position of physical power to touch, cuddle, and hold Annique. This is still a violation. It makes my skin crawl that he felt he was in a position and had a right to touch her when he a) was holding her captive or b) had drugged her. Just because the touches that he does engage in (cuddling and caressing her face) are not inherently sexual, does not exempt the fact that he is touching her in an intimate way when she is not in a position or state of mind to reject these touches.) Further, he continually demeaned her through the clothes he provided, the way he treated her, and the way he spoke to her. The story did not show any sort of progression that would even hint at Grey regretting this behavior and apologizing or making up for it. But Annique seems to think this behavior is all so romantic and attractive and is in lust with him because of it. Grey, for his part, did not seem to have any positive feelings towards Annique besides the lust. Through his thoughts, we can obviously see that he does not think very highly of her skills, but yet also blamed and hated her for Burges. There is no moment or shift between these thoughts and when he kisses Annique, there is nothing to clearly show that he has feelings for her besides a hate-filled lust and need to demean and humiliate her. The trope is obviously meant to be enemies to lovers, but usually this trope is dependent upon some sort of character development that shows caring towards each other. This trope usually makes a pit stop at friends. But nope, Grey and Annique moved from wariness to lust, and yet both had absolutely no passion. Through all of this, I still cannot find any development that reveals feelings of caring from either side.
Moving on from the atrocious storyline and characters, the writing was also incredibly annoying and tedious to read. Perhaps I am not educated nor high brow enough to understand the author's lofty writing, but it became a bore to read. I know that historical romances typically have older and harder to read language, but even the tone with which the characters spoke was annoying. Everything, especially Annique was incredibly pretentious. She had an air of being so strong, independent, and better than everyone else, which would be totally great, if she were all those things. But as I pointed out above, she was a spineless stick character with no depth, so her tone just came off badly.
It's really rather unfortunate that this turned out so badly because I had really high hopes for this book.
Katyana's review (sorry I don't know how to link things in my review but it's the second review of the book) pretty much sums up everything I want to say, but this book irritated me so much that I'm going to write a review anyway.
The heroine, Annique, starts out great. She is obviously very skilled in her profession and able to cope with difficult situations. But then she lost all credibility when her backbone disappears under her insta-lust for Grey. Despite all her skills, she continues to wilt under Grey's nonexistent character. Then it's revealed that the heroine is blind, and I thought great, this is cool, we get to add more depth to how competent she is at her job. Not only is she a great spy, but she manages to be completely independent and a great spy while blind. But this again, is quickly lost under her immense inability to act like a sensible captor around Grey, Doyle, and Adrian. Despite being held captive, being drugged, being touched against her conscious wishes, and being provided with inappropriate clothing with the intention of humiliating her. You would think, that as a captive, she would not be so willing to flirt with, converse with, and save her captors.
Grey was an entire problem too. Firstly, he seemed to have no real personality beyond hating Annique (for something that he has absolutely no concrete proof of her doing), lusting after the heroine, and being a spy who relies largely on his brute force. For the first point, you would think that if you were planning on kidnapping someone, and spend 6 months tracking them across Europe, you would at least take the small amount of time that is necessary to check that the person you are tracking is actually the person who committed the act. But no... that's just too much work for a professional and accomplished spy like Grey. But aside from that rather large oversight, Grey does a great job making his character a complete asshole. The way he treats Annique is despicable. Interestingly, there are ways for a captor to keep their captive without being such a disgusting creep. In the time that Grey keeps Annique, he treats her just as badly as LeBlanc.
Given the above, it's no wonder that I was not a fan of their romance. The 40% mark when I quit the book, was also the exact moment of Annique and Grey's first kiss. Funnily enough, due to Grey being such a douchebag and Annique displaying absolutely no spine, the insta-lust was not enough to convince me that their romance had any depth or caring feelings at all. I have no idea how Annique could be attracted to and trust someone who drugged her with opiates and then proceeded to hold, cuddle, and touch her without permission. (I have seen a particular point made in some other reivews that I wanted to address: some are saying that he fights off her advances and thus does not violate her in any way. However, in the bedroom at the inn, and in the carriage, he uses his position of physical power to touch, cuddle, and hold Annique. This is still a violation. It makes my skin crawl that he felt he was in a position and had a right to touch her when he a) was holding her captive or b) had drugged her. Just because the touches that he does engage in (cuddling and caressing her face) are not inherently sexual, does not exempt the fact that he is touching her in an intimate way when she is not in a position or state of mind to reject these touches.) Further, he continually demeaned her through the clothes he provided, the way he treated her, and the way he spoke to her. The story did not show any sort of progression that would even hint at Grey regretting this behavior and apologizing or making up for it. But Annique seems to think this behavior is all so romantic and attractive and is in lust with him because of it. Grey, for his part, did not seem to have any positive feelings towards Annique besides the lust. Through his thoughts, we can obviously see that he does not think very highly of her skills, but yet also blamed and hated her for Burges. There is no moment or shift between these thoughts and when he kisses Annique, there is nothing to clearly show that he has feelings for her besides a hate-filled lust and need to demean and humiliate her. The trope is obviously meant to be enemies to lovers, but usually this trope is dependent upon some sort of character development that shows caring towards each other. This trope usually makes a pit stop at friends. But nope, Grey and Annique moved from wariness to lust, and yet both had absolutely no passion. Through all of this, I still cannot find any development that reveals feelings of caring from either side.
Moving on from the atrocious storyline and characters, the writing was also incredibly annoying and tedious to read. Perhaps I am not educated nor high brow enough to understand the author's lofty writing, but it became a bore to read. I know that historical romances typically have older and harder to read language, but even the tone with which the characters spoke was annoying. Everything, especially Annique was incredibly pretentious. She had an air of being so strong, independent, and better than everyone else, which would be totally great, if she were all those things. But as I pointed out above, she was a spineless stick character with no depth, so her tone just came off badly.
It's really rather unfortunate that this turned out so badly because I had really high hopes for this book.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
A decent Napoleonic spy story wrapped in a very bad cover.
I do wish that the female protagonist was in her mid-twenties instead of nineteen, though.
I do wish that the female protagonist was in her mid-twenties instead of nineteen, though.
adventurous
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
This is one of the best books I’ve ever read. It’s engrossing, moving, historically compelling. (It’s also steamy. )
I had wanted to read something a smutty for Valentine's Day. The cover led me to believe there would be loving action! And while this fiction book was historically interesting and a decent love story, there were really only two parts that I might have underlined as a high school freshman and passed on to my friends. And my friends might not have been too impressed.
I love books about spies! And this book was about spies during the Napoleonic era, which makes it all the more intriguing.
The book opens with French spy Annique Villers and English spies Grey and Adrian locked up in a French prison to most likely await their deaths. Using her abilities, Annique manages to get them all out, not really knowing why she is helping English spies, and soon regrets it once Grey brings her along on their way back to England.
I really enjoyed the first parts of the book, such as all the times Annique tried to kill Grey. Some were clever, some were not so clever. However, as the story wore on, I tended to find her a bit unbelievable. I can't really explain why without giving much away. And at times I found her ridiculous. I couldn't figure out why she talked the way she did. It annoyed me. She talked a like a child at some points.
As for the hero, Grey, I didn't take too much to him. I don't take too much to heroes who keep thinking the heroine is 'theirs,' as if she were property. Perhaps I'm reading the wrong genre, then. I quite liked his friend and fellow spy Adrian. He was loyal and intelligent and very amusing. I'd like to see a book written up with him as the hero.
Overall, I liked The Spymaster's Lady, but didn't love it. It has it's exciting moments where I couldn't read fast enough. And it has had some great side characters, which I ended up loving more than the main two. I do plan on reading the next two books in the series, which are also about spies.
The book opens with French spy Annique Villers and English spies Grey and Adrian locked up in a French prison to most likely await their deaths. Using her abilities, Annique manages to get them all out, not really knowing why she is helping English spies, and soon regrets it once Grey brings her along on their way back to England.
I really enjoyed the first parts of the book, such as all the times Annique tried to kill Grey. Some were clever, some were not so clever. However, as the story wore on, I tended to find her a bit unbelievable. I can't really explain why without giving much away. And at times I found her ridiculous. I couldn't figure out why she talked the way she did. It annoyed me. She talked a like a child at some points.
As for the hero, Grey, I didn't take too much to him. I don't take too much to heroes who keep thinking the heroine is 'theirs,' as if she were property. Perhaps I'm reading the wrong genre, then. I quite liked his friend and fellow spy Adrian. He was loyal and intelligent and very amusing. I'd like to see a book written up with him as the hero.
Overall, I liked The Spymaster's Lady, but didn't love it. It has it's exciting moments where I couldn't read fast enough. And it has had some great side characters, which I ended up loving more than the main two. I do plan on reading the next two books in the series, which are also about spies.
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
What a wild ride! Loved this story full of surprises and intrigue!
As anyone that follows me on GoodReads (or other social media) knows, I read a lot of romance novels. Especially of late. I always star them, but I rarely write actual reviews unless the book is so extraordinarily offensive/bad or good except for something I feel should be mentioned, or just a book that I love endlessly. Believe it or not, all of these are fairly rare occurrences. Even the offensive one.
But this book. Man. Never ever ever has a book more rightly deserved the phrase, "never judge a book by its cover."
Don't get me wrong, it is a romance novel. There are all the elements of a romance novel. But it's so much more than a muscled guy in a billow-y white shirt would have you believe. As I mentioned earlier, I read a lot of romance novels, and even the authors I truly adore, I'm not sure I would be able to pick them out of a lineup. Not to say they don't have unique voices, but for the most part, you know what you're getting out of a 19th century romance novel.
That is not what you get with The Spymaster's Lady. To start off, Joanna Bourne's voice is utterly unique in the realm of the romance novel. The tone, cadence, and rhythm of the book is like no other romance novel I've read in memory. The heroine is a blind, French spy. The hero is a leader of the English spies. The plot revolves around Napoleon planning to invade England. But though there are elements of melodrama, there's not the distance from the ugly parts of spying and war that you would expect to find in a novel of this genre. Annique has seen much, done much, heard much and she is not left unaffected, but she is also not prone to flinging herself dramatically upon coverlets and bemoaning. She's resourceful and intelligent and fierce and humourous and wholly a unique heroine.
The hero is far from the typical alpha male, chest-beating military hero one comes to expect. But neither is he the other option of someone that is totally undermined and defeated by Annique. Robert/Grey is resourceful in his own right, respectful of Annique's abilities, and a steady human being even when he is madly in love with his enemy.
I will say, that for all that I've read a million of these, I actually didn't expect the twist nearish the end. I also couldn't have told you how they would conclude things. It was such a refreshing, palate cleansing, remarkable read I had to write a review for it.
But this book. Man. Never ever ever has a book more rightly deserved the phrase, "never judge a book by its cover."
Don't get me wrong, it is a romance novel. There are all the elements of a romance novel. But it's so much more than a muscled guy in a billow-y white shirt would have you believe. As I mentioned earlier, I read a lot of romance novels, and even the authors I truly adore, I'm not sure I would be able to pick them out of a lineup. Not to say they don't have unique voices, but for the most part, you know what you're getting out of a 19th century romance novel.
That is not what you get with The Spymaster's Lady. To start off, Joanna Bourne's voice is utterly unique in the realm of the romance novel. The tone, cadence, and rhythm of the book is like no other romance novel I've read in memory. The heroine is a blind, French spy. The hero is a leader of the English spies. The plot revolves around Napoleon planning to invade England. But though there are elements of melodrama, there's not the distance from the ugly parts of spying and war that you would expect to find in a novel of this genre. Annique has seen much, done much, heard much and she is not left unaffected, but she is also not prone to flinging herself dramatically upon coverlets and bemoaning. She's resourceful and intelligent and fierce and humourous and wholly a unique heroine.
The hero is far from the typical alpha male, chest-beating military hero one comes to expect. But neither is he the other option of someone that is totally undermined and defeated by Annique. Robert/Grey is resourceful in his own right, respectful of Annique's abilities, and a steady human being even when he is madly in love with his enemy.
I will say, that for all that I've read a million of these, I actually didn't expect the twist nearish the end. I also couldn't have told you how they would conclude things. It was such a refreshing, palate cleansing, remarkable read I had to write a review for it.