Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Tuesday Review: TRUE SPIES

This time I know this book is a follow up to LORD AND LADY SPY, by Shana Galen, unlike the time where I blogged about the awesome spy book...and it was by another author. Yeah.

Nope, this time, right author, right series, and awesome--just bloody awesome. Go seek it out--it's action-packed, comical, and oh so romantic! TRUE SPIES was truly worth the wait.

If you saw the movie TRUE LIES with Jamie Lee Curtis, you've got the premise for this book. Just as LORD AND LADY SPY was essentially the premise from MR. & MRS. SMITH, but better--this sequel lives up to its predecessor. It's hilarious. I'd be reading, something would happen, I'd laugh hysterically until I was nearly crying, and...REPEAT. Best of all, we got to visit with beloved characters from the other book...and we met new characters that had me dying to get my hands on the next book. I so, so hope there will be a third.

Blurb:

He's Getting Tired of Deception...
Baron Winslow Keating is honor-bound to finish one last mission as an elite spy for the Barbican group even though he just wants to go home and be with his family. But after years of secrecy and absence, his daughters hardly know him and his wife has given up on him...

She Wants to Try a Little Intrigue...
Lady Elinor has had enough of domestic boredom. She contemplates an affair with a rakish spy, only to discover a world of intrigue and treachery that she never knew existed. Even more shocking, her neglectful husband is suddenly very attentive—quite the jealous type—and apparently there is much more to him than she ever knew...

I loved Elinor's character--she's loved her husband ever since she met him, but she is so tired of being ignored by him. She decides to embark on an affair with a SPY--but suddenly her husband, who hasn't noticed the first thing about her in years, is doing everything he can to win her back. But she won't fall in love with him again just to have him go back to ignoring her. Nor will she put up with his antics at winning their children's affection again only to disappear, which he's excellent at.

Winn is done with the spy business. He's got Danny Glover's philosophy--he's getting too old for this shit. He wants his family back--except now it appears his wife is more than ready to move on. On top of it, suddenly she has started wearing revealing dresses and flirting with other men--young pups at that! He needs to finish this last assignment and get his wife back before its too late.

What I really enjoyed about this story was just how broken their marriage was. They clearly still cared for each other but it really felt as if their happily ever after was never a foregone conclusion. And not because one or the other's lives was in danger, but their marriage--you really wondered about their marriage and how they were going to find each other again. It was so romantic to watch them fall in love again. *happy sigh*

I read this book in one Sunday afternoon--because I couldn't put it down and I could barely bring myself to do laundry because, well, I needed to read this book. I think you need to read this book too.

That's my recommendation. What are you reading this week?

5 comments:

  1. Sounds fun, Hellie! I did like the movie True Lies. I don't think I've ever read Shana Galen before. I'll have to look her up.

    I just finished with a Janice Kay Johnson trilogy - BETWEEN LOVE AND DUTY, FROM FATHER TO SON, and THE CALL OF BRAVERY. They're Harlequin SuperRomances. It's about 3 brothers whose mother takes off on them when the oldest is 18 and preparing for college. The father is in prison and the younger boys are out of control so she just up and leaves. The older brother Duncan ditches college and stays to take care of his brothers. Each brother has a book. They're all rough, hard men afraid of commitment due to their dysfunctional childhood. All three have become involved in law enforcement and the second 2 books have kids in them which I love.

    JKJ has become a favorite very quickly. I haven't picked up a book by her that I haven't loved. I think what I like about her writing is that it is very character driven. She throws in police stuff, or custody stuff or maybe a little intrigue but it's always about the characters. Adult characters who talk things out and behave reasonbly considering their circumstances and emotional baggage.

    Since she has a monstrous backlist, I'm looking into getting more of her books. I just started on SNOWBOUND.

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  2. Janice Kay Johnson...that name sounds familiar, Irish...I wonder. But she definitely sounds like she deals with big themes, big issues, and tough characters you can root for...love that! Thanks for the heads up!

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  3. Shana Galen is new to me and Hellie you convinced me to give her a try.
    Why do I always find your suggestions quite irresistible! LOL

    I normally try to start at the beginning so downloaded 'Lord and Lady Spy' for starters.

    I also notice that her 'Jewels of the Ton' series is available in audio, so if I like her voice I may try that series as well.

    At the moment I'm having a Jojo Moyes audio book season. Just finished 'Night Music' and about to start 'Sheltering Rain'. I have really enjoyed all of them so far. Not traditional romances in that the HEA is not guaranteed but they all end with at least a 'Hopeful Ever After'

    I am also listening to 'The Best Man' by Kristan Higgins. The heroine has just retired to the Ladies room to avoid her ex-fiancée who turned out to be gay and jilted her at the wedding. The powerful suction from the loo bowl has grabbed the sleeve of her sweater and is tugging it down into the bowels of the earth, leaving her dangerously exposed. She's thinking of escaping through the window .... ! It's that kind of book! LOL

    Great Review Hellie *smile*

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  4. Hi Q! I don't know...maybe because I'm irresistible? *winks*

    Hopeful Ever After is better than the Nicholas Sparks ending...

    I adored THE BEST MAN...I just reread it over the summer, I enjoyed it so much. *sighs* Love. The sitcom quality of the humor is one of my favorite things.

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  5. maybe because I'm irresistible?

    That must be it!

    Also my cue to buy SEPs 'Call me irresistible' ? LOL

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