A refined Scottish courtier. A rugged British spy. And an affair that will change the course of history. Everything changes when the shocking deception is revealed in this seductive novel from USA Today bestselling author Sharon Cullen. Ladies in waiting can’t help noticing more than they let on. After so many years at the court of Mary, Queen of Scots, Emma Howard sees quite plainly that the … quite plainly that the royal couple is anything but happy. Reeling from a failed marriage herself, Emma sympathizes with her beloved queen. But the last thing she wants is for the king to be murdered, let alone to witness the shocking act herself. With her whole world turned upside-down, Emma is saved by the quick thinking of a lowly printer . . . who, unbeknownst to her, is one of England’s most daring spies.
At Queen Elizabeth’s behest, Tristan has been stirring discontent against the Scottish nobility. Now that the king is dead, his mission is even more critical. There’s only one complication: the exquisite courtier who’s unexpectedly fallen under Tristan’s protection. Emma rouses his body and his soul. But after she learns that he’s a traitor, the fate of two nations hangs on her response. Tristan’s prepared to risk his life in exchange for hers. Will Emma do the same for the man she’s come to love?
Don’t miss these novels in the All the Queen’s Spies series:
WED TO A SPY | BOUND TO A SPY
And look for all of Sharon Cullen’s delightful historical romances:
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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These were very turbulent times in Scotland. In the last book, Bound to a Spy, we learned that James Hepburn, the fourth Earl of Bothwell, was plotting the death of Queen Mary’s husband, Lord Darnley. This book begins in February 1567, only about five months before Mary, Queen of Scots, was forced to abdicate. The story is an exciting roller coaster ride of non-stop action that you absolutely won’t be able to put down once you start reading. So – be warned – and have snacks and drinks ready and at your side – and if you can read in the restroom, that would be a plus. This book is the third in a series, but it can easily be read as a stand-alone. However, the whole of the series just adds so much more to the enjoyment. I absolutely can’t wait for LaGrange’s story – probably paired with Margaret who, I’m sure, has more to her than meets the eye!
Lady Emma Hamilton, widowed and friend to Mary, Queen of Scots has chosen to walk home from dinner with friends. It is cold and she and her maid are moving quickly. As she wonders what in the world possessed her to choose to walk rather than accept a carriage ride from her friends, she notices a group of armed soldiers behind them. Then she sees the soldiers split off and head up into the orchard area of Kirk o’ Field. As she walks further along she notices the soldiers surrounding a man lying on the ground, flailing his legs in the air, and one of the soldiers bent over him. Finally, there is a tremendous, huge explosion in the Kirk o’ Field and Emma is flung back by the explosion and knocked unconscious.
Tristan Fitzherbert, printer, and spy for Queen Elizabeth of England is checking out the area of the explosion to see what he can learn when he trips over Emma’s unconscious body. He has a choice, he can leave her there and allow her to freeze while he continues on his mission or he can take her home with him to see what he can learn from her if she survives. After all, Lord Darnley has died and Tristan needs to get the details back to England. He chooses to save her.
Lady Emma is staunchly loyal to her friend, Queen Mary, but then, Lady Emma has led a pretty sheltered life. She was married to a horrible man who mistreated her at every turn, but still, she was sheltered. Queen Mary had saved Emma by bringing her to court and restoring her dowry. Emma is also very, very afraid of men and is definitely not comfortable when she awakens and finds herself in the home of Tristan.
As Emma and Tristan spend time together, she begins to see a different reality than the one that is presented at court and she comes to believe that it is possible that things in Mary’s court might not be the best thing for Scotland. She also comes to care about and to trust Tristan – maybe all men aren’t brutal abusers. As the noose tightens around the city and Bothwell’s men start taking in the printers to question (read that torture) them – Tristan is caught in the net. Can Emma save him? How? She is surrounded by Scots who love their Queen. She’s determined – and the solution won’t be easy. You’ll just have to read it to find out all of the exciting things that happen – and what they have to endure to get their HEA.
I absolutely loved the book – even though I did catch a few very modern phrases – “Don’t I know it”. Anyway – I certainly recommend this book and the series.
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“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.”
Sharon Cullen delivers another fast paced, intrigue filled installment of All the Queen’s Spies with Lost to a Spy!
Lady Emma Hamilton is pulled into the world of espionage when she is injured and left for dead after witnessing a murder and is knocked unconscious by the explosion of Kirk o’ Fields.
Tristian Fitzherbert hears the explosion and goes to investigate, what he finds is an unconscious woman lying in the street. He takes her back to his print shop and tends her injuries. Tristian is a spy for Queen Elizabeth, his primary mission in Scotland has been to incite dissention against Queen Mary, he does this by printing and distributing suggestive placards about the queen, her consort and advisors. He is not sure what to do about the woman he has found, she is obviously well born, but she was alone when he found her, so he is not sure if she was an innocent bystander or if she was part of the plot to blow up Kirk o’ Fields.
He has even more questions later when she wakes, he has had a visit from LaGrange and knows that the king is dead and that Lady Emma Hamilton, is missing from the palace and is most likely his mystery guest. Emma doesn’t trust men, her marriage to Angus Hamilton was awful and when he died, Queen Mary invited her to live at the palace and restored her dowry to her, giving her the means to live independently. Emma is wary of Tristian at first and doesn’t tell him her real name or the whole truth about what she witnessed.
Tristian is kind and attentive to Emma and soon she feels comfortable with him in a way she has never felt with a man. She confides in him about her past and finally about what she witnessed the night of the explosion. She is upset when he tells her the king is dead and wants to return to the palace to comfort Mary. But she is too weak from her injuries and Tristian urges her to wait.
Emma and Tristian become close, she is amazed how he makes her feel safe and she asks him to be her lover. Hesitant at first, Tristian gives in and soon they both know that what they share is rare, but any relationship between them is impossible.
When Emma learns that Tristian is responsible for the inflammatory placards, she is hurt and returns to the castle. But with fresh eyes Emma begins to realize that maybe Mary is not as innocent as Emma believed and when she overhears Bothwell demanding that the town’s printers be brought in for questioning, she knows Tristian is in danger.
Emma doesn’t know what to believe or who to trust, but she knows that she has to warn Tristian. But will she convince him to leave? And can she return to her former life now that she has found love and learned that all she believed to be true is wrong? Can a highborn Lady and a lowborn Spy have a future?
This was a very well written, well paced novel with wonderful characters, steamy love scenes, lots of intrigue and suspense. I personally felt that there was a little too much modern verbiage and that Tristian and Emma love happened too fast and was not as believable as I would have liked. But overall, it was a good read and I enjoyed the story. This is the third book in the series, but it could be read as a stand alone title with no problems. I am happy to recommend this book and can’t wait to see what Ms. Cullen has in store for LaGrange and Margaret!!
*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC provided to me by NetGalley and the publisher*
This is the first book I have read by Sharon Cullen and I loved it! I haven’t read any books set in this time period and I was so interested I had to go do some research into Mary Queen of Scots. It is fascinating. I had to keep reading to see what was going to happen to the hero and heroine. It was all very edge of the seat and so good! I am going to get busy reading the first 2 books in the series before moving on to her other series.
The setting once again for this third book in All the Queen’s Spies series is Scotland during the reign of Queen Mary. Emma Howard was a minor character in the previous. She is one of Queen Mary’s confidants along with Rose and Amie from the previous books, though they are no longer in Scotland. Emma, unfortunately, witnesses from a distance the murder of Mary’s husband, but was unable to identify him or his killers at the time. Also unfortunately, she was caught up the explosion set to cover up the murder. Fortunately for her, she was found by Tristan Fitzherbert, a printer. However, this is just a cover for one of Queen Elizabeth’s spies. Their mutual attraction doesn’t take long to develop. What do they do next? Scotland is a dangerous place to be right now. The queen is not herself after Lord Darnley’s death. She is being persuaded by her new advisor, Lord Bothwell and not in a good way. It is in this dangerous setting that their love comes to fruition. Seditious placards are being hung, accusing Bothwell of the king’s murder. Bothwell has his men round them up including Tristan. How will they get out of this mess. I really like this series. My only complaint is no epilogue. I want to know what happens in Emma and Tristan’s future. I had hoped for one more book, maybe featuring Margaret and LaGrange, but don’t see any evidence of one. Too bad, when a reader becomes engrossed in the characters, they like to see resolution, not just guessing what comes next. I received this e-book from NetGalley for an honest review.
Interesting plot with well developed characters.
Let’s start off my saying that its been sometime since I have read anything by this author so I was so glad to come across this title and reacquaint myself with her stories.I love reading historical romances but, as of late I have been trying out other gene’s and authors but historical romances with always be a favorite of mine.
I have to say that I really enjoyed the story as it was a really a sweet romance that developed between Tristan and Emma and I am glad their unlikely paths crossed for a reason.This couple were super sweet and cute together and I love how their new love developed slowly but, as it turned out really ended up being a healing bond for both of them.
I love Emma as she was sweet,kind,charming,caring clever,smart and for a noble not at all haughty or vain but down to earth.For all that Emma has gone through in her short life she has for the most part remained and innocent although not oblivious to the danger that surrounded her. “I loved this about her. ”
Tristan was a sweetheart and kind,compassionate, a bit lonely and one who had a few of his own past regrets that weighed him down.Tristan’s compassionate nature helped heal Emma mentally and physically and it gave her a new lease on life and in turned healed his own battered heart just by loving him.
The story flowed nicely and it was nice to see a couple fall for one another in the mist of the chaos surrounding them as both of them had loyalties to two different queens yet were perfect for one another.I loved the lengths Emma was willing to go to save the one she loved with no thought of the ramifications to her own safety and future.
I love when you can connect with the characters that you read about and I did just that.I loved Tristan and Emma from the onset of the story as you could not help it as they both were both loving and kind.
Overall I enjoyed the story and plot and the character’s themselves.My only complaint is I personally don’t like a story that doesn’t tie up loose ends.I didn’t like just how the story ended.Where was the Epilogue?For me there were so many unanswered questions left like …
Was Queen Mary involved in the plot to kill her husband?
Was Lord Bothwell part of a plot to murder Darnley or did he do the deed himself ?
And so forth…..
We can come to our own conclusions of what happened but, the stories plot left more questions than answers and I do not like that.
This ended up to be the third book in this series and I will most definitely reading book one and two to get caught up.
A nice historical romance to pass the time.
3.5 stars from us ½ @https://angelswithattitudebookreviews-joelle.blogspot.com/2018/04/book-review-for-lost-to-spy-all-queens.html?zx=a2ebc0fc2e75f56f
Sharon Cullen’s Lost to a Spy.
I found Lost to a Spy a compelling story at the time Mary Queen of Scots husband Lord Darnley mysteriously ends up dead and the poorly planned and executed explosion coverup scene begins to quickly show, Darnley was not killed by an explosion, but was murdered. The steady paced storyline and the characters kept my interest following to the end. There were good solid setups that heighten the dangers to come, but the story flatlined for me when none of the dangers scenes were developed. When Tristan was being beaten and arrested I wanted to know what happened to him, how did he fair, what did they say and do to him, did he think of her to get through the infamous Bothwell torture? We only know some of his injuries, but nothing more. Just a little insight would have made this great story, in my opinion, more emotionally enticing and satisfyingly complete. I do look forward to the next novel in this series.
I received Sharon Cullen’s Lost to a Spy as an ARC through NetGalley for my honest and unbiased review. All opinions are my own.
Engrossing historical, filled with timeless issues of conspiracy, women with no rights, abuse and romance! A spy and a lady, both having failed marriages; both sworn off any hope for love and nuptials. Enjoyed the way this was all brought together! Hoping LaGrange will get his book. Think I know who his mate will be
Voluntarily read ARC, through Netgalley and publisher, for honest review.
Though about spies, court intrigue, and political manuevers, Lost to a Spy reads as a tender love story set against the backdrop of upheaval in Queen Mary’s Scottish court. From the start, the book abounds with action. Tristan and Emma are thrown together in an incredible way, as otherwise they would never have met. But Sharon Cullen makes this believable as well as the events that follow. The history is incorporated in such a way that I felt I was living it. There are extremely intense sexual scenes that sizzled a bit too much for me…but that is a matter of preference and should not be seen as a criticism of the story since the plot naturally led to those intimate moments. Though I would hesitate to recommend the book to friends because of the sexual nature of some scenes, I would definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys a sizzingly romantic read that does an excellent job of bringing history to life. (I did receive an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.)
A fast paced adventure involving intrigue, murder and spies, what more could you ask for in a historical romance? Sharon Cullen has placed the reader in Scotland at the time of the reign of Mary, Queen of Scots and all of the turmoil during that period. She brings the times alive with her descriptive prose and engages you in the characters and their lives. Lady Emma Hamilton is fortunate. She had lost her parents and is taken into the royal court by Queen Mary as a courtier. She accidentally sees a murder and is rescued by none other that Tristan, a lowly printer. But as fate would have it, people are not always as they appear! Tristan is really an English spy sent to Scotland to spy on the Queen. What follows is an intriguing tale that will keep you glued to your seat with all the twist and turns. As Emma and Tristan get to know each other, there is no telling what will happen. This is a well written tale, that although part of a series, can be read as a standalone. I cannot wait to read more from this author and know you will really enjoy this story..