Love, Lies and Spies

The minute I read the summary and saw the cover to Love, Lies and Spies by Cindy Anstey I immediately wanted to read it. I love historical romance - add in the spy aspect and I am totally on board.Juliana Telford is the main character and there is more to her than meets the eye. As a girl growing up in the nineteenth century, she should be interested in attending parties and finding a husband but really, none of that is important to her. Instead, she would prefer to continue to study the bugs she and her father have researched for so long. Unfortunately in order to try to get a publisher to consider publishing their research, she has to jump through some hoops and that includes pretending she is interested in parties and a husband.Our hero is Spencer Northam and like Juliana, he is hiding something about himself. As a spy for the War Office, he is on a mission to find the truth about the traitors he has been directed to watch. As he and his good friend, Lord Randolph Bobbington spend some time outside of London, conveniently near the home of the supposed traitors, they cross paths with Juliana and things become super interesting.I have to admit, I love the way Juliana and Spencer met. It was one of my favorite parts and you don’t have to wait long for it as it is the first chapter of the book. With that said, the book is written well and the rest of the book provides fantastic interactions between these characters. As Juliana continues to investigate her publishing options and Spencer continues to investigate the traitors, they cross paths quite a bit. To make it easier for both of them to avoid potential matchmaking – since neither of them are looking for a spouse – they pretend they are interested in each other and the development of their friendship and eventually a romance was well done. Please note, the romance is very PG but I loved seeing how their relationship evolved. The banter between these two and getting to peek into the development of their relationship was fantastic.In addition to the above, there is an added layer to the story. Someone (nope, I’m not saying who) has decided they want to compromise Juliana in order to be able to marry her and have access to her money. I won’t go into much detail on this aspect of the story only because I don’t want to give it away but he has a connection to the family that Juliana is traveling to London with and when things start to fall apart for him things become more dangerous for Juliana. Other secondary characters include Juliana’s aunt, uncle, and cousin. All of them add something to the story and help keep the story moving forward.Overall I thought this was a fantastic YA historical romance. It was exactly what I was looking for and I can’t wait to read more by Anstey. If you are looking for something light with a historical feel and well-written characters, consider checking this book out. There really is something for everyone in this book – romance, intrigue, and a bit of adventure to keep you turning the pages.

I really wanted to love this book! A romance featuring a young woman scientist, billed as "a hilarious homage to Jane Austen?" Yes, please!However, once I started reading "Love, Lies and Spies," it didn't take long at all to realize that Cindy Anstey falls into quite a lot of common sexist tropes in her writing.Juliana, the main character, is supposed to be this smart, independent young woman scientist, but all she ever does it get rescued by men. The book starts as she is rescued by two attractive gentlemen, and the reader is supposed to see that she is spunky and "not like other women" because she was out alone in the first place. The men save her and fix her carriage and send her home. This pattern continues throughout the whole book. Even when it comes to her scientific research, which is her entire purpose in life, she fails until her male family members fix it for her and finish what she couldn't do on her own.And I can't write this without addressing the whole "not like other girls" aspect of Anstey's novel. IT. IS. SO. SEXIST. Juliana's cousin is sweet, but doesn't understand how a lady could want to read books instead of finding a suitor. All of the women in the novel except for Juliana are either sweet but dumb, or evil and calculating. All of the women except for Juliana care only about dresses, shopping, money, and marrying the best man. Of course, we are supposed to love Juliana because she's so different from all the other women! So refreshing! Except I don't find it refreshing to read a novel that tells me women are shallow and kind of stupid, and presents women who are smart and motivated as a novelty. That's not refreshing - that's exactly the same as every other misogynistic book, movie, or TV show out there.One more HUGE example: In the beginning of the book, Juliana professes to care only about her research and her father. She cares nothing for fashion and does not want to get married. She meets an attractive gentleman in the first chapter, and immediately changes all of her priorities, starts worrying about her dresses, and is now thinking about her handsome stranger when she would have previously been focused on her work. We really just have to take Anstey's word for it that Juliana ever cared about her work at all, because Juliana changes before the book even gets started.

I purchased this book after reading the a sample at the end of the "These Vicious Masks". I was hooked from the first page as who wouldn't want to find out if a young women, precariously clinging to a cliff gets rescued? The answer no one!This dramatic start sets the pace for this book.The main protagonists, Miss Juliana Telford and Mr Spencer Northam, are fantastic and provide light humour as well as interesting characters. Juliana is intelligent, resourceful and witty. I liked that she stood by her moral beliefs, even though this lead her into difficult social situations and the nickname "blue stocking" being whispered among society. She doesn't let society being her down but concentrate on what really matters to her, her family and lady beetles.Spencer is another interesting character, smart and a bit cocky, this creates the humour between both characters. As Juliana can be very serious at times but he brings out her own witty character. His mission in this book, as he is a spy for the war office, leaves you guessing who and want is going on. Futhermore, it was interesting to see him try to balance the both sides of his life. He although he had been in the espionage job for a while he still makes mistakes. I especially enjoyed the parts where Spencer has to save a certain "damsel in-distress", as said damsel although thankful, makes it clear that she can save herself.I loved the secondary characters as they proved the norms of society at this time. And of course the actual plot involving the war office and the Napoleon War. This book had traitors, thiefs and smuggling. The plot itself doesn't slow down and was glad when my assumptions were mistaken, as there where a few wee twists that I did not see coming and made this book even better. I would love to see more of Carrie and Randolph and see what becomes of those characters as I feel that their story isn't quite finished.Overall if you like historical adventures with romance and fantastic characters then I would read this book. I couldn't put this book down the whole time I was reading it and after having finished it, I re-read it as I didn't want the story to end. One the best books I've read in awhile.

This was an entertaining, quick read which I'm sure fans of Regency romance stories would enjoy.

Didn't enjoy it that much, kind of a slow book to get into.

I have recently discovered Cindy Ansteys books and can not recommend them enough. If you love an Austen like writing style; witty, smart and strong willed heroines and a bit of intrigue you will love this (and all of her other) book(s)!

Great characters engaged in witty repartee while solving mysteries and battling baddies of all sorts. Very entertaining read, highly recommended if you're looking for a fun book with clever dialogue.