9 months ago

Review: Lord and Lady SpyAuthor: Shana GalenPublisher:  Sourcebooks Casablanca,  an imprint of Sourcebooks IncSource:  ARC from Sourcebooks Aisle B Rating:    Five“It is a testament to your considerable skills that neither of you  ever revealed yourself to the other. Good Good, but my wife probably knows more about me than I do. Nosy woman.”  Adrian noted he said the last fondly. But it was no compliment to Adrian’s marriage that he and Sophia were taken completely by surprise tonight.  “In any case, I have it on good authority that you, Lord Smythe, and you, Lady Smythe, are two of the best agents we have.  And I have need of an operative with superior skills.”    Adrian unclenched his hands and leaned forward, now all business. “I think I should tell you, my lord, I mentored under Lord Melbourne and am recently retired from the Barbican group. Whatever it is you need, I am your man.”  “Perhaps his lordship does not need a man,” Sophia drawled from beside him. Excerpt from Lord and Lady Spy page 57Letter to Operative Agent: LectorePlease note that this is not a mission whose letter will self destruct upon opening the sealed envelope within 60 seconds. If you are up to the task you will find yourself embroiled as a covert operative- albeit a third wheel to the notorious spies whose codes names are Wolf and Saint.  Now before you decide to commit yourself to this incredible adventure, I’ll have to give you a quick historical update.  Both retired agents, Wolf and Saint have operated as elite members of the Barbican group; known for their bravery and extraordinary chameleon skills, as undercover agents, who’ve captured some of the most notorious named enemy spies for England’s good.  Now the dilemma is that they’ve just discovered that their identities have been compromised - actually they’ve just discovered each others’ code names and the irony is that they’re married to each other! Yes, quite a dilemma as you can tell. Wolf and Saint are society’s very own  Lord Adrian Smythe and Lady Sophia Smythe. So we do have a bit of a situation since they’ve been pushed together to uncover who killed Prime Minister’s Lord Liverpool’s brother. A nasty bit of savagery but we still have to discover “who” and “why” behind this murder. The deal will assure that the operative who solves the case gets reinstated to the Barbican - a permanent position away from the stagnancy of their forced retirement.  Now your mission, should you accept is to follow the deeds of the Smythes closely like a shadow that breathes into the still moonless night. You will be assigned the task of discovering what these two agents have fought to subdue. The only explosion that will erupt will be from the passionate and turbulent truth awaiting you at the end of this mission.Enjoy the mission Lectore and word to the wise… avoid Saint’s upper cut and beware of that blasted dagger she hides…**************************************************************************Shana Galen… Shana Galen… how do you do it. WOW!Lord and Lady Spy is one of those rare reads that captures a certain energy that captivates the reader from the opening  moment where you read about Saint’s hiding position inside a wardrobe , waiting four hours to capture her “man”. The ensuing scene is hilarious, especially since the play on words to describe the sexual exploits of the inhabitants of the bedroom.  Can you say “neighs” and “horse”. I’m tempted to add more words to her retinue: Giddy Up and Stallion Stud. Galen’s book is an adventure into the world of secret spy missions with action spilling out onto London’s streets circa 1815.  You have these incredible choreographed fight scenes- a feast for the eyes since they visually jump out from the pages of the book.  You can’t escape the hilarious “I can out do you anytime and Best you at that too” - a competitive nature between the newly forced tag team duo of Saint and Wolf. The scene where they compare their “battle wounds”  will have you in stitches and you smirk at the clever snipes enclosed. The relationship between Saint- aka-Sophia and Wolf-aka-Adrian is what makes this historical romance work.  Galen writes outside of the conventions to incorporate characters that grab you for their strengths and weaknesses. Sophia is a robust and die hard spy yet she harbours a deep pain that unleashes her hidden grief. Her pain will make your heart weep and you long to comfort her dearly. Adrian, despite his over confidence of being the true “man” for the position, is the one person who rejuvenates Sophia from her grief. The sensitivity and acrobatics of Lord and Lady Spy will have you cheering for this dynamo duo.  Simply put you don’t want to put down the book, since you’ll be afraid of having missed any cosmic moment. Shana Galen.. Shana Galen.. How do you do it… With a whisper of your pen… BANG! Consider this  MISSION ACCOMPLIE:  Worth every Word -Worth every Minute!

Review: Lord and Lady Spy
Author: Shana Galen
Publisher:  Sourcebooks Casablanca,  an imprint of Sourcebooks Inc
Source:  ARC from Sourcebooks

Aisle B Rating:  3.87 of 5 stars3.87 of 5 stars3.87 of 5 stars3.87 of 5 stars3.87 of 5 stars 


Five

“It is a testament to your considerable skills that neither of you  ever revealed yourself to the other. Good Good, but my wife probably knows more about me than I do. Nosy woman.”
  Adrian noted he said the last fondly. But it was no compliment to Adrian’s marriage that he and Sophia were taken completely by surprise tonight.
  “In any case, I have it on good authority that you, Lord Smythe, and you, Lady Smythe, are two of the best agents we have.  And I have need of an operative with superior skills.”
   Adrian unclenched his hands and leaned forward, now all business. “I think I should tell you, my lord, I mentored under Lord Melbourne and am recently retired from the Barbican group. Whatever it is you need, I am your man.”
  “Perhaps his lordship does not need a man,” Sophia drawled from beside him.

Excerpt from Lord and Lady Spy page 57

Letter to Operative Agent: Lectore

Please note that this is not a mission whose letter will self destruct upon opening the sealed envelope within 60 seconds. If you are up to the task you will find yourself embroiled as a covert operative- albeit a third wheel to the notorious spies whose codes names are Wolf and Saint.  

Now before you decide to commit yourself to this incredible adventure, I’ll have to give you a quick historical update.  Both retired agents, Wolf and Saint have operated as elite members of the Barbican group; known for their bravery and extraordinary chameleon skills, as undercover agents, who’ve captured some of the most notorious named enemy spies for England’s good.  Now the dilemma is that they’ve just discovered that their identities have been compromised - actually they’ve just discovered each others’ code names and the irony is that they’re married to each other! Yes, quite a dilemma as you can tell.

Wolf and Saint are society’s very own  Lord Adrian Smythe and Lady Sophia Smythe. So we do have a bit of a situation since they’ve been pushed together to uncover who killed Prime Minister’s Lord Liverpool’s brother. A nasty bit of savagery but we still have to discover “who” and “why” behind this murder. The deal will assure that the operative who solves the case gets reinstated to the Barbican - a permanent position away from the stagnancy of their forced retirement.  

Now your mission, should you accept is to follow the deeds of the Smythes closely like a shadow that breathes into the still moonless night. You will be assigned the task of discovering what these two agents have fought to subdue. The only explosion that will erupt will be from the passionate and turbulent truth awaiting you at the end of this mission.

Enjoy the mission Lectore and word to the wise… avoid Saint’s upper cut and beware of that blasted dagger she hides…

**************************************************************************

Shana Galen… Shana Galen… how do you do it. WOW!

Lord and Lady Spy is one of those rare reads that captures a certain energy that captivates the reader from the opening  moment where you read about Saint’s hiding position inside a wardrobe , waiting four hours to capture her “man”. The ensuing scene is hilarious, especially since the play on words to describe the sexual exploits of the inhabitants of the bedroom.  Can you say “neighs” and “horse”. I’m tempted to add more words to her retinue: Giddy Up and Stallion Stud.

Galen’s book is an adventure into the world of secret spy missions with action spilling out onto London’s streets circa 1815.  You have these incredible choreographed fight scenes- a feast for the eyes since they visually jump out from the pages of the book.  You can’t escape the hilarious “I can out do you anytime and Best you at that too” - a competitive nature between the newly forced tag team duo of Saint and Wolf. The scene where they compare their “battle wounds”  will have you in stitches and you smirk at the clever snipes enclosed.

The relationship between Saint- aka-Sophia and Wolf-aka-Adrian is what makes this historical romance work.  Galen writes outside of the conventions to incorporate characters that grab you for their strengths and weaknesses. Sophia is a robust and die hard spy yet she harbours a deep pain that unleashes her hidden grief. Her pain will make your heart weep and you long to comfort her dearly. Adrian, despite his over confidence of being the true “man” for the position, is the one person who rejuvenates Sophia from her grief.

The sensitivity and acrobatics of Lord and Lady Spy will have you cheering for this dynamo duo.  Simply put you don’t want to put down the book, since you’ll be afraid of having missed any cosmic moment.

Shana Galen.. Shana Galen.. How do you do it… With a whisper of your pen… BANG! Consider this  MISSION ACCOMPLIE:  Worth every Word -Worth every Minute!