Maid of Secrets (Maids of Honor)

I'd give this book a 4.5.
I don't think I have had so much fun reading the first book since I read Robin LeFevers Fair Assassins trilogy. Maid of Secrets is a story full of excitement, mystery and action. I loved the character developement and the various relationships to be found in this book. Meg Fellowes, works for an Acting troupe and makes her living picking pockets until she picks the wrong pocket.Instead of being thrown in prison as she expects, she's whisked away to the court of queen Elizabeth and pressed into royal service as a spy.Queen Elizabeth has just taken the throne and she's faced with people, both local and foreign, who wish to see her fail and removed from the throne. In order to uncover the truth of what's happening show more and to keep her crown safe, she's contracted five maids to be her spies.The other maids of honor are Beatrice, Jane, Sophia and Anna. Meg, who earns the nickname of the Rat, is employed as the eyes and ears of the queen and to report on anything she overhears. But Meg is not only reporting to the queen, but to Sir William Cecil and Lord Walsingham, who asks Meg to report to them the queens own movements. As Meg goes through her time as a spy, she's forced to do things that go against her conscience, betray her friends, and she falls for an unlikely Spanish courtier and fellow spy, one Rafe Luis Medina, the Count of Martine. who Meg's asked to watch. I loved the plot development, and how the mystery masterfully unfolds. I couldn't put the book down wondering what would come next. I also enjoyed learning some of the back stories for a few of the maids and how it brought them all together. Maid of Secrets is a fresh new Young Adult tale and I'm already looking forward to the next book in the series.
Jack Murphy show less

Maid of Secrets was a lot of fun! I know that based on the description, a lot of people would think it wouldn't be fun. Why not intriguing? Or thrilling? Beautifully written, fast paced or thought provoking?

And the truth is this novel is all of those things. But first and foremost it is fun. And I don't mean in a laugh-out-loud kind of way. I mean in a scary, awesome roller coaster kind of way. There is heart-pounding, action, interesting dialogue, quirky characters make this so enjoyable and not to heavy even though the book has quite a handful of pages!

Meg was a very good protagonist she had a strong but at the same time unsure voice and developed beautifully throughout the book. She is not quite sure where she belongs, if anywhere, show more but she has some killer spy traits. (Actual maybe not "killer". That's Jane!) Anyways, Meg can do perfect mimicry. Isn't that insane? This also makes Meg unsure of who she is though. Is she an independent person or just a copycat that can be anybody but herself?

The other characters all have cool traits to. They are able to see the future, assassins, really smart, or kind of manipulative. Sophia, Jane, Beatrice, Anna , and Meg make a perfect group. Although they were introduced weirdly and untimely. Actually, the whole introduction was kind of off-putting, just whizzing through scene after scene which were months apart in the first 30 pages. That is my only complaint though, so readers, just get through the intro!

The romance in the book was fun, although we didn't dwell on it. Mostly we are talking about conspiracies against the queen. These parts were fun, entertaining and interesting. I definitely loved all the plots and the author's take on how the queen acted. I am still not sure if I like the queen, although I definitely admire her. She has guts! She endures insults, proposals, gossip, plots and still manages the entirety of England on her own.

Overall, I really enjoyed Maids of Secrets. This is recommended to anyone who wants a fun, interesting read, with memorable characters.

4/5 bookcases

Also on my blog,Counting in Bookcases! Come check it out! show less

I don’t know if you all remember, but back in another review I talked about how sometimes my emotions are so intense that my brain can do nothing but repeat an appropriate movie line over and over again. I can’t control it. Well, it happened again, and it’s all Jennifer McGowan’s fault. I started and finished Maid of Secrets in the same day, and the entire time, my head was filled with Rapunzel. Because you know why? THIS BOOK IS AMAAAAAZIIIIIIIIIIING!

I’m getting all excited and flustered again trying to write this review! Okay. Okay, I can do this. Let’s break it down!

READ THE REST OF THE REVIEW AT: http://www.shaelit.com/2014/08/review-maid-of-secrets-by-jennifer-mcgowan/

In 1559 England, Meg, an orphaned thief, is pressed into service and trained as a member of the Maids of Honor, Queen Elizabeth I's secret all-female guard, but her loyalty is tested when she falls in love with a Spanish courtier who may be a threat.

The book begins with Meg Fellowes, a thief from an acting troupe, stealing money from Sir William, a noble from the castle. Two weeks later, the castle found out what she did and had her arrested. Instead of exiling her or killing her, Sir William put her with the Maids of Honor, the protectors of the Queen. There are five of them: Jane the Blade, Beatrice the Belle, Angela the Scholar, Sophia the Blesses, and Meg the Rat. Each one has her own special ability, and are spies looking out for the Queen. 3 months after being trained, the Queen gives Meg her first mission: Finding out what plot the Spanish have formed for their arrival to England. Meg tries to do her job, but ends up being found out by the Count de Martine, Ralfe.

Meg starts show more to hate being under the Castle's orders. The girls she must work with all hate her, especially Beatrice. Meg keeps being charged with job after job, and starts to fall for the Count de Martine. And when one of the esteemed waiting ladies of the Queen gets murdered, she is blamed for the crime. She is put in jail (again) and then decides to find the real killer, who is Rafe and one of the other Spanish men. After uncovering what they've done, she lets Rafe go, and he kills the other Spanish man to not let information get out. The book ends with the Spanish leaving and Meg being trusted by the other girls. show less

To follow up on my status update, I was able to figure out whodunit before the end of the book, but that didn't stop me from enjoying it.

Such a sucker for teen historical mystery spy fiction.