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gillianw's review
4.0
4 stars
Really well done spy/mystery novel set in 1920's London. I loved Miles and his manservant, Pritchard. They could star in their own series of books and I would totally read them.
Really well done spy/mystery novel set in 1920's London. I loved Miles and his manservant, Pritchard. They could star in their own series of books and I would totally read them.
emilyrpf's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
uzoma's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
3.25
Sorry, I hear fake marriage and I blackout and read it. The spy part was cool too.
saintsaens's review
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
3.0
The writing is pleasant, the characters interesting to follow in their behaviour as well as in their unusual investigation. It's a good novel that reads quickly, and the matter of homosexuality/cross-dressing was handled with care and subtlety by the writer.
Downside: the periodical use of 1920s slang weirded me out, and the writing might have done without it or with a better handle on it.
Downside: the periodical use of 1920s slang weirded me out, and the writing might have done without it or with a better handle on it.
kitnotmarlowe's review
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
the problem with not writing reviews immediately after finishing books is that now i'm struggling to justify my 2.5 rating beyond saying "it annoyed me". what annoyed you, past-kit??? well, briers, for a start. i understand that he's working off a certain, smarmy archetype, but i didn't think said archetype was well-executed and i found his relationships with other characters, especially miles, extremely grating. insert a joke here about how i'm shocked he's able to pop a boner at all because his self-worth is so inflated it leaves little blood for anything else. miles was fine though. if not for the alternating points of view, i doubt i would have made it through this short novel.
this dislike of briers meant that i could never fully immerse myself in the romance which felt unbalanced compared to the spy plot. they both take up about equal narrative space, yet feel unbalanced with regards to both plot and emotional investment. somehow there is both too much romance and not enough plot AND too much plot and not enough romance. they're both half-assed in a way that is so perplexing to me. the plot moves along at a decent clip yet also doesn't progress at a speed relative to the page count. i thought the narrative voice in the first chapter was decently funny and descriptive, and then it just trickles off as the book progresses.
a lot of people enjoyed this, but i didn't. which is fine.
this dislike of briers meant that i could never fully immerse myself in the romance which felt unbalanced compared to the spy plot. they both take up about equal narrative space, yet feel unbalanced with regards to both plot and emotional investment. somehow there is both too much romance and not enough plot AND too much plot and not enough romance. they're both half-assed in a way that is so perplexing to me. the plot moves along at a decent clip yet also doesn't progress at a speed relative to the page count. i thought the narrative voice in the first chapter was decently funny and descriptive, and then it just trickles off as the book progresses.
a lot of people enjoyed this, but i didn't. which is fine.
eemms's review
5.0
Interwar m/m romance novel/ spy thriller. Really good, easy read - as in, everything flowed and kept going at a nice pace and I read the whole thing in a couple days after a long spell of having trouble reading anything longer than 500 words. I liked both the MCs and the 1920s London was very well drawn - lots of detail but never belabored.
Would recommend for anyone who wants more of KJCs Will Darling but without the morally gray MCs - both of these MCs are pretty upright men.
content notes: cross dressing for fun and profit, mortal danger, a misunderstanding leads to unwelcome sexual advances that is quickly cleared up.
Would recommend for anyone who wants more of KJCs Will Darling but without the morally gray MCs - both of these MCs are pretty upright men.
content notes: cross dressing for fun and profit, mortal danger, a misunderstanding leads to unwelcome sexual advances that is quickly cleared up.
cmira2027's review
5.0
Starting off the new year right
Hopefully everything else I read this year will be as enjoyable. Anarchists, spies, foreign agents, evil plots and Millie! Highly recommended.
Hopefully everything else I read this year will be as enjoyable. Anarchists, spies, foreign agents, evil plots and Millie! Highly recommended.
suze_1624's review
4.0
Ah yes, another great read - I did enjoy this and it mostly felt very of the time.
Miles and Briers are forced to work together as husband and wife as they gather intel on European anarchists bent on causing mayhem in London.
Thought the way we got to what the actual mayhem would be was good, bringing in the sewers.
Miles proved he was more than Millie, despite being treated as a child at times by Briers and Falk and with contempt by others. Though Pritchard and others showed that there were always friends around.
I'm not sure if there is a follow up but the ending does cry out for one!
Enjoyed and poignant too
Miles and Briers are forced to work together as husband and wife as they gather intel on European anarchists bent on causing mayhem in London.
Thought the way we got to what the actual mayhem would be was good, bringing in the sewers.
Miles proved he was more than Millie, despite being treated as a child at times by Briers and Falk and with contempt by others. Though Pritchard and others showed that there were always friends around.
I'm not sure if there is a follow up but the ending does cry out for one!
Enjoyed and poignant too