3 ½ StarsSeduction is book one in the new series The Spymaster’s Men by Brenda Joyce.
I have mix feelings about this book, there were parts I really enjoyed and others than… you get the idea. The blurb describes pretty well what this book is about, the only thing that leaves out is that when Julianne discovers that Dominic is the Earl of Bedford she realizes he is an English spy, and what does she do, “deceived and scorned Julianne” goes to his enemies and gives them this information, putting Dominic’s life and his family in danger; after she does this she feels a “little” remorse but doesn’t do anything to correct her actions.
I didn’t like Dominic on the beginning, I thought he took unnecessary advantage of Julianne, but later in the story I can say I started to like him. I understood his actions (not the advantage of Julianne’s part) and his way of thinking. He does what he does for his country, his family and his friends. Actually his way of thinking is a noble one.
Going back to Julianne she was a character I disliked more than like, watching her is almost watching a train-wreck, one bad decision after another. She thinks she can handle a world she doesn’t understand, instead of being honest and ask for help her naïveté puts everyone around her in peril.
The attraction between Julianne and Dominic is there since the first day, it progresses slowly as they share more time together, developing in something else. The sexual tension builds up slowly until the moment they decided to be together. I was expecting a very nice, romantic scene for Julianne’s first time but I was very disappointed when her first “special time” was against a door. I even thought I read something wrong, I missed a part or something, so I read the scene twice and yes, it was against a door, like a strumpet, not an innocent and virgin heroine.
The secondary characters are all a mystery, they all are hiding something and I guess to discover what is they are hiding we will have to read the following books in this series. I’m looking forward to Julianne’s brothers Jack and Lucas stories.
The first part of the book was a bit slow, after the hundred pages mark it starts to pick up the pace. The romance is believable, but there were other things, as some of Julianne actions that were far fetched for a single young woman during those times.
And there were other things a bit contradictory, like when Julianne gets in trouble in London, she is supposed to be staying in a big house with servants (that’s her description when she arrives to the house) and when the police comes for her at night they make a lot of noise, they even take the door down but nobody comes to her aid or hear the commotion… mmm what can I say? Mmm…
The strong point of this book is the accurate historical facts. It is clear Mrs. Joyce did an excellent job researching the times when this novel takes place, and further more she did a great job intermingling the story with the facts of the time.
If you liked your historical romance strong in the facts this is a book for you.