Beauty and the Spy

by Julie Anne Long

Book Overview

When a sly London belle and His Majesty's best spy cross paths, sparks fly in this sensual Regency romance of espionage, scandal, and secrets. SHOCKING London's belle of the ball, Susannah Makepeace,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0446616869
• Release Date: March 2006
• Publisher: Forever
• Length: 400 Pages
• Weight: 0.48 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.0" x 0.9" x 5.0"

Customer Reviews

Definitely Destined for Keeper Shelf

Viscount Kit Whitelaw, top spy in His Majesty's secret service had been flying high with wine, women and song - that is until his father gave him an assignment that clipped his wings. Banished from London's pleasures he was sent to the country where he was spied upon. The ton's little darling, Susannah Makepeace had an indulgent father; a fiancé who was heir to a Marquis; and quick as a wink it was all gone... Penniless she found herself stuck in the sleepy little town of Barnstable. Sketchpad in hand she came upon a sight she'd never see in town - a man bathing naked in a pond, which she most certainly had to record - in every delicious minute detail. When Kit caught her in the act and confiscated her sketches, he realized that perhaps his stay in the country wasn't going to be so dull after all - especially when numerous accidents seemed to indicate a bit of foul play in the air and directed towards the ever beguiling Miss Susannah. Julie Anne Long first came to my attention with her debut novel THE RUNAWAY DUKE which I, and many others, found to be full of wit, passion, and romance. A great start for a budding romance author. Now with BEAUTY AND THE SPY, the first installment of her brand new trilogy; THIS is an effort I predict will catapult her to the top! It is a profoundly passionate and brilliant piece of work that will entice you from the prologue to the very end. It was totally intriguing and unusual as one might expect a rakish spy to be doing his best to bed the virginal miss, but what Long did was give her characters true substance. Extremely well-developed they took their time to really `know' and `care' for one another with intelligence, wit, and compassion. Definitely `keeper' material! I can't wait for the rest of this saga to unfold! Marilyn Rondeau, RIO - Reviewers International Org.

Stunningly good

I had the pleasure of reading this book on a plane recently, and I don't know why I put off reading it. It was recommneded to me some time ago, and I guess I put it off because so often I hear raves and I'm disappointed. And she's been compared to Loretta Chase, and I find it hard to believe that anyone is as good as Loretta Chase. :) But I was enchanted. The story is unique and unforgettable and the characters are so multi-faceted and real and so sexy. The prose is beautiful, and I loved watching their romance develop, and I loved the laughter and the quiet moments. I won't summarize the plot, since others here have done such a good job of that, but I will say the story was a pure delight. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. I've bought all of Ms. Long's other books on the strength of this one. She has a voice I just love, and though it's different from Ms. Chase's, I would say the spirit is quite comparable.

GREAT characters and story! Fast read!

I highly recommend this book. It has characters that are well developed and an interesting story. I can't wait to read about the next sister!

A Great Place To Start

BEAUTY AND THE SPY by Julie Anne Long This is actually my first book to read from Julie Anne Long and I loved it. Fun, witty, full of action..simply wonderful. Not only has she created a H/H that everyone can love she has made a villian that will cause you to grind your teeth. Living a charmed life Suzannah Makepeace is on her way to her own happy ever after. That is until her father, James Makepeace is found murdered. Now Suzannah life is turned upside down in the blink of a eye. Everything she thought she knew is now fiction. Jilted, penniless and nothing to call her own she is faced with her only hope...an aunt she's never met. She tries to put her life back together. Viscount Christopher(Kit, as he's known)Whitelaw has angered his father to the point of threats. He has a choice Egypt or be exiled to a country home to do a folio. Not wanting to be far from London Kit decides he can do a month in the country putting a folio together to please his father, is the better of the two. After a scandalous confrontation in the woods Kit learns that Suzannah might be useful to him, as she can sketch things very well. Employing Suzannah to sketch for him, Kit learns that someone is out to kill Suzannah and he has an idea of who. Spending time with Kit seems to come with many dangers and not just the attemps on her life. Suzannah learns the secrets of her past and the meaning of true passion. I adored this book and it will not be the last I read of Julie Anne Long. Happy Reading.

A vast improvement

I acutally couldn't finish Long's first book, The Runaway Duke. The "hero", Connor, grated on my nerves so badly, I finally gave up. But, this book is wonderful. I absolutely loved Kit. He is all that a hero should be. Long has totally improved her writing with each book. This one had me riveted. Her dialogue was intelligent and so quirky that I was totally engrossed. Her master of the little ironic statement was priceless. I love authors who are good writers and Long is. To me, she is in a class (with this book) of Karen Marie Moning, who can positively transport me to her faery world with her words. I am anxiously awaiting the next effort by Ms. Long.