Pearl's World of Romance - Reviews with a Passion: Lady Spies Trilogy

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December 15, 2007

Seduction is Forever - Jenna Petersen

9:46 PM |

Master spy Emily Redgrave hasn’t been the same since a night six months ago when she was cut down by a would-be assassin’s bullet. Though she is physically recovered, she’s still haunted by memories of the trauma and regrets for what almost happened. She’s desperate to re-enter the field and regain her confidence. When she’s assigned to follow and protect Grant Ashbury, the Earl of Westfield, she reluctantly accepts, knowing this ‘babysitting’ duty could very well lead to more advanced cases.

What she doesn’t know is that Grant is a troubled spy in his own right. And he’s just been assigned to follow her by his own superior officers. But as the two chase each other around London, they inadvertently uncover a real case and a magnetic desire that draws them together in shocking, scandalous ways. Can Grant and Emily overcome their past traumas and work together?

And just who is the mysterious Lady M?

As the last single lady spy, Emily Redgrave feels her only devotion is her work for the Crown but since her injury her fellow spies and superiors watch over her constantly, making her feel incompetent. She's thrilled when she finally gets a case again: protecting Grant Ashbury, Lord Westfield, and finding out who's threatening him. When she finds out the latest assignment is a ruse in order to protect her, and the man she's protecting turns out to be a fellow spy, she's furious. During the case she stumbles upon a real and dangerous case and partners up with Grant. Who knew the partnership would grow into something so much more than she intended to...

What a wonderful ending to a great trilogy. This is truly a case of saving the best for last!
The story starts relatively slow and easygoing, building up gradually to a satisfying conclusion with a nice twist at the end, where all questions are answered and you're not left wondering. Maybe just hoping for some connecting books with some of the secondary characters from the three books.

I loved Emily and Grant to pieces...Their interactions were intense and sparkling. Their blossoming love was palpable despite the fight they put up to deny it. They were true partners in the case as well as in love. The really complemented each other, finding in each other what they didn't know they were looking for.
And the secondary characters are perfect. Visible enough to be complementary to the storyline and the main characters but never overbearing. I liked the bond between Grant and his brother. The bond between Emily, Anastasia and Meredith is strong despite Emily feeling left out after their marriages and her injury.

The plot was thrilling. The romance was so emotional it had me wiping tears at the end.
The case they had to solve was well written and intriguing. The mix of action and emotion was perfectly balanced
Jenna Petersen's writing is easy to read and fast-paced, despite the strong emotions displayed between hero and heroine. It pulled me in bit by bit until I just couldn't stop reading and kept reading to find out what would happen next, either with the case or with the relationship.

The Lady Spies have gained themselves a place on my list of favorite heroines being strong, brave, fiery, sensual and loyal. They certainly are no regular Regency ladies.
And their men are downright yummy, being strong and manly but also unafraid to show their emotions when it comes to the woman they love.

I loved all the installments in this trilogy equally. Every book has it's own uniqueness and together they form a perfect whole. This is a first for me. In series/trilogies there is always a book I like more or less. This proves to me the consistency of Jenna Petersen's writing and I wonder what she has in store for us next.

Quote:
He wanted to walk across that room, back Emily into a dark corner, and press his body against hers until there was no space between them. He wanted to fill himself with the scent of her hair. Taste her skin until he was drunk on its flavor.

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Labels: great reads, HarperCollins Publishers, Historical Romance, Jenna Petersen, Lady Spies Trilogy, reviews | 0 comments |

August 2, 2007

Desire Never Dies - Jenna Petersen

6:01 PM |

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Shy, intelligent widow Anastasia Whittig is really a Lady Spy in name only. Though she invents important items and decodes evidence, she’s hardly ventured into the field and keeps herself wrapped in a shroud of mourning for her late husband. She’s perfectly content to continue her sheltered life, but when one of her best friend’s is shot, she’s forced into service at the side of Lucas Tyler.

Lucas is a daring, talented spy, driven to solve the case of attacks on his fellow agents. He doesn’t want any help, and certainly not from Ana. But as the two edge ever closer to the disturbing truth, they cannot keep from developing a grudging respect for each other. And they cannot ignore the undeniable desire that threatens to change both their worlds.

Ana is the quiet, intelligent one of the Lady Spies. She cracks codes, invents gadgets, makes disguises and is not involved much in the actual field work.
Lucas is a straightforward, blunt, cut-to-the-chase kind of man.
After Emily is shot, ambushed while working with Lucas, Ana has to take her place in the field. Something neither she or Lucas is happy with. Ana prefers working behind the scenes and Lucas doesn't want a partner and certainly not a female one. And besides that, they both feel things they don't want to feel when the other is around and working together means they have to be in each other's vincinity a lot.
But they have no choice and it turns out Lucas brings out the best in Ana: spunk, liveliness, things she was hiding by staying in the background hiding herself.
For Lucas it's love at first sight. For Ana it takes a while for her to acknowledge her feelings for Lucas because she stills clings to the memory of her deceased husband, seeing falling in love with another man as a betrayal to him.
Circumstances force them into marriage and the danger of losing the other while solving the case makes them acknowledge their love for each other.

This is book 2 of the Lady Spies and Jenna Petersen continues the series in a formidable way. The story is fast-paced, action-filled, with sensuality and a whirlwind of emotions. I really love the way Jenna makes the characters come to life, everything sparkles and sizzles making you want to delve deep into the book and just come up for air when really neccesary.
The plot is obvious fairly early in the story but this doesn't matter because the focus is on solving the case and dealing with the consequences. And on how Ana and Lucas deal with these consequeces and feelings and the effect it has on their relationship and partnership.

The connection to book 1 (Meredith's story) is there and the friendship between the women, as in book 1, is strongly present. But Ana and Lucas truly hold their own in an unique and beautiful love-story that made me laugh a little, cry sometimes, hold my breath on occasion and feel like fanning myself at times.

I'm really looking forward to Emily's story and I'm sure it will be the perfect addition to these first two books.

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Labels: great reads, HarperCollins Publishers, Historical Romance, Jenna Petersen, Lady Spies Trilogy, reviews | 0 comments |

June 19, 2007

From London With Love - Jenna Petersen

5:31 PM |

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Meredith Sinclair is everything a lady of society should be. She sparkles at every party, men fall at her feet and every woman longs to be like her. But beneath that popular exterior lurks a serious spy. And her newest assignment is very personal.

She is sent to investigate Tristan Archer's involvement in the robbery of a painting that may have hidden secret information about the British Army's movements in France. Meredith knows she shouldn't grow to close to a potential traitor, but many years ago Tristan saved her life. And it's harder and harder to believe he could be so wrong when his kisses are so right.

Will the evidence break her heart... or will her heart set them both free?

Man oh man, Jenna Petersen sure knows how to write books that make you go through every emotion.
I felt everything the hero and heroin were going through just because of her writing-style.
It's intense and very vivid...it just sizzles of the pages.
After reading Scandalous I had high expectations for the Lady Spies-trilogy and I must say those expectations were certainly met.
It was a little less in playing havoc with my emotions than Scandalous but that didn’t make it a less wonderful read.

And also a great concept for a regency-trilogy: Take three widows of the ton and train them to become the best spies of the country. No one will suspect the popular ladies to be the ones who solve cases of theft, murder and treason. Of course comparison with the hit-series from the seventies is inevitable when you have three lady-spies and there boss is called Charlie, but I thought it still was a nice concept. While reading I pictured myself in a beautiful gown roaming the ballrooms and at the same time decoding letters, picking locks, dodging bullets and bringing traitors to justice.

This is the first book in the trilogy and tells the story of Meredith Sinclair and Tristan Archer.
Tristan is suspected of treason and Meredith is the spy assigned to bring him to justice because they have a prior connection.
The attraction and sensuality between Meredith and Tristan is sparkling and intense. Both of them have their understandable reasons for not giving into it but of course ultimately it’s unavoidable that they do.

I really liked the secondary characters, especially Meredith’s fellow-spies Ana and Emily. Each of them have their own specialty and together they form a practically invincible team.
Another intriguing character in the book was Tristan's friend Phillip. I wonder if he gets his own story in the future...

Another thing I liked was the plot. You know it from the start but because Tristan's motivations are not clarified until the very end it keeps you on the edge. Although in various earlier parts in the book I really wanted Tristan to tell Meredith his reasons for doing what he was doing, this way was much better for the book!

I'm really looking forward to the next two books in the series since these are about the two fellow-spies who are secondary characters in this book.

Quote:
There was his name again, coming from her lips to arouse him. Just that whisper made him forget his position both in society and his current situation.

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Labels: great reads, HarperCollins Publishers, Historical Romance, Jenna Petersen, Lady Spies Trilogy, reviews | 0 comments |