Seduced by a Spy - Andrea Pickens

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Title: Seduced by a Spy Author: Andrea Pickens Genre: Historical fiction Rating: 8/10 # pages: 352 Date read: February, 2008

Review: Mrs. Merlin's Academy for Select Young Ladies is not what it appears to be. Rather than being a respectable school for young women, it's an academy that helps young orphan girls by removing them from the slums of London and giving them a career… a career as a spy.

Shannon is one of these orphans and as the tale begins she is sent out on a mission to take out D'Etienne, one of Napoleon's agents. Unbeknownst to her, Orlov, a Russian spy is sent out on the exact same mission and they meet up at a very inopportune moment. Their mission failed, they travel back to England, only to discover that their respective employers have decided to join forces and use Orlov and Shannon as a team, sending them to Scotland where D'Etienne is likely to show up next.

Shannon and Orlov decide on a temporary truce, but disguised as governess and tutor they find more than they bargained for in the wild moors of Scotland. Love for both their charges and each other threatens to break through their cold and cynical facades. Will they ever be able to go back to being cold and disengaged again?

Seduced by a Spy is a wonderful action novel with an atmosphere typical to that of regency novels, and lovers of Georgette Heyer's work will be delighted to find this modern-day alternative. Slow to start, it quickly picks up pace and captivates you completely, and I found it difficult to put down before the last page was turned. Combining action and romance with a good sense of humour and you end up with "a ripping good tale", as Orlov's pupil would put it.

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