Kate Moore (1)

I've heard a lot of great things about Kate Moore. I wasn't really in the mood for a historical, but this one jumped out at me from the TBR so I decided to pick it up. I'm so glad I did. It was a wonderful story.

I really enjoyed both Xander and Cleo. Her determination to get him to bed her cracked me up, as did her pig-sticking knife.

Xander's determination to keep them apart was frustrating at times, but I understood his reasons. My heart did break for both of them at the end.

The POV jumps show more bothered me. Though I enjoyed Moore's writing style, there were POV changes included simply to move the story forward. The villain is given one chapter, Cleo's brother is given another and Xander's brother the last chapter, as sequel bait.

Otherwise I found this to be a lovely story. Cleo and Xander complimented each other perfectly and I enjoyed watching them get the better of Cleo's evil uncle. show less

Jane Fawkener's father is missing and she is back in England after years in the Middle East with her father who worked for the crown in intelligence. All she really has is a small income and a book, "The Husband Hunter's Guide to London" to offer advice to finding a husband. She also has a protocol officer, Edmond Dalby, who hit rock bottom, was disowned and now works as a covert operative.
She doesn't know who to trust and when family tries to connect she wants them to be real, but at first show more they refused to help her. However accidents keep happening to her.
The romance was fun with characters that I cared about. I thought she was a bit too much fish out of water for the length of time she was in the Middle East still it was fun and I'd be interested in the sequels. show less

*** 3.5 stars ***
This was my first book by this author and I was really looking forward to a steamy romance and confounding mystery. What I found was no steam, but a nice slow build of a romance – and I liked that. I liked that the characters didn’t jump into insta-lust, but they were definitely attracted to each other. I love the way Lynley came to respect Emily’s intelligence and cleverness before he really realized that he also loved her. The mystery was a good one as well with show more multiple villains and missing secrets that could plunge England into war.

Speaking of villains – there is one I just never figured out. I could not see his purpose nor could I see what he was trying to gain. Yes, he provided a misdirection for the plot, but he could still have had some ulterior motives in mind instead of just being . . . I can’t explain more without telling you who he is and what he does, but I think his motives should have been plainer – otherwise, there is no reason for him to have done what he did or even to be in the story at all. Maybe he'll play some villanous role in a future book.

Sir Ajax Lynley (I love that name) has agreed to work for a spymaster for one year. So far his assignments have been exciting, but fairly minor. Now, he has a task that affects the fate of England. If he cannot retrieve certain documents, England will be forced into war with Russia. Lynley has lived in Spain since he was a teenager and now that he has returned to be a spy, he needs to reenter society. He’s been trying to think of the best way to do that when the perfect opportunity drops right into his lap.

Lady Emily Radstock is fast approaching her twenty-ninth birthday and she is still unmarried and sees no particular reason to change that. However, her mother has other ideas and presents Emily with a book ‘The Husband Hunter’s Guide To London’. Since her mother was on her way to care for Emily’s grandmother, Emily couldn’t rail at her, so she heads over to her younger sister’s house to rant. As she says that she ought to marry the first imbecile she meets, she hears this masculine voice say, “I accept”.

She is dumbstruck – surely he can’t mean it and surely can’t intend to hold her to that. Yet he does. She knows he has to be up to something and she fully intends to find out what it is. As they spend time together she comes to like him – and she starts to figure out what is going on. Then, suddenly it hits her – he is a SPY. Yum, adventure – and she sorely wants to have an adventure so she happily joins him in his mission. She is, however, annoyed that she is only a quasi-partner – he doesn’t share everything with her. Yet, the one time he takes off on his own because he wants to protect her, it doesn’t end well for him.

I enjoyed this book even though I thought that it could have been a bit longer and better fleshed out in both the mystery and the romance aspects of the story. I'll look forward to the next one in the series - The Christmas Husband Hunt.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. show less

The Lady and the Thief by Kate Moore
Story starts out with Viv and she's a companion to an elderly housebound woman who has connections. Viv is helping her experience how to maneuver the streets of London and gets help from the elderly woman. They have many laughs. Once Viv is stricken when a man grabs her purse but another man helps her and she ends up shooting him by accident. She has the house tend to his wounds and they form a friendship that soon he gives her an engagement ring. It was a show more family gem.
Edward Larkin but his friend calls him Lark came from a background that he can't quite recall all the facts. He knows he had a mother and one day he sees the location of where he saw her last. He starts piecing things together to find out if she's still alive and who his family is. Like haring of the all the clues surrounding her book and his past and the city sights, sounds and smells.
There is so much going on that is so interesting to follow along. Can't wait to read the next in the series.
Received this review copy from the publisher and this is my honest opinion. show less