It was left to her to fulfill her family’s duty to the Crown.
When Lady Theodora Neale’s papa dies, a volume guarded by her family for generations comes into her possession—and with it a sacred duty. Lady Theo is determined to honor her papa’s deathbed request to carry out missions directed by the esteemed Lord Archbroke.
But when Archbroke suggests they enter into a feigned courtship, Lady … suggests they enter into a feigned courtship, Lady Theo is blindsided. She’s willing to put her life on the line for the Crown, but no one said anything about risking her heart!
For years he prioritized his duty to the Crown before all else.
Upon first sight, Graham Drummond, the Earl of Archbroke, is bewitched by the mysterious Lady Theodora. As he evaluates the woman’s ability to complete missions for the Home Office, he finds himself assessing her suitability as his future countess.
The two work well together and enjoy each other’s company much more than they ought to. But as Theo becomes involved in one of Archbroke’s open investigations, she learns that he is the one man she can never have.
Will the same duty that forced them together be what ultimately drives them apart?
Mysteries of Lady Theo is part of the steamy Agents of the Home Office regency romance series. If you like regency spies, head strong heroines, and romance with a twist, then you’ll adore Rachel Ann Smith’s page-turning novel.
Buy Mysteries of Lady Theo and enter the clandestine world of the Crown’s secret service today!
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ONE INTRIGUING JOURNEY!!!
Crap on toast! Rachel unleashes one canny treat, locked and loaded, laying out the heavy artillery and tagging targets, wrapping this baby up sleek, shiny and tight. Satisfaction rocks this jewel, bringing it home with such intensity and gusto, displaying triumph and heart pounding thrills, blasting this baby to life beautifully. Braided, bound and tightly coiled, launching the taxing trials and challenging tribulations, noting the startling twists and wicked turns, putting our characters through their paces, testing them in ways they could have never envisioned. Crashing the lines and shattering the boundaries, limitations are amplified and negotiated, booting this baby into the eye of the storm, kicking it into a tizzy with astonishing impacts. Balancing the load and bearing the burden, highlighting the staggering ups and agonizing downs, setting the pace for this intricate and precise liaison, drawing our characters closer than they could have ever anticipated. The dynamics and presentation in layer upon layer that you peel back with each page your drawn into this web so deep until everything else ceases to exist. The characters are complex and genuine with traits and qualities that add depth and diversity, transforming into charismatic personalities. The scenes are strikingly sharp with abundant details and descriptions that feel as though you were transported to ground zero with them. Fantastic job Rachel, thanks for sharing this little guy with us.
Great suspense, characters and romance! A great read!
Mysteries of Lady Theo is the second book in author Rachel Ann Smith’s new series, Agents of the Home Office. This story focuses on two characters we met in the previous book, Lord Archbroke the head of the Home Office and Lady Theo the friend of Lady Lucy who was the main heroine in the last book. I have to admit both characters caught my eye and I was looking forward to getting to know them better!
Graham Drummond, the Earl of Archbroke has been the head of the Home Office since his father died three years ago. At the age of twenty-nine, he acts the dandy for polite society but is known to be a genius, an effective leader that runs the Home Office with intelligence, honor, and far better than the previous two generations.
Lady Theodora “Theo” Neale is the only daughter of the Earl of Hadfield. The Hadfield family has been in service to the Crown for generations. With her brother dead, her father places the responsibility of the family’s duty to the crown on her shoulders.
I must say I really liked this couple! Lord Archbroke played a major role in the last story and I have to admit he intrigued me! He’s considered a young, handsome & wealthy Earl who comes off as a dandy in society. But what most people don’t know is he’s the leader of the Home Office. I loved getting to know him and see him with Theo, his sister, and her children. His reactions to Theo and how she catches him off guard was fun to watch. To help Theo in her training and not draw suspicion, he decides to pretend to court her in society. There is an immediate attraction on both their parts, but they both know their roles to the crown prevent them from making their relationship permanent or real. Theo is a character we briefly heard of in the last book. After losing both her father and brother, she is taking the responsibility of her family’s duty to the Crown very seriously. I loved Theo’s confidence with Graham and how he brought out a bold and daring side to her. They were a fun couple to get to know and I enjoyed watching their feigned courtship grow into love.
Ms. Smith has brought us another fabulous couple in Graham and Theo. I do hope we’ll see more of them in future books! Like the previous book, there is a mystery that continues into the next book. This series is best read in order to get to know all the fabulous characters and understand the connections. I loved seeing Lucy and Blake again and having the opportunity to catch up with them. We were also introduced to some new characters in this story that I would love to get to know better. I’m enjoying this series and look forward to reading Visions of Lady Mary which is set to be the next book in this series!
When Lady Theodora Neale’s father dies, a volume guarded by her family for generations comes into her possession. She is determined to honour her papa’s deathbed request to carry out missions directed by the esteemed Lord Archbroke. Graham Drummond, the Earl of Archbroke, is bewitched by the mysterious Lady Theodora when he first sees her in a jewellers. As he evaluates the woman’s ability to complete missions for the Home Office, he finds himself assessing her suitability as his future countess. When Archbroke suggests they enter into a feigned courtship, Lady Theo is blindsided.
The two work well together and enjoy each other’s company much more than they ought to.
This is the second book in this debut series. It would be better to be read after the first book, Lucy & Blake’s story. I loved much of the book but was left with lots of unanswered questions. I really liked both Graham & Theo, the chemistry between them was there from the start. I did feel that Lucy played too great a part as a secondary character. I loved both Max & Clare who added humour to the book. The pace was good & even but there wasn’t the umph of the first book & it felt like it was a filler to introduce Graham & to get his story out of the way before getting back to the real hunt for the traitor. Events were set up at the end for the next book & I look forward to it as I want all of those questions answered.
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read
** 3.5 Stars rounded up to 4
We finally meet the mysterious head of the Home Office. We also learn of his secret duties that are even more important. He’s a PORF – and I’ll leave it at that – you can read the book to learn what it is – but it is a very important task.
Graham Drummond, Earl of Archbroke, has been head of the Home Office since he was six and twenty. He’s the youngest ever to hold the position and he’s also the best to ever hold it. He’s a brilliant tactician and a natural leader – everyone respects him. He’s now nine and twenty and the long hours and stress of his job have taken their toll on his body, but he’s shocked when the young lady with whom he is dancing guesses his age to be forty. He realizes it is definitely time to make some life changes. (Actually, I loved this part – where he wasn’t a perfect physical specimen.)
Lady Theodora (Theo) Neale, daughter to the Earl of Hadfield, has had too much recent loss in her life. First, she lost her much-loved brother, Baldwin, then, her beloved papa. On his death-bed, her papa told her about the meaning of the mark on her foot and he told her she was to take over the family’s duty to the crown. He wasn’t turning that task over to her cousin who would inherit the Earldom – he wanted Theo in that role and he made her promise to fulfill it. (Note that we never really learned why her father made that decision since he liked his heir, trusted him and respected him.) Her papa made her understand that she could never, ever, let anyone see her mark or discuss anything with anyone else – unless they also had the mark.
Theo’s cousin, Landon, the new earl of Hadfield wants only the best for Theo. He gives her time to mourn and then insists that they spend the season in London. He doesn’t expect her to marry – or even to court – unless she wants to do so. He just wants her to enjoy her time. Theo doesn’t want to go, but she does need to find the man her papa told her to see. She’ll also get to see her good friend Lucy (from Secrets of Lady Lucy) and that worries her because she’ll have to keep her new role a secret from Lucy.
The mystery surrounds the book that Theo and some maps. Theo and Graham begin to work together to sort out the clues and identify a suspect. In order to work together and help Theo with her training, they begin a pseudo-courtship. Of course – that courtship easily becomes real.
I have to say that I finished this book with many more questions than when I started. It almost felt like a ‘filler’ book to introduce Landon (and a couple of others) into the series. I think that is a shame because both Theo and Graham are exceptional characters and this could have been a really exciting read. The mystery was pretty lackluster and it seemed Lucy – from the last book – was more involved than Theo.
At the moment, this new author seems to be trying to find her sea legs. The first book – a novella – Desires Of Lady Elise – was a bit on the lackluster side, then Secrets of Lady Lucy came along and it was really interesting and fast-paced, now, we are back to slower-paced and more lackluster. Hopefully, the next book will be back to being exciting and fast-paced. They should hurry and solve the overarching mystery or they’ll run out of agents – Matthew left for the continent in the last book and Landon left in this one. Both taking off on their own.
Anyway, it is a nice read and I really liked both Theo and Graham. Maybe we’ll see them again in the next books and we’ll get to know them better then.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
THIS is how you do a second in series and keep a reader coming back for more! The very imaginative plot is packed with likable, interesting characters, intrigue, mystery, suspense and sultry, swoon-worthy romance. This is definitely a unique tale guaranteed to pique your interest, keep you guessing and warm your heart.