An immersive and suspenseful Regency romance…Publishers WeeklyOne of the most requested romance books on NetGalley In the twilight of a November evening, Sir Henry March, a man of wealth and charm — and a secret agent for the Crown — comes across a badly beaten Eliza Broad, desperate to escape her cruel stepfather. Knowing she has nowhere to go, Sir Henry takes her to his home to recover, and … recover, and introduces her to a world of culture, art, and literature she never knew existed. But Eliza’s brutal world follows her to London, where elite aristocratic salons coexist with the back alleys of the criminal underworld. As romance blossoms between them, Eliza unearths an old secret that leads them into the dark, sadistic world of sex trafficking, and allows Henry to finally identify a traitor responsible for selling military secrets and causing the death of thousands. A natural at the spy game, Eliza proves herself a worthy partner in the fight for truth and justice. But with time running out, and the fate of one girl hanging in the balance, Henry and Eliza must find a way to outwit a nasty pimp and eliminate a dangerous enemy agent. Look for the second book in the The Gentleman Spy Mysteries, The Gentleman’s Daughter.
more
Eliza & Henry
Notes
Beatings, spies, abuse, mystery, murders, BDSM, mistress, chemistry, dark, old England, friends to lovers, adventure.
This book has some dark sides, but the storyline is very intriguing and good.
I really enjoyed reading it.
A 4 star read
The Innkeeper’s Daughter (The Gentleman Spy Mysteries #1) by Bianca M. Schwarz – I won an advanced copy of the second book, so I invested the dollar to read the first book first. I love the main characters, the pacing, and all the tension. If you read this book like well-researched historical fiction, you will shake your head (especially at the language choices). If you read this like a steampunk/imagined/Bridgerton the TV show vibes piece of fiction, you will really enjoy it! Happy Reading!
This was a most entertaining read. Eliza was a strong and brave woman. When escaping from her dire circumstances, she met Sir Henry March. Sir Henry was a brave and honourable man, who was involved in discovering a traitor. He had two loyal friends who helped him, as well as a number of ex soldiers. This story moved along at a good pace and had dangerous events, a burgeoning love and people trafficking. I’m looking forward to reading the next in the series. I received a copy and have voluntarily reviewed it. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
What I have to say is quite simple. This book was although on the longer side, BRILLIANT! Entertaining and tense until the very end. It had me in its grip throughout the whole story.
Dark meets light, tender love against people trafficking, including BSDM. The awful laws of England at the beginning of the 19th century versus fighting for justice.
I loved both main characters because they just made this story a brilliant one. Political influences and intrigues mixed with espionage and the truth revealed at the very end just kept me excited and sitting on pins and needles to finally learn who was pulling the strings all the time and why.
And the best? There will be another book in this series. I am truly excited about it because I’ve wished this book NOT to end at all.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I think if the pace was a little faster on this one, I would have rated it a lot higher. I loved the mystery and intrigue. I loved trying to figure out who was running this sex trafficing ring in the early 1800s?! Like, what? I never would have considered that existed then, but I’m sure it did.
I also loved the budding romance between Eliza and Henry. I just hated being reminded over and over that she was from a lower class and could never be together forever. It made me so sad!
There were parts of the story I feel were unnecessary – I won’t say what because spoilers. But I feel if a few things had been left out and the pace was a little better, this might have been one of my favorite books of the year.
I love historical fiction. Add in mystery and romance – even better. So I had high expectations when I began this novel. It did not disappoint.
The heroine, Eliza, is beautiful, smart, strong, and by all accounts, should be damaged beyond belief. The hero, Sir Henry, is a proper hero: physically attractive, brave, quite rich, but most of all, kind and good. He doesn’t give a second thought to do for others, especially Eliza in her broken state.
As the mystery unravels, we are introduced to the author’s vivid descriptions. At the retelling of a particularly horrendous act, we are dumped into the scene – the last place we want to be. The graphic nature with how Daisie tells her story had me both angry and uncomfortable, however, it is not gratuitous. When we are finally confronted with the actual environment from Daisie’s story, even knowing the space was unoccupied, I stilled skimmed through.
I highly recommend to any reader.
I had to bail on this one. Just not my cup of tea.