Love, Lies and Spies

by Cindy Anstey

[Amanda]

I picked up Love, Lies and Spies after reading a review of it somewhere. It's basically "lite" historical romance, meaning it lacks the same depth to the emotional arcs you find in most historical romances (at least that I like to read). Given that this is a YA historical romance, the lack of depth is a disservice to readers.

Spencer and Juliana both struggle with finding their places within society. Spencer is attempting to be a spy (and not really doing well, if you ask me), and Juliana uses the excuse of a season to go to London to see if she can get hers and her father's research on insects published.

Juliana isn't anything like the typical debutante in her time, and that's a big point in her favor. But other than trying to find a publisher for research, she seemed to spend more time meeting or thinking about Spencer than focusing on her bluestocking tendencies that make her so different. Her family (aunt, uncle, cousin) were an interesting collection of characters that mostly faded in the background unless they were needed.

Spencer seems to be a pretty typical hero of his time, although it's hard to judge without a lot of information about his past. (Which either I missed or there wasn't any.) Despite his thinking that to work for the War Office, he must remain single, he can't help his growing attraction to Juliana.

If you're looking for a standalone YA historical romance (so yes, people, that means it's a clean romance), Love, Lies and Spies is a fun romp that won't pull the angst strings.