false <![CDATA[The Spymaster's Lady]]> 959745 2 "<b>She's never met a man she couldn't deceive... until now.</b> She's braved battlefields. She's stolen dispatches from under the noses of heads of state. She's played the worldly courtesan, the naive virgin, the refined British lady, even a Gypsy boy. But Annique Villiers, the elusive spy known as the Fox Cub, has finally met the one man she can't outwit." 944648 2 1 2008 The Spymaster's Lady total:294|5:108|4:108|3:57|2:14|1:7| 294 1178 454 103 4 9 false true Fri Mar 21 19:20:49 -0700 2008 Sat Apr 12 03:11:38 -0700 2008
I liked the sexual tension and how it built up--loved the bath tub scene...more...]]> 4 8 false false Sun Jan 04 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Thu Oct 30 23:27:04 -0700 2008 Wed Jan 07 15:29:48 -0800 2009 The Spymaster's Lady was a little like reading a historical Ludlum novel plus romance. I'm usually leery of the spy theme in historical romance because it's typically a plot device and a novelty; it's never lent much thought.

It's clear, however, that Joanna Bourne not only lent the subj...more...]]> 2 3 false false Wed Feb 11 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Tue Feb 10 04:23:48 -0800 2009 Fri Mar 06 01:22:14 -0800 2009
I heard so many good things about this book, and, from a minority, so many bad things, that I was curious to know what the fuss was all about.

First of all I have to thank one of my re...more...]]> 3 4 false false Fri Apr 10 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Nov 28 09:04:37 -0800 2008 Fri Apr 10 15:30:59 -0700 2009
In order of most interesting to least interesting:
1) the heroine
2) the plot
3) the secondary characters
4) the hero (Bla!!!)

I'm somewhat curious about the other titles t...more...]]> 3 1 false false Fri Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Jan 28 09:37:49 -0800 2008 Thu Feb 07 16:10:42 -0800 2008
I kept the rating to three stars as a matter...more...]]> 3 1 false false Mon Jul 28 12:29:34 -0700 2008 Mon Jul 28 12:35:48 -0700 2008
1) The heroine was both unbelievably competent (in t...more...]]> 3 1 false true Fri Aug 01 11:47:50 -0700 2008 Thu Apr 16 08:08:06 -0700 2009
Most of the reviews I read praise how different the heroine is, her physical and emotional strength and abilities, and I agree. But by the end, I also was a little tired of her constant self-doubt and a...more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Jan 05 11:22:22 -0800 2009 Mon Jan 05 11:22:22 -0800 2009
One of the big advantages of having my Kindle is the ability to download books like these and not have to face the clerk at Borders. Of course, I just shoot myself in the foot when I go and review it on Good Reads becau...more...]]> 5 0 false false Fri Nov 20 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Thu Nov 19 22:49:47 -0800 2009 Thu Nov 19 23:00:05 -0800 2009
I can't believe it's taken me this long to read it. I've seen it praised all over romland, and yet I've held off reading it. I didn't know what I was missing.

First of all, I'm not going to rehash ...more...]]> 5 0 false true Fri Apr 17 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Apr 19 11:06:06 -0700 2009 Sun Apr 19 11:06:06 -0700 2009
I also liked the glimpse of French culture. This is s...more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Jun 09 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 08 09:12:04 -0700 2009 Wed Jun 10 07:50:16 -0700 2009 Smart Bitches, Trashy Books, which I find delightful. The SBs gave it a pretty good review (compared to some of the other dreck they read), so I thought I'd give it a shot.

One of the notable aspects they mentioned was the use of language -- a Fre...more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Feb 14 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sat Feb 14 11:01:50 -0800 2009 Sat Feb 14 11:10:13 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Apr 27 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Apr 27 07:27:19 -0700 2009 Mon Apr 27 08:14:54 -0700 2009
As for the rest - well, I loved the main character (Annique) and the hero was interesting and attractive. I was...more...]]> 5 1 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 31 07:17:44 -0800 2007 Sun Jan 06 07:56:28 -0800 2008
Bourne has an unerring eye for dialog and setting, and her characters spring to life on each page.

If you've stopped reading historicals because they all blend into a blu...more...]]> 4 2 false false Sat Feb 28 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Wed Dec 17 19:07:42 -0800 2008 Sat Feb 28 08:13:09 -0800 2009 5 1 false false Thu Feb 28 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Thu Feb 28 23:11:05 -0800 2008 Thu Feb 28 23:12:34 -0800 2008 3 0 false false Thu May 21 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu May 07 07:28:06 -0700 2009 Thu May 21 18:47:21 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sat Mar 21 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Mar 06 15:14:33 -0800 2009 Sat Mar 21 09:37:10 -0700 2009
Brilliantly excellent writing -- so deeply enjoyable that it took awhile longer to read the book, as I wished to savor the writing.

New_User describes this as "historical Ludlum plus romance" - spies, intrigue, adventure, suspe...more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Nov 08 03:10:45 -0800 2008 Fri Dec 19 19:21:17 -0800 2008 The Spymaster's Lady follows the typical English spy meets the ambivalent French lady formula, but the characters are fresh and vivid. The wri...more...]]> 3 2 false false Wed Jul 29 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Jul 29 10:37:24 -0700 2009 Wed Jul 29 10:39:57 -0700 2009
I really enjoyed the first part of this book, like REALLY did, and then after a while, the heroine became...dumb. And I wanted to kill her. She is so awesome in the beginning, why WHY lose it half-...more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=959745