Series: The Phoenix Club, #6
Traits & Tropes: spies; forced proximity; fake relationship; titled hero; unexpected inheritance; bluestocking
Publication Date: 07.19.22
Genre/Setting: Historical; Regency; Dorset/London, England, 1815
Heat Level: 3
Rating: 4/5
Jessamine Goodfellow has been working to establish herself as a spinster for the past six seasons. She’d rather devote her time to puzzle solving and enjoy the freedom to have her own adventures. When the Foreign Office notices her talent for puzzles and gives her the chance to put it to use on a secret mission, she jumps at the opportunity. Now she must pose as the wife of a very attractive Scottish earl for an investigation and also make sure he’s not working against England’s interests.
Dougal MacNair, now Viscount Fallin, is still grieving his elder brother’s death. He’s always worked alone in his assignments for the Foreign Office and now that his tenure as an agent is about to end so he can focus on his responsibilities as his father’s heir, he’s not pleased to be saddled with a partner. Especially not a completely green partner. He recognizes her intelligence, but something still feels off about her and with his past two missions having been abject failures, Dougal suspects someone is working against him. Dougal and Jess pose as a married couple to investigate an eccentric pair suspected of being French spies whilst also keeping a close watch on one another, though that suspicion does nothing to quell the simmering attraction between them, especially as they come to know each other and only like one another more.
I enjoyed the touch of far-fetched whimsy this plot featured, but it did have a lot of pacing issues in the latter half. I felt like it took me too long to finish the book because of this; with their mission completed Dougal and Jess parted ways to resume their regular lives, leaving the first half feel like a distinct part one of the story. I was a bit thrown off by the characters being thrown together in such forced proximity and then thrust apart. This separation made complete, logical sense with the plot, but it did throw off the momentum of the story. I was also a bit disappointed by the late-stage immaturity Jessamine displayed. For much of the book she was fairly logical and not missish, yet she was sometimes surprisingly and inconsistently immature, mostly in her reasons for not wanting to marry. Her initial refusal of Dougal made little sense, especially when she had no strong views about not marrying beyond the fact that she wanted to spite her parents by not living up to their expectations that she get married. Fortunately, Jess realizes she’s being ridiculous and hasn’t been communicating effectively with Dougal and she takes steps to remedy things but chalking it up to poor communication/miscommunication after everything she said just felt like a cop out to me. It was a bit bizarre that Jess would be tapped for a spy mission, but I liked that touch of whimsy here. Jess and Dougal definitely had some great chemistry and I loved him as a hero. He was such a gentleman and very sweet, yet also adorably clueless at times. His relationship with his family, especially mixed as they were, was possibly my favorite element of this story. I found it a bit comforting to think that everyone has some awkwardness or dysfunction in their family but that it’s still possible to find a way to make the most of things. Despite my quibbles, I did really enjoy this story, and though it’s not my favorite of the series, this is still one of my favorite series, and I’m looking forward to the next one.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
https://www.bookbub.com/reviews/3640176902
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4843369282
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