ONCE AN INNOCENT by Elizabeth Boyce is a fantastic espionage romance that has some surprising action and gripping drama. If you are a 007 fan, you will be entertained by this novel. I give it 4 stars and look forward to reading more of Ms. Boyce's work.
ONCE AN INNOCENT is set during the brief period of peace when Napoleon was imprisoned on the island of Elba. Jordan Atherton, Viscount Freese, is a Foreign Office secret agent chomping at the bit to get back into the field, but the only field Jordan's boss will send him to is his own.
Unbeknownst to all but a few select people, Jordan has been housing a VIP at his home in Yorkshire. Concern over Bonapartists getting closer to the VIP's location forces Jordan to team up with eleven other Foreign Office agents and create a good reason for them to be spending time at his home.
Enter Naomi Lockwood, sister of Jordan's best friend, Marshall, Duke of Monthwaite. Jordan has known Naomi since she was eleven, but something has changed in his feelings for her. When he creates an extended house party for the Foreign Office agents and their women, Naomi and her Aunt Janine are included in the party to lend credibility to the gathering.
Naomi thinks there is something odd about the house party and is determined to find out what it is, which means that she will ignore all of Jordan's orders to the contrary. Jordan and Naomi finally discover and give in to their mutual attraction, but it certainly costs them in the end.
I really enjoyed ONCE AN INNOCENT. In fact, after reading the first page, I knew I would like it, so I went back and read the first two novels in this series, Once a Duchess and Once an Heiress. I always prefer to read books in chronological order so that I fully understand the characters, but here it wasn't necessary to understand. Enough information is provided for the development of the romantic relationships to be believable, and also for the reader to understand why Jordan makes some of the heart wrenching decisions he makes. The reality of the lonely life of espionage is well-illustrated.
The characters were also well-illustrated and maintained their individuality. Occasionally, I'll read a series and find that the hero/male protagonist in book 3 is just like the one in book 1. Not in this series. Ms. Boyce does a great job of keeping the integrity and individuality of her characters.
The action scenes were also realistic. There was no Disney-esque danger; it was gritty and bloody. People died. I definitely appreciated the suspense and mystery elements, too. There were unlikely heroes and traitors. I did not know who the bad guy was until the end! I love it when that happens.
As for the love scenes, the content lends itself to a heat level rating of 3, appropriate for those 18 years of age and older.
The only disappointment I felt was in the editing. There were some typos and grammatical issues that were a bit distracting, but I was able to redirect my mind back to the story without too much effort. Overall, I really enjoyed this novel and definitely recommend it for your summer entertainment.
*Review originally written for The Romance Reviews.com at http://www.theromancereviews.com/viewbooks.php?bookid=9971.
