A review by kleedc73
The Orchid Affair by Lauren Willig

4.0

In the seventh installment in the Pink Carnation series, Laura Grey has been recruited as a spy by the Pink Carnation and completed a "spy course" at Selwick Hall. In her first assignment as the Silver Orchid, she is placed in the household of the right-hand to the French Minister of Police, Andre Jaouen, as governess to his two children. Miss Grey (or Mlle Giscogne in French) had been a governess for 16 years prior to her spy career, so the cover was perfect. Miss Grey becomes embroiled in uncovering important details about French efforts to thwart a plot to overturn Bonaparte and reinstate a Bourbon on the throne of France. In the course of her duties, Miss Grey starts to see possibilities for a new life for herself, a life that might even include love......even though a love match with the forbidding Andre seemed unlikely at first. Both Laura and Andre are interesting, complicated characters, both in their personalities and in their professions. The plot of the book tracks a true historical plot in or around 1805 post-Terror France and the book is rich with historical details. Unlike some authors who write series, Willig manages to retain the heart of her books -- plucky, somewhat unlikely heroines who find love despite long odds -- without turning the book into a cookie-cutter copy of her previous works. Each of her heroines. including Laura, is original and uniquely loveable. In addition, Andre is refreshingly different as a "hero", given his occupation with the Minister of Police, an organization diametrically opposed to everything the Pink Carnation (and her cohorts) stand for. As usual, this book was delightfully entertaining.