"Stellar Character Development, Outstanding Writing: A Romantic and Very Exciting Spy Caper!"
Reviewed by Monique Daoust
Posted January 7, 2015
Romance Historical
Back in London from Waterloo, Captain Will Endicott goes
to see his boss Sir Dominic Hunter to tend his
resignation; he's had enough of the Intelligence Service
and spying. But his wish is not to be granted: his
father, the Duke of York himself, is expecting him along
with Dominic; an emergency has come up and Will must obey
his father's wishes. It appears that cells of Irish
Catholic radicals in London are planning the
assassination of either a high ranking member of the
government or a Royal within the next few weeks. Miss
Evelyn Whitby might be involved, possibly unwillingly:
her soon-to-be fiancé is said to have ties with Irish
radicals. Evelyn was Will's childhood sweetheart; she was
a shy and sweet girl, and although she might be easily
influenced, Will cannot believe she could be involved in
such a conspiracy. In order to fulfill his mission, Will
must get reacquainted with her without telling her the
reason, which will be a delicate matter: when Will had
left to join the army, Evelyn felt abandoned; he barely
kept in touch while she had thought they might one day
get married. HOW TO PLAN A WEDDING FOR A ROYAL SPY is the latest
instalment in the Renegade Royals series, but can easily
be
read as a standalone. The premise for HOW TO PLAN A
WEDDING FOR A ROYAL SPY is based on historical facts and
Ms. Kelly has thoroughly researched her topic. The
troubles in Ireland are a very clever premise: in
addition to being ideal and realistic for a spy story,
the Irish question offers the opportunity to delve more
deeply in the characters' backgrounds and motivations,
thus even richer character development. All the
characters are captivating and complex; in fact, the
secondary characters are so interesting that Alec and
Edie, respectively Will's partner and Evelyn's sister,
almost run away with the story! HOW TO PLAN A WEDDING FOR
A ROYAL SPY begins slowly, as we get to know the
characters and their stories, but soon the action picks
up culminating in an exciting conclusion. HOW TO PLAN A WEDDING FOR A ROYAL SPY is beautifully
written, the dialogues are witty, and both stories—an
exciting spy caper and a beautifully nuanced romance—
mesh perfectly into a solid multi-layered tale. Around
halfway, Evelyn and her sister are involved in a bit of
mischief, and as I was almost rolling my eyes expecting a
tired and predictable old trope, Ms. Kelly took me
completely by surprise: that's how a master storyteller
does it! Vanessa Kelly does not disappoint: HOW TO PLAN A
WEDDING FOR A ROYAL SPY is a superb book.
SUMMARY
Whether as spies or lovers, the Renegade
Royals—illegitimate sons of England’s Royal Princes—are
bold, skillful, and a force to be reckoned with… A
war
hero returned from Waterloo should be able to indulge in
a
bit of bad behavior. Instead, Captain William Endicott is
summoned by his father, the Duke of York, to investigate
an
assassination plot. The unlikely suspect: William’s
former
sweetheart. Will can’t believe that innocent Evie Whitney
could be mixed up in anything so nefarious. Then again,
almost everything about Evie has changed—except for his
body’s instinctive response to hers… Just as Evie’s
life is finally coming together, Will saunters back into
it.
Should she slap him—or seduce him? Even as she tries to
decide, scandal pushes her toward marriage with a man she
can neither trust nor resist—and into the heart of a
deadly
conspiracy…
Excerpt“What’s wrong, Evie?” he asked in a quiet voice.?She startled. “Nothing. Why do you ask?”? “I remember that particular sigh. It means you’re not
happy about something.”? She sat up straighter, trying to put some distance
between them. The blasted man was impossibly large, and
the Lord knew she wasn’t exactly a tiny thing. Between
the two of them and the excess material of her riding
habit, it was a miracle they were even able to fit into
the curricle. “I’m fine.” She flashed him what she hoped was a
nonchalant smile. “I hardly think you know me very well,
given the passage of time since we were children. I’ve
grown up, Will.” He glanced down at her, his gaze lingering on her face
and then moving to her bosom. “You certainly have.” Her mind blanked, struggling to find an appropriate
reply. Unfortunately, there didn’t seem to be one. Cautiously, she peered up at him. She hadn’t been sure
before, but now it did seem clear that Will was flirting
with her. Not that she was adept at flirtation, or even
in recognizing the signs. In fact, she was monumentally
bad at it. But she surely wasn’t mistaking the heat in
Will’s eyes that had made them darken like smoke curling
up from a blue flame. When his lips tilted up in an amused smile, she realized
her mouth was hanging open. She snapped it shut and
jerked her head forward. “Will, you should keep your eyes
on your pair. This road is quite bad after all the rains
we’ve had this summer.” His low laugh did things to her nerves and insides that
defied description. It was beginning to dawn on Evie that
what she’d felt for Will as a girl—as powerful as that
had been—had lacked a full awareness of his potent
physical attractions. “Certainly, Madame Scold, whatever you say,” he teased. “When have I ever scolded you, William Endicott?” she
asked, retreating behind a façade of exasperation. “As I
recall, you always led me around by the nose. Really, I’m
quite ashamed of my weak-willed behavior back then.” “If anyone did the leading, it was your sister,” he said
dryly. “And if memory serves, you gave me quite a
scolding last night.” That comment gave her nerves another kind of jolt, one
not nearly as pleasant. “Yes, about that . . .” She threw a quick glance over her
shoulder. Michael and Gilbride were catching up to the
curricle, but were not yet close enough to eavesdrop. Might as well get it over with. Will’s calm expression as he managed the traces suggested
nothing more than a friendly disinterest in the
conversation. But she knew him as well as he knew her. If
she didn’t miss her guess, most of his attention was
still on her and not on his cattle. “I owe you an apology, Will,” she said quietly. He cocked his head, still looking politely disinterested.
“I’m sorry, what did you say?” She raised her voice a notch. “I behaved rather
wretchedly to you in the drawing room last night, and you
didn’t deserve it.” Well, not most of it, anyway. He looked regretful. “You’ll have to speak up, Evie. I
can’t hear you over the noise of the carriage wheels and
the horses.” The beast. He was going to make things difficult for her. “I said I’m sorry,” she practically yelled. “Which you
heard the first time, you brute.” He laughed. “I am a brute, and for that I apologize. But
I couldn’t resist because you looked so guilt-ridden.” “I am guilt-ridden, and a gentleman would accept my
heartfelt apology and be done with it,” she grumbled,
crossing her arms over her chest. His glance flicked absently down to her bosom, and Evie
couldn’t help flushing. Then he returned his attention to
the horses. “No apology is necessary, my dear girl. I
earned that thundering scold. Not only for my behavior
last night but for everything else, too.”
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