Dashing good time.

This is a great story. Funnier then I thought it would be. I love button and the helpers of the liars club. I did make the mistake of reading the royal series first but even with knowing the bits from that series still didn't ruin this book.

ehhhhh. I enjoyed it but didn't enjoy it, you know what I mean?

Bradley was one of the earliest romance novelists I read back in the day. I remember thinking vaguely that her books felt very write-by-numbers; they had all the right ingredients to make them mildly entertaining, but they lacked that extra oomph to make them compelling. This, which I think was her debut novel, really exemplifies that. There are spies, there are lots of attractive men for sequels, there are occasional details (headache powders!) thrown in to try and distract from the fact that it's fairly Wallpaper Regency (the heroine

Spoiler

invents a husband, hires a supposed chimney sweep to masquerade as said husband, then kills off her husband in a fit of pique by sending an announcement to the newspaper, which prints it the next day, complete with embarrassing and over-the-top details

), where the historical setting serves as wallpaper to a distinctly modern comedy of manners. Bradley keeps throwing obstacles in her hero and heroine's path to make up for the fact that there really kind of aren't any, which makes them both seem fairly dumb... but there's nothing objectionable in any of this and it's kind of nice to read about two well-meaning idiots who will end up in a happily-ever-after. However, things just keep getting piled up on top of each other to a point where I can't stand it, culminating in a humiliation for the heroine that makes no historic sense and is narratively annoying.

2 stars.

This was a disappointment and I don't think I'll be trying this author again. I might but it's unlikely.

I read the first 40 pages and I got bored. So from there I skimmed and skipped the next 150 pages. After that I started reading it more completely.

The last half of the story was good and entertaining. However I did have a problem with one major thing. Simon and James are spies but they both (mostly Simon though) seemed really stupid. There were so many moments where neither Simon nor James figured out what was going on. It made me wonder how are they spies if they are so dumb? I don't mind Simon making a mistake but when he doesn't figure out anything it's more than just a mistake it's stupidity. I can explain away James's lack of mental quickness because he had just come back from being captured, drugged, and starved. But Simon had no such excuse.

In the end I don't think this author is for me.

I had heard of the Liar's Club series for a loooong time so it was time that I read this series !!
When Agatha invented a husband to allow her to go to London, she said herself it was just a little lie, no harm done at all. After all, the most important was to find her brother James about whom she had no news for a long time. Unfortunately, a simple lie leads to another one even bigger and finally, in a moment of despair, Agatha has to hire a chimney sweep to play the role of her husband. Except that the very handsome Simon is far from being a simple chimney sweep ...
A great and delighful surprise !! I just want to read a small romance not too captivating and finally I found myself caught up in the world of the English high society with handsome spies and sassy damsels ... Marvelous ><
The style of the author is great with just the right amount of humor and suspense and the intrigue with all the spy stuff was really captivating ><
Romance itself wasn't especially exceptional although I loved the characters: Agatha who is bold, smart and sassy (and not at all like the typical gullible heroines of romances) and the beautiful Simon aka the Magician with his strengths and weaknesses that makes him terribly human and therefore very attractive (although I admit I had a soft spot for the Cobra too ><).
I had a big crush on the Liar's Club and I can't wait to read the next book =D
In short, a must-read !!

Love this series. Love these characters.

Loved the characters, but it was a little different than what I've come to expect about Regency Romance. Great book, though.

I'm sure this was at least 3.5 stars when I rated this but I honestly don't remember much at all about it so gonna round it down to a 3. I remember that there was a guy who is part of The Liar's Club and is part of this elite government secret service thing, and the woman was connected to someone the main guy was trying to track down. Intriguing premise, but for someone who is a spy for a living, I found that the misunderstandings that occur throughout the book were pretty unbelievable and not what I would expect from someone who uncovers truths for a living. The romance was cute though, but that's all I have to say.

Fun, fast-paced ad romantic. Great series!