Customer Reviews

The Laurentine Spy

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

She was born dirt poor, below even the peasants. Dreading the life open before her, Saliel takes an opportunity to become a spy in the Corhonase citadel. With the money she earns Saliel could buy a better life for herself. She could have her independence and land with a small cottage by the sea. She becomes part of an elite spy group. She is only called Three whenever she meets with the others. Two is a servant and One is a nobleman. They meet secretly, deep under the citadel, within the catacombs. They are cloaked and wear hoods, keeping each ignorant of the others' identities. Only the Guardian knows their true names and faces. Up in the citadel, in the ballrooms and salons of the nobles' Court, she is believed to be Lady Petra.

After so long, Saliel's time of spying is almost over. Arrangements are being made for her departure. The only things left to do are to copy the third code book and disappear forever. But a sadistic Spycatcher is brought in. His pale eyes force people to speak the truth. Saliel is the only spy with the ability to lie to the Spycatcher. She keeps quiet as to how she accomplishes this. Should it ever become known that she has just a bit of magic, she would be burned at the stake.

**** This story is very much like a Historical Romance with small tad of magic thrown in. If you are looking for more magic than what seems to be hypnotizing, you will be disappointed. The setting is much like the Regency era of London's past. Saliel is the heroine of the story, but there is also a hero, Athan of House Seresin. Once out of the citadel, the story does not dwindle to a stop. On the contrary, it actually picks up and becomes even more exciting. The two spies must learn to trust each other and share their darkest secrets if they are to escape their pursuers. A believable story that shows prime examples of how far people may go for love and loyalty. ****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

I enjoyed EMily Gee's first novel Thief With No Shadow, so when I saw she had another book coming out, I ran and got it. Fantasy with romance is my favorite genre.

This book was mostly historical adventure romance. The concept of three spies working at the same time and not knowing each other identities was fun and suspenseful. I enjoyed the heroine Saliel. The first half of the book was definitely 5 star material.

The second half of the book where the hero and heroine are on the run, was not as suspenseful or interesting. The ending felt a little rushed. Hence my detraction of 1 star.

Still, if you enjoy the combo of fantasy, romance, and adventure set in a pseudo historical setting, you will like this book.

Saliel is in over her head. Masquerading as a noble lady in the fortress of Laureant's greatest enemy, she sneaks into the old disused catacombs every other night to meet One, Two, and the Guardian, other Laurentine spies whose true identities she doesn't know.

After foiling an enemy plan to take over another fought-over land, Saliel learns that the Prince and his consort know there are spies in the fortress and have hired a notorious and feared spycatcher. Saliel and the other spies still have work to do however, and must stay one step ahead of him in order to accomplish their goal. All the time Saliel must play a part -- a part she know she has no business playing -- and longs to be back home in Laureant, independent and finally free from playing roles. And free from her past.

I could not put down The Laurentine Spy. From the first chapter, Gee pulled me into the Laurentine spy network. My heart was racing throughout the entire book and I often found myself murmuring advice to the characters in order to keep them one step ahead of the evil spycatcher who was all too real and incredibly scary.

Gee's knack for creating suspense could rival Alfred Hitchcock's. Gee also was able to do something that too many authors can't: she made me care about the characters from the very first chapter. I could relate to Saliel and shared in her fear and frustration throughout the entire book -- she was an engaging character who I could wrap my head around. It was fantastic.

The Laurentine Spy was truly an engrossing novel. This is what good fantasy should be: edge of your seat, page-turning, late-night reading, heart-racing entertainment. I was captivated and I will definitely be reading more of Gee's works.

My only complaint is that there was no map to refer to. I would have loved to have had a map of the world so I could gauge the distances. A map of the citadel would have also been very welcome. This was truly a minor thing however, definitely not a reason not to pick up The Laurentine Spy.

Laurentine Spy is a great stand alone novel about two spies working in a cell in an enemy fortress. The setting is well thought out, the plot logical, interesting, and well paced. The writing is good, and the tension of the cloak and dagger carries through well - it's very hard to put the book down. There's good grit, with no fanciful races and very limited magic.

As mentioned in other reviews, the latter half of the book lacks some of the tension of the first, and feels a bit weaker because of it; but I appreciate that the characters continue to grow and develop throughout, and Gee does an excellent job of drawing out the mysteries behind the characters (who are they really? Why are they here? What was their past?) You fall in love with Saliel long before you know much about her, which shows some excellent story crafting and discipline from the author.

A couple small warnings: This isn't an action novel; it focuses on cloak and dagger tension and suspense, and complicated character interactions, and does these well - but there are a minimum of fight scenes (one in particular is simply skipped over in preference of continuing the plot). There's some darkness here; not a fluff romance, this has tragedy and horror and characters that don't simply shrug it off. It's also got a fair amount of sex, but in keeping with the last comment it's mostly the sort that makes you feel pity for the characters, not titillated.

All that said, this is a fabulous novel and a very good read. It's rare to see an espionage plot done well, and almost unheard of in the fantasy genre: don't pass it up.

THE LAURENTINE SPY first came to my attention a couple months back and sparked my interest. I picked it up at the bookstore shortly after, brought it home, and then promptly set it on the nightstand stack to marinate for awhile. I looked at it speculatively from time to time but other books kept nosing in and getting in the way. Then when I suddenly needed something incredibly engrossing about characters who elicited my sympathy, there it was. On top of the stack with its pretty cover and its hinting at a sort of irresistable blend of fantasy, intrigue, romance oh my!

Deep in the bowels of the Corhonase citadel, among catecombs and crypts and crumbling columns, three cloaked and hooded personages meet in secret. They utter their passwords to the mysterious Guardian and enter. Known to each other only as One, Two, and Three, by day these three spies masquerade as nobles and servant in an enemy court, while by night they plot to steal top-secret code books on behalf of their homeland of Laurent. Different spies rotate through Corhona and there have always been a One and a Two. A noble and a servant. But now, for the first time, there is a Three. A woman. Saliel is Three and it is her job to stay close to the women of court, to the Prince's Consort, and feed her fellow spies and their Guardian any information she can glean about military movements, plots, and maneuvers. It is Saliel's dream to earn enough money to quit espionage and settle down in a solitary cottage by the sea and never have nightmares of her dark past or her danger-fraught present. Though they have no idea just who the other masquerades as during the day, One and Three develop a tenuous bond forged of mutual respect, curiosity, and a desire to protect the other from harm. But when the prince brings in a professional Spycatcher, that bond is stretched to the breaking point as Athan and Saliel are unwittingly pitted against one another, forced to tiptoe through their days, terrified of being caught, and uncertain as to whether or not they will ever escape Corhona alive.

I devoured THE LAURENTINE SPY. It was precisely what I needed--a really emotionally involving, heart-thumpingly exciting yarn. Within three pages, Emily Gee had me completely committed to these two characters and their secret-shrouded mission. The entire premise is a recipe for success: two spies who have never seen each other's faces, who interact with each other daily without knowing it, and who spend whatever available mental energy they have worrying about the other. Worrying and wondering. The suspense is palpable throughout the novel and I found myself glued to the page, aching to find out what turn they would take next, which corridor they would follow, and who would be lying in wait around the corner. And, of course, I was on pins and needles waiting to see if they would ever meet in person, face to face, and utter aloud the thoughts they've had circling in their heads for months on end. My heart was in my throat for the majority of the story and I rooted very hard for Saliel and Athan as they played out their assigned roles, despite living in a near constant state of numb terror, despite having no one to whisper their fears to, and despite the knot of secrets threatening their lives. A cracking good read recommended for fans of Sharon Shinn, Susan Dexter, and Moira J. Moore. I will definitely be picking up Emily Gee's first novel--Thief With No Shadow.

The premise is this: three Laurentine spies and their handler are in enemy territory and none of the spies know each others true names and faces. In a hostile court, they may be ineracting with one of their own and never know it. Into the fray comes a Spycatcher, who has an uncanny ability to make people tell him the truth. And, our heroine Saliel, has an even darker secret she must hide from them all.

This book was a fun, fast read, ESPECIALLY the first half. Emily Gee has the potential to be one of the best producers of plot in fantasy genre. Her writing style was so evocative that I was breathless and clammy whenever the main characters were out and about doing daring-do amongst their enemies. Also, for some odd reason that I've never been able to fathom, many authors like to pull their plots from some sort "Something to Throw at the Characters" grab bag, with contents like: bandits (yawn), fire (blinking sleepily), weather (really?), deathly ill (I'm starting to feel a wee bit ill mahself)... etc. But Emily Gee was pulling out some great stuff, which I will endeavor not to give away. She has a fantastic imagination. Now, why did such a fabulous author get only a 4 star rating for this book?

The second half sort of turned into a better-quality, but, nontheless, still a romance novel. (Straight-up romance novels always make me twitchy and irritable, but this didn't quite degenerate into a "He loves me, wait, no, he doesn't, I can't live without his love etc." Though there was a long, drawn-out caste struggle which almost induced a muscle spasm.) So this great plot with solid characters just meaders around and sashays away from being amazing to a sort of too-sickly-sweet drink. That is to say, this lady shows a great promise that was ALMOST fulfilled in this novel. Once she decides to write full fantasy and give up this uber-romantic fluff (I would apologize to romance book lovers except for the fact that I'm totally not sorry.)(though that isn't to say I don't like a smidge of lovin' in my books, but when everything revolves around the characters' emotional states, I drown), she will be a definitive writer in the fantasy firmament. So, all in all, this book is very worthwhile, though I expect her future novels will far outmatch the Laurentine Spy.

For the Laurentine spies in the citadel, every day is dangerous - not the least of which for spy Saliel, who holds magic powers she keeps a deep secret. If she's discovered, she'll be burned as a witch in with a sadistic spy catcher closing in, it's up to her magic to help her survive - a magic she must disclose to her fellow spies at great risk. A gripping fantasy adventure evolves, perfect for any fantasy reader.

Well for me after having read A Theif With No Shadow first, it was a slight disappointment with this book. I mean don't get me wrong, its got an element of fantasy and romance is cleary apparent. I just wanst engaged with it as her previous novel. The story develops slowly and at a pace where one can judge what is going to happen before it does. The reviews from other people on the back of it give praise to the both novel, but i dont think this is as good. Just for a slight feel good happy ending sort of book, if thats what you need. But not a detailed, heavy duty fantasy novel.