Book 65: The Spy Wore Silk

NUMBER: 65
TITLE: The Spy Wore Silk
AUTHOR: Andrea Pickens
STARTED: November 17, 2007
FINISHED: November 19, 2007
PAGES: 374
GENRE: Romance

FIRST SENTENCE: Steel clashed against steel, the blades flashing like quicksilver fire in the afternoon sun.

SUMMARY: [From barnesandnoble.com] They were once orphans from London's roughest slums. Now they are students of Mrs. Merlin's Academy for Select Young Ladies, learning the art of spying and seduction. Bold, beautiful, and oh-so-dangerous, they are England's ultimate secret weapons. The most skilled of Merlin's Maidens, Siena must unmask a traitor lurking among an exclusive club of book collectors. Armed with only her wits, her blades, and her sultry body, she joins the gentlemen at a country house party. But her prime suspect, disgraced ex-army officer Lord Kirtland proves as enigmatic as he is suspicious-and sinfully sensuous. Kirtland's instincts tell him the enticing "Black Dove" is hiding more than a luscious body beneath her fancy silks. Yet as he starts to plumb her secrets, a cunning adversary lays plans to destroy them both. To live, Siena must end her tantalizing dance of deception and desire-and decide whether to trust her head or her heart.

REASON FOR READING: Romance novel binge over Thanksgiving? Yes, please!

THOUGHTS: It took me re-reading the summary to actually remember what this book was about. Whoops.

Now, all I can remember are the bad things. This book feel victim to the "too many characters in too few pages." However(!), I am willing to forgive the book a little because it is setting up a series (which I am interested in following). Even then, the pace was far too fast and the plot overly contrived.

Also, even though the heroine is introduced as some kind of regency spy superhero, she has a couple TSTL moments which had me slapping my hand against my forehead. She has good chemistry with the lead male... even if I don't remember much about him. Wait! I do. I didn't like him because he was too easily swayed.

MISCELLANEOUS: What's the point of keeping a knife strapped to your thigh when you wear 16 layers of skirts and petticoats? Someone needs to explain the rational of that to me.

RATING: 5/10 [Meh.]

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