Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
Just finished. I think I give 3.5 stars.
The story itself is very good, imo. I found the writing unique and enjoyable to read. It was interesting overall and I enjoyed the twist.
However there was plenty that just didn’t do it for me. Spy novels are hard for me anyway as I usually don’t like all the intrigue, the lying/hiding, the politics that come into play.
The book wasn’t exactly filled with tension, steam and longing and that is a deal breaker for me for a favorite romance. Most scenes were fade to black or implied after the fact. I didn’t get a lot of “feelings” from either of the characters, they just didn’t quite come to life for me in that way, although I liked both of them.
From this book, I don’t think I’d continue with this series personally.
The story itself is very good, imo. I found the writing unique and enjoyable to read. It was interesting overall and I enjoyed the twist.
However there was plenty that just didn’t do it for me. Spy novels are hard for me anyway as I usually don’t like all the intrigue, the lying/hiding, the politics that come into play.
The book wasn’t exactly filled with tension, steam and longing and that is a deal breaker for me for a favorite romance. Most scenes were fade to black or implied after the fact. I didn’t get a lot of “feelings” from either of the characters, they just didn’t quite come to life for me in that way, although I liked both of them.
From this book, I don’t think I’d continue with this series personally.
For once I would like to read a pro-France regency. Just to mix things up. I don’t think England has the moral high ground anyway due to also being an empire.
Also the bathtub scene in this book felt very icky to me. I did not at all enjoy how the “hero” treated the heroine at all. I do not care if you’re a spy and you are worried about “the fate of the empire,” I don’t feel like that excuses violating consent.
I enjoyed bournes writing a lot, the story was incredibly engrossing but I don’t know if I will read her other books because I am so turned off by the hero. And annique was irritating at times.
Also the bathtub scene in this book felt very icky to me. I did not at all enjoy how the “hero” treated the heroine at all. I do not care if you’re a spy and you are worried about “the fate of the empire,” I don’t feel like that excuses violating consent.
I enjoyed bournes writing a lot, the story was incredibly engrossing but I don’t know if I will read her other books because I am so turned off by the hero. And annique was irritating at times.
This cover does not do this book justice at all! I almost don't want to mark it as read because the cover is so bad but this is actually a really entertaining book. The romance was obviously the major theme but the spy elements and characters were fantastic. I found the spy part of the story super interesting and have my fingers crossed that the next one follows the same characters as they navigate politics and espionage through the Napoleonic wars.
The story was fun and reminded me of The Three Musketeers at times, but I couldn't figure out why the h/h fell in love -- it felt more like instalust and a very convenient secret identity than like a HEA to me.
That was just boring. I din't get into the heroines character at all. I've never been a fan of the "Oh I love you but I have to escape and go... no where. Because everyone else is trying to kill me" troupe.
This is a very skillfully written novel. I could tell every word had been purposely chosen and given a lot of thought, and I appreciated that about it. But the truth is I never felt swept up by the story or characters on an emotional level, and at the end of the day emotional engagement is what I'm looking for, in addition to nice prose.
Though I did enjoy certain passages and scenes, for the most part it was slow-going for me. There was something detached and dry about the characters and story that just didn't speak to me. Plus, I prefer more focus on the romance in my romance novels than what there was here; it's one of the reasons I like historical romance more than historical fiction. This book was much more about espionage and intrigue than about a great love story between the hero and heroine.
A good book, just not the book for me. 3.5 stars
Though I did enjoy certain passages and scenes, for the most part it was slow-going for me. There was something detached and dry about the characters and story that just didn't speak to me. Plus, I prefer more focus on the romance in my romance novels than what there was here; it's one of the reasons I like historical romance more than historical fiction. This book was much more about espionage and intrigue than about a great love story between the hero and heroine.
A good book, just not the book for me. 3.5 stars
I'm 100 pages in and putting this on my DNF list. There was an almost sex scene where the heroine was thinking the hero was going to rape her (because he thought she had "loose morals" and would "welcome it" no matter what she said) but he wouldn't think it was rape and and she might like it by the end so it was fine-ish if he did it? Hard pass on all that.
The more hype it got the more i dragged my feet. But finally read it and it was good. I like that Annique stayed in control.
The hype is real. This book was incredible and I’m still marinating on why Bourne’s writing is so lovely — yes she’s obviously witty and perceptive, but there’s something to the cadence and poetry to her writing that really takes things to the next level. I’ve never read writing like this in this genre. I’m almost afraid to read the next books in the series for fear of disappointment. My only gripe about the book — that I’ve seen others mention — is that the sex wasn’t as passionate or as sparkling as I wanted it to be. But all in all still a PERFECT book.