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minniexo's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
anjilivreads's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
kbranfield's review
4.0
4.5 stars
An Indecent Invitation is the scorching hot and intriguing first installment in Laura Trentham's Spies and Lovers series. This historical novel pairs up a sassy, intelligent young woman with a long time family friend and their resulting romance is explosive. Readers of historical romances who also enjoy a suspense element to the storyline do not want to miss this beguiling and super steamy novel.
Lady Lily Drummond is a quick thinking, feisty and clever young woman who is determined to think for herself. She is nothing like the shy and retiring ladies of the peer and she wants more from life than an advantageous marriage. She can be a bit impulsive but she can take care of herself and Lily is not about to take orders from anyone.
Gray Masterson grew up beside Lily and he is best friends with her brother Rafe. While he is not an aristocrat, his career as a spy for the Crown has garnered him the respect of his peers. He is stunned to discover the hellion who tagged along behind him and Rafe has grown into a beautiful and highly sought after young woman. Gray is dismayed by his attraction to Lily but he knows she deserves a titled suitor, so he is determined to ignore his feelings for her.
Much to his annoyance, Lily is not easy to ignore or dissuade once she decides to help investigate her father's disappearance. After Gray realizes this, he and Rafe devise a scheme to keep her busy while at the same time keeping her out of harm's way. However, Gray underestimates Lily's abilities and she uncovers important evidence. She can also move freely about in Society and her invitations take her into places that he cannot freely access so Lily quickly becomes a valuable asset to the investigation.
Underlying all of Lily and Gray's interactions is a simmering attraction that soon becomes impossible to ignore. Lily might be innocent but she does not hesitate to explore her burgeoning sexuality once it is awakened. Their mutual desire leads to some very sensual and exquisitely detailed sex scenes that are also full of deep emotions. Being an honorable gentleman, Gray knows that marriage is the only thing that will salvage Lily's reputation, but will she agree to marry him?
An Indecent Invitation is a wonderful blend of suspense and romance and fans of the genre are sure to enjoy this beautifully written and well researched first installment in Laura Trentham's Spies and Lovers series. The mystery surrounding Lily's father's disappearance is quite interesting and the investigation is full of exciting twists and turns. There is a plenty of sexual tension between Gray and Lily and their exchanges are a delightful combination of witty banter and flirtatious bickering. An outstanding historical romance that will leave readers impatiently awaiting the next book in the series.
An Indecent Invitation is the scorching hot and intriguing first installment in Laura Trentham's Spies and Lovers series. This historical novel pairs up a sassy, intelligent young woman with a long time family friend and their resulting romance is explosive. Readers of historical romances who also enjoy a suspense element to the storyline do not want to miss this beguiling and super steamy novel.
Lady Lily Drummond is a quick thinking, feisty and clever young woman who is determined to think for herself. She is nothing like the shy and retiring ladies of the peer and she wants more from life than an advantageous marriage. She can be a bit impulsive but she can take care of herself and Lily is not about to take orders from anyone.
Gray Masterson grew up beside Lily and he is best friends with her brother Rafe. While he is not an aristocrat, his career as a spy for the Crown has garnered him the respect of his peers. He is stunned to discover the hellion who tagged along behind him and Rafe has grown into a beautiful and highly sought after young woman. Gray is dismayed by his attraction to Lily but he knows she deserves a titled suitor, so he is determined to ignore his feelings for her.
Much to his annoyance, Lily is not easy to ignore or dissuade once she decides to help investigate her father's disappearance. After Gray realizes this, he and Rafe devise a scheme to keep her busy while at the same time keeping her out of harm's way. However, Gray underestimates Lily's abilities and she uncovers important evidence. She can also move freely about in Society and her invitations take her into places that he cannot freely access so Lily quickly becomes a valuable asset to the investigation.
Underlying all of Lily and Gray's interactions is a simmering attraction that soon becomes impossible to ignore. Lily might be innocent but she does not hesitate to explore her burgeoning sexuality once it is awakened. Their mutual desire leads to some very sensual and exquisitely detailed sex scenes that are also full of deep emotions. Being an honorable gentleman, Gray knows that marriage is the only thing that will salvage Lily's reputation, but will she agree to marry him?
An Indecent Invitation is a wonderful blend of suspense and romance and fans of the genre are sure to enjoy this beautifully written and well researched first installment in Laura Trentham's Spies and Lovers series. The mystery surrounding Lily's father's disappearance is quite interesting and the investigation is full of exciting twists and turns. There is a plenty of sexual tension between Gray and Lily and their exchanges are a delightful combination of witty banter and flirtatious bickering. An outstanding historical romance that will leave readers impatiently awaiting the next book in the series.
tsubramaniam's review against another edition
This was the book that first introduced me to KU, so when I finally succumbed and subscribed it was the first book I downloaded. However I hadn’t been feeling in a regency mood so I didn’t get to it until I was on a plane and it was one of the few books I had downloaded to my kindle and had not yet read.
RIYL Sarah Maclean’s Bombshell.
RIYL Sarah Maclean’s Bombshell.
deannasworld's review
3.0
I got through this book with difficulty. At about 50% I almost gave up on it as I got to the point in this book where I didn't really care if I found out how the mystery of the missing earl was solved because I found the heroine exceedingly annoying.
The story itself was interesting enough and it was generally well written but the heroine, Lily annoyed me so much, I felt the story was dragging as we bounced from one to the another of Lily's antics and I had a hard time dealing with them. By the time I got to 50% of the book, I was rather fed up of what else she could get herself into and whether she'd continue to give Gray hairs the color of his namesake from trying to protect her and make certain she doesn't ruin her reputation.
How do I describe Lily? Lily is wild, rash, reckless and impetuous. She never kept her promises and she definitely did not do as she was told. She constantly put herself in harm's way, which fortunately for her was not too dangerous and she was able to extricate herself from them. One of them was even quite clever while the other was definitely touch and go as to whether she would have pulled it off if Gray had not showed up. There was one rather harrowing situation where she definitely needed rescuing and fortunately, Gray came to her rescue, though she managed to fend for herself quite well there too.
I really felt for Gray. Between his attraction for Lily and trying to keep her out of trouble, he had his work cut out for him. Especially considering Lily was prone to jump to conclusions, do without thinking and broke promises she made at the drop of a hat.
Don't get me wrong, I think a lot of people would like Lily. She's also strong minded, opinionated, independent and definitely unconventional for the time. She's definitely no simpering Regency miss. While I'm not saying I want or like a simpering Regency miss, I thought Lily's unconventional qualities were a little too at odds with the time period and that, coupled with her qualities which I did not like as much, made me a lot less of a fan of her.
Gray on the other hand, was precisely what I love about a Regency spy, even if he didn't have a title. He was handsome, fit and resourceful, and his attraction to Lily was something to behold, especially with him losing focus on the job at hand because he was distracted by her. Probably not a good thing for a spy and it was rather unprofessional of him, but I forgave him since he fell in love. :-)
Despite the inauspicious start to the story with Lily driving me bonkers, it did pick up after the 50% mark and after they got frisky withe each other. I think the second half of the story really improved it overall. I don't think I would have continued had the story not improved at that point since I was wondering after all that had happened in the first half, what else could occur. Between the copious amount of sexy times between Lily and Gray (thank goodness for it, actually!!) and the increased pace of the unfolding mystery, it got a lot more interesting. Certainly interesting enough for me to read to the very end.
See more from Deanna's World
The story itself was interesting enough and it was generally well written but the heroine, Lily annoyed me so much, I felt the story was dragging as we bounced from one to the another of Lily's antics and I had a hard time dealing with them. By the time I got to 50% of the book, I was rather fed up of what else she could get herself into and whether she'd continue to give Gray hairs the color of his namesake from trying to protect her and make certain she doesn't ruin her reputation.
How do I describe Lily? Lily is wild, rash, reckless and impetuous. She never kept her promises and she definitely did not do as she was told. She constantly put herself in harm's way, which fortunately for her was not too dangerous and she was able to extricate herself from them. One of them was even quite clever while the other was definitely touch and go as to whether she would have pulled it off if Gray had not showed up. There was one rather harrowing situation where she definitely needed rescuing and fortunately, Gray came to her rescue, though she managed to fend for herself quite well there too.
I really felt for Gray. Between his attraction for Lily and trying to keep her out of trouble, he had his work cut out for him. Especially considering Lily was prone to jump to conclusions, do without thinking and broke promises she made at the drop of a hat.
Don't get me wrong, I think a lot of people would like Lily. She's also strong minded, opinionated, independent and definitely unconventional for the time. She's definitely no simpering Regency miss. While I'm not saying I want or like a simpering Regency miss, I thought Lily's unconventional qualities were a little too at odds with the time period and that, coupled with her qualities which I did not like as much, made me a lot less of a fan of her.
Gray on the other hand, was precisely what I love about a Regency spy, even if he didn't have a title. He was handsome, fit and resourceful, and his attraction to Lily was something to behold, especially with him losing focus on the job at hand because he was distracted by her. Probably not a good thing for a spy and it was rather unprofessional of him, but I forgave him since he fell in love. :-)
Despite the inauspicious start to the story with Lily driving me bonkers, it did pick up after the 50% mark and after they got frisky withe each other. I think the second half of the story really improved it overall. I don't think I would have continued had the story not improved at that point since I was wondering after all that had happened in the first half, what else could occur. Between the copious amount of sexy times between Lily and Gray (thank goodness for it, actually!!) and the increased pace of the unfolding mystery, it got a lot more interesting. Certainly interesting enough for me to read to the very end.
See more from Deanna's World
melbsreads's review
3.0
Trigger warnings: disappearance of a parent, violence, death of a parent (in the past).
Look, I'm going to be honest: in the less than a week since I finished this book, I've forgotten almost everything it except that there's a spy aspect to the story. I can tell you that I liked the characters and their relationships. But this is under 300 pages and somehow it felt more like about 500. And that's honestly all I can tell you.
Look, I'm going to be honest: in the less than a week since I finished this book, I've forgotten almost everything it except that there's a spy aspect to the story. I can tell you that I liked the characters and their relationships. But this is under 300 pages and somehow it felt more like about 500. And that's honestly all I can tell you.
onclout99's review
3.0
good, spicy, well-written incel villain. will i go back for the sequel? probably
mishukitty's review
3.0
A mixed bag
Parts of this book were great: the snappy dialog between Lily and Grey, Lily's turning the tables on the old cliche of a damsel in distress ( it's so refreshing to see the dashing, strong alpha male hero rescued by a confident,resourceful heroine!)
What I didn't like was a pretty weak mystery, and the romance went too quickly from antagonistic to swooning desire. Also, the secondary characters, Race and Minerva, become much more interesting than Lily and Grey, since their romance is clinched far too early.
Parts of this book were great: the snappy dialog between Lily and Grey, Lily's turning the tables on the old cliche of a damsel in distress ( it's so refreshing to see the dashing, strong alpha male hero rescued by a confident,resourceful heroine!)
What I didn't like was a pretty weak mystery, and the romance went too quickly from antagonistic to swooning desire. Also, the secondary characters, Race and Minerva, become much more interesting than Lily and Grey, since their romance is clinched far too early.
happily_after_heas's review
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I cannot recall what led me to this book but as I started to read, I realized this might be considered a spy romance and I don't typically do spy romance. However, I stuck with it and am glad I did. The main characters are likable people and the mystery of the book isn't the main focus of the book (at least for 75% of the book). The sex scenes are plenty steamy, descriptive but not graphic, romance but not erotic romance. The mystery/spy part focus is strong in the last bit of the book. It gets a little dark (a smidgen) and while the author does need to wrap up the missing person plot, it really took a relatively light novel to a different place. Overall I enjoyed this and would recommend it. Honestly, I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series.
jillip's review
5.0
I really loved this historical romance. Not only did it have steamy chemistry, well developed characters, and an exciting plot, but also the writing was beautiful and thoughtful without being over the top. I have read a few HR books with espionage as a theme or plot point now, and this book handles it well. I think Lady Lily was a strong character, and I appreciated that she had such a temper on her, and also that she was so self aware of her own character strengths and weaknesses. a very enjoyable book. I look forward to reading more in this series and from this author.
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