The Spymaster's Lady by Joanna Bourne
This book created a lot of buzz when it came out, for both its heroine and its voice. The books centers around two spies in the Napoleonic War. Or rather, just barely before, I believe. Annique Villiers is the daughter of a French spy, and has been working as one since childhood, but has recently come under attack by another French spy, Leblanc. Robert Grey is a (for romance novels) fairly common English nobleman spy. They get imprisoned together by Leblanc, she helps him and his injured friend escape, then he decides to kidnap her and take her back to England so the English can have the information Leblanc wanted from her. She objects. Strongly.
All the talk about the voice is spot on. The prose is far superior to that of many romance novels, and its fair share of other genre voices, too, and the dialogue crisp and engaging. In addition, the voices of the French characters-all of them, not just Annique-feel French. It’s not the typical approach of a few stereotypical phrases and mannerisms, but the characters and everything about them feel French, at all times.
And Annique? For the first half of the book, I wholeheartedly agree. Faced with three English spies, it takes all three of them just to keep a very slippery grip on her. She’s smart, clever, and physically capable. There’s a Secret revealed about 70 or so pages in that just makes it more impressive. Except that this is a romance novel. If you’ve ever read a romance novel set in this period, then you know there’s a borderline unbreakable rule that England=Right, France=Wrong. While this isn’t as blatant here as it is elsewhere, there is, right from the beginning, a subtle message that Annique is on the wrong side, and Grey on the right, thus giving an implicit approval of his actions.
Therefore, when the tables are slightly turned, Annique suddenly loses her edge, especially when the Secret is revealed. Her feelings for Grey cloud her judgement. The English spies, of course (or at least, this group) would never harm her, they just want her information (there is, at least, textual indication that this wouldn’t be true of anyone but her, for reasons that have nothing to do with Grey) while the French spies are evil. Annique remains multiple steps above the typical romance novel heroine in this plotline, but it’s very clear that the romance novel requirement that the enemy heroine be made soft for the hero is present.
Then there’s the kidnapping aspect. Now, in the context of the story, it makes perfect sense. In fact, I would have called Grey a moron if he hadn’t done it. I have no problems seeing the characters as being compatible, or even, under different circumstances, falling in love. However, for most of the book, she is his captive, and for the short period when she isn’t, it really isn’t much better. I simply have problems with the “falling in love with your kidnapper” trope as a whole. Also, it’s a romance novel, meaning that, at some point, they had to have sex. There is, very simply, nowhere to insert sex into this plot without there being a skanky element.
SPOILER
Also, I have problems with Annique’s blindness. Well, not the blindness itself. I mean, the first 70 or so pages, neither we nor the other characters had a clue she was blind. She was blind and escaped from a prison, rescuing others along the way, and then held her own against three enemy spies. And she continued to be like that until around page 190. But, as soon as we knew it was a recent blindness because of an injury, we knew she’d get her sight back. And yet, as soon as she did…she lost everything else. I mean, how could she not go “Wait, this strange man randomly saved me, and how he’s following me around and guiding me, because he’s worried about the safety of a complete stranger?” It’s inconceivable that the woman from the first half of the book wouldn’t realize that there was something going on there.
Also, I was alienated a lot early on when he immediately assumed she was a tramp because of her profession. Like other things in the book, the circumstances make the assumption understandable, and he never lets that spill over into his treatment of Annique, but it’s still a major turnoff.
END SPOILER
Here’s the thing: a lot of this sounds extremely critical. However, most of the elements, including the execution, are great. Had this not been a romance novel, even with an understanding of post-book romance, or had they been on the same side, or rival spies working together, instead of enemy spies where she spends most of the book as his captive, I’d probably hail it as one of the best romance novels I’ve read in ages. But it does have those problems, which hold it back. Still, I look forward to her other books quite a bit. Even though the cover of the second looks as embarrassing as this one.
All the talk about the voice is spot on. The prose is far superior to that of many romance novels, and its fair share of other genre voices, too, and the dialogue crisp and engaging. In addition, the voices of the French characters-all of them, not just Annique-feel French. It’s not the typical approach of a few stereotypical phrases and mannerisms, but the characters and everything about them feel French, at all times.
And Annique? For the first half of the book, I wholeheartedly agree. Faced with three English spies, it takes all three of them just to keep a very slippery grip on her. She’s smart, clever, and physically capable. There’s a Secret revealed about 70 or so pages in that just makes it more impressive. Except that this is a romance novel. If you’ve ever read a romance novel set in this period, then you know there’s a borderline unbreakable rule that England=Right, France=Wrong. While this isn’t as blatant here as it is elsewhere, there is, right from the beginning, a subtle message that Annique is on the wrong side, and Grey on the right, thus giving an implicit approval of his actions.
Therefore, when the tables are slightly turned, Annique suddenly loses her edge, especially when the Secret is revealed. Her feelings for Grey cloud her judgement. The English spies, of course (or at least, this group) would never harm her, they just want her information (there is, at least, textual indication that this wouldn’t be true of anyone but her, for reasons that have nothing to do with Grey) while the French spies are evil. Annique remains multiple steps above the typical romance novel heroine in this plotline, but it’s very clear that the romance novel requirement that the enemy heroine be made soft for the hero is present.
Then there’s the kidnapping aspect. Now, in the context of the story, it makes perfect sense. In fact, I would have called Grey a moron if he hadn’t done it. I have no problems seeing the characters as being compatible, or even, under different circumstances, falling in love. However, for most of the book, she is his captive, and for the short period when she isn’t, it really isn’t much better. I simply have problems with the “falling in love with your kidnapper” trope as a whole. Also, it’s a romance novel, meaning that, at some point, they had to have sex. There is, very simply, nowhere to insert sex into this plot without there being a skanky element.
SPOILER
Also, I have problems with Annique’s blindness. Well, not the blindness itself. I mean, the first 70 or so pages, neither we nor the other characters had a clue she was blind. She was blind and escaped from a prison, rescuing others along the way, and then held her own against three enemy spies. And she continued to be like that until around page 190. But, as soon as we knew it was a recent blindness because of an injury, we knew she’d get her sight back. And yet, as soon as she did…she lost everything else. I mean, how could she not go “Wait, this strange man randomly saved me, and how he’s following me around and guiding me, because he’s worried about the safety of a complete stranger?” It’s inconceivable that the woman from the first half of the book wouldn’t realize that there was something going on there.
Also, I was alienated a lot early on when he immediately assumed she was a tramp because of her profession. Like other things in the book, the circumstances make the assumption understandable, and he never lets that spill over into his treatment of Annique, but it’s still a major turnoff.
END SPOILER
Here’s the thing: a lot of this sounds extremely critical. However, most of the elements, including the execution, are great. Had this not been a romance novel, even with an understanding of post-book romance, or had they been on the same side, or rival spies working together, instead of enemy spies where she spends most of the book as his captive, I’d probably hail it as one of the best romance novels I’ve read in ages. But it does have those problems, which hold it back. Still, I look forward to her other books quite a bit. Even though the cover of the second looks as embarrassing as this one.