In England’s Regency era, manners and elegance reign in public life—but behind closed doors treason and tawdriness thrive. Nicholas Langdon is no stranger to reserved civility or bloody barbarity. After suffering a battlefield injury, the wealthy, well-connected British officer returns home to heal—and to fulfill a dying soldier’s last wish by delivering his coded diary.At the home of the … the Wilherns, one of England’s most powerful families, Langdon attends a lavish ball where he meets their beautiful and intelligent ward, Julia Grey. Determined to maintain propriety, he keeps his distance—until the diary is stolen and all clues lead to Julia’s guardian. As Langdon traces an evil plot that could be the nation’s undoing, he grows ever more intrigued by the lovely young woman. And when Julia realizes that England—and the man she is falling in love with—need her help, she finds herself caught in the fray. Will the two succumb to their attraction while fighting to save their country?
more
I love this book! It kept my mind off of troubles, but also kept me reading. I great find and worth the read, especially if you like Jane Austen.
This is a book I have come back to read time and again. The characters are fun and inspiring. How the main characters takes life in her hands is fun to watch.
Melanie Dickerson is one of my favorite authors. This book especially, I instantly fell in love with Julia, she was a smart, cleared headed, loving person who worked hard to help even at the cost of putting her life in danger.
Since I accidentally read book two first, everything is a bit clearer now that I’ve finished the first book. I was really happy it was on prime reading! Julia and her cousin Phoebe are enjoying the season when Nicholas Langdon returns from the Napoleonic War to recover from his injuries. Nicholas finds himself in the middle of a mystery with the War Office who pressure him to become an agent and spy on his peers. Julia’s uncle and Mr. Edgerton, who has his sights on Julia despite her tiny dowry, are suspected of trying to assassinate General Wellington in an effort to win French favor and reclaim ancestral lands lost in the French Revolution. Julia risks everything to help Nicholas including the affections of her cousin Phoebe who is also in love with Mr. Langdon. This book is one part spy thriller, one part cautionary tale, and one part regency romance. Its a recipe for success in my book! Happy Reading!
I was completely caught up in this wonderful historical romance!
I love both of the main characters in this story. They are both committed to doing the right thing. At times though Miss Julia Grey is a little uncertain as to where her loyalty should be placed. I enjoyed seeing how she worked out this question.
The plot of the story is great. I was very interested in seeing how Mr. Nicholas Langdon went about tracking down the evidence that the War Department asked him to get.
The narrator did an amazing job! She was marvelous at altering her voice. Many times I felt very much like there could have been a whole cast of people reading the parts. She was also great at making me feel what the characters were feeling.
I loved it soooo much I couldn’t put it down until the last page and then I was disappointed that it ended:-( 🙂
Just a great read!
An orphan being raised by a distant aunt and uncle, and an injured soldier work together to solve a mystery for the Crown. Unfortunately, it requires that she spy on her family. This story has twists and turns that kept me reading into the night. I love the characters. This is a Regency Romance with the tension of a spy story. I think you’ll enjoy this book.
I genuinely enjoyed this book! Fairytale regency spy romance at its best with a sweet ending!
I have really enjoyed all of Melanie Dickerson’s Young Adult fairy tales stories. I love reading her take on stories that I have grown up and watched the Disney versions of. I really enjoyed how Dickerson placed all the stories interacting in setting and family members. I couldn’t wait to try my hand at another Dickerson’s novel.
When I picked up the book, the first fifty percent of the novel had Julia and Nicholas going to ball after ball after ball, wandering who they were going to marry. Julia tried to arrange the good match for her cousin Phoebe without worrying about her own happiness. This reminded me of Emma by Jane Austen. If you haven’t read Emma, but seen Clueless with Alicia Silverstone, then you have the general idea of Emma.
The character’s personality stuck out to me the most. Julia is a selfless woman who puts her own desires on hold, but she is strong in knowing what she wants. Brave enough to turn down a marriage match that her uncle wants her to make, but Julia hears rumors that he is bad with money and flirts all the time. Similarly, Nick is selfless is helping out the orphans and women who have been turned away by society. He is brave enough to hunt down the traitor’s and turn them into the government.
The mystery part, being a huge suspense and thrill reader, did not capture my attention. In the first part of the book, Nick does find the diary but doesn’t worry about it for quite a while. Only when he needs help from Julia does the mystery come to the forefront of the novel. After that, the novel picks up pace and ends quite nicely.
Dickerson does a good job at allowing me to truly see into and understand the character’s feelings. As Julia is debating whether or not to tell her cousin, Phoebe about a love match, I debated the occasion with her. Along with Dickerson allowing me to understand the feelings, she does a great job at keeping an even balance between the prose and dialogue. The setting was crisp and allowed me to see the world of Julia and Nick.
Fans of Jane Austen will rejoice for Melanie Dickerson’s A Spy Devotion because of its throwback to the famous writer’s style and concepts even though the mystery did not carry me through the novel. Fans of Jane Austen, Julie Klassen, and Dawn Crandall will love this book. I still anxiously wait for Dickerson’s fairy tales novels.
Side note: I really love the cover!
I received a complimentary copy of A Spy’s Devotion from Waterfall Press and the opinions stated are all my own.
I usually love this author, but found that this series was just okay. This was the better story in this series. It had great potential but too many things were unrealistic. The Male character wasn’t very bright, especially at the beginning of the book. These nothing I hate more then a stupid main Male character. I personally would never marry someone stupider than me. The Male dose get smarter as the story progresses thank goodness. The female was too headstrong at times and made stupid decisions. I personally like when the female character listens to good advice when given by the male character instead of being headstrong and doing the opposite. Women can listen to sound advice by a Male, especially when he has her safety as a priority. I would be upset if the Male didn’t put the female’s safety as a priority (that is not being a shovanist like some say, that is being loving, caring, and gentlemanly).
Amazing series, I loved every minute of it! You HAVE to read this, it’s amazing! This whole series is. I love this characters, the writing style, the plot, everything. What a great story.
I love all of Melanie Dickerson’s books.