THE LADY'S COMMAND is the first book in the Adventurers Quartet by Stephanie Laurens. Unlike other books by Stephanie Laurens, THE LADY'S COMMAND opens with a newly married couple. THE LADY'S COMMAND doesn't skimp on passion, but rather than the twists and turns of courtship, the focus is on the adventure and mystery Declan and Edwina find in West Africa. Once again Stephanie Laurens gives readers a heroine who charts her own course and defies convention, navigating through both high society and tropical coast towns, using her intelligence and bravery.

I love how Stephanie Laurens breaks convention in THE LADY'S COMMAND. In other historical romances by different authors, the main source of conflict in a story like THE LADY'S COMMAND would be the struggle between the hero and heroine over her involving herself too much in her husband's business affairs. Not so in a Stephanie Laurens book. While surprising at first, Edwina's enlightened views on marriage and her strength attract, rather than repel, Declan. The passion in THE LADY'S COMMAND burns brighter because of the way Declan and Edwina end up working as a team against an unseen enemy. My favorite romances are those, like this one, in which the conflict doesn't stem from the romance itself but is instead something that draws the hero and heroine closer together.

The mystery of the disappearing spies and soldiers, which first leads the newlyweds to investigate, gains in complexity as the story progresses. As more suspects and victims are introduced, things become more exciting and you can't help but become more invested in the outcome. Stephanie Laurens goes into exquisite detail making the environment and the supporting characters very real. The tension and paranoia in THE LADY'S COMMAND comes from not knowing who to trust and what is safe makes this such a thrilling story.

THE LADY'S COMMAND is a thrill-a-minute story full of danger in exotic locales that tempts and excites. Stephanie Laurens leaves enough clues and sprinkles in enough odd and intriguing characters to draw you in and make you anxious to find out what happens next. I will be on tenterhooks waiting and wondering what will happen in the next installment of this cloak and dagger adventure series.