2.5 stars

****Full Review****

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Will and Evie were childhood sweethearts whose love story was interrupted by Napoleon. Will went off to fight for King and country while Evie remained at home confused and hurt as to why Will distanced himself from her. With Evie's mother constantly giving him the cold shoulder because of his born on the wrong side of the blanket status, emotional toll of war, and little bit of fear of his feelings for Evie, Will makes the unconscious decision to drift away from Evie. A couple years have gone by, Napoleon has been routed and Will has a side job as being a spy. When he and his cousin Alec are given the assignment of uncovering Irish rebels and a plot to assassinate royals, he is shocked to hear Evie's name mentioned. It seems Evie has been doing charitable work at St. Margaret's, which is known to help Irish in need along with her soon to be, fiancé Michael. Hearing Evie could be betrothed and not to him, is a shot to Will's heart. When Will and Evie collide old feelings might not be buried as deep as liked but Will's lies and Evie's lack of trust in him might keep those feelings from ever surfacing.

The first half of this book was immensely slow and tedious; very hard to get into. Will and Alec are on the mission of finding out if Michael and by extension Evie, are involved in the murderous plot but there seems to just be a lot of standing around at parties as Will is annoyed with how Evie tries to avoid him. There are also numerous mentions of how Eden, Evie's twin sister, and Alec try to antagonize one another as the author sets up the story for the next in the series. Except for Alec questioning Michael and asking for tours of St. Margaret's there doesn't seem to be any actual spy work being done. After the fifty percent mark things picked up a bit as Will and Evie get caught in a compromising position and start to spend more time together. There is still a slight stiltedness to their interactions but at least they are having them. The assassination plot is really the main focus of this book and it also picks up steam halfway through as more characters and answers get revealed.

Evie had extreme hurt, anger, and confusion towards Will due to miscommunication, misunderstanding, and how young they were when their relationship was forming. She loved how handsome he was but constantly tried to run back to Michael's side because he had never hurt her. Will, of course, can't figure out why he becomes angry whenever he sees Evie with Michael. I thought Evie had depth as a character; she is the shy twin so she lives a bit in her sister's shadow and has a lack of self-esteem but a passionate nature that flares up at times. Her character was layered and she was interesting. Will never managed to get beyond the good looking soldier boy for me as I never felt anything from him, he rang hollow many times. Together they fell somewhat flat as Evie kept placing Michael between them and I kept waiting for the customary Big Lie of Will investigating Evie to blow up.

The Irish rebels and their murderous plot started off slow but towards the end became the most engaging part of the story, even if the main villain was fairly predictable. Unfortunately, I found there to be a lack of romance, in this romance book. The quality of writing is apparent with the plot technically strong but the emotional execution simply wasn't there.

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I loved this story! I was drawn in from page 1 as the historical part is set up for me. Will and Alec are a wonderful pair of spies as well as cousins. I enjoyed how the royals' illegitimate children have banded together to know and support one another. I like how Will's past comes into the story and how the past becomes his future. Evie is a fantastic heroine. She may be quiet but she has a backbone of steel. She makes her decisions and follows thorough. I also liked her twin, Eden, who surprisingly is the voice of reason as Evie has to decide if Will is her future.

I looked forward to getting back into the book and hated to close it when my reading time was over. I plan on reading more of this series and author. ( )

Fast paced romantic intrigue!

The royal renegades are back once again worming their ways into our hearts and with this particular Royal into the heart of Miss Evelyn Whitney.
Not that Will (Captain William Endicott, son of the Duke of York) hadn't always had a place in Evie's heart but the last time they saw each other he had dismissed her CHeck
Unfortunately Will has been thrown back into Evie's company on orders of his royal father the Duke of York. Just back from the harrowing battlefields of Waterloo Will had been looking for a much needed respite from his intellence gathering (spying) days. Alas no!
Apparently Evie had been assisting the poor at an Irish Catholic Church and the latest out of Ireland was that there was a momentous plot afoot centring around St Margaret's, a hotbed of Irish radicals, the place where Evie is involved. Possibly an assassination, a Royal assassination! Evie has an understanding with Michael Beaumont (son of the catholic Earl of Leger) and is assisting his efforts for the poor. Michael is under suspicion and by extension, Evie.
Evie is a lovely mix of intelligence and awkwardness, made even more so by her harridan mother. Eden is so much more outgoing and confident.
Will must confront his childhood sweetheart (and her twin sister Eden) and learn what he can for the safety of the realm. His role is to determine who's guilty and who's innocent and confront both Evie and his deeply hidden feelings for her.
Love and danger are a heady mix as Will and Evie are forced into each other's company.
Well delivered lines add humour to tense situations. A delightful read!

A NetGalley ARC ( )

This was a very enjoyable romance. It's a second chance for Will and Evie who are thrown together again when Will is sent to investigate an assassination plot that Evie may be involved in, or is she. The story is full of twist and turns as Will and his cousin Alec are asked to spy on Evie and her 'supposedly nearly' betrothed David.
There's some surprises that are were entertaining. I loved every page. I highly recommend this book if you enjoy a little intrigue, suspense and action with your romance. And I'm hoping to see Alec's story in the future as he was a wonderful character. ( )