Full review appeared on Reader's Edyn on 11/04/17

Rose Turner is everything you would expect from a red-haired Scottish lass. She’s a bit mouthy; she’s not much in to the whole “Queen’s court” thing; and despite her mother’s wishes, she knows what she wants. Her family is notorious for reiving and, while she isn’t the best match possible for a titled heir, her mother still sends her to court to find a husband. She prefers to be outdoors, an oddity to most, and inadvertently stumbles upon a plan to murder the King. Her situation in knowing the information now has her in danger and also under the protection of Will Sheffield … although she doesn’t know it.

Lord Will Sheffield has been a spy for Queen Elizabeth for years. Having gone to school with Queen Mary’s husband, he possesses the perfect alibi for entrance to Queen Mary’s court. When he sees Rose discover the plot to kill Mary’s husband, he knows she is in danger if her identity is discovered. He’s been trained to accept casualties within the spy world, but the thought of the vibrant Rose as a casualty has him thinking about things that have no place in his life. Before too long, he can no longer resist the head strong woman in Queen Mary’s court. But neither can Rose resist Will. When danger creeps too close and Rose’s life is on the line, Will has to decide whether to let her go and allow one more casualty of war, or up end his entire life by admitting feelings he has no business entertaining.

I had a little difficulty getting in to this book initially, but just a bit in and that difficulty had passed. There was quite a lot being explained and initially, I saw Rose as a bit of a weak-minded person. I couldn’t have been more wrong and glad I am of it. Rose was a lot of fun getting to know once she came out from under her fear of the King. For good reason, but her fear took over everything and it wasn’t until she built trust with a couple of the ladies in the court and comfort with Will that we were treated to her refreshing view of the world and her natural flair in bantering with Will. She is anything but what you would expect from a young miss at court and that is what makes her so enjoyable. Will is also amusing because he is set in his ways and beliefs and Rose threatens to topple all of that. They get to a point where you know the inevitable is going to happen because it simply has to. And even then, Will is still trying to deny a part of himself to both himself and Rose by participating in the moment without actually completing it. I know that is vague, but I don’t want to give anything away. Equally enjoyable was the introduction of Rose’s family. Now those are some interesting characters that I’d love to red more about. What fun and mischief they could get into.

This is the second book in ALL THE QUEEN’S SPIES series. I have not read the first and it did not interfere with my reading enjoyment at all. Rather, it made we want to read the first book because of the references of the previous characters and my curiosity to see what happened with them. A few of the secondary characters played a fairly significant part, but only a couple of them ended up breaking out into a person I would want to read more about in future. The suspense was mostly predictable, so no huge surprises here, but still enough to keep me engaged. I was questioning the Scottish slant initially because Rose exhibits very little Scottish dialect. Yes, she’s from the lowlands, but there wasn’t much to mark her as Scottish save the red hair – until her family is introduced. Overall, this book was quite a pleasant surprise with an interesting plot and equally fascinating characters. Those who love HR with an unlikely couple, a dash of mystery, a touch of suspense, and a lot of sensuality, is sure to be pleased! Ms. Cullen has a talent within HR and I am sure I will visit her writing again soon.

Kindle version provided by NetGalley/Author in exchange for an honest review. ( )

Danger and intrigue stalk!

Rose Turner and Will Sheffield are unexpected characters. They are thrown together under fateful circumstances. Will, a spy for Queen Elizabeth I, is attending Mary, Queen of Scots' court, befriending the Queen's petulant and self-centered husband Darnley. He is keeping an eye on the various levels of simmering discontent and rumors swirling around the court as Mary and Darnley's son is about to be baptized. He doesn't expect a plot to murder the Earl of Darnley to be on the list of planned activities.
Rose is a reiver's daughter, a wild young lass more akin to the freedom of the outdoors than a stuffy rigid court. Her mother had been an attendant to Mary's mother. That's how Rose finds herself at court attending Mary, bearing her mother's high expectations of finding a husband and station in life. What Rose wants is to be back home with her family and animals. Which in a roundabout way is how she stumbles onto the plot to kill Darnley. Will himself is spying on the plotters when he sees Rose accidentally overhearing the conspirators. He also sees that one of them discovers Rose's dropped shawl when she hastens to get away. Will seeks to protect Rose and in the midst of all the dangerous subterfuge is smitten by her. One thing leads to another--Rose is in grave danger, Will is denying his feelings for her, Darnley is a depraved, lecherous seducer and is stalking Rose, and one of the traitors is looking to trap Rose into marriage--a marriage she wouldn't survive. Danger, tragedy and death loom large on Rose's horizon and Will is all that can avert that. The search for the plotters' identities is key to Rose's safety. As Will struggles with that Rose battles with whether or not to tell Mary of what she knows. A decision that could cost her all.
I enjoyed both Will and Rose. I shivered fearfully with Rose as she tried to hide from Darnley, sympathized with her situation and thoroughly enjoyed this contribution to All the Queen's Spies.
Cullen has taken this historically turbulent time and created a riveting romantic drama.

A NetGalley ARC ( )