Spy Fall

Mari Lamarre is growing in her notoriety as an aeronaut- piloting hot air balloons in the same fashion as her brothers before her. And like her brothers, Mari is also a spy working for the English. She’s been set to discover if the Marquess of Aldridge is passing vital information to Napoleon’s people, and sets her goal for a stealthy entry into the Marquess’ life.

Renowned rake concerned with his own whims of the moment, Cosmo Dunsmore, son of the Marquess is returning from a night of debauchery, reeking of whore’s perfume and other bodily odors when he is suddenly felled by a parachuting French lass who is attempting a stealthy landing on his family property.

Instantly intrigued, yet concerned, Cosmo and Mari have sparks that fly from attraction and mistrust, but he can’t help but want her. Assuming the best way to discover what she needs to, Mari is guarded, but intrigued. Things are only more confusing for Mari when she realizes that she does, in fact, like the Marquess, and perhaps even sympathize with his loss of a daughter in childbirth and the cooling of his relationship with Cosmo because of their shared guilt.

I’m left rather neutral in impressions of this story: I was intrigued by the premise, and one can’t help but be intrigued by a female of Mari’s day being so gung-ho about ballooning and parachuting. But I found she alternated dramatically between coarse and rude to something more expected – a bit uneven and I was not always convinced her character was particularly watchful, discerning or thoughtful. Cosmo was spoiled and more than frequently self-centered. I understood his grief, but his introduction with Mari’s instant reaction of him being ‘perfect’ just rubbed me wrong. Drunken men are rarely perfect, and those who smell of a whore’s boudoir and the goings-on therein are not perfection in any circle….except a bordello. I just couldn’t see the romance as viable, and I didn’t see enough consistency to see it as such.

For the mystery and proof of traitorous behaviors that Mari was determined to ferret out – I’m still on the fence. Personally I didn’t find her discerning or clever enough to put the pieces together. Other moments shone: her research into ballooning of the time with the advancements and failures were well documented. Unfortunately there were huge gaffes in her riding on horseback scenes, the overuse of a modern-feeling heroine in a late regency era time period and the inconsistency of the characters that left me a bit flat.

Intriguing for the differences, fast paced after the early introductions of the story and leaving me with some unanswered questions, this is a decent start to a new series.

I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

This story was such a fun and exciting read! I loved all of the characters. There were moments of suspense, moments of hilarity and then above all moments of romance. Cosmo and Mari are the perfect compliments to each other, when one is serious the other brings them back in with humor or reflection. The family dynamics are so fascinating to watch unfold. I just couldn't have asked for more in this start of a new series.

I loved this story. Mari has an unusual occupation and she is a spy on top of that. Her talents make her a formidable person. Her passion makes her endearing. It took me a while to warm up to Cosmo, but once I did, I fell in love along with Mari. They both have past pain that made them cautious, but together they healed. I highly recommend this story and look forward to reading more from Diana Quincy.