Book Review - The Lies of Lord John by Fiona Munroe

Only marriage to a lady of fortune can save him

Four Stars

I do love a historical heroine with modern sensibilities and Margaret Bell the heroine of The Lies of Lord John is a wonderful example of just that.

Accustomed to a rather negligent upbringing from an indulgent uncle, she has always enjoyed far more freedom than a gentlewoman in nineteenth century Scotland is usually afforded, allowing her to attend literary soirees, indulge her love of poetry and even make plans to start a literary magazine.

She almost meets Keats at one point. I'm not sure he's much of a spanker.

When her circumstances change, Margaret’s freedoms are suddenly curtailed and faced with a markedly more restrictive future, Margaret rebels. Hard. As is of course only right and proper for a feisty young protagonist ahead of her time when it comes to the rights of women.

In this case, Margaret rebels right into the arms of Lord John Dunwoodie, which, on the face of it, is an incredibly reckless move. As cads go, Lord John is one of the caddiest – fleeing countries in disgrace, deflowering servant girls and generally being a worry and a disappointment to his high-ranking family.

‘The Lies of Lord John’ is a very well written and tightly plotted story with a host of well-drawn supporting characters. Best among them are Margaret’s fallen-from-grace best friend Emmeline, her seemingly docile cousin, Charity and John’s steely sister-in-law, Arabella.

And there's lots of genuinely interesting stuff about 19th century planning development in Edinburgh

Be warned though, if it’s erotic sex ‘n’ spanks you’re after  (and if you’re reading a book published by Blushing Books then it’s quite likely that you are) then you are going to have to be patient with this book. The hero and heroine don’t even get together until about halfway through the book. There’s no sex and no real romance until you’ve got three quarters of the way through it.

The first spanking in the book (and the one descried in greatest detail) is delivered not by an a sexy authoritative dom-type but by Margaret’s cruel aunt and is therefore not much fun. (Although happily, Lord John does administer some of his own discipline later on in the story.)

So if you’re looking for non-stop erotic spanky action then this possibly isn’t the book for you. But I guess if you’ve already the other books in the Bonnie Brides series (which I haven’t) you already know what to expect.

If you’re after a well-written story with a strong sense of historical accuracy and a satisfying denouement, then there is a lot to enjoy in Fiona Munroe’s novel.

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Book Review - His Little Spy by Finley Brown

Want to know more about the book review star rating system? Or find out what other books I've reviewed? Check out this page here.

Fine figure of  a man

Five Stars!

A sense of time and place is wonderfully evoked in Finley Brown’s “His Little Spy” as the reader is transported to eighteenth century Scotland and immersed in the Jacobite Rebellion.

Lady Kellina Crawford is an eighteen year old widow and a spy on the side of the King James and the plans to reinstate the Catholic king to the British throne. To be fair she’s a terrible spy what with haring off unthinkingly into dangerous situations and flashing papist symbols at all and sundry.

But what she lacks in common sense and subterfuge she more than makes up for in spirit, independence, good intentions and copious amounts of luck. Her biggest bit of good luck was having Lord Hamish MacDonald assigned as her Protector. Hamish is a strong, noble kilt-wearing hunk of deliciousness. Sadly for Kellina, she is betrothed to someone else who is none of those things. Because, of course, a woman of nobility in 1736 is not allowed to marry for love and is instead expected to be used as a pawn in financial and political machinations.

Well, at least she can enjoy the scenery.

Inevitably love happens away for Kellina and Hamish. The chemistry between the two heroes sizzles and crackles on the page. Hamish swiftly recognises Kellina’s need for guardianship, protection and discipline and becomes the ‘Papa’ figure that she craves. The disciplinary spankings meted out by Hamish are exactly what Kellina needs and are wonderful to read.

Hamish, too, becomes enmeshed in the Jacobite cause as secrets and plots are unveiled deep in the Scottish Highlands. This is a fast-moving story with plenty of drama and a higher body count than is usual for a spanky romance novel. The death of one particular supporting character towards the end of the book is particularly upsetting.

That said, this is an uplifting book which ends in a happy place but with the promise of more intrigue to come. “His Little Spy” is the second book in Finley Brown’s Scottish Submission series. I hadn’t read the first book “His Sweet Curse” before reading this. It doesn’t seem to be necessary although the previous book’s protagonists, Sorcha and Edward, are part of this story. I have added “His Sweet Curse” to my virtual reading pile now. I want to be fully up to date by the time Finley Brown releases the next book in the series.

Because I hope we haven’t reached the end of her gripping retelling of the Jacobite Risings just yet.