Jen’s review of Love and Let Spy (Lord and Lady Spy #3) by Shana Galen
She cannot afford to fail…
Jane Bonde was raised to be a spy, but the ton knows her only as an elusive beauty who turns men’s heads when she walks into a room. She’s also the Crown’s last best hope. If she can’t find and destroy the diabolical Foncé and his French spy ring, England’s defenses may fall.
But something even more dangerous than a madman stands in her way-her fiancé.
When love conflicts with duty…
The demons of Dominic Griffyn’s past make it difficult for him to get close to anyone. When his stepfather, the marquess, demands he settle down and marry, Dominic allows himself to hope that the beautiful but mysterious Miss Bonde will help him forget his troubles. He may be right-the most important mission of her career is about to plunge them both into danger.
Despite James Bond being a sexist alcoholic with undoubtedly several STDs, I have enjoyed some of his stories. There’s something about the escapism, action, and intrigue that has always appealed to me. When I saw a book about a spy named Jane Bonde, I was excited! I wanted to see the character turned on its head, or at least get a similar escape, but this book didn’t provide either.
Jane Bonde is one of the most beautiful young women in society…and she’s also a secret spy for the Crown. Jane is an orphan living with her aunt and uncle, the latter of whom happens to also be the head of the secret intelligence group Jane works for. (This book is the 3rd in a series that focuses on various members of the group. I haven’t read the other books, but that was no impediment.) Her uncle has decided it’s time for her to marry, as she’s already well into her twenties and running out of excuses to cover her extracurricular spy activities. (There is no logical reason marriage would improve that situation though, as he expects her to keep her spying secret from her husband. How could she keep sneaking off for missions?) He arranges a marriage for her to Dominic Griffyn, the stepson of a marquess. Well, more accurately her uncle and Dominic’s mother arrange the match. Neither Dominic nor Jane want the marriage, but when Dominic inadvertently gets involved in Jane’s work, they are thrown together and gradually alter their opinions.
I suppose I expected too much from this book, but if you’re going to invoke James Bond, you better be prepared to deliver excitement. I was looking forward to seeing a female Bond: strong, competent, mysterious, and sexy. Jane does seem to be relatively competent in her work, at least during the few times we get to see her working, but in the rest of her life she’s not all that interesting. She allows Dominic to push her around and seems unable to control herself around him. For the most part, he’s the pursuer and aggressor in the relationship, and while he has reasons (more on that later), it ends up making Jane seem like a rather disappointing standard historical heroine at some moments. For instance, their first real encounter happens in a garden at night, and Dominic ends up pinning Jane down and kissing her. She’s a highly trained operative who’s been on missions around the world, yet she can’t handle a guy in the garden? And I wanted to see her charm Dominic like James would charm his love interests, not bicker with him.
Another thing that bothered me was Dominic’s past. I’m going to give a trigger warning and a big ol’ spoiler here, so skip this paragraph if you must, but I feel like it’s important to discuss. Dominic was sexually assaulted by at least two of his mother’s boyfriends as a young child. These horrors have affected him in multiple ways, not least of which is his sexuality. He can’t stand touching or kissing, and seems to have all kinds of anxiety related to sex. That’s all understandable, except then he’s basically cured by Jane’s love. I just felt like the issue wasn’t treated very seriously or sensitively. It was just a plot device, which was frustrating for me and might be downright offensive to some readers. I didn’t think it was necessary either. There was plenty of conflict related to Jane and her work that I actually wanted to hear about–Dominic’s drama just took away from that.
When Jane was working and doing her spy thing, I was enjoying the book. Though I would have liked to see more of her strength, she’s not a simpering miss either. I guess I really wanted more Jane being Bond(e) the spy. How did she juggle the secret identity with the public persona? How was she trained? What are her specialties? What else has she done in her career? I wanted more action and less of the manufactured angst Dominic brought to the story. As it was, I ended up feeling like this book didn’t make the most of its inspiration.
Grade: 2.5 out of 5
The Series:
This title is available from Sourcebooks Casablanca. You can purchase it here or here in e-format. This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
