Reviews with content warning for Child abuse - The Secret Service of Tea and Treason

Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

The Secret Service of Tea and Treason by India Holton

34 reviews

natyourusual_'s review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

If you liked the other two books in the series, you’ll like this one. I appreciated the autism representation with our two protagonists and think it was done fairly well given my limited perspective as a neurodivergent person that is not on the autism spectrum. The author herself is autistic so I hope that can give you a bit more peace of mind than my limited opinion.

I did not find it believable that both agents who are supposedly the best in their organization would not engage in certain obvious piratical behavior while undercover (ex. Light art theft in the gallery). Just engaging in pirate culture a little more would have helped them maintain their cover and made the “secret agent that regularly goes undercover” thing a little bit more believable. That detail really took me out of the immersion and continued to irk me while reading, which is why I had to dock half a star from my rating. Otherwise, it was a solid funny romance book and the cameos from the other two books make it even better for me.

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nenaveenstra's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

This book was incredibly funny and I - as an autistic person - really related to Alice and Daniel. Without saying it outright, this book is a great representation of what being autistic is like (although I wouldn't say we are all as naive/innocent...). I laughed out loud several times, and I also wiped away tears. The romance was very slow, though.

I think I would love this book even more upon reread, now knowing what to expect. I miss these characters already.

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ehmannky's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I'm a big fan of this madcap little world and this was my favorite of the series. Daniel and Alice are such fun protagonists. The resolution of the mystery was a little abrupt and silly, but that is the nature of this series. Very fun and just the kind of whimsy I needed.

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aseel_reads's review against another edition

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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

3.0

This was less silly than the others but at the same time, darker themes were hinted at but not touched so it was still a light-hearted read. I'm reading these characters as Autistic coded and that's that.

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meecespieces's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted fast-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

5.0

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beckyyreadss's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging mysterious fast-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

3.0

The first and second book in this series were gifted to me by Michael Joseph Penguin Publishing and when I saw that the third book was released, I had to find out how it ended. I didn’t overly enjoy the first two books, so I didn’t have high hopes for this, and it was okay just not mind blowing.

This book has two points of view. The first is Alice also known as Agent A and she is the top operative within the Agency of Undercover Note Takers, a secret government intelligence group that is fortunately better at espionage than at naming itself. From managing deceptive witches to bored aristocratic ladies, nothing is beyond Alice’s capabilities. She has a steely composure and a plan always up her sleeve. So when rumours of an assassination plot begins to circulate, she’s immediately assigned to the case. But she’s not working alone. Daniel Bixby, otherwise knowns as Agent B and Alice’s greatest rival, is given the most challenging undercover assignment of his life – pretending to be Alice’s husband. Together they will assume the identity of a married couple, infiltrate a pirate house party and foil their plans. Determined to remain consummate professionals, Alice and Daniel must ignore the growing attraction between them, especially since acting on it might prove more dangerous than their target.

If you are wanting enemies-to-lovers – this isn’t it. This book is two people denying their feelings for 200 pages and one of them pretending to hate the other and the other of them having a crush on them but having conflicted feelings about. The only saving grace of this book was the dual POV and hearing Daniel’s thoughts and him being protective of Alice.

I think this book would have actual enemies-to-lovers instead of fake dating and pretending to hate each other. I wanted to know the conflict and why they hated each other and none of them had a valid reason. Another issue I had with this book was I was waiting for something to happen, anything to happen that when the big “villain” got revealed I was almost rooting for him because this book was just a bunch of filler pages until the reveal. I would have liked the separation after the mission to have been longer, but it was like they are forced apart in one chapter and back together in the next.

Throughout this series, all I've wanted was more from it and never got it. It was an alright read but I don’t think I'll re-read them again.

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middle_name_joy's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

Love this series to pieces. ❤️

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sydapel's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny slow-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? It's complicated

2.75

The core relationship between Daniel and Alice really drives this book, and while their dynamic is wonderful, to me it suffered from not delving into particularly Alice's previous abuse. There's this weird disconnect between the quirky situations the characters find themselves in and a really tragic past I wanted more from. I also did not understand what the larger plot of this was at all, which was frustrating. I maintain that these are fun and silly and I probably shouldn't be thinking about this in too much depth, but oh well, that's my ouvre

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purplepenning's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No

3.75

"You are a professional."
"Yes, ma'am," Alice said.
"You would never behave in a manner contrary to the agency's Code of Conduct."
"No, ma'am."
"Because this is a thriller, not a romance, isn't that so, Agent A?"
"Yes, ma'am."

The final thrillingly fantastical romantic farce in India Holton's Dangerous Damsels series is even more packed with literary (mis)quotes, (mis)adventures, and innuendo. And this time with two book-nerd protagonists — Alice (Agent A) and Bixby (Agent B) — who steal our hearts and have us instantly under the spells as if they were born to piracy or witchcraft instead of the secret service.

“Reading is not a hobby,” she said. “It is a way of life.” He was silent a moment as he considered this, then he nodded in agreement."

Alice and Bixby, two orphans who were (mis)educated and molded into top agents, are clearly the heart of this story, but readers of the series will be happy to find that Cecilia and Ned, Charlotte and Alex, and the elderly piratical matriarchs all have significant roles here at the end — and at the end of the end in a surprisingly touching epilogue that champions female friendship and found family.

It's the middle of the story that lags a bit for me. Alice and Bixby's undercover attempts to find a weapon at a house party of pirates drags on a bit long for my tastes, though there are plenty of pirate shenanigans and (un)veiled sexual tension to keep most readers happy.

Besides Alice and Bixby's relationship (superb), the good-natured lampooning of the literary (always amusing), and the incorporation of past characters, the rambunctiously intelligent writing voice is what makes me a fan of these books. The Secret Service of Tea and Treason reaches Terry-Pratchett-levels of a sort of anthropocentric metaphoring that I never cease to find blazingly brilliant and absurdly amusing.

His brain ran around shouting urgent orders and waving red flags, trying to forestall an eruption of emotion he absolutely could not afford... And his heart, sighing in defeat, packed up all its wild and hungry longings and went to hide under a blanket.

Daniel and Alice exchanged a glance that didn't know whether to be amused or anxious, but that mostly wished it could go sit in a corner somewhere and read a book.

A laugh sounded... It was dry, brief; the kind of laugh that has eyes in the back of its head and just knows when you're about to do something stupid.

As the silence lengthened, growing heavy with overtones, undertones, and implications, the air between them blushed, made up an excuse, and departed the room in awkward haste.

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khymihr's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful inspiring medium-paced

4.75

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