The Spymaster's Lady

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 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 show more 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

The books I like the most are often the hardest for me to review - I put this one off for a while, because I've got nothing to criticize and gushing isn't exactly informative. I don't give out a whole lot of five star reviews, but THE SPYMASTER'S LADY felt just about perfect to me.

It's worth mentioning that the book appeared on All About Romance's 100 best romances of all time list in 2010. Deservedly!

THE SPYMASTER'S LADY has twists that will blindside you. It's just jam-packed with plot, very dense. It pits two skilled, ruthless, dedicated spies against one another. Annique and Robert are good at their jobs, which means they're too disciplined to let feelings override professional obligation. Since Annique spies for France, and show more Robert for England, it's hard to imagine how a romance would work between them. It's no easier for the reader to solve the problem than it is for Annique and Robert.

It's also wonderfully, intensely emotional. It's raw and rough around the edges. This isn't a light romance, or a sweet one - it's not exactly angsty, either, since Annique and Robert are both too well seasoned to give into angst. Annique and Robert have a relationship built on mutual respect and edged with violence and deception.

Books like THE SPYMASTER'S LADY only come along every so often. I'll be re-reading this one. show less

The Spymaster's Lady is a complex action-packed story that truly showcases this author's ability to create different voices so each individual character jumps off the page.

Annique Villiers, also known as The Fox Cub, is a French secret agent whose skill at "the game" is renowned. Captured by her enemies, she finds herself imprisoned with a couple of Englishmen and decides to form an alliance with them in order to make her escape. What she doesn't realize, is that one of these men is British Spymaster Robert Grey, whose sole mission is to find Annique and bring her back to England with him. So the moment they're all free, Grey takes her prisoner. Caught between the attraction she feels for Grey as they travel to England together, her show more loyalty toward France and her need to protect the secret she carries with her, Annique faces difficult choices along the way, only to discover that nothing is as it seems and that her greatest ally might actually be the man who betrayed her trust.

Fantastically written, this book has it all: a plot filled with twists and turns, danger lurching around every corner, a race to the finish-line, well-developed characters and lots of romance. A definite page-turner you'll want to start in the morning so you don't stay up all night! show less

This book should win an award! It was one of the best romance books I have read in years, and I look forward to what Joanna Bourne writes in the future. The attention to detail, the surprising plot twists, and the depth of the characters all contributed to a solid read. Add to that the research on the thought process of spies that didn't sound like a lesson. Plus the thought-provoking dialogues that made you see the world differently, and the way the two characters fell in love with each other through respect, then admiration, for the other's abilities and character. On top of that were the love scenes that didn't use the same euphemisms and descriptions that everyone else has. The Spymaster's Lady is a rare treat to savour.

Excellent story! I love when a heroine is competent and skilled and can give a hero a run for his money, instead of just being the object of seduction and doormat to roll over. Annique is fascinating and jumps off the page with her droll commentary. Grey is masterful w/out being a boor. He actually respects Annique's abilities and recognizes her often superior skills. The political events of the plot serve as a fascinating backdrop instead of a chance for the author to display research. The secondary characters are interesting too. I could hardly put this one down.

The Spymaster's Lady was a little like reading a historical Ludlum novel plus romance. I'm usually leery of the spy theme in historical romance because it's typically a plot device and a novelty; it's never lent much thought. It's clear, however, that Joanna Bourne not only lent the subject thought, she created two characters entrenched in that world. Grey and Annique are two of the best. They're assets to their nations, Britain and France, respectively, but they've never met before-- until a pivotal event changes both their lives and sees them both in a notorious French prison in the charge of one of France's most brutal spymasters. That's when Grey meets Annique, the woman who might have brutally murdered his men and guards for a show more secret that has the potential to destroy nations-- a moment that Annique soon regrets when she realizes she has attracted the attention of one of Britain's most ruthless men. So begins Annique's seduction (Bourne's forte) on two fronts, because Grey not only wants to wrest secrets from this too loyal woman, he also comes to want her for himself. This is the thrust of their interactions, along with working together against outside forces (the Villain), sometimes even voluntarily (LOL).In both respects, I was convinced. Grey and Annique are both intelligent (no insipid dialogue, hallelujah!) and expert in deceit, trickery, survival and exploiting their resources to the fullest (that includes moments like the one where Annique uses a sash as a garrote). Annique is truly French, in her irony, her realism, and her romanticism, right down to her speech patterns (a little repetitive but not overmuch). At some points her dialogue was so much like a literal translation from French expression that I was impressed. Rather than try and (fail to) put a French accent to paper, Bourne simply tells the reader which language they're speaking. I cannot say how irritating it is to read a cheesy accent in romance novels. Yes, it is just as annoying in literature as in the movies. Thank you, Joanna! I suppose having actually lived in France makes a difference in an author's portrayal. Props.The attraction and admiration between Annique and Grey builds plausibly at the same time that the reader comes to admire them. If I were Grey I would probably fall in love with Annique too -and there are precious few heroines I can say that of- though she is by no means perfect. I don't think I need to say it, but the hero's delicious too, LOL. Why? Underlying both characters' missions is their selfless loyalties. They're noble in a gritty world. This is believable without becoming overomanticized and unrealistic or too gritty and brutal for romance. It's a very delicate balance. The ruthlessness and determination that two talented spies must have is there, but it is subtle enough to engender a feeling of almost-tragedy for these two characters, unfortunate and helpless in their choice of love. These two definitely care for each other. There's nothing ugly or hurtful about their relationship, though there are moments of despair where reality intervenes. So the tone is not light. It is not dark either, but there's a good dose of angst and principles and conflict. There are unexpected (believable) twists.Despite all that, this is not a tragedy. The ending, among other things, is as romantic as you could wish. *dreamy sigh* If you liked the Bourne spy movies and reimagined them in your head as a romance, you would enjoy The Spymaster's Lady. Truly a romance, truly spies (the way we modern folks might see them). There's only one love scene, but the draw is reading about Grey and Annique as they fight against and with each other. Are these two enemies doomed? And so on. (Set as a journey.) show less

I am amazed at this novel! First off - if I hadn't read so many excellent reviews on Amazon for this book I would never have read it. The cover is, well, so friggin' 10 years ago and has poorly written historical romance written all over it. The publishers, Berkley, did this author absolutely no service by choosing to market this novel that way. Okay - enough of the rant. But, geeze, how many other great little books have I overlooked this way?????? Alright, I'm done with that.

What can I say? This is an incredibly tight novel that it is hard to imagine that this is a novice writer. At least, she appears to be as I can't find any other books by her.

The heroine's character, her humor - really just about everything about her jumps right show more off the page she is so alive. From the start in the French dungeon to the ending in England you believe she is real and Grey is the perfect match for her.

At no point did I find either of them stepping out of character in order to further the plot along (as I see with so many other novels towards the end).

It was an absolute joy to read this book and I found myself sitting in the parking lot at work when I got off trying to get in a chapter or two before heading off for home. It has been months (a year maybe?) since I have had a book grab me like this.

I am going to have to put romance in the tag field for lack of better choice but let me say right now, this is much more than that. show less