Sunday, September 29, 2013

A Lady's Secret Weapon by Tracey Devlyn - 3 stars

A LADY'S SECRET WEAPON by Tracey Devlyn provides some thrilling action and drama, but could use a better title and some indication on the cover that it is the third book in a series. I'm still not sure what the secret weapon is, but titles and backstories aside, the book was a nice read. I give it 3 stars.

In A LADY'S SECRET WEAPON, Ethan de Beau, Viscount Danforth, is a secret agent of Nexus, the black ops division of England's Foreign Office. Ethan endeavors to tie up the loose ends of the Napoleonic War by capturing a former Nexus agent and traitor in London. His investigation leads him to an orphanage/home for boys and causes him to cross paths with Sydney Hunt, the intriguing proprietress of the Hunt Employment Agency, who is also investigating the orphanage, but for different reasons. Their investigations essentially become a joint effort and sparks fly. They must face many of the challenges typical to romantic relationships: traditional gender roles, past hurts and other emotional baggage, and danger from French spies and evil headmasters.

I enjoyed A LADY'S SECRET WEAPON, but would have enjoyed it much, much more had I known it was book 3 in a series. This series definitely needs to be read in order. It was obvious there were several backstories to the current drama, but they were not adequately described in this book for it to stand alone on the shelf. Certain connections between characters and events were confusing because there was no explanation, e.g., how Ethan's sister and Sydney are acquainted.

The novel also seemed to lack any real character development, but I suspect that the previous two books supply enough information to show more growth. And while the book has a happy ending, it feels abrupt and incomplete, as if Ethan and Sydney's happy ending will be more fully described in the next book. The romance is appropriately timed, but still garners a heat rating of 3 out of 5 for the descriptors utilized.

Once I came to the realization that this was the third book in the series, I was able to accept that I wouldn't have all my questions answered, which helped me ignore that issue and instead enjoy the plot. The plot was definitely unique and interesting, especially the explanation of the French scheme involving the orphanage. For a moment I thought perhaps there was something paranormal about what was happening at the orphanage, but was pleasantly surprised when I learned the truth. I love it when a novel can blindside me with twists I couldn't imagine. The editing was also well done; no pesky grammar problems or typos to distract the reader.

I enjoyed A LADY'S SECRET WEAPON, and I recommend it for any lover of historical mysteries.


*Review originally written for The Romance Reviews.com at http://www.theromancereviews.com/viewbooksreview.php?bookid=10798.