littlebookjockey 's review for:

The Spymaster's Lady by Joanna Bourne

3.0

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While I loved that Bourne was able to keep secrets from me and keep surprising me, I did get a little peeved at how long it took Annique to trust Grey completely, even after they admitted their love for each other. As for the man himself, I've seen other reviewers criticize him for mistreating her early on, but...she was an enemy spy?? And he felt terrible when he had to hit her because she was garroting him?? I found him to be very gentle with her, while still being loyal to England. In fact, he is far more loyal to her than she is to him. There seems to be a double standard here. We're told over and over how smart Annique is, but I just didn't see it, aside from the times she uses her eidetic memory. She felt very immature and made frequent idiotic mistakes. She had a few shining moments, but they were often accompanied by Grey, who was the truly smart one. Another thing I appreciated was the detail in the author's writing. Instead of giving Annique a French accent in the dialogue, Bourne only makes her speak in slightly broken English, which gives the effect perfectly.