Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
This book grew on me as it went. I felt like the characters were inconsistent at times, and I didn't feel like Annique's personality really meshed with her actions/profession. Overall this was a fun read, but it wasn't anything special.
Disappointingly bad, DNF. Starts with a rape, continues with sexual menace until 40% through the book the heroine is suddenly overcome with love for her threatening enemy captor. I had to drop it at that point, I could no longer suspend my disbelief.
The prose is mostly ok (there's some bizarre choices of metaphors), which is the only reason I'm giving it 2 stars instead of 1.
The prose is mostly ok (there's some bizarre choices of metaphors), which is the only reason I'm giving it 2 stars instead of 1.
The Spymaster's lady is just the sort of book I would normally (and did) pass over without a second glance. Between the cheestastic title and the man-titty cover it was really just something I felt I could give a pass.
I had read the blurb and it does the book absolutely no justice. It is one of those generic blurbs where you can just hear the Movie Trailer Voice-Over Guy(tm) in your head as you're reading it:
"In a world of danger and secrets She's braved battlefields. She's stolen dispatches from under the noses of heads of state. She's played the worldly courtesan..."
Lol.
And then I was a bit spoilered about a plot point. There is an element in this book that gets revealed about 1/4 of the way through about the heroine that causes one to snort in disbelief. I had read, somewhat desultorily, some back and forth on another board about the implausibility of the heroine pulling off some of the things she did. Again, I had no real interest in this book in the first place, but for some reason that element stuck with me as just another reason to steer clear.
But then, I had to get rid of some Audible.com credits and was having a bitch of a time finding something. If it was a book I liked, then the narrator was terrible. If it was a narrator I liked then the book was just so-so. When this book popped up as a suggestion, I clicked on the 'listen to sample' link just for the hell of it.
And I was blown away.
But, I'll get to the narrator in just a minute.
As for the book, boy am I glad I clicked on that link. I would have missed out on a wonderfully written, very romantic and truly adventurous story. I admit another reason I steered clear of this book is I hate, hate, hate the phenomena of the 'Spying Duke (or Earl)' in romances. There seemed a point when every book I picked up had a Duke or Earl working as a spy for the British and being all rakishly awesome with it. Seriously, when did these men have time to become super spies? Aren't they supposed to be groomed from babyhood to husband their land?
At least Gray isn't an aristo. His story is quite plausible as a soldier who worked his way up to his rank. But that is the least of all things that makes this a good spy vs. spy story. The writing is so textured and the characters so nuanced that you simply sit back and enjoy it all. All the characters -- Annique, Gray, Doyle, Adrian etc.-- are all so interesting. They plot and counter plot. They switch seamlessly from one persona, one language, one identity to the next. They con and out-con each other. And underneath it all the entire spy society all know and respect each other even as they plot to kill and assasinate each other. And not a single party or rout or ball to be seen. It is really quite excellent storytelling.
I also enjoyed how the author unpeeled the story in layers, letting us discover plot bending revelations at strategic moments. It was incredibly effective at keeping the momentum of the story going and also in keeping with the whole secrecy/reveal cycle that the characters all seemed to inhabit.
The romance was very well done as well. Annique has no guile. When she discovers she's in love with Gray she doesn't schmoop abhout it. She tells him she's in love with him but she's French and he's English and they are on opposites sides. Gray isn't some arrogant twit -- well he is arrogant, but he's not annoying with it. When he discovers an earth shaking truth about Annique he doesn't keep it from her for her own good. He says "I am going to tell her about this" and he does. How awesome.
As for the 'eye-rolling' issue I mention above with Annique? Yeah, that had me rolling my eyes. If there was one weakness in this book, it was simply how wonderful Annique was. Especially early on in the book. She really could do no wrong and I felt like I was being bombarded with the Mary-Sueishness of her. If that had been toned down in the beginning, I think this would have been a darned near perfect book for me. Luckily, the author does tone it way down as the book goes on and Annique gets a lot more layers than just the perfect spy. Her inner dialogue helps a lot with fleshing out the 'why' of her. So about the time Annique goes to church with the British spy contingent, I am in complete sympathy with her.
And this is where the narration comes in. Honestly, as much as I enjoyed this book, I don't know if I would have appreciated it and Annique half so much without the narration. The narrator's voice is simply beautiful and she has a talent for creating accents. There is one point when Annique is given an alias with the last name of Jones and Annique is simply disgusted with how ridiculous the name 'Jones' sounds to her French ears. The author infuses such an incredible sense of xenophobic superiority and well, Frenchness, in her tone and inflection it is incredible. I could almost visualize the character's facial expression and Gallic gestures just from the voice intonation alone.
Superb narration and excellent writing.
Highly recommend. And would further recommend the audio version.
I had read the blurb and it does the book absolutely no justice. It is one of those generic blurbs where you can just hear the Movie Trailer Voice-Over Guy(tm) in your head as you're reading it:
"In a world of danger and secrets She's braved battlefields. She's stolen dispatches from under the noses of heads of state. She's played the worldly courtesan..."
Lol.
And then I was a bit spoilered about a plot point. There is an element in this book that gets revealed about 1/4 of the way through about the heroine that causes one to snort in disbelief. I had read, somewhat desultorily, some back and forth on another board about the implausibility of the heroine pulling off some of the things she did. Again, I had no real interest in this book in the first place, but for some reason that element stuck with me as just another reason to steer clear.
But then, I had to get rid of some Audible.com credits and was having a bitch of a time finding something. If it was a book I liked, then the narrator was terrible. If it was a narrator I liked then the book was just so-so. When this book popped up as a suggestion, I clicked on the 'listen to sample' link just for the hell of it.
And I was blown away.
But, I'll get to the narrator in just a minute.
As for the book, boy am I glad I clicked on that link. I would have missed out on a wonderfully written, very romantic and truly adventurous story. I admit another reason I steered clear of this book is I hate, hate, hate the phenomena of the 'Spying Duke (or Earl)' in romances. There seemed a point when every book I picked up had a Duke or Earl working as a spy for the British and being all rakishly awesome with it. Seriously, when did these men have time to become super spies? Aren't they supposed to be groomed from babyhood to husband their land?
At least Gray isn't an aristo. His story is quite plausible as a soldier who worked his way up to his rank. But that is the least of all things that makes this a good spy vs. spy story. The writing is so textured and the characters so nuanced that you simply sit back and enjoy it all. All the characters -- Annique, Gray, Doyle, Adrian etc.-- are all so interesting. They plot and counter plot. They switch seamlessly from one persona, one language, one identity to the next. They con and out-con each other. And underneath it all the entire spy society all know and respect each other even as they plot to kill and assasinate each other. And not a single party or rout or ball to be seen. It is really quite excellent storytelling.
I also enjoyed how the author unpeeled the story in layers, letting us discover plot bending revelations at strategic moments. It was incredibly effective at keeping the momentum of the story going and also in keeping with the whole secrecy/reveal cycle that the characters all seemed to inhabit.
The romance was very well done as well. Annique has no guile. When she discovers she's in love with Gray she doesn't schmoop abhout it. She tells him she's in love with him but she's French and he's English and they are on opposites sides. Gray isn't some arrogant twit -- well he is arrogant, but he's not annoying with it. When he discovers an earth shaking truth about Annique he doesn't keep it from her for her own good. He says "I am going to tell her about this" and he does. How awesome.
As for the 'eye-rolling' issue I mention above with Annique? Yeah, that had me rolling my eyes. If there was one weakness in this book, it was simply how wonderful Annique was. Especially early on in the book. She really could do no wrong and I felt like I was being bombarded with the Mary-Sueishness of her. If that had been toned down in the beginning, I think this would have been a darned near perfect book for me. Luckily, the author does tone it way down as the book goes on and Annique gets a lot more layers than just the perfect spy. Her inner dialogue helps a lot with fleshing out the 'why' of her. So about the time Annique goes to church with the British spy contingent, I am in complete sympathy with her.
And this is where the narration comes in. Honestly, as much as I enjoyed this book, I don't know if I would have appreciated it and Annique half so much without the narration. The narrator's voice is simply beautiful and she has a talent for creating accents. There is one point when Annique is given an alias with the last name of Jones and Annique is simply disgusted with how ridiculous the name 'Jones' sounds to her French ears. The author infuses such an incredible sense of xenophobic superiority and well, Frenchness, in her tone and inflection it is incredible. I could almost visualize the character's facial expression and Gallic gestures just from the voice intonation alone.
Superb narration and excellent writing.
Highly recommend. And would further recommend the audio version.
Nuestra reseña en A la cama con... un libro
Unas enaguas muy diferentes a las que estoy acostumbrada. Estupenda lectura!
Unas enaguas muy diferentes a las que estoy acostumbrada. Estupenda lectura!
The Spymaster’s Lady by Joanna Bourne is an historical romance that is wrapped inside layers and layers of skillfully written dialog and unique characters. An exquisitely written adventure that slowly and masterfully unveils plot and character twists with a deft and agile pen.
The espionage was fun, but I bored of Annique halfway through. Have the rest of the series on hold at the library, so I am somewhat eager to keep reading.
It was a cheesy romance novel but a very enjoyable cheesy romance novel. I loved how badass Annique was.
I don't know why I've been so disappointed with the state of romance novels of late. They've had great premises but fall short on delivering. Like this book. The Spymaster's Lady follows the typical English spy meets the ambivalent French lady formula, but the characters are fresh and vivid. The writing is superlative for the genre (that part impressed me greatly) so I imagine if this had been written by someone else I might have downright detested this story.
The build-up of tension is palpable and the characters are developed well in the first half (the heroine Annique is a feisty, likeable one indeed, as is the hero, Grey), but all of a sudden Annique's personality takes a severe turn for the worse, gaining a strange naivety and passiveness not seen in the first half. I had no qualms about the hero, although he too seemed to lose his trademark resilience married with tenderness in the waning chapters, winding up like a foppish cliche.
Still, Bourne's writing is one to be reckoned with, and hopefully her future works will deliver on both plot and character development. Her writing's already got my seal of approval.
The build-up of tension is palpable and the characters are developed well in the first half (the heroine Annique is a feisty, likeable one indeed, as is the hero, Grey), but all of a sudden Annique's personality takes a severe turn for the worse, gaining a strange naivety and passiveness not seen in the first half. I had no qualms about the hero, although he too seemed to lose his trademark resilience married with tenderness in the waning chapters, winding up like a foppish cliche.
Still, Bourne's writing is one to be reckoned with, and hopefully her future works will deliver on both plot and character development. Her writing's already got my seal of approval.
What I love about this story is how the Annique seems to think in French, even though we read everything in English. Great writing by the author.
Much spying and derring-do, and a very unexpected twist revealed early in the book.
Much spying and derring-do, and a very unexpected twist revealed early in the book.
pretty great. I did enjoy the first half better than the second half, Annique was such a strong character at the start then got a little less compelling as the book went on. Good read though.