Category: Tracy’s Reviews

Beauty and the Thief by Shana Galen

On By TracyIn Part of a Series, Tracy's Reviews, Victorian Era (1837-1901)1 Comment

Beauty and the Thief (The Royal Saboteurs #1)Beauty and the Thief by Shana Galen

Tracy’s rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: The Royal Saboteurs, #1

Release Date: August 9, 2022

Miss Bridget Murray is the secretary to “Baron” the head of a secret government agency known as the Royal Saboteurs, an agency sworn to protect the crown and country from threats. Bridget works closely with the Baron and specializes in decryption, but today she is charged with escorting several new recruits to the agency’s training facility, known as “The Farm”. With the train due to leave in minutes, she is still missing one man – Callahan “Cal” Kelly, and let’s just say their first meeting was memorable. Bridget can’t understand why the Baron would want the Irishman, in her experience, Irishmen are not trustworthy or dependable, at least her dad wasn’t.

Cal is a charming conman, plain and simple, he is also a thief, a recovering alcoholic, and a recovering gambling addict, who has no idea why the Baron thinks he could be useful to him, but the money he offered Cal could set him on a new path and since he needed to get out of London for a bit anyway, he accepted the invite. He even starts to enjoy the training and is doing very well, but what he especially likes is teasing the uptight Miss Murray, who is all that is prim and proper, but clearly has a fire burning in her that is as vibrant as her lovely hair!

After a few weeks of training, it becomes clear why the Baron sought out Cal, he needed an Irishman to infiltrate a group of anarchists in Ireland, intent on breaking the Act of Union and reclaiming the Kingdom of Ireland. At first, Cal is eager to get on with the mission and get paid. Add to that the fact that Bridget has been ordered to go with him, posing as his wife is a bonus, because it is clear to him, that she is not nearly as indifferent to him as she wants him to believe. But once they get to Dublin the danger becomes real and Cal will be tested at every turn and his loyalties questioned. Will he be the man he wants to be or will his demons cost him everything, including the woman he has come to love?

This was such a great story, in all honestly, it did start a bit slow, but that is to be expected with the first book in a series, as the author needs to set up the series, build the world, introduce characters, etc. But once they get to Dublin, the story takes off and is non-stop until the last page. Bridget started out uptight and a wee bit self-righteous, while Cal was shifty and self-serving, but they both embraced their destiny and evolved into truly wonderful characters. Their love story is filled with spies, secrets, murder, anarchists, steamyish love scenes, action, intrigue, and finally a hard-won HEA. I really enjoyed this story and can’t wait for the next installment! I can without hesitation, highly recommend this title to both Historical Romance and Historical Intrigue fans.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher. All opinions in this review are my own.*

Every Rogue Has His Charm by Susanna Craig

On By TracyIn Georgian Era (1714-1837), Part of a Series, Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

Every Rogue Has His Charm (Love and Let Spy, #4)Every Rogue Has His Charm by Susanna Craig

Tracy’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Love and Let Spy, #4

Release Date: August 2, 2022

While attending a house party on the behest of his spymaster, General Scott, Maximilien “Maxim” Grant, Marquess of Chesleigh, and heir to the Duke of Hartwell, finds much more than incriminating evidence against his host, he finds a wife!

Lady Caroline Brent is in the library when Maxim comes in and they are accidentally trapped and then discovered alone in the room together by her parents and the hosts. To save her, Maxim immediately proposes. But when they wed, he makes it clear that he doesn’t like her family and will not give them a penny or lift a finger to help them. Their marriage starts well, Caro doesn’t seem bothered by Maxim’s scars or his foreboding demeanor, but when he fears his feelings, he bolts, leaving Caro alone in a strange house and at the mercy of her self-serving, controlling father. To put some distance between them, Caro moves to Brighton and settles into a quiet, albeit lonely life.

Six years later, Maxim, who has been working undercover in France, gets word that his grandfather has passed and he is now the new Duke of Hartwell and must return to England to sort out the estate. Maxim believes his time away from Caro has “cured” him of his unwanted feelings and decides to go see her before going to London, just to inform her of the death of his grandfather (that is his story and he is sticking to it!). But once he sees her again, he finds it impossible to just walk away and wonders if it is possible to win her heart? However, before they can, he must redeem himself with her as well as his fellow spies and his spymaster, not to mention, figure out who is trying to kill him!

I enjoyed this well-written, fast-paced, beauty and the beast themed conclusion to the series. The book has a bit of everything; intrigue, steamyish love scenes, spies, a matchmaking spymaster, a secondary love story, life and death moments, a hidden threat, a villainous father, and finally their long overdue HEA complete with an epilogue that includes everyone from the series. As much as I liked this book, I personally think Caro forgave Maxim too quickly and that he owed her some serious groveling, but overall, it was a very good read and I would happily recommend it. This is the fourth and final book in the series, but the series is loosely connected and it could be read as a standalone title.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher. All opinions in this review are my own.*