Beauty and the Thief by Shana Galen
The Royal Saboteurs #1
Historical Romance
August 9, 2022- Self Published
ARC
Review by Angela
I enjoyed this book so much! I thought I had read this author before, but according to Goodreads, I haven’t. Going in I had no idea what to expect other than the blurb mentioning a charming conman and the secretary for the leader of an organization called The Royal Saboteurs. I was pleasantly surprised when the excitement began literally from the first chapter.
Callahan Kelly is a conman. A very good conman who happens to owe money to quite a few people. He has a gambling problem… and a drinking problem… and a being an Irishman in London problem. But he receives an offer from a man one evening that will solve his money problems for now and get him out of the city.
Bridgit Murray is the secretary for the leader of a super secret spy organization in England. While at The Farm, she keeps everyone organized and on task, she also has a knack for code-breaking. The moment she meets Callahan Kelly, while he is running from a group of men and she is trying to get him on board a train bound for The Farm, she knows she can’t stand him or his too charming, up to no good ways.
Then they get sent on a mission together.
This book was just fun. Plain and simple fun. Cal is lighthearted and amusing, he knows his strengths and weaknesses and doesn’t pretend to be someone he isn’t. Bridgit is an organizer at heart, never without her trusty clipboard, and she takes exception to Cal’s teasing and what she perceives as insincerity. They are like oil and water, but share an attraction nonetheless.
When they get sent into Ireland tasked with infiltrating a group of Irish separatists, they must pretend to be husband and wife. Which will put them in close contact for an extended period of time and test the chemistry they share. It will also test Cal’s promises not to gamble or drink, two things he has an addiction to and is trying to refrain from.
I enjoyed watching Bridgit and Cal get to know each other and become closer, and eventually fall in love. Each has a difficult backstory, but for some reason, those backstories and even Cal’s struggle with his addictions do not change the tenor of this book. The action sucked me in in the first chapter, the characters and their chemistry kept me reading, and the ending left me with a smile on my face.
All in all an amusing, quick read for fans of historical romance. I am looking forward to the next book in the series so much.
Final grade- B+
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