My Lord and Spymaster by Joanna Bourne

Raised as a poor but cunning pickpocket, Jess Whitby maybe have grown into a wealthy young woman, but now she must once again rely on her guile. Her father's been wrongly accused of selling secrets to Napoleon, and he's going to hang--unless Jess finds the real traitor in the London underworld. She never dreamed her search would begin by waking up naked in a rude captain's bed. Or how little she'd mind...

When Captain Sebastian Kennett prevents a kidnapping on the London docks, he takes the headstrong would-be victim home. He's infatuated with her courageous spirit. She's enthralled by his commanding strength and the sexy saprt in his eyes. Then she discovers something else about the spellbinding seaman: He could be the traitor she's hunting, the man whose next move could determine her father's fate--and her future as well.



The Spymaster's Lady was one of the most talked about historical romances of 2007 and My Lord & Spymaster is one of 2008's most talked about books. Why are they so popular with us?

For one thing, the storylines for both books have been fascinating. Ms. Bourne specializes in the give-and-take/push-and-pull between 2 very different characters as they try to figure out who the other really is.

Sebastian is fascinating as the hero of the story. He is not a good man; in the sense that he's not afraid to kill to get what he wants accomplished. He kills to save Jess at the beginning of the book and doesn't regret it, because otherwise she would have been taken.

He's fascinated by her from the get-go. He's intrigued by the fact that she was there specifically for him. It's a fascinating look at a man who has never really had anything good happen in his life have something good basically laid at his feet.

Jess is a great heroine too. She's another one of those characters with a lot of dark areas from the past. She's strong and smart and not afraid to put her neck out to save those she loves.

Betrayal is a big plot device in this book. Is she betraying me? Is he? Who actually is? Etc. etc. It was a never-ending ride of oneupmanship that was a blast to read.

Was it perfect? No. It was very easy to figure out who the villain was. I figured it out almost immediately. Also, the sex was extremely lacking. It was never fully delved into (so to speak) and I never really got the sense that there was any love between the two characters.

I do have to say that I enjoy Ms. Bourne's voice immensely. She's a very talented writer and you can tell that she has a blast when writing the stories.

And so, I have to say that I did greatly enjoy this story...as a romp through history. I found Adrian to be the most fascinating character in the book and hope that he gets his own story some day. He deserves it.


My Rating: C+