Lord and Lady Spy by Shana Galen

Well, when I saw the premise of this book months ago I was really excited about it.  A Regency Mr and Mrs Smith?  Sign me up!  Now, did Ms Galen deliver a smart, snappy, sexy adventure?  Yes, yes and yes!

Lord Adrian Smythe is devastated when he is told he is to retire from his spy life in the Barbican group.  After all, he has just delivered one of their most sought after criminals but he grudgingly accepts his new life--that of being a true husband and leading a normal, boring life.  When just a few days into his 'retirement' he receives a missive from his former boss, Adrian is thrilled and relieved.  But the surprise he receives upon arriving at the meeting throws his entire life into a tailspin.

Lady Sophia Smythe has perfected her life as a mousy, quiet lady while the entire time living her own double life as a spy in the Barbican group, following in the footsteps of her father and brother.  She is furious when her last capture is intercepted by a mystery man and she looses the credit for the capture.  And then to add insult to injury, she is told her services are no longer needed.  She loathes the idea of being just a wife and when she also receives a missive for a mysterious midnight meeting, Sophia is quite relieved.  She arrives early and when she hears someone coming, she attacks.  She quickly realizes the man is also quite skilled in fighting and she is floored when she realizes who the man is.  Her husband, Adrian.  Naturally, as these two discover just who the other truly is, sparks fly, tempers explode and the need to outsmart the other is all too clear. 

Together, Sophia and Adrian are presented with one more task, to find a murderer of the prime ministers brother and why.  But there is one small catch...only one will be permitted back into the Barbican group.  This forces the two to constantly be on their toes, always trying to be one step ahead of the other but they gradually realize that working together might not be so bad.   

This was truly a delightful romance adventure full of some of the funniest dialogue between a hero and heroine that I have enjoyed in awhile but somehow still, the story was sexy and moving at the same time.  Adrian and Sophia married out of duty but have never truly disliked each other, they just have not really know the other and they have had to overcome a truly heartbreaking situation that leads them to be more at odds with each other.  I loved watching Adrian protect Sophia whenever something came up in their search for the murderer that affected her on this personal level, very swoonworthy :)  Sophia tucks this show of emotions inside her to examine more closely later.  Also during their search, Sophia is finally able to present herself as her true self and it helps take some of the blinders off of Adrian and leads to some very hot scenes!  Once again, Adrian is beyond understanding in this area and when he finally confesses his true feelings to Sophia, sighworthy!  My only small complaint about this book is there was no epilogue!  I really felt like it needed one as a few threads were left dangling but maybe will we see this adventurous couple again in the future someday?  I hope so because I feel like they have more stories to tell!   If you are looking for a fact paced, sexy, smart adventure with a feisty, bold heroine and a hero who wants to protect her at all costs, many of them on a deeper level as the heroine is totally capable of taking care of herself physically, grab the newest from Shana Galen!  You won't be disappointed! 5 stars

I won an arc of Lord and Lady Spy from Ms Galen off of Twitter.  Thanks!  Check out the great book trailer for this book: