Customer Reviews

When Seducing a Spy (Andersen Hall)

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

 

 

Pretty darned good! Different new twist- Lady Tess is the government secret agent and Heath's her old tutor's son, turned barrister. He's sent by another branch of the government to investigate her when her name is connected to a crime, not realizing what she's been up to in the intervening years.

Shortly after seeing his childhood friend again, Heath Bartlett is shocked to hear she is being accused of a crime. As an Officer of the Crown, Heath is assigned to investigate the lovely Lady Tess Golding. While he doesn't want to believe she is guilty, Heath will do whatever it takes to solve the case.

Tainted by scandal, Lady Tess Golding is not what she seems. Tess has secrets that must be kept to protect her country. Unfortunately, Heath Bartlett is a threat to her way of life. Heath tempts Tess with his passionate embraces and seductive kisses. If Tess isn't careful, she will give Heath more than the secrets she keeps, she will give him her heart.

I adore romances involving childhood friends. Although I never experienced this type of romance, it still appeals to my romantic soul. One of my favorite elements of When Seducing a Spy is the magnetism Heath and Tess share. Sari Robins made it clear these two are soul mates that must have each other to find true happiness. I adored the way Heath thought of Tess constantly and that Tess was unable to deny her passion for Heath.

Although When Seducing a Spy is part of a series, it can be read as a stand alone. I'm sure that after you finish When Seducing a Spy, you will, like me, rush out to purchase the first two in this series.

Annmarie reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

I think it's understood when one picks up a trashy romance novel that one does not expect prose of Austen's calibre. I've read a good number of Regency romance novels, and the majority of them betrayed the lack of a competent editor (or any editor, perhaps). This novel is no different, with its atrocious grammatical errors and lapses of anachronistic diction. However, I've read many novels that are very engrossing and entertaining despite lapses in writing style or historical authenticity. This novel, however, is so poorly written that it is barely enjoyable. Plot-wise, the premise is shaky, to say the least, and the development is barely credible. The only thing remarkable about the ending is the blatant deus ex machina. In reading this book, I get the sense that the author was trying to hint at secrets from the past of the two main characters, and slowly reveal them along the way. However, what she achieves is a series of confusingly vague references punctuated by intermittent and lengthy exposition, which makes the narrative take on a plodding - if not outright funereal - pace. That is, until we get to the 300-page mark, and the author seems to realize she needs to wrap things up if she's going to get to a resolution before her reader gets tired of the book.

As for the characterization, it is incomplete at best. Many of the characters' actions are insufficiently motivated. For example, the author quickly sets up an adversarial air between the hero and heroine, and hints that it is due to friction arising from some past event. Eventually, however, the reader will realize that no events took place in their past that should cause mutual emnity (I guess it's plausible for the lady to have felt uncomfortable in the hero's presence at first, considering what she believed at the time, but there was no reason at all for the hero to treat her initially as anything other than an estranged friend). Her two protagonists seem to have a penchant for willy-nilly blowing hot and cold, conveniently allowing her to create more tension and dragging out the inevitable dissolution of their obvious misunderstandings. The most egregious instance is probably one scene when the heroine is one the verge of explaining away a major point of friction, but instead chooses to fly off in a fury. I suppose one could argue that she felt she owed no explaination to one who had wounded her pride, but a heroine who is so blindly willful is hardly sympathetic.

It seems that the author had great ambitions for this novel. It had many elements that would have made this story into an imaginative and complex work. Sadly, the effort fell short, and what we have is a pulp novel bloated with contrived melodramatics, starved of believable character development, and barely held together by a half-baked plot.

Long story short? Don't read this book, it's not worth your time.

Tess had not seen Heath in years, not since her family had fired Heath's father as her tutor. Now she seems to run into him everywhere, and she wants to know what he's up to. Is he back for revenge over what her part in his father's dismissal so many years ago, or has he discovered her secret life as a spy for the foreign office? Tess is determined to find out, but she ferreting the truth of his return proves harder than it seems when she consistently loses her head to passion whenever he is near...

Heath can't believe that his childhood friend is really a thief, as her accusers state. Yet, as he investigates her in secret, he realizes she is definitely hiding something, and it certainly seems as if there is more to her than meets the eye. But his investigation is thrown off balance as he loses his heart and soul to the beautiful but scandalous Lady Tess Golding.

I have a penchant for historicals, and love those that star strong heroines who can stand independent of the story's hero. Sari Robins' heroine in When Seducing a Spy is just such a woman. Having been the center of several scandals, betrayed by her now deceased husband, and left to pull herself up by her bootstraps after finding herself penniless and cut off by her domineering father, she has finally found her backbone after a lifetime of doing what is expected of her, and cowing to the wishes of her father and husband. While we aren't a part of that growth process, we experience it in her memories, and find admiration for the woman that has grown out of such adversity.

Heath is as aggravating and clueless as they come, but these traits make for a great plot, of course! Truly, if readers did not find Heath aggravating, then the author would not have done her job. Robins ably engenders feelings in the reader that mirror those of Lady Tess as she deals with Heath. While definitely not a bad guy, his ambitions have him working against his better judgment, with the bait of a promising legal career and an advantageous marriage leading him astray.

But Heath soon redeems himself, as his feelings for Tess override his ambitions, and he finally does right by her, no matter the cost to his personal goals.

I'd certainly recommend When Seducing a Spy to anyone who loves historicals with a strong woman cast as the heroine and a few unsuspected twists in a suspenseful plot.

In 1810, the Girard Street Crier contains an article that comes to the attention of the Foreign Office as its author Deiniol writes about "Sifting Truths: The Power of Rumor and the Art of Discernment". Tristan Wheaton and Sir Lee Devane agree that this intelligent male aristocrat needs to be recruited.

Two and half years later, Lady Tess Linowes is a card carrying member of the Society for the Enrichment and Learning of Females. The widow also works undercover for the Crown having been outed not too long ago. Her childhood friend Heath Bartlett has been assigned by another government agency to investigate Tess' involvement in a recent theft. To his chagrin he wants her though she is the worst type of female for his career plans as she is a blue-blooded modern day feminist. Still when she is framed to take the fall for a homicide, Heath does everything to prove her innocence and make her his wife.

Readers will enjoy this delightful spy vs. sleuth Regency romance in which the suspense keeps the audience hooked until the final confrontation. The fast-paced story line stars two interesting characters as Heath wants a biddable spouse whose name will further his ambition yet he only dreams of Tess. She on the other hand is attracted to him, but fears marriage would end her career. Thus Heath knows he must seduce the spy to make her his spouse that is after getting her out of jail.

Harriet Klausner

The story revolves around a twist in the main concept of the plot. The heroine is paid by the government to be a spy. She is not a spy on her own trying to right a wrong or working in the shadows with the hero. I found this added flavor and uniqueness to the book.

Tess and Heath have had a past association but each has gone their separate ways. Now, with one almost engaged to be married, and the other enjoying a freedom they had never known, they are thrown together to unravel mysteries around them--and in regard to each other.

The humor was wonderful. You will have to read the book to enjoy the fun of watching men enter an all women's organization. Once again the author uses a twist in a concept as women are usually attempting to crash men's society clubs.

However, there were difficulties with the book. After reading the back cover, I thought I knew the timeframe for the story. When I read the teaser page, I began to wonder if I had been mistaken. The word "electric" was used on the teaser page to describe the air. This word was not in use for another hundred years after the timeframe of the book, and therefore the heroine would not have thought of the condition of the air as "electric."

Also, there never was a believable explanation as to why the main character was ostracized by society after being blamed for the death of her husband and his friend--especially knowing society understood the black side and foibles of her husband.

The last unexplained complexity was with the mercurial temperament of the heroine--flying all over without build up or justification regarding the quick changes.

Armchair Interviews says: Fast-paced twists and turns with humor tucked in along the way.

When Seducing a Spy by Sari Robins was ok but not great. It took me forever to finish this book. The last 1/4 of the book was fast paced when the mystery was being solved.