The Spy's Bride

The Couriers #3

by Nita Abrams

Betrayed by an Austrian countess who he believes he loves, military intelligence officer flees the forces of Napoleon by agreeing to an arranged marriage with the sheltered Eloise Bernal, who intends to dissolve the union upon her safe return to London. Original.

Genres: Romance, Espionage, Historical, Historical Romance, Regency, Suspense, Historical Fiction

384 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2003

Reviews

[Sharyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is very rare to find a Regency with Jewish characters. I have not read one and 2 but will now look for them. The differences between Sephardic Jews and Ashkenazi Jews, the way the Jews helped finance Wellington, and the connections between British and French Jews of the time were very interesting. I enjoyed the story, the history and the characters.

[Lupinus Texensis · Rating 5 out of 5]

And now, I will continue to devour this excellent and tragically out of print series.

James Meyer is heartsick, depressed, lamed, and totally checked out at the time he marries Eloise Bernal. Eloise is getting a bum deal. James, like many situationally depressed people, spends a lot of the book knowing he's acting like a little shit, but not really being able to figure out why or how to fix it. Eloise, on the other hand, knows exactly what she wants, is willing to marry this schmuck to get it, only to be embarrassed by him time and again.

Add to this the lingering cultural resentments between Sephardim and Ashkenazim (aka Tudescos) families in Britain, the general snobbery of the goyim, James' deceitful uncle and father, one countess scorned, internal Napoleonic politics, James' irate sister, a Dickensian orphan, a not-so-French ladies' maid, and a beloved goat.

Why isn't this series back in print? Why isn't there an ebook version available? Who wants to deny the historical romance loving Tribe of their rightful heroes and heroines???

[Nightwitch · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am reading this series all out of order. In this, the third in the series, James Meyer - son of a rich German-Jewish family, spy in the British military - is depressed after being betrayed by an Austrian countess to torture by Napoleon's forces, and agrees to marry a woman he doesn't know. Eloise Bernthal is the scion of a prestigious Spanish-Jewish family in London and she's basically presented with two choices: James or some gross old dude. She chooses James - who walks through their wedding in a daze and, on their wedding night, horrifies her by assuming she's pregnant with some other guy's child. Cue months of James acting like a jackass while Eloise struggles to figure out whether she wants to stay in this marriage or not. They're both stubborn but endearing, but the book is definitely very hero-focused - James shows his ass many, many times and Eloise hasn't had enough until long after I had. There are however several chapters' worth of groveling afterwards, which was nice. The plot is action-packed and the narrative moves along at a good clip; the secondary characters are well-drawn. I was less wild about the actual romance part because, as I said, James is a doofus for the vast majority of the book, including not falling completely out of love with the treacherous countess until basically the end of the book. Eloise deserved better, honestly. Still a definite re-read.

[Dls · Rating 4 out of 5]

The groom is really annoying -- he keeps walking into traps set by a woman he is dazzled by even after she set him up to be crippled for life. In the process he makes his bride miserable.
But I really liked the heroine and the depiction of the time and the hero does have redeeming qualities...
It is NOT a bodice ripper in the "it would be rape except ahe loves him " sense. It's just an older book with very little overt sensuality.

[Amy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't finish this book. It turned out to be a bodic ripper romance. I do NOT recommend this book.

[Sylvia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Regency