THE SPY WORE SILK

Author: Andrea Pickens ISBN: 0446618004 6/2007 HISTORICAL Publisher: WARNER
Time Period: Regency England

They were once orphans from London's roughest slums. Now they are students of Mrs. Merlin's Academy for Select Young Ladies, learning the art of spying and seduction. Bold, beautiful, and oh-so-dangerous, they are England's ultimate secret weapons... A Duel Between Duty... The most skilled of Merlin's Maidens, Siena is assigned to unmask a traitor lurking among an exclusive club of book collectors. Armed with only her wits, her blades, and her sultry body, she joins the gentlemen at a country house party. But her prime suspect, disgraced ex-army officer Lord Kirtland, proves as enigmatic as he is suspicious—and sinfully sensuous. And Desire. Kirtland's instincts tell him the enticing "Black Dove" is hiding more than a luscious body beneath her fancy silks. Yet as he starts to plumb her secrets, a cunning adversary lays plans to destroy them both. To live, Siena must end her tantalizing dance of deception and desire—and decide whether to trust her head or her heart...

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

Although I liked the concept and plot of THE SPY WORE SILK immediately, after reading the first few chapters I really didn't want to continue. It is bland for about the first two or three chapters, then suddenly becomes crazy and outrageous. However, it does even out a bit and actually metamorphoses into a pretty decent read.

Why didn't I enjoy it at first? For a Regency era read, some of the book is daring to the point of silliness. Though I have no doubt that some of the best spies during the war were women, I find the idea of the heroine dressing up (or down, since she is bare-chested) as Raphael's Goddess Diana, and entering a meeting of scholarly gentlemen without any problem, completely crazy. Drawing that much attention to herself truly gives the impression of the heroine trying too hard to meet these fellows. Any spy with a brain should have been suspicious of it for so many reasons. So, I don't care for that segment of the book, but the romance and the independent heroine are both things that help me overlook it.

The characters in THE SPY WORE SILK are very interesting people and I enjoyed deciphering some of their secrets. So again, I am glad that I didn't let my one upset at the above scene overshadow the rest of the book. And, I do want to read the next Merlin story. It sounds riveting and stars a heroine with a name I don't find often in romance books—Shannon.

Shannon Johnson