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julianav's review
3.0
At his last exam for Navy Lieutenant, Petty Officer Adam Hardacre is told that becoming a Lieutenant is out of his reach, due to him not being a gentleman and in anger he quits the Navy. Not long after that he is offered a position as a spy. His very public resignation may lead to French spies and their English agents contacting him and that could give the British the information about dissent and treachery on the English soil. In the meantime, newly unemployed governess Olivia Collins discovers the reasons her former employer's daughter from his first marriage is not mentioned by anyone at the house. Then, she meets Adam, who came back to his old village from where he was press ganged into the Navy years before.
This is very much a Regency Romance with some spying included. I liked that the hero was a carpenter's son who despite his obvious advantages could not be promoted beyond a Petty officer because he was of the wrong social class. Similarly, Olivia wasn't a daughter of an impoverished earl fleeing from some gothic villain.
Unfortunately, the spying was incredibly convoluted. If this is how spying was done, any half decent French spy of the era could have easily outwitted the resident British spymaster. I struggled to follow that story. However, the romance portion was nicely done and I liked the easy rapport between the two leads.
The spying plotline maybe floundering, but as a background for the romance and the uncovering of history between Adam and the squire's daughter it worked well. A solid 3 stars. For a more believable spying storylines, Rose Melikan's "Blackstone key" and it's follow up books are a better read.
This is very much a Regency Romance with some spying included. I liked that the hero was a carpenter's son who despite his obvious advantages could not be promoted beyond a Petty officer because he was of the wrong social class. Similarly, Olivia wasn't a daughter of an impoverished earl fleeing from some gothic villain.
Unfortunately, the spying was incredibly convoluted. If this is how spying was done, any half decent French spy of the era could have easily outwitted the resident British spymaster. I struggled to follow that story. However, the romance portion was nicely done and I liked the easy rapport between the two leads.
The spying plotline maybe floundering, but as a background for the romance and the uncovering of history between Adam and the squire's daughter it worked well. A solid 3 stars. For a more believable spying storylines, Rose Melikan's "Blackstone key" and it's follow up books are a better read.
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