A fierce Highland lass puts her life—and her heart—in the hands of a dashing British spy in this exhilarating romance from the USA Today bestselling author of Wed to a Spy. Rose Turner’s mother sent her to the court of Mary, Queen of Scots, to give her a better life. Raised with rowdy brothers in a notorious border clan, Rose has plenty of experience fighting and thieving—and practically none … thieving—and practically none when it comes to matters of decorum and discretion. Without a single ally, she has little hope of making a good marriage to salvage her family’s reputation. But after overhearing several influential lords plotting to murder the King of Scotland, Rose meets a man after all: a handsome spy trying to shield her from danger.
As one of the Queen Elizabeth’s top agents, Will Sheffield has come up north to keep a close eye on the goings-on at Mary’s court. A consummate professional, Will notices Rose’s presence at the secret meeting . . . and he’s not the only one. The wild, naïve beauty has made a fearsome enemy—and only Will can keep her safe. But after an attempt on Rose’s life pulls them tantalizingly close, Will faces an agonizing choice between professional loyalty or powerful passion.
Look for all of Sharon Cullen’s delightful historical romances:
The All the Queen’s Spies series: WED TO A SPY | BOUND TO A SPY
The Secrets & Seduction series: THE NOTORIOUS LADY ANNE | LOVING THE EARL | PLEASING THE PIRATE | HIS SAVING GRACE | SEBASTIAN’S LADY SPY | THE RELUCTANT DUCHESS
The Highland Pride series: SUTHERLAND’S SECRET | MACLEAN’S PASSION | CAMPBELL’S REDEMPTION
This ebook includes an excerpt from another Loveswept title.
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4.5 stars
Rose Turner is a fish out of water in Mary’s court, she would rather be running free outside than engaging in gossip and doing embroidery. Every chance she gets, she slips away, one night upon returning to the castle, she overhears a plot to kill the Queen’s husband, shocked she runs away, not realizing she dropped her shawl.
Will Sheffield is a spy for Queen Elizabeth, he is at court under the pretense of being a childhood friend of the king. He saw Rose enter and drop her shawl, but was not able to retrieve it before Lord Lysle exits the room. Worried for her safety, he garners an introduction and they form a friendship of sorts.
Rose has been sent to court to find a husband, but her family is neither wealthy or noble, so she is surprised when Lord Lysle takes an interest in her. She is still struggling with what to do with the information she overheard and is unsure who she can trust. When she revisits the location of the secret meeting, trying to learn who was speaking, she is caught by Will.
Desperate to keep her safe, but unable to disclose his mission and unwilling to let her be a causality, Will decides to share some of his information with Rose, including Lord Lysle’s involvement. Rose is hurt when she learns the “truth” about Will and tells him to leave her alone.
Will doesn’t understand why he can’t let Rose go and approaches her again in a few days. There is something between them and he isn’t ready to let it go. They share some passionate encounters, but Will knows he will be leaving soon and cannot offer marriage to Rose.
When Rose finally decides what she must do with the information she overheard, everything goes horribly wrong for her.
When Will learns that Rose is missing, nothing will stop him from finding her. He knows he cannot ask his fellow spies to help him, so he goes to her family. Once Rose is safe again, it becomes clear that she will not be able to remain in Scotland and Will will have to make a decision.
This was a really good story, it was well written and the story flowed nicely with a lot of violence, some steamy-ish love scenes, a lot of intrigue and some very tense, nail-biting moments and finally a hard earned HEA. I would have liked another chapter or an epilogue with their life in England, but even without that, I enjoyed this book.
This is the second book in the series, but it could easily be read as a stand alone title and I am happy to recommend it.
*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an uncorrected eARC that was provided to me by NetGalley and the publisher.*
I enjoyed this book thoroughly even though I was reading it while traveling and was constantly interrupted. While it is the second book in the series, you can easily read it as a stand-alone book.
Rose Turner is the quintessential tomboy. She likes nothing better than being outside and being with her animals. She wears trousers and even holds her own when fighting with her five brothers. She hates wearing dresses and fancy hair-do’s as well as embroidery or any other indoor ladylike pursuit. So, when her mother sends her to Queen Mary of Scotland’s court to find a husband, Rose is like a fish out of water. She hates it – every minute of it. She hates the dishonesty and palace intrigue where everyone pretends to be something they are not. She particularly dislikes the queen’s husband who is a womanizer and tries his best to corner Rose and take advantage of her. She’s managed to escape his worst so far, but that won’t last long.
Will Sheffield is a spy for England and Queen Elizabeth. He has been sent to the court of Mary, Queen of Scots to spy on her and report back to Queen Elizabeth. Will has lived a solitary life since the day he was born and that is the only way to live – according to him. He can go when he wants, stay when he wants, take assignments when he wants, etc. There are no obligations of friends or family holding him to any place. Will’s cover at Mary’s court is as an old school acquaintance of Lord Darnley, Queen Mary’s husband.
Imagine Will’s surprise when he is in a hidden alcove in a secret area of the palace listening in on a plotting session among four high ranking nobles – and a lovely young woman dashes in through a hidden outside door. He watches her reactions as she realizes what she is hearing – she’s stunned and frightened, then she turns and dashes out the door – but drops her lovely peach shawl. She doesn’t notice the shawl and before Will can retrieve it, one of the plotters leaves the room and discovers it lying on the floor by the door.
Rose is torn about what to do with the information she has – and Will wants to protect Rose, but knows that he should let her fend for herself rather than jeopardize his mission to protect her. Will just can’t stay away from her and they develop a friendship – and more.
When Rose disappears, Will realizes just how much he cares – but how can he save her. He can’t pull his other spies out of their tasks to help him – so he goes where he knows he can get help – her family. Can they find Rose and save her? What happens if they do save her this time? She still knows about the plot and even knows about the Queen. She’ll never be safe in Scotland again.
I liked Will and Rose and I liked Rose’s family. I even liked the ending – but – as always – would have loved for it to have an epilogue with Will and Rose a couple of years in the future.
“I requested and received this e-book at no cost to me and volunteered to read it; my review is my honest opinion and given without any influence by the author or publisher.”
Spies, intrigue, danger, all mixed with romance. These are my favorite things in a book. Bound to a Spy is book two in the All the Queen`s Spies. It very nicely continues the tale of the English Queen Elizabeth`s spies in the Scottish Queen Mary`s court. Will Sheffield is listening at doors to a plot to kill the Scottish king. He can recognize some of the voices but must be patient to reveal just who is involved. Unfortunately, Rose Turner chooses that time to come from the outside and overhear the murder discussion. She leaves just before one of the plotters leaves the room. Unfortunately, she dropped her shawl and he finds it. Will he be able to identify who the shawl belongs to? Does Rose have a moral dilemma after hearing this assassination plot, since the king is not a nice person? How much danger does this knowledge put her in? What does Will do, will he protect her or just consider her a mission casualty. This is a great read, it is fast paced with lots of intrigue and danger. Loved it. I need to read the next book in the series soon. There are some unresolved issues that I hope are addressed in Lost to a Spy. I received this e-book from Netgalley for an honest review.
Sharon Cullen’s Bound To A Spy is a fast paced storyline with secret plots to murder the King of Scotland. Will is a professional spy for Queen Elizabeth sent to keep an eye on Queen Mary of Scott’s court. Rose Turner unfortunately over heard the secret plot to murder the King, and she was seen there by Will, but he wasn’t the only one who knew she was there too. It was an adventurous read full of mystery, danger, and a passionate love that could not be ignored. The characters kept my interest going to the end. There were good solid setups that heighten the dangers to come, but I’m thinking they will be incorporated into the next story.
There is plenty of intrigue, danger, and royalty in these pages. I liked Rose’s love for the outdoors and her acceptance of who she and her family are. The honesty was refreshing. It took me a bit to warm up to Will because of his secrets and ability to close himself off. It was fun watching him thaw by being around Rose. I enjoyed this story and recommend it.
I received a copy of this book through Netgalley, and this is my unsolicited review.
Full review appeared on Reader’s Edyn on 11/04/17
Rose Turner is everything you would expect from a red-haired Scottish lass. She’s a bit mouthy; she’s not much in to the whole “Queen’s court” thing; and despite her mother’s wishes, she knows what she wants. Her family is notorious for reiving and, while she isn’t the best match possible for a titled heir, her mother still sends her to court to find a husband. She prefers to be outdoors, an oddity to most, and inadvertently stumbles upon a plan to murder the King. Her situation in knowing the information now has her in danger and also under the protection of Will Sheffield … although she doesn’t know it.
Lord Will Sheffield has been a spy for Queen Elizabeth for years. Having gone to school with Queen Mary’s husband, he possesses the perfect alibi for entrance to Queen Mary’s court. When he sees Rose discover the plot to kill Mary’s husband, he knows she is in danger if her identity is discovered. He’s been trained to accept casualties within the spy world, but the thought of the vibrant Rose as a casualty has him thinking about things that have no place in his life. Before too long, he can no longer resist the head strong woman in Queen Mary’s court. But neither can Rose resist Will. When danger creeps too close and Rose’s life is on the line, Will has to decide whether to let her go and allow one more casualty of war, or up end his entire life by admitting feelings he has no business entertaining.
I had a little difficulty getting in to this book initially, but just a bit in and that difficulty had passed. There was quite a lot being explained and initially, I saw Rose as a bit of a weak-minded person. I couldn’t have been more wrong and glad I am of it. Rose was a lot of fun getting to know once she came out from under her fear of the King. For good reason, but her fear took over everything and it wasn’t until she built trust with a couple of the ladies in the court and comfort with Will that we were treated to her refreshing view of the world and her natural flair in bantering with Will. She is anything but what you would expect from a young miss at court and that is what makes her so enjoyable. Will is also amusing because he is set in his ways and beliefs and Rose threatens to topple all of that. They get to a point where you know the inevitable is going to happen because it simply has to. And even then, Will is still trying to deny a part of himself to both himself and Rose by participating in the moment without actually completing it. I know that is vague, but I don’t want to give anything away. Equally enjoyable was the introduction of Rose’s family. Now those are some interesting characters that I’d love to red more about. What fun and mischief they could get into.
This is the second book in ALL THE QUEEN’S SPIES series. I have not read the first and it did not interfere with my reading enjoyment at all. Rather, it made we want to read the first book because of the references of the previous characters and my curiosity to see what happened with them. A few of the secondary characters played a fairly significant part, but only a couple of them ended up breaking out into a person I would want to read more about in future. The suspense was mostly predictable, so no huge surprises here, but still enough to keep me engaged. I was questioning the Scottish slant initially because Rose exhibits very little Scottish dialect. Yes, she’s from the lowlands, but there wasn’t much to mark her as Scottish save the red hair – until her family is introduced. Overall, this book was quite a pleasant surprise with an interesting plot and equally fascinating characters. Those who love HR with an unlikely couple, a dash of mystery, a touch of suspense, and a lot of sensuality, is sure to be pleased! Ms. Cullen has a talent within HR and I am sure I will visit her writing again soon.
Kindle version provided by NetGalley/Author in exchange for an honest review.
Bound to the Spy by Sharon Cullen is a wickedly delicious Recency Romance. While #2 in this highly anticipated “All the Queen’s Spies” series, it can be read as a stand alone.
It’s suspeneful, powerful, mysterious and romantic in a dramatic kind of way.
This is the story of Will Sheffield, one of Queen Elizabeth’s top agents and Rose Turner, sent by her mother to Mary, Queen of Scots’ court to learn discretion and decorum. But she learns much more, what she learns is dangerous to say the least, as she learns of a plot to kill the King of Scotland, which definitely puts her life in danger. Will, must keep her safe, as well as learn all the players in this assassination plot.
Fast paced with an endearing, and exciting cast of characters and a plot to die for, literally. With romance, passion, spies, secrets, an assassination plot, mystery and suspense, readers will be turning pages, and sitting on the edge of their seats. I was drawn to the characters, the plot, and romance of “Bound to
the Spy” from the first sentence to the last and beyond. Recommended!
I received a complimentary copy, however, all opinions are my own.
Rating: 4.5
Heat rating: Steamy
Reviewer: AprilR