Joanna Bourne’s THE FORBIDDEN ROSE – Superb Prequel to the Spymaster Series set in France!

For those who haven't yet read The Spymaster's Lady or My Lord and Spymaster, this book comes first in time—a kind of “prequel”—though it was written later. It’s the story of how Doyle and Maggie met.

 

Set in 1794 in France, it's a tale of English spies and French undercover work transporting royalists out of France during the time of the French Revolution and Robespierre.

 

Marguerite is a wonderful young woman who, though raised as an aristocrat, has adapted to the times and is now doing important work that has her wearing many faces. British agent Doyle is after her father who he believes has provided names of English to be murdered by those in control of France. When Doyle realizes he has taken the man's daughter, he keeps her, hoping she'll lead him to her father.

 

Doyle has never allowed himself to get involved with a woman in the field. Ah, but Marguerite de Fleurignac aka Maggie is no ordinary woman! He gets aroused just looking at her and he admires her intelligence and fierce determination.

 

In this story, Bourne gives us another strong heroine and another drool-worthy hero. The Doyle who is in the background in the other books in the Spymaster series is now on center stage. The dialog is very witty and at times very humorous. Bourne has mastered the art of suspense and her language is very colorful and fits well the era.

 

Meticulously researched, as always, Bourne delivers up a detailed, well-told tale. I recommend reading all in the series. Just read this one first!

 

The Spymaster Series in the order I recommend reading them:

 

The Forbidden Rose (France 1794)

The Spymaster’s Lady (France and England 1802)

Rogue Spy (England, 1802)

My Lord And Spymaster (London 1811)

The Black Hawk (Paris, beginning in 1794, flashbacks to 1797 and 1802, and London 1818)

 

 

Joanna Bourne’s THE FORBIDDEN ROSE – Superb Prequel to the Spymaster Series set in France...a Classic!

 For those who haven't yet read The Spymaster's Lady or My Lord and Spymaster, this book comes first in time—a kind of “prequel”—though it was written later. It’s the story of how Doyle and Maggie met.

 

Set in 1794 in France, it's a tale of English spies and French undercover work transporting royalists out of France during the time of the French Revolution and Robespierre.

 

Marguerite is a wonderful young woman who, though raised as an aristocrat, has adapted to the times and is now doing important work that has her wearing many faces. British agent Doyle is after her father who he believes has provided names of English to be murdered by those in control of France. When Doyle realizes he has taken the man's daughter, he keeps her, hoping she'll lead him to her father.

 

Doyle has never allowed himself to get involved with a woman in the field. Ah, but Marguerite de Fleurignac aka Maggie is no ordinary woman! He gets aroused just looking at her and he admires her intelligence and fierce determination.

 

In this story, Bourne gives us another strong heroine and another drool-worthy hero. The Doyle who is in the background in the other books in the Spymaster series is now on center stage. The dialog is very witty and at times very humorous. Bourne has mastered the art of suspense and her language is very colorful and fits well the era.

 

Meticulously researched, as always, Bourne delivers up a detailed, well-told tale. I recommend reading all in the series. Just read this one first!

 

The Spymaster Series in the order I recommend reading them:

 

The Forbidden Rose (France 1794)

The Spymaster’s Lady (France and England 1802)

Rogue Spy (England, 1802)

My Lord And Spymaster (London 1811)

The Black Hawk (Paris, beginning in 1794, flashbacks to 1797 and 1802, and London 1818)

Joanna Bourne’s THE BLACK HAWK – Hawker! Great Hero in the Spymaster Series!

The fourth installment in Bourne’s Spymaster series brings us Adrian’s (Hawker’s) story. We met Sir Adrian Hawkhurst in prior episodes, always a charmer, always a man who loved women. We also caught a glimpse of the French girl, Justine DeCabrillac. Both are spies and once they were lovers. She was in the French Secret Service and Adrian, now head of British Intelligence, worked for England. After being separated for over 15 years, Adrian is happy to have her back in his bed but he didn’t count on her arriving there half dead with a wound caused by one of his own black knives. But that is where she ends up when an assassin tries to kill her—an attempt to frame him for murder.

 

Bourne does a great job of showing us how the characters of Justine and Hawk were forged in the fire of difficult circumstances early in life and then shaped by deep rents in history. We knew Hawker’s woman would have to be unusual, right? Well, she is! The action is complex and there are many players. You have to be awake to hold all that is happening in your head. Some of our favorites, Doyle and Pax, return for special appearances.

 

Though they first met in the French Revolution when they were still children really, Hawker and Justine grew up to be talented and smart agents with a lot to offer their countries. The story is told through a series of flashbacks as their paths keep crossing. (You have to be willing to jump around to get the full picture.) My only negative is the time they were separated—years. I didn’t like it when, after 5 years of being lovers, Justine suddenly ends their relationship because she finds he means too much to her. Then they aren’t together again until their late 30s when we finally catch up with them in 1818, which was a bit sad, really. So many lost years. Unusual for a romance. (Was he celibate all those years? No, I didn’t think so either…) Still, it’s a well-written, interesting tale, and includes the kind of historic detail (France and England from 1794-1818) we have come to love in Bourne’s work.

 

The series so far—all recommended:

 

My Lord and Spymaster (London 1811) - 2008

The Spymaster’s Lady (France and England 1802) - 2010

The Forbidden Rose (France 1794) - 2010

The Black Hawk (Paris, beginning in 1794 (seen in flashbacks) and London 1818) – 2011

Rogue Spy (England, 1802)

 

I recommend reading The Forbidden Rose first, as it’s something of a prequel to the others. Black Hawk jumps around quite a bit (1818 to 1794 to 1797 to 1818 to 1802 to 1818) and Hawker’s story is told after Rogue Spy, so you might want to read the series in this order:

 

Joanna Bourne’s BEAUTY LIKE THE NIGHT – Wonderful Installment in the Spymaster Series!

Great action, an intriguing plot and sizzling chemistry between the hero and heroine make this a fabulous installment in the series.

Be sure and come back on December 8th when Joanna is my guest, answering all my questions!

Set in London 1819, this is the story of Séverine de Cabrillac, orphan of the French revolution and sometime spy, who devotes herself to investigating crimes in London and finding justice for those wrongly accused. She is the adopted daughter of William Doyle (from The Forbidden Rose) and sister to Justine who married Hawker (in Black Hawk).

Raoul Deverney is a half-Spaniard French aristocrat who climbs up to Sevie’s bedchamber one night to accuse her of kidnapping a young girl, a girl she knows nothing about. Later, he demands she help him find his wife’s killer and rescue his missing twelve-year-old daughter, Pilar, who he claims is his daughter only in name.

I love Bourne’s stories, every one of them, and this is no different. Like an intricately woven tapestry with small threads carefully drawn together, she brings to life London’s underbelly and the spies who work for the British Service. Now there’s a thief to add to the mix, Raoul, who only steals to gain back his family’s jewels. It’s not surprising he is attracted to the beautiful, smart and wily Sevie, who he remembers from Spain where she spied on the French. And given his many talents, they seem a perfect match.

Despite her lack of trust, she cannot fight the attraction between them and so her common sense takes a walk. Bourne adroitly develops their mutual attraction and, in the midst of it all, someone is trying to kill Sevie as she searches for Pilar. From the beginning, the reader is made aware that Pilar, disguised as a boy named “Peter”, is working for Sevie who has no knowledge the one she seeks is so close.

Secondary characters include those from earlier stories in the series (including Lazarus who knows Raoul, and Doyle and Hawker. It was wonderful to see them again. Great job Joanna!

The Spymaster series:

My Lord and Spymaster (London 1811) - 2008

The Spymaster’s Lady (France and England 1802) - 2010

The Forbidden Rose (France 1794) - 2010

The Black Hawk (Paris, beginning in 1794 (seen in flashbacks), and London 1818) – 2011

Gideon and the Den of Thieves, London 1793 (novella)

Rogue Spy (England, 1802)

Beauty Like the Night (England 1819)

Review: Joanna Bourne’s THE FORBIDDEN ROSE – Superb Prequel to the Spymaster Series set in France!

For those who haven't yet read The Spymaster's Lady or My Lord and Spymaster, this book comes first in time—a kind of "prequel"—though it was written later. It’s the story of how Doyle and Maggie met.

Set in 1794 in France, it's a tale of English spies and French undercover work transporting royalists out of France during the time of the French Revolution and Robespierre.

Marguerite is a wonderful young woman who, though raised as an aristocrat, has adapted to the times and is now doing important work that has her wearing many faces. British agent Doyle is after her father who he believes has provided names of English to be murdered by those in control of France. When Doyle realizes he has taken the man's daughter, he keeps her, hoping she'll lead him to her father.

Doyle has never allowed himself to get involved with a woman in the field. Ah, but Marguerite de Fleurignac aka Maggie is no ordinary woman! He gets aroused just looking at her and he admires her intelligence and fierce determination.

In this story, Bourne gives us another strong heroine and another drool-worthy hero. The Doyle who is in the background in the other books in the Spymaster series is now on center stage. The dialog is very witty and at times very humorous. Bourne has mastered the art of suspense and her language is very colorful and fits well the era.

Meticulously researched, as always, Bourne delivers up a detailed, well-told tale. I recommend reading all in the series. Just read this one first!

Buy on Amazon

The Spymaster Series in the order I recommend reading them:

The Forbidden Rose (France 1794)

The Spymaster’s Lady (France and England 1802)

Rogue Spy (England, 1802)

My Lord And Spymaster (London 1811)

The Black Hawk (Paris, beginning in 1794, flashbacks to 1797 and 1802, and London 1818)

New Review: Joanna Bourne’s THE BLACK HAWK – Hawker! Great Hero in the Spymaster Series!

The latest installment in Bourne’s Spymaster series brings us Adrian’s (Hawker’s) story. We met Sir Adrian Hawkhurst in prior episodes, always a charmer, always a man who loved women. We also caught a glimpse of the French girl, Justine DeCabrillac. Both are spies and once they were lovers. She was in the French Secret Service and Adrian, now head of British Intelligence, worked for England. After being separated for over 15 years, Adrian is happy to have her back in his bed but he didn’t count on her arriving there half dead with a wound caused by one of his own black knives. But that is where she ends up when an assassin tries to kill her—an attempt to frame him for murder.

Bourne does a great job of showing us how the characters of Justine and Hawk were forged in the fire of difficult circumstances early in life and then shaped by deep rents in history. We knew Hawker’s woman would have to be unusual, right? Well, she is! The action is complex and there are many players. You have to be awake to hold all that is happening in your head. Some of our favorites, Doyle and Pax, return for special appearances.

Though they first met in the French Revolution when they were still children really, Hawker and Justine grew up to be talented and smart agents with a lot to offer their countries. The story is told through a series of flashbacks as their paths keep crossing. (You have to be willing to jump around to get the full picture.) My only negative is the time they were separated—years. I didn’t like it when, after 5 years of being lovers, Justine suddenly ends their relationship because she finds he means too much to her. Then they aren’t together again until their late 30s when we finally catch up with them in 1818, which was a bit sad, really. So many lost years. Unusual for a romance. (Was he celibate all those years? No, I didn’t think so either…) Still, it’s a well-written, interesting tale, and includes the kind of historic detail (France and England from 1794-1818) we have come to love in Bourne’s work.

Buy on Amazon.

The series so far—all recommended:

My Lord and Spymaster (London 1811) - 2008

The Spymaster’s Lady (France and England 1802) - 2010

The Forbidden Rose (France 1794) - 2010

The Black Hawk (Paris, beginning in 1794 (seen in flashbacks) and London 1818) – 2011

Rogue Spy (England, 1802)

I recommend reading The Forbidden Rose first, as it’s something of a prequel to the others. Black Hawk jumps around quite a bit (1818 to 1794 to 1797 to 1818 to 1802 to 1818) and Hawker’s story is told after Rogue Spy, so you might want to read the series in this order:

The Forbidden Rose (France 1794)

The Spymaster’s Lady (France and England 1802)

Rogue Spy (England, 1802)

My Lord and Spymaster (London 1811)

The Black Hawk (Paris, beginning in 1794—seen in flashbacks—and London 1818)