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reginaexmachina's review against another edition
There was nothing distinctly bad about this book, I mean it must have gotten so many high ratings for a reason. However for me it was just that after a while I realized that I didn't really care what happened at the end of the book. Whatever it was, it just didn't really grab me.
sans's review
5.0
This is the kind of book I love. A total riot. I loved the characters, the action, all of it. It reminded me a lot of Charade with Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn (only one of the best films EVER) but set in Regency London (er, and without anyone actually getting killed). I was laughing out loud several times, especially at Alex's thoughts/internal dialogue. The dialogue was brilliant. Light-hearted but not overly fluffy. I hope the rest of her books are just as good.
joreadsromance's review
3.0
Readable but with some flaws
3 stars
Returning from a life of adventure and travel, Miss Sophie Everton is surprised to find she's been recruited as a spy for the Prince Regent. Despite having trouble adapting to the life of the ton, she accepts in order to save her family home.
Alex, the dashing Duke of Rockeforte and agent for the War Office, has been asked to keep an eye on Sophie but can't seem to do so without finding ways to kiss her. So it's no wonder that neither realise that danger lurks just around the corner.
This is the first book in Johnson's Providence series and is followed by [b:Tempting Fate|5107164|Tempting Fate (Providence, #2)|Alissa Johnson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1347576593l/5107164._SY75_.jpg|5173929], [b:McAlistair's Fortune|6343698|McAlistair's Fortune (Providence, #3)|Alissa Johnson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1347741447l/6343698._SY75_.jpg|6529883] and [b:Destined to Last|7549599|Destined to Last (Providence, #4)|Alissa Johnson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1347744123l/7549599._SY75_.jpg|9841877]. The characters all feature in each novel but having read the books out of order myself, I can't say that they need to be read in order to be enjoyed and understood.
For some reason I just couldn't get engrossed in this book. That might explain why all the intrigue and subterfuge had me baffled at times. The plot, or at least the machinations of the characters to create the plot, was a tad ridiculous although I'm sure not meant to be taken seriously. Sophie and Alex were likeable characters but I could really have done with a little more depth and chemistry between them. The book definitely got more interesting as I kept reading and I'm glad I stuck with it as I really liked the group of characters introduced.
Unfortunately I have to mention a huge drawback to this book and that's the horrific amount of Americanisms contained. Normally you'll find one or two in a book of this sort but there were so many that I was cringing at times as I read.
Having said all that, this is a light, likeable enough read that is worth a go if it's sitting in your bookshelf. I'm still looking forward to reading the rest of the books in the series and will probably look out for other books by [a:Alissa Johnson|1983627|Alissa Johnson|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1445362056p2/1983627.jpg] in the future. 3 stars.
avanicole927's review
3.0
2.5 nothing new. Typical historical romance for me other than the easy, simple plot. But I️ guess this one def had a twist because of the whole spy factor.
amshofner's review
4.0
I snagged McAlistair's Fortune, book three in the series, from the library first, but when I was finished, I requested As Luck Would Have It. And when I finished that book, well, I went and borrowed the second book.
A bit of historomance crack, this series.
Coming into the first book of the series already being familiar with the characters perhaps put me at an advantage, at least as far as knowing what goes on and who's up to what. Not there's much set up required...
I do have to admit that this was a total escape read, and under different circumstances, I likely would have found Alex overbearing and far too possessive. But I ignored it and cheered Sophie on every time she slipped through his fingers.
Though I wasn't much of a fan of the luck arc (especially as it played out in the end), I do have to admit that Sophie and Alex were fun, and I liked finishing the book knowing that, based on my experience reading book three, Sophie's still giving Alex a run for his money.
Definitely a fun historical romance you can escape into, while leaving you just a little breathless.
A bit of historomance crack, this series.
Coming into the first book of the series already being familiar with the characters perhaps put me at an advantage, at least as far as knowing what goes on and who's up to what. Not there's much set up required...
I do have to admit that this was a total escape read, and under different circumstances, I likely would have found Alex overbearing and far too possessive. But I ignored it and cheered Sophie on every time she slipped through his fingers.
Though I wasn't much of a fan of the luck arc (especially as it played out in the end), I do have to admit that Sophie and Alex were fun, and I liked finishing the book knowing that, based on my experience reading book three, Sophie's still giving Alex a run for his money.
Definitely a fun historical romance you can escape into, while leaving you just a little breathless.
chiaroscuro's review
1.0
This managed to hit my HR pet peeves with such deadly accuracy, I am almost impressed.
I want to pummel the hero into the next century. He has all the awful parts of being a duke (self-important, arrogant, a belief that everything he wants is his due) without any of the redeeming (competence, intelligence, using his political influence for good). He spends most of the book demanding that Sophie 'be his' without ever stopping to acknowledge the fact that she is an unmarried girl who has a future to plan for and a reputation to uphold, and she cannot simply engage in some dalliance with a (frankly) emotionally reticent duke without a second thought. Does he think that sleeping with him is so wonderful it's worth flinging away all respectability and hope for a solid future? And THEN he has the gall to say that he doesn't like being a duke and receiving all the deference that comes with the position! As if he hasn't spent the whole book stomping around all angry that Sophie won't bend to his wishes, like a duke would expect! I hate him!!!!
To be fair to Johnson she later spells it out that Alex is a selfish bastard by not thinking about things from Sophie's point of view, but Sophie is all "no don't apologise you haven't done anything wrong by being uncommunicative and unclear about what exactly you were after when you kept pursuing me". Except he did do wrong because he demanded answers from her (about what she was doing romantically) whilst providing none of his own. Not only is that unfair, it's being tone deaf to the vulnerability of women in this era. Not only does he have no right to ask Sophie such personal questions, he should have the goddamn intelligence to figure out that she's reluctant to throw herself into something undefined with him.
Sophie annoyed me too because she kept being miserable about her choices without doing the logical thing of making new ones. Also near the beginning Johnson has her take down some artfully placed sexism at a dinner party, which is just the sort of display that gets on my tits. I know that writing historical romance inevitably calls into discussion period-typical sexism and heroines nowadays are hardly ever written as wilting lilies. But having a heroine make a grand exhibition of her progressive ideals strikes me as an awfully vulgar way to go about showing she's not a limp stocking, and I also hate the gaucheness of making a scene at a dinner party. Sophie is supposed to be exotic because she speaks Asian languages, knows how to fight and remorselessly battles everyday sexism. I appreciate an original as much as anyone, but Sophie carried off her originality with a certain self-righteousness that annoyed me so much I have several ranty paragraphs on it below.
Neither am I convinced of the love Sophie and Alex apparently have. For her:
I'm of the opinion that polite society is vicious, cunning, powerful and no more or less intelligent than any other society. Really this criticism is aimed more at Sophie's snide comment than Alex's, because Alex's is just a case of "Sophie's not like other girls". Sophie resents having to be a simpering nitwit to attract marriageable men; this seems to me to be a gross simplification of matters intended to present Sophie as an unwavering, principled, outspoken heroine. In reality polite society is fucking savage: Edith Wharton shows how its vicious decorum is harder to fight than physical violence, and how ruthlessly it protects itself against threats to its security. So the obnoxious view this book has by dismissing polite society as full of fakery, sexism and racism is, whilst accurate, also harmfully reductive. You might say 'calm down, Jess, this is a romance and obviously isn't going in for historical accuracy'. I know that and you're not listening clearly to the argument I'm making. Johnson has basically appropriated Regency society by reducing it to being frivolous and backwards for the sake of giving our hero and heroine a mutual punching bag to fall in love over. There's potential for the author to explore the flaws and workings of upper crust Regency society: mentions of Napoleon and Prinny as well as Alex's (fake) hatred for being a duke could all have paved ways to criticising its self-serving nature, its reliance on the downtrodden majority to prop itself up, its corruption and decadence. Instead all it suffers is an unintelligent dismissal as sexist etc., but never inquiring as to why sexism is necessary for it to stand as it is. And of course, the head sexist turns out to be an attempted rapist whom I'm sure will resurface in book 2 — but that's another matter. So as part of this book's intelligence signalling, we are informed that Alex and Sophie debate politics. Well, I won't take theirl word for it.
There is a redeeming thing about this book though. The second in this series, [b:Tempting Fate|5107164|Tempting Fate (Providence, #2)|Alissa Johnson|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1347576593s/5107164.jpg|5173929], sounds brilliant because 1) lifelong enemies, 2) close familiarity, 3) untapped passion. In true lovebird fashion, Whit and Mirabelle's nicknames for each other are 'imp' and cretin'. There is also this wonderful exchange between Alex and Whit on the subject of Mirabelle:
I won't say anything about the weird ending or the hopelessly contrived spying plot. I suppose it remains to be admitted that Johnson clearly can write; it's just that here her characters pissed me off spectacularly. Let bygones be bygones though, as I will now be heading straight for book 2. In a short time I will know if I trudged through this for naught or if it was worth every irritating second.
I want to pummel the hero into the next century. He has all the awful parts of being a duke (self-important, arrogant, a belief that everything he wants is his due) without any of the redeeming (competence, intelligence, using his political influence for good). He spends most of the book demanding that Sophie 'be his' without ever stopping to acknowledge the fact that she is an unmarried girl who has a future to plan for and a reputation to uphold, and she cannot simply engage in some dalliance with a (frankly) emotionally reticent duke without a second thought. Does he think that sleeping with him is so wonderful it's worth flinging away all respectability and hope for a solid future? And THEN he has the gall to say that he doesn't like being a duke and receiving all the deference that comes with the position! As if he hasn't spent the whole book stomping around all angry that Sophie won't bend to his wishes, like a duke would expect! I hate him!!!!
To be fair to Johnson she later spells it out that Alex is a selfish bastard by not thinking about things from Sophie's point of view, but Sophie is all "no don't apologise you haven't done anything wrong by being uncommunicative and unclear about what exactly you were after when you kept pursuing me". Except he did do wrong because he demanded answers from her (about what she was doing romantically) whilst providing none of his own. Not only is that unfair, it's being tone deaf to the vulnerability of women in this era. Not only does he have no right to ask Sophie such personal questions, he should have the goddamn intelligence to figure out that she's reluctant to throw herself into something undefined with him.
Sophie annoyed me too because she kept being miserable about her choices without doing the logical thing of making new ones. Also near the beginning Johnson has her take down some artfully placed sexism at a dinner party, which is just the sort of display that gets on my tits. I know that writing historical romance inevitably calls into discussion period-typical sexism and heroines nowadays are hardly ever written as wilting lilies. But having a heroine make a grand exhibition of her progressive ideals strikes me as an awfully vulgar way to go about showing she's not a limp stocking, and I also hate the gaucheness of making a scene at a dinner party. Sophie is supposed to be exotic because she speaks Asian languages, knows how to fight and remorselessly battles everyday sexism. I appreciate an original as much as anyone, but Sophie carried off her originality with a certain self-righteousness that annoyed me so much I have several ranty paragraphs on it below.
Neither am I convinced of the love Sophie and Alex apparently have. For her:
Now she could spend the rest of the day sitting here with Alex discussing everything from politics to fashion. He wouldn't speak down to her or temper the choice of topics. He'd ask her opinion, listen carefully to what she said, and almost certainly disagree with her. But rather than give her a patronising pat on the hand and an equally patronising smile, he'd debate the subject with her as an equal.And for him:
Alex viewed her enthusiasm with a sense of wonder. It was refreshing to see someone so overtly intent on enjoying life rather than affecting a more fashionable ennui. The world was full of new things to discover, one simply had to look beyond the front door to find them. Sophie, it seemed, understood that.So you see, they are truly two unique souls who have found each other and connect on a uniquely quasi-deep level that no one else in this shallow, shallow society could ever understand.
I'm of the opinion that polite society is vicious, cunning, powerful and no more or less intelligent than any other society. Really this criticism is aimed more at Sophie's snide comment than Alex's, because Alex's is just a case of "Sophie's not like other girls". Sophie resents having to be a simpering nitwit to attract marriageable men; this seems to me to be a gross simplification of matters intended to present Sophie as an unwavering, principled, outspoken heroine. In reality polite society is fucking savage: Edith Wharton shows how its vicious decorum is harder to fight than physical violence, and how ruthlessly it protects itself against threats to its security. So the obnoxious view this book has by dismissing polite society as full of fakery, sexism and racism is, whilst accurate, also harmfully reductive. You might say 'calm down, Jess, this is a romance and obviously isn't going in for historical accuracy'. I know that and you're not listening clearly to the argument I'm making. Johnson has basically appropriated Regency society by reducing it to being frivolous and backwards for the sake of giving our hero and heroine a mutual punching bag to fall in love over. There's potential for the author to explore the flaws and workings of upper crust Regency society: mentions of Napoleon and Prinny as well as Alex's (fake) hatred for being a duke could all have paved ways to criticising its self-serving nature, its reliance on the downtrodden majority to prop itself up, its corruption and decadence. Instead all it suffers is an unintelligent dismissal as sexist etc., but never inquiring as to why sexism is necessary for it to stand as it is. And of course, the head sexist turns out to be an attempted rapist whom I'm sure will resurface in book 2 — but that's another matter. So as part of this book's intelligence signalling, we are informed that Alex and Sophie debate politics. Well, I won't take theirl word for it.
There is a redeeming thing about this book though. The second in this series, [b:Tempting Fate|5107164|Tempting Fate (Providence, #2)|Alissa Johnson|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1347576593s/5107164.jpg|5173929], sounds brilliant because 1) lifelong enemies, 2) close familiarity, 3) untapped passion. In true lovebird fashion, Whit and Mirabelle's nicknames for each other are 'imp' and cretin'. There is also this wonderful exchange between Alex and Whit on the subject of Mirabelle:
"She's an unmarried female with a drunken uncle for a guardian, Whit. She needs a champion."There's something so deliciously British and pre-modern about references to the devil, don't you think? Perhaps I am going mad.
Whit looked at him as if he were a complete stranger. A completely insane complete stranger. "Are we speaking of the same girl? Brown hair, brown eyes, tongue of an adder? Because she has a champion — I believe he goes by the name Lucifer."
I won't say anything about the weird ending or the hopelessly contrived spying plot. I suppose it remains to be admitted that Johnson clearly can write; it's just that here her characters pissed me off spectacularly. Let bygones be bygones though, as I will now be heading straight for book 2. In a short time I will know if I trudged through this for naught or if it was worth every irritating second.
romancelibrary's review
4.0
This was a very enjoyable read with main characters who made me laugh out loud so many times.
The one complaint I have about this book is that sometimes the plot was moving too fast. For instance, there are moments during the house party that were only mentioned in passing and I had wished to read about them in more detail. But even that I was okay with. It was mostly the first half of the book that felt too fast-paced. The ending was a little unrealistic, but it made me happy so I didn't really care lol
I knew Mrs. Summers was somehow involved in this whole spy business. Mrs. Summers and William Fletcher's plan was so complicated that it was ridiculous lol. But it allowed us readers to have a wonderful time reading the book.
OMG I can't wait to read Whit's and Mirabelle's book!!!
The one complaint I have about this book is that sometimes the plot was moving too fast. For instance, there are moments during the house party that were only mentioned in passing and I had wished to read about them in more detail. But even that I was okay with. It was mostly the first half of the book that felt too fast-paced. The ending was a little unrealistic, but it made me happy so I didn't really care lol
OMG I can't wait to read Whit's and Mirabelle's book!!!
lauriereadslohf's review against another edition
4.0
3 1/2 rounding up.
Sophie has spent the last 12 years travelling abroad and has returned to learn that her family’s fortune and their beloved estate are now in jeopardy. For some reason that doesn’t require thinking too hard about, it was left in the hands of an unscrupulous cousin. Sophie is approached by a weird little man who updates her on the situation and asks her to spy on her shady cousin and his associates in exchange for the money she now so desperately needs.
Why not, she thinks. She’s adventurous and nearly destitute and agrees even though she has absolutely no experience in spying. Now don’t worry if you’re not a fan of spy books because I’m not either. The spying bit isn’t a big thing. Actually, don’t think about the spying and the setup and most of the plot points or your head may explode. Read this one for the refreshing connection between the characters.
Soon after becoming a newly hatched spy, Sophie meets Alex. Alex is a Duke and a sexy, sexy rake and he has plenty of secrets of his own. There is an instant and strong connection the moment they meet. No, it’s not that insta-love crapola I’m so sick of reading, this connection is the real thing. You feel it in every bit of witty dialogue they share. This is how connections should be written. Their romance development is fun, sexy and smart. They’re well matched but, alas, this is a historical romance and there must be obstacles.
The obstacles come in the way of treachery, secrets, some silliness and Sophie’s worries brought on by a tragic event in her past. She has a hang-up about luck and balancing it out. I get it. My life is very much the same way. Whenever I go to bed thinking life is pretty alright, I wake up to a puddle of pee or something even more disgusting like a beheaded mouse. This is life, is it not? Sophie takes this balancing out of the luck business so far that it quickly begins to feel contrived and truthfully it began to drive me nuts in the last act.
So what we have here is a mostly light-hearted romance with amusing characters that’s only marred by several less than mind-blowing reveals at the end. I’d give it a 3 ½.
Narration Notes:
Narrator Carmen Rose does an excellent job with this audio version by Tantor. She has a lovely accent which turns slightly snooty whenever necessary and completely fits the tone of the book and each character she portrays. There weren’t any missteps that threw me out of the story and I can easily recommend searching out her performance if you’re an audiobook fan.
FTC Disclaimer: I was given a copy of this audiobook in exchange for a review from Tantor Media. I hope they don’t regret it!
Sophie has spent the last 12 years travelling abroad and has returned to learn that her family’s fortune and their beloved estate are now in jeopardy. For some reason that doesn’t require thinking too hard about, it was left in the hands of an unscrupulous cousin. Sophie is approached by a weird little man who updates her on the situation and asks her to spy on her shady cousin and his associates in exchange for the money she now so desperately needs.
Why not, she thinks. She’s adventurous and nearly destitute and agrees even though she has absolutely no experience in spying. Now don’t worry if you’re not a fan of spy books because I’m not either. The spying bit isn’t a big thing. Actually, don’t think about the spying and the setup and most of the plot points or your head may explode. Read this one for the refreshing connection between the characters.
Soon after becoming a newly hatched spy, Sophie meets Alex. Alex is a Duke and a sexy, sexy rake and he has plenty of secrets of his own. There is an instant and strong connection the moment they meet. No, it’s not that insta-love crapola I’m so sick of reading, this connection is the real thing. You feel it in every bit of witty dialogue they share. This is how connections should be written. Their romance development is fun, sexy and smart. They’re well matched but, alas, this is a historical romance and there must be obstacles.
The obstacles come in the way of treachery, secrets, some silliness and Sophie’s worries brought on by a tragic event in her past. She has a hang-up about luck and balancing it out. I get it. My life is very much the same way. Whenever I go to bed thinking life is pretty alright, I wake up to a puddle of pee or something even more disgusting like a beheaded mouse. This is life, is it not? Sophie takes this balancing out of the luck business so far that it quickly begins to feel contrived and truthfully it began to drive me nuts in the last act.
So what we have here is a mostly light-hearted romance with amusing characters that’s only marred by several less than mind-blowing reveals at the end. I’d give it a 3 ½.
Narration Notes:
Narrator Carmen Rose does an excellent job with this audio version by Tantor. She has a lovely accent which turns slightly snooty whenever necessary and completely fits the tone of the book and each character she portrays. There weren’t any missteps that threw me out of the story and I can easily recommend searching out her performance if you’re an audiobook fan.
FTC Disclaimer: I was given a copy of this audiobook in exchange for a review from Tantor Media. I hope they don’t regret it!
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