AAR

[Tee]

[Jane A]

[Tee]

[Margaret]

[desiderata]

I just finished TSL and I loved it. I so enjoyed the dialogue -- as others have noted, the English/French characterization is excellent. I found the plot engrossing, and the characters well developed. It was fun getting to "know" so many likeable and interesting people -- Doyle, Adrian, Grey and of course, Annique. The title of the book is really a misnomer because it is Annique's story -- she is the pivotal and most unique and important character. I could go on and on, but I think it's the best book I've read in years.

Having finished it, though, I'm rather indignant on the author's behalf. What a dumb and non-descriptive title and what a completely horrible cover -- it looks as though the book would be an old bodice ripper, when nothing is further from the truth. In fact, I first went to look for the book at Barnes and Noble, but the cover was so cheesy and ridiculous I couldn't bring myself to buy it! It was only after reading online, again and again, how good this book was that I ordered it online. It's really too bad that the title and book cover could so misrepresent such a wonderful book.

[LeeB.]

[SarahT]

I'm going to have to go with the dissenting minority on this: TSL was barely average. I cannot understand why people love this book so much! Did anyone else think the heroine was seriously TSTL?
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Seriously, she attacks people while BLIND; miraculously regains her sight; says she's in love with Grey, then decides she has feelings for Robert, failing to recognise them as one and the same person. I really dislike that plot device of the heroine meeting the hero in two guises and failing to recognise him.

I also thought the ending was a major disappointment. Just in case Annique wasn't dumb enough already, we then discover that she's unwittingly been spying for the British, and the head of the British secret service turns out to be her long-lost grandfather. Aagh!

The only redeeming feature of the book was Adrian. I would have been happier had he been the hero, preferably with a sensible heroine.
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SarahT

[desiderata]

MAJOR SPOILERS
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I don't get why not recognizing Robert was Grey made Annique TSTL -- she never saw Grey, so she had no idea what he looked like. Grey spoke only French, Robert spoke only English, and the author went into some detail to explain how different his voice was in the different languages. Whether that rings true in real life, I don't know, but for purposes of the story it's certainly a legitimate explanation. If she didn't know what Grey looked like and his voice was completely different and he was an accomplished spy who was determined to hide his identity from her and didn't slip up -- how was she to know they were one and the same? In what ways was she stupid?


I also don't know how she was supposed to know she was British intelligence when her mother raised her to believe she was French, everyone, including the entire British and French secret service, thought her father was a French hero, she was raised and trained by the top French spies, and her mother never told her the truth. It was such a completely successful charade and so completely secret that only the very head of British intelligence, who set the whole thing in motion, knew the truth. What signs did Annique stupidly miss that should have made her suspect that she was a top British spy instead of a French spy?

I dunno -- I can understand some of the reasons people have disliked the book, but thinking Annique was TSTL? I totally don't get that.

[Kristie(J)]

[JMM]

I've never read this book (and now I KNOW I never will) but I imagine the author did the "heroine has been working for the British all along" for one reason - to "redeem" her.

After all, if she had been working for the French, she would be responsible for British deaths. And that would be unacceptable to a lot of readers. Everyone who reads romance knows the rules! English = Noble and Good, French = Eeeeeevvvvvvvvvvviiiiiiiiilllllllllll. (With the exception of a few token French people who hate Napoleon and want the Noble Royals back. (That didn't work out so well, from what I read.)
Spoilers:

Remember all the fuss when it turned out Melanie in "Daughter of the Game" had been a French Spy and responsible for the deaths of Noble British Men?

[Margaret]

[Tee]

[MMcA]

[dick]

I don't think anybody who has read the book will defend Annique's character and actions as "realistic." The book's appeal has nothing to do with reality. It's the vitality, the verve, the wit of the interactions of the hero and heroine that appeal, IMO, all of which are enhanced by the indomitability of Annique. So it's not realistic. What romance is? The author not only accepts that caveat; she uses it, and in doing so creates a story with the same uplifting appeal as the little engine that could or Cinderella or Zorro or David vs Goliath.

[Margaret]