Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I enjoyed this a lot. It is always nice when the female lead is competent and their reasons for conflict are plausible.
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Wow this was really good. Hooks you right away and the plot keeps you engaged right up until the end. I love a good assassin/spy book and its even better when they're BOTH spies, but holy cow I did NOT see the twist that Annique is BLIND in the first part of the book! Makes their encounters up until we learn it even more intense!!!
Annique is being beaten by LeBlanc in a prison cell and sexually assaulted above the waist until he leaves her for a bit. She's sharing the cell with 2 men chained to a wall, Grey and Adrian who has been shot. She uses her seduction skills to lure LeBlanc's dumbass man Henri into the cell where she knocks him out then proceeds to free the men and they all escape. Except Grey and Adrian are both spies for the British while she's a spy for the French. Grey recognizes her from Bruges and thinks she murdered multiple of his men as well as stole the Albian papers, Napoleon's detailed invasion plan. He forces Annique to go with them, they meet another spy Doyle, and the 3 go to an inn where HOLY SMOKES the tension. He wants to put her in his harlot nightgown but instead she wears one of his shirts in the room he's put her in. He makes her change which she uses as a chance to hit him with a candelabra naked, then puts on the revealing nightgown but he wants to tie her up so she starts undressing to seduce him all while she's getting the nightgown cord out and uses it to GARROTE him!! He accidentally punches her in the solar plexus and knocks the air out of her while he frees himself from the rope. Then he has her spread out naked in his lap while he rubs her chest to get air back into her lungs. She ends up going to bed naked, waking up naked and completely on display for him. She sits up and covers herself with the blankets while looking down and he demands she looks at him, then waves his hand in front of her eyes and goes you're blind!!!! What a beginning!
I want to recap the entire book because it's so good but I'll summarize. Since she was a child she was dressed as a boy and been on the battlefield in the medic tents so she's a pro at taking out bullets and saves Adrian. Then she keeps trying to escape their journey back to England so he uses laudanum to subdue her which makes her like a cat in heat and she's writhing all over Grey for the 4 days or so that she's kept dosed. She only escapes because riders are on their tail so she and Adrian split up from Grey and Doyle. Henri and his men find her but she escapes, hits her head on a branch and REGAINS HER SIGHT and smuggles her way to Dover. There Grey catches up with her again but she doesn't recognize him(!!!) so he pretends to be Robert (his real name is Robert Greyson). He follows her to London and she falls for him along the way. Once they arrive he immediately takes her to their spy house with barred windows where she's kept prisoner. He immediately takes her virginity in a consensual bath sex scene, after which they're pretty much in a relationship. It's contentious because he's a lead spy for the British and they want her for info. And every other country's spies also want her in the area, especially the French and LeBlanc who is still after her.
After a shootout where Doyle's wife Maggie gets hurt, she sneaks out and lets herself be taken by the French and Grey immediately comes after her. She tells how LeBlanc is betraying them. And she lies about telling the English about the Albian plans. In this way, the French will think the plan is spoiled and so not do it, and she will never have betrayed her country by telling. And the French plan to take care of LeBlanc.
The other twist is that Annique herself turns out to be Welsh. Her parents were both Welsh and became spies in France, taking new names. Annique even lived and spoke Welsh the first 4 years of her life. She went on to become a French agent but told her mother everything, unknowingly she's betrayed France her entire life. Her mom planned to tell her eventually but never did and then she died in a carriage by a cliff accident. They know all this because her mom was Galba's daughter (Galba is the head of the English office), which means Annique is his granddaughter.
So yea lots of reveals and action, great chemistry between MCs, and a happily ever after for her and Grey. It looks like the other books in the series are for Doyle, Adrian, etc. I don't see how they could top this so I'm not sure if I'll ever read them. Maybe someday.
Annique is being beaten by LeBlanc in a prison cell and sexually assaulted above the waist until he leaves her for a bit. She's sharing the cell with 2 men chained to a wall, Grey and Adrian who has been shot. She uses her seduction skills to lure LeBlanc's dumbass man Henri into the cell where she knocks him out then proceeds to free the men and they all escape. Except Grey and Adrian are both spies for the British while she's a spy for the French. Grey recognizes her from Bruges and thinks she murdered multiple of his men as well as stole the Albian papers, Napoleon's detailed invasion plan. He forces Annique to go with them, they meet another spy Doyle, and the 3 go to an inn where HOLY SMOKES the tension. He wants to put her in his harlot nightgown but instead she wears one of his shirts in the room he's put her in. He makes her change which she uses as a chance to hit him with a candelabra naked, then puts on the revealing nightgown but he wants to tie her up so she starts undressing to seduce him all while she's getting the nightgown cord out and uses it to GARROTE him!! He accidentally punches her in the solar plexus and knocks the air out of her while he frees himself from the rope. Then he has her spread out naked in his lap while he rubs her chest to get air back into her lungs. She ends up going to bed naked, waking up naked and completely on display for him. She sits up and covers herself with the blankets while looking down and he demands she looks at him, then waves his hand in front of her eyes and goes you're blind!!!! What a beginning!
I want to recap the entire book because it's so good but I'll summarize. Since she was a child she was dressed as a boy and been on the battlefield in the medic tents so she's a pro at taking out bullets and saves Adrian. Then she keeps trying to escape their journey back to England so he uses laudanum to subdue her which makes her like a cat in heat and she's writhing all over Grey for the 4 days or so that she's kept dosed. She only escapes because riders are on their tail so she and Adrian split up from Grey and Doyle. Henri and his men find her but she escapes, hits her head on a branch and REGAINS HER SIGHT and smuggles her way to Dover. There Grey catches up with her again but she doesn't recognize him(!!!) so he pretends to be Robert (his real name is Robert Greyson). He follows her to London and she falls for him along the way. Once they arrive he immediately takes her to their spy house with barred windows where she's kept prisoner. He immediately takes her virginity in a consensual bath sex scene, after which they're pretty much in a relationship. It's contentious because he's a lead spy for the British and they want her for info. And every other country's spies also want her in the area, especially the French and LeBlanc who is still after her.
After a shootout where Doyle's wife Maggie gets hurt, she sneaks out and lets herself be taken by the French and Grey immediately comes after her. She tells how LeBlanc is betraying them. And she lies about telling the English about the Albian plans. In this way, the French will think the plan is spoiled and so not do it, and she will never have betrayed her country by telling. And the French plan to take care of LeBlanc.
The other twist is that Annique herself turns out to be Welsh. Her parents were both Welsh and became spies in France, taking new names. Annique even lived and spoke Welsh the first 4 years of her life. She went on to become a French agent but told her mother everything, unknowingly she's betrayed France her entire life. Her mom planned to tell her eventually but never did and then she died in a carriage by a cliff accident. They know all this because her mom was Galba's daughter (Galba is the head of the English office), which means Annique is his granddaughter.
So yea lots of reveals and action, great chemistry between MCs, and a happily ever after for her and Grey. It looks like the other books in the series are for Doyle, Adrian, etc. I don't see how they could top this so I'm not sure if I'll ever read them. Maybe someday.
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
This was okay, but I would have liked it better without all the romancey stuff. So basically if it wasn't a romance novel, and was a different genre altogether.
lighthearted
relaxing
Well written, intriguing time period and fun. I look forward to reading more of her works.
I didn't like this one as much as book 1. I liked Annique, but I didn't understand her actions at the end.
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
Really enjoyed this but please someone tell the author there was no reason she had to be a 19 year old virgin. That’s a man’s fantasy. It didn’t need to hurt when they had sex the first time. That’s a myth. She could have easily been 26 and like to fuck and it wouldn’t hurt the story at all, but it would completely wipe away the ick factor of a teenager with a 29?ish year old man.