Mistress Spy

Unsuspected trickery and deception makes this an enticing read! Captured by Queen Elizabeth's men, Madeline is forced to spy for her handler and spymaster, Nicolas. Slow at times, then the action picks up. Secrets abound including Maddie's and Nicolas'. Enjoyed the action, unraveling the mysteries and the romance. 3 1/2 stars. Voluntarily read ARC, through Netgalley and publisher, for honest review.

Mistress Spy by Pamela Mingle In 1569 a young woman and her friends go to join a fight on the losing side. Madeleine Vernon wants revenge for the hanging of her brother. He fought against the queen and was considered a traitor but she found him only misguided and worthy of life. Anyway, she is captured and given the opportunity of saving her traitorous life IF she is willing to go undercover to try to expose plots against the English Queen. Not wanting to hang as her brother did, Madeleine accepts, is cleaned up a bit, given clothing and sent to the Dacre home to spy by her handler, Nicholas Ryder…well…at the behest of his father who is much more into spy-craft and keeping the queen safe at all costs. So, off Madeleine goes with spying to do, information to get back to Ryder, a guest in the home Madeleine knows is not who he says he is and a lot of tension to endure. Then, a woman goes missing, reivers (or are they?) come visiting, Madeleine’s life is at risk and eventually a plot with an evil killer is exposed and he is done away with. Throw in a cute nephew of Nicholas, a bit of romance and the potential for a HEA and you have a historical romance that I found myself skimming at times as it seemed a wee bit predictable and the characters not different enough to hold my attention fully. Thank you to NetGalley and Entangled-Amara for the ARC - This is my honest review. 3 Stars

1569 the fight for the rightful Queen of England. In reading this story, I felt like I was in the middle of the rebellion because the descriptions and emotions were so real! Filled with suspense, intrigue, spies and traitors combined with betrayal and danger, I was kept on the edge wondering what would happen next. She lost her brother in the fight and she was determined to avenge him by joining a group of rebels. Even dressing like a lad did not help her when she was captured by the enemy and thrown in a dank cell. He was working as a spy for the Queen and used her to gather information in return for her freedom. So much emotion and twists and turns that me talking to the characters to help them! I really enjoyed this book and look forward to more by this author!!!