As the eighth child of an earl, Rafe Beaumont is most definitely a spare. Blessed with extraordinary good looks, even when he joined the army he ended up using his unique abilities to seduce information from Frenchwomen to serve his country.
Now the war is over, and Rafe is at a loose end. Weary of being literally chased around London society by eager women, when instructed by his commanding officer to find out if a young Frenchwoman is a spy, he jumps at the opportunity. The only problem? Collette appears to be the only woman he’s ever met who is immune to his charms…
Collette’s not really a French spy. Her father’s in prison and she’s being blackmailed, ordered to obtain by any means necessary ciphers used by the British government to encode important correspondence. Which exposed, if not quite a gaping plot hole, at least the utter illogicality of those who devised that plot, because who would send a Frenchwoman to do that job in the years right after the Napoleonic Wars? Any Englishman with access to that sort of sensitive information would peg her for a spy the moment she even began to hint at the subject, and it seemed peculiar to me that Rafe didn’t point that out to Collette.
That point aside, this was so well written and enjoyable. Collette was lovely, a shy girl with hidden reserves of courage, and Rafe was a perfect hero for her. This is the third in this series of Shana Galen’s I’ve read (after No Earls Allowed and Third Son’s A Charm) and they’re all absolutely delightful. I’m very eager to read Jasper’s story, and also Draven’s - the snippets we get of them are a great incentive to keep reading the series!
Five stars for a well written and enjoyable historical romance. Just let your disbelief be suspended regarding Collette’s mission and you’ll enjoy this thoroughly.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book for review through NetGalley.