Customer Reviews

The Spy Wore Silk

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

 

 

"The Spy Wore Silk" is the start of a new series by Ms Pickens featuring women chosen from the slums of London as young orphans. These women are taught to live and breathe the art of war. Literally. And become part of a deadly, almost otherworldly, elite group of spies.

Siena is given a mission to unmask a traitor in a small club of book collectors. Her cover: pretend to be a courtesan and drive these men to distraction while at a house party, revealing the traitor by giving each man a series of tests.

I loved how this book started. It is very refreshing to read about heroines comfortable in there sexuality and their bodies. Siena uses her body to manipulate these men into letting down their guards in order to gain information. Not with sex, but with her beauty and wanton behavior.

The problem is our hero, Lord Kirtland is a unappealing character. I enjoy the uptight heroes that need to be "thawed", but this man had very little going for him. He would rather spend his time reading and gushed over his books ad nauseam. Another thing that bothered me: Siena gets accosted at one point and must defend herself, however, the hero just watches her from the sidelines! I was appalled that he wasn't even outraged that a man had struck a female. This happens more than once. Lord Kirtland needed a bit of a backbone.

I also found the premise of six men actually going through the games/tests Siena puts them through for her affections an unlikely and ineffective story line.

The sensual tension was non-existent and the love scenes a bit tepid and rushed. However, I give Ms. Pickens stars for her creative heroine. I cared about Siena and that in itself will have me picking up her next novel.

As soon as the reader steps into the novel, they must be willing to accept an unusual situation. The story opens during the Napoleonic war. Mrs. Merlin's Academy for Select Young Ladies--a school has been formed for girls taken out of the London slums. Within a few short years while living in isolated and spartan conditions, these young women are taught everything from reading, languages, courtly manners, riding, yoga, Indian fakir, using their womanly wiles, proficiency in playing a pinafore, and fighting in every conceivable manner. Their education in such a short time is astounding. They are being prepared to become ultimate spies for the British government. They will go from the slums of London and this kind of present life, to being totally prepared to step into the high society of the day without a hint of ever having experienced this face-to-face before.

This new series begins when Sienna receives her first assignment. She is chosen to unmask a traitor to the country. Kirtland, a disgraced ex-army officer and prime suspect, is the only man within his book club to recognize the oddity of Sienna's ability to enter their all-male club--and of her proposal to gain one of them as her protector through a series of challenging competitions.

Rare manuscripts are being used to send Napoleon highly sensitive information. The cost of such manuscripts and the difficulty in acquiring them limits the field of those who might be responsible. The first place to look is the gentleman's club that specializes in researching, discussing and acquiring old manuscripts, The Gilded Page Club--the very club Sienna has infiltrated.

Now the chase begins. Who is the real enemy and how can they be uncovered? Will flirting lead to something more? Will love, trust, and hope be placed in the wrong hands? The ultimate outcome will not only affect Sienna and Kirtland, but also the country.

My issue with the book is with the theme of illiterate young women learning ALL the different disciplines in a few short years--and then be sent out to be spies. If you can suspend the lack of reality, you might enjoy this book more than I did.

Armchair Interviews says: The motto of Mrs. Merlin's Academy for Select Young Ladies is also a synopsis of the story: Discipline, Duty, and Desire.

Picking up this book, I was really intrigued at the concept of specially trained female spies. Having read how Celeste Bradley incorporated the theme of spies in Regency novels, I was hoping to find a fun new author. Unfortunately, Andrea Pickens did not deliver at all.

Firstly, it was too much of a stretch. Female urchins picked up on the street and taught to blend with society, as well as combat and seductive skills? Believable. Female urchins taught all of that as well as yoga, tai chi, and virtuoso piano skills? A bit much. Not to mention that Sienna, the heroine, is frankly the worst spy in the history of spies. She can't keep a secret -- within minutes of meeting the man who she thinks might be betraying her country, she is engaging in sword fights, sparring matches, and everything else she could possibly do to make sure that he gets that "Hey, I'm Not A Courtesan, I'm A Spy! A SPY!" That it takes Kirtland (the hero) longer than five minutes to realize this just makes him seem dim.

All he has to do is say, "Trust me," and she is promptly spilling her guts on everything (and I do mean every detail) about her specialized training. Before completely eliminating him from the potential villain list, either. (oh, wait, they had sex. I guess that eliminated him) Also, sidenote: spies with tattoos is somewhat neat, but when creating a society of super-secret female spies who will probably be seducing men in service for their country? Maybe it isn't a good idea to give them all matching hawk tattoos on their left breast. Guys miiiiight just notice that, and females with tattoos weren't exactly commen at the time. I mean, come on.

Even beyond that, the plot itself dragged from one far-fetched plot device to the next. The love story itself was tepid, and the sex scenes matched.

The basic idea is a good one, but unless Pickens takes a much different approach on the next book (Shannon's), I don't see this lack-luster start leading to anything noteworthy. Don't buy this book -- checking it out of the library will at least save you from wasting money when you feel like dropping it half-way through.

I read about the series and as soon as I found out that Siena was a female spy I just had to have it. A woman who weilds power in that day and age? I just had to read it.
The bad thing is that when I finally did get the book I found something out right away and that was that the two main characters would have to hide a lot of secrets and act carefully around one another. Kirtland would not know who she really was and why she was there in the first place but he would suspect. He would look for the truth and she would hide the truth. He would find something out and she would have to come up with another story.
Mainly I'm not crazy about the book because it's not the type of thing I like to read. While Siena is an intresting character, the plot isn't one I would have picked out had I thought about it more before I bought it. When people are continually dancing around the truth I get tired of it.
I admit that I haven't finished the book yet. I mostly wrote this review because I know what happens. the eventually the truth will come out and there will be a turn in the book. I wait for that moment. But my review will not change because I've been reading this book for a week now. I put it down all of the time. I may like the book, but it's not going to be one of my favorites.

Lord Lynsley knows that whoever is selling top military secrets to England's enemy must come from a select few who have power, and money to accomplish the seditious deed as the nefarious seller has access to high levels of government. Lynsley especially thinks one of the members of the Gilded Page Club (Dunster, Fitzwilliam, Winthrop, Leveritt, Jadwin, and Kirtland) is the traitor, but these are connected aristocrats so accusations of traitorous activities must be proven beyond a shadow of a doubt.

Linsley turns to the Mrs. Merlin Academy for Select Young Ladies for an undercover spy to ferret out the identity of the culprit as these women taken from the slums of London have been trained to fight or seduce their foes into submission. Mrs. Merlin chooses Siena, a bold fighter and art connoisseur. Siena pretends to be a brash courtesan who infiltrates the club by offering her wares exclusively to whom she decides is the chosen one. Her plan is perfect except she is attracted to the Earl of Kirtland, a war hero who saved his men's lives only to be disgraced for failing to follow a superior's order that would have needlessly led to his squad's deaths. The cat and mice game has begun, but a Russian and a Merlin join the contest.

This is an engaging Regency espionage romantic suspense tale starring a courageous heroine and a strong support cast. Readers will appreciate the audacious saucy steps that Siena takes to uncover the traitor while feeling for Kirtland, who is the only who suspects there is more to this courtesan's infiltration even as he wants her like no other female ever before. Sub-genre fans will take pleasure in this fun thriller and look forward to Siena's roommate's adventures as a nineteenth century "Jane Bond" saving England.

Harriet Klausner

This is a good series for the romance genre. There's actually a plot that holds one's attention. Heavy breathing and some usual cliches are included, but at least nothing is unbearably explicit or dumb. The author's writing skill is admirable and I look forward to reading another.

You sent me the wrong book as the book I ordered was authored by Aline, The Countess of Romanones. You show these 2 books, one authored by her, and the other by Andrea Pickins. side by side on you site, and you know it confuses the authors and the books. I am returning the Pickins book to you and want my account credited. I do not think they way you do this is fair. I really did not review this book here because I have NOT read it.
Anita Fournier
Wimberley,Texas
aneda8@aol.com

Good start for a series. She's not a very good spy in keeping a secret though. Didn't really understand what she would see in him. Always bugs me when hero is tanned when it's England location. Yoga, fencing, seduction, Italian, weaponry? And a MASTER at all of them? Hope Shannon's story is a little better.

A rare find, snagging the reader into the tassels of sizzling with suspense, passion, and intrigue. ~Affaire de Coeur

The Spy Wore Silk is about a former street urchin who is plucked from the stews in London and trained to become one of London's most formidable weapons. Renamed Siena, she and her fellow students go through rigorous training in all forms of martial arts as well as the deadlier seductive arts that will become her raison d'etre into high society. As one of Merlin's Maidens, she is expected to fly solo and unmask who is selling England's secrets during the Napoleonic Wars. The traitor is discovered to be smuggling his secrets across the Channel through antique manuscripts, so our intrepid young spy sets out to ensnare an invitation to an extremely exclusive auction through the members of an equally exclusive club. These members are all possible suspects and so Siena sets out to capture their attention by concocting a slew of games, contests if you will, with Siena as the grand prize. While the men are busy running around, trying to outdo each other for the right to bed the newest courtesan in London, one man stands firm against the hysteria. Lord Julian Kirtland is no fool, and he immediately discovers Siena is not what she seems. Together, they seek out the traitor and set out to discover if their newfound passion can blossom into something longer and timeless.

While the premise of The Spy Wore Silk sounds exciting, it falls flat. It requires too much faith from the reader, and I just couldn't buy into this world. The whole contest scenario was just plain stupid. Nuff said. Siena is supposed to be a great spy, having trained for years for just this moment, only to spill the beans the moment Kirtland smiles at her and makes her heart flutter. Huh? I only hope real life spies are a little tougher to crack. The story is overpopulated and it's hard to keep track of who's who, plus the villains are a little too cartoonish, especially after all the dire cloak and dagger stuff.

It's not all bad though. I really liked Kirtland and how he respects Siena right from the start. I liked how there wasn't any, "I'm the lord, you're just the rabble" attitude from him, too. They meet on an equal playing field and I felt it allowed for more playfulness to come out between them. There is also one extremely erotic game of strip fencing that I would love to play. It was seriously one of the hottest, non sex game I have ever read about. If nothing else, read the book for that scene alone.