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pandon's review against another edition
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
angieinbooks's review against another edition
2.0
Okay, so I wanted to read a book set in an ocean paradise, and that's exactly what I did. If the pandemic is going to keep me from being able to travel to a beach, I might as well read a story set at one. And while the setting definitely did not disappoint, the story wasn't very good.
The premise of Playing the Spy is great. Sophie's a journalist who's been assigned to get dirt on award-winning actress Eleanor, so Sophie's employer sets her up as Eleanor's housekeeper while Eleanor spends two months recuperating from her latest role at an exclusive private island in the Whitsundays off the Australian coast. I already know how this story is going to play out and I love everything about it. But I struggled with this because the writing let me down. There was a lot of awkward phrasing and a lot of telling me how the characters were feeling/reacting to each other without really selling it to me. I know Maggie Brown is Australian, so maybe there's some differences in phrasing, etc., but I've never experienced this before with Australian writers.
This trope works because the characters really need to get to know one another before they can eventually be together. And because Eleanor is a celebrity, there's really not a love at first sight element to deal with since Sophie already knows who Eleanor is. But there is a perceived social status dynamic and definitely a power dynamic and let's not forget the betrayal aspect that is inevitable. But this just fell completely flat.
I don't understand why they're attracted to each other. Sure, the narrative tells me they are, but I don't really see any evidence of it. There's just something very wooden about their encounters and, quite frankly, I was bored.
And Eleanor is supposed to be this super nice person without any skeletons in her closet, but she's also really judgmental--there's a lot of slut-shaming in this book that put me off. And why does she speak so formally? The dialogue in general was... not great, but Eleanor's dialogue was especially bad.
The premise of Playing the Spy is great. Sophie's a journalist who's been assigned to get dirt on award-winning actress Eleanor, so Sophie's employer sets her up as Eleanor's housekeeper while Eleanor spends two months recuperating from her latest role at an exclusive private island in the Whitsundays off the Australian coast. I already know how this story is going to play out and I love everything about it. But I struggled with this because the writing let me down. There was a lot of awkward phrasing and a lot of telling me how the characters were feeling/reacting to each other without really selling it to me. I know Maggie Brown is Australian, so maybe there's some differences in phrasing, etc., but I've never experienced this before with Australian writers.
This trope works because the characters really need to get to know one another before they can eventually be together. And because Eleanor is a celebrity, there's really not a love at first sight element to deal with since Sophie already knows who Eleanor is. But there is a perceived social status dynamic and definitely a power dynamic and let's not forget the betrayal aspect that is inevitable. But this just fell completely flat.
I don't understand why they're attracted to each other. Sure, the narrative tells me they are, but I don't really see any evidence of it. There's just something very wooden about their encounters and, quite frankly, I was bored.
And Eleanor is supposed to be this super nice person without any skeletons in her closet, but she's also really judgmental--there's a lot of slut-shaming in this book that put me off. And why does she speak so formally? The dialogue in general was... not great, but Eleanor's dialogue was especially bad.
rakhya's review against another edition
3.0
Enjoyable celebrity romance, could have used a final polishing round.
kjanie's review against another edition
3.0
3.5/5 stars
I want to preface this by saying its been almost a week since I have read this book. I've been really busy this week and have fallen behind on my reviews, oh well. So not only is this book not as fresh in my mind as I would want, this book has also proved not to be very memorable for me. While I enjoyed reading it, despite having a few issues, it just hasn't stuck with me at all. While this isn't the be-all-end-all criteria of enjoying a book, I have read so many fantastic romance novels recently, so this one just isn't standing up to the rest for me.
Despite that, I don't want you thinking that this wasn't an enjoyable book. It was a fun, sweet and sometimes sexy romance. It was ticking all the boxes of what I enjoy, I love reading about famous characters in romance and falling for people you aren't meant to (in this case Sophie was meant to be writing an expose on Eleanor). They definitely had a good connection and the island/isolated setting was also really fun. There were some really fun, sweet moments that captured my attention, and this was also a very quick/addictive read. Buuut, I still wanted more.
The pacing of the novel in relation to the romance was the main problem for me. While it wasn't necessarily an insta-love situation, I was still quite confused and conflicted on how the romance developed. It was hitting all the points in the transition from friends to attraction to lovers to partners etc. I just felt like it wasn't transitioning smoothly between these stages, so I just wasn't sold. It was like one scene would happen to change the stage of their relationship, but very little follow up. It was definitely one of those books that tended to rely on telling us about the relationship rather than showing it through the gradual development. I don't know if this sounds sensical at all, but the gist of it was I didn't think the relationship developed smoothly.
I want to preface this by saying its been almost a week since I have read this book. I've been really busy this week and have fallen behind on my reviews, oh well. So not only is this book not as fresh in my mind as I would want, this book has also proved not to be very memorable for me. While I enjoyed reading it, despite having a few issues, it just hasn't stuck with me at all. While this isn't the be-all-end-all criteria of enjoying a book, I have read so many fantastic romance novels recently, so this one just isn't standing up to the rest for me.
Despite that, I don't want you thinking that this wasn't an enjoyable book. It was a fun, sweet and sometimes sexy romance. It was ticking all the boxes of what I enjoy, I love reading about famous characters in romance and falling for people you aren't meant to (in this case Sophie was meant to be writing an expose on Eleanor). They definitely had a good connection and the island/isolated setting was also really fun. There were some really fun, sweet moments that captured my attention, and this was also a very quick/addictive read. Buuut, I still wanted more.
The pacing of the novel in relation to the romance was the main problem for me. While it wasn't necessarily an insta-love situation, I was still quite confused and conflicted on how the romance developed. It was hitting all the points in the transition from friends to attraction to lovers to partners etc. I just felt like it wasn't transitioning smoothly between these stages, so I just wasn't sold. It was like one scene would happen to change the stage of their relationship, but very little follow up. It was definitely one of those books that tended to rely on telling us about the relationship rather than showing it through the gradual development. I don't know if this sounds sensical at all, but the gist of it was I didn't think the relationship developed smoothly.
angelsnail's review against another edition
3.0
wasnt really my thing but i enjoyed it for the most part
nonbinaryknight's review against another edition
2.0
I really wanted to like this book. I did. But I only ended up liking maybe 50% of the book, and that might be a stretch.
The idea was interesting, but it didn’t really feel like it was followed through during parts of the story. There just seemed to be entire sections where Sophie seemed to forget that she was a reporter there to get information on Eleanor.
I liked the beginning of this book. It was nice and I genuinely liked the chemistry between the two characters. However, eventually there became too much back and forth for me to truly get invested in it. Something would happen, someone would say it was a bad idea and pull back, something else would happen, someone would misinterpret something. It just got to be too much for me.
(These spoilers happen around the 80% part of the book and is me expressing personal opinions about how drama in this story unfolded. Read at your own risk.) I have a big issue with the dialogue after Sophie was outed as a reported and Austen came over to Eleanor’s. Austen seems shocked and annoyed that Eleanor’s instinct was to tell Sophie to go away. If you had managed to fall in love with someone, or even just thinking you can trust someone, and it turned out that they had been sent to spy on you, would you have handled it well? Sure, she didn’t choose this assignment and sure she wasn’t planning on writing the article but that’s not the point. She lied to Eleanor for well over a month, Eleanor had every right to be pissed. Even Eleanor eventually seems sure that Sophie won’t publish the article and that if Sophie did then Eleanor deserved it because, in her words, “through my failure to forgive, I’ve lost the woman I adore and that’s infinitely worse.”
If you want a decent read, go for it. Personally though, it’s not going to be a book I recommend to others.
The idea was interesting, but it didn’t really feel like it was followed through during parts of the story. There just seemed to be entire sections where Sophie seemed to forget that she was a reporter there to get information on Eleanor.
I liked the beginning of this book. It was nice and I genuinely liked the chemistry between the two characters. However, eventually there became too much back and forth for me to truly get invested in it. Something would happen, someone would say it was a bad idea and pull back, something else would happen, someone would misinterpret something. It just got to be too much for me.
(These spoilers happen around the 80% part of the book and is me expressing personal opinions about how drama in this story unfolded. Read at your own risk.)
If you want a decent read, go for it. Personally though, it’s not going to be a book I recommend to others.
lezreviewbooks's review against another edition
4.0
Sophie Marsh is a journalist who is forced by her boss to disguise as a maid to dig up secrets on Hollywood star Eleanor Godwin. As a political journalist, Sophie is annoyed with her assignment but once she gets to know the ice queen actress and starts to have feelings for her, she is confronted with a moral dilemma. Shall Sophie reveal Eleanor's secrets to keep her job or shall she respect her privacy and the new feelings they have for each other?
This is a well written and entertaining book with the idyllic setting of the Australian Great barrier reef. Ms. Brown's description of the landscape is vivid and is the perfect background for a romance. The main characters are skilfully portrayed, Eleanor is a typical ice queen, very talented but distant. Sophie is vibrant, caring and too well read for a maid. Their chemistry is sizzling and the intimacy hot. However, I didn't find the story very realistic specially at the beginning and the end seemed a bit rushed. Anyway, it's a well written and entertaining book worth a read if you are into I've queens or like romances between celebrities and ordinary people.
Overall, a good romance with a beautiful setting. 3.5 stars.
ARC provided the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
See all my reviews at
www.lezreviewbooks.wordpress.com
This is a well written and entertaining book with the idyllic setting of the Australian Great barrier reef. Ms. Brown's description of the landscape is vivid and is the perfect background for a romance. The main characters are skilfully portrayed, Eleanor is a typical ice queen, very talented but distant. Sophie is vibrant, caring and too well read for a maid. Their chemistry is sizzling and the intimacy hot. However, I didn't find the story very realistic specially at the beginning and the end seemed a bit rushed. Anyway, it's a well written and entertaining book worth a read if you are into I've queens or like romances between celebrities and ordinary people.
Overall, a good romance with a beautiful setting. 3.5 stars.
ARC provided the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
See all my reviews at
www.lezreviewbooks.wordpress.com
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