Tag: #LoveAndLetSpy

Every Rogue Has His Charm by Susanna Craig

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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.*

One Thing Leads To A Lover by Susanna Craig

On By TracyIn Georgian Era (1714-1837), Regency Era (1811-1820), Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

One Thing Leads to a Lover (Love and Let Spy, #2)One Thing Leads to a Lover by Susanna Craig

Tracy’s rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: Love and Let Spy, #2

Release Date: April 6, 2021

Amanda Bartlett, the Countess of Kingston has been widowed for nearly three years and her life has become somewhat boring and predictable. She lives with her two young sons and her mother, who came to “help” after her husband’s death and hasn’t left since. Her mother has taken over the role of chatelaine and Amanda doesn’t want to upset her by resuming her duties. The same goes for her boys, her husband named her and his friend George, Lord Dulsworthy as guardians, but with the exception of refusing to let him send her elder son Jamie off to Harrow, she has let him dictate things too. Her mother is a stickler for propriety and has even gone as far as to decide what invitations Amanda accepts – which is practically none, it is clear that her mother and George expect Amanda to marry George and let things continue as they have for the past few years. But all that changes when Amanda accidentally and unknowingly gets caught up in espionage!

Sir Langley Stanhope is a spy known as the Magpie, thanks to his ability to mimic anyone, so he is the perfect choice to be sent to retrieve a codebook that was passed to Lady Kingston by an agent on the street. The agent was captured but was able to send word of what he did with the codebook. Langley goes to Amanda’s house disguised as a shop clerk – but is brushed off by George. Later George takes the book and tells Amanda it will be returned. When it isn’t, Langley takes a chance and goes back to Amanda’s house – planning to break-in, but instead finds Amanda, who tells him George took the book, she offers to help him get it back – help that he reluctantly agrees to accept.

Langley feels like he has something to prove to his boss, not long ago he let himself become distracted while on a mission and another agent died – he carries that guilt and doesn’t feel worthy of the honors bestowed on him and he has sworn to never let himself be distracted again – but his feelings for Amanda make that almost impossible and after sharing a kiss with her, he knows he needs to get as far away as he can – but his boss has other ideas and commands Langley to personally see to Amanda’s protection. Langley tries to keep his distance – but Amanda has never felt so alive and isn’t about to let Langley shut her out!

This was such a delightful read, it is well-written and paced nicely, with a great blend of intrigue and sexual tension. Langley and Amanda are both likable, have great on-page chemistry and they each have their own issues to overcome before they find a HEA together. The book has mystery, secrets, betrayal, intrigue, spies, warm love scenes, abductions, and finally a hard-won HEA as well as a sweet epilogue that nicely sets up the next installment of the series. This is the second book in the series, but it can absolutely be read as a stand-alone title with no problems.

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