Joanna Bourne

As anyone that follows me on GoodReads (or other social media) knows, I read a lot of romance novels. Especially of late. I always star them, but I rarely write actual reviews unless the book is so extraordinarily offensive/bad or good except for something I feel should be mentioned, or just a book that I love endlessly. Believe it or not, all of these are fairly rare occurrences. Even the offensive one.

But this book. Man. Never ever ever has a book more rightly deserved the phrase, "never show more judge a book by its cover."

Don't get me wrong, it is a romance novel. There are all the elements of a romance novel. But it's so much more than a muscled guy in a billow-y white shirt would have you believe. As I mentioned earlier, I read a lot of romance novels, and even the authors I truly adore, I'm not sure I would be able to pick them out of a lineup. Not to say they don't have unique voices, but for the most part, you know what you're getting out of a 19th century romance novel.

That is not what you get with The Spymaster's Lady. To start off, Joanna Bourne's voice is utterly unique in the realm of the romance novel. The tone, cadence, and rhythm of the book is like no other romance novel I've read in memory. The heroine is a blind, French spy. The hero is a leader of the English spies. The plot revolves around Napoleon planning to invade England. But though there are elements of melodrama, there's not the distance from the ugly parts of spying and war that you would expect to find in a novel of this genre. Annique has seen much, done much, heard much and she is not left unaffected, but she is also not prone to flinging herself dramatically upon coverlets and bemoaning. She's resourceful and intelligent and fierce and humourous and wholly a unique heroine.

The hero is far from the typical alpha male, chest-beating military hero one comes to expect. But neither is he the other option of someone that is totally undermined and defeated by Annique. Robert/Grey is resourceful in his own right, respectful of Annique's abilities, and a steady human being even when he is madly in love with his enemy.

I will say, that for all that I've read a million of these, I actually didn't expect the twist nearish the end. I also couldn't have told you how they would conclude things. It was such a refreshing, palate cleansing, remarkable read I had to write a review for it. show less

Adrian is one of those delicious heroes you can’t get enough of and, as is so rare in romance novels featuring a truly memorable hero, Justine is worthy of him.

They share an epic romance that spans decades, a love forged in war but defeated by peace. Their sentimental moments are believable and heart-wrenching. Their cold, pragmatic separations are also believable and heart-wrenching.

Basically, Joanna Bourne is reliably excellent author. She writes beautifully. She creates complex show more characters and exciting stories. She has a really good handle on French quirks and mannerisms and she immerses you in the history without ever getting bogged down by it.

All that being said, nothing she’s written has excited me quite like MY LORD AND SPYMASTER. In BLACK HAWK, she tells Adrian and Justine’s story by mixing flashbacks of their developing romance with the inciting incident that brings them together in the present, when Justine is stabbed only steps away from Meeks Street. I was eager to read each timeline – I wanted to know about their young love, I wanted to see how they’d find their happily ever after – but the tension is never that high.

Justine and Adrian respect and understand one another, and that means that even as enemy spies there’s a certain serenity to their relationship. It really seems bizarrely healthy and balanced, no matter how crazy their actual actions are. It’s really, really easily to believe they’ll be a happy couple for years and decades to come. And BLACK HAWK is a good read, a very good read. It just never quite had me on the edge of my seat. show less

3.5 stars

She used light words that didn’t say what she was thinking. He was doing the same. They leaned on each other and everything important between them went unsaid.

While you absolutely could read this book without reading the rest in the series, you absolutely do not want to. The romance is a little weak, the mystery threads dominate and I had problems feeling like I "knew" Raoul. Do not look for really any movement in the romance front until after 50%.

“I understand. I’m not an show more innocent.”
“That’s not what I’m saying, Séverine. Not what I’m asking. I want to explain that this isn’t a game to me. I’m free. This is courtship.” He leaned to set his lips to her breast, through the fabric of her shift. “I thought you should know."

Now, just because I said the romance is weaker, it doesn't mean there isn't love in this story. Why I think you should read the preceding in the series is because Severine is the daughter (adopted) of the hero in "The Forbidden Rose" and sister-in-law to the hero in "The Black Hawk" and the love/relationship between the three is so worth reading. Also, Black Hawk has been my favorite of the series, so reading this, seemingly simple description of him: Hawker sat at the head of the table, his feet propped on one chair, evening coat and cravat thrown over another. His shirt was open at the collar, his cuffs rolled back, and his waistcoat unbuttoned. had me wanting to read his book all over again. What disappointed the heck out of me was that the wives/heroines of these two men were off page the whole time and I missed out seeing them together again.

Women saw that glint of reckless sensuality in him. The promise that he would not only please a woman in bed but make her laugh while he did it.

Severine's character did not disappoint and I loved her; I would be first in line for a novella about her time serving the Military Intelligence. The mystery plot of Raoul searching for his daughter, an amulet, and who/why killed his wife (a forced marriage, he hadn't even seen her in years) was really only interesting to me because of the strength of the characters (Severine, William Doyle, and Adrian Hawkhurst) and how real, nuanced, and wonderfully Bourne writes them.

Bourne's writing style is one of my favorites, its immersing, emotional, and at turns beautiful. I'm just a little worried that reader's new to the series wouldn't have the background attachment to stay with this, because of the slow burn, not always the focus romance. This was a very quietly and understated emotional story, which worked for me at times and didn't at others.

The series is great though, so if you want to fall in love with Severine like I did, definitely start from the beginning.

*In case any group members are reading, this series would be a great Buddy Read series ;) show less

Really, look no further if regency spy romance is your thing (and even if it's not), this series might just be the best at doing it. Would have liked a few more romantic scenes between Pax and Cami but the story and interweaving of story arcs and characters from previous books in the series was amazing. I also find myself needing to go re-read The Black Hawk to spend more time with Hawker :)