A definite buy buy buy book. Arguably a five star however, due to some little quirks I went four.
This was a spy story romance. one that actually caught my attention and held it through out the story. I loved all the characters and the way the plot unfolded. I would of wished for a faster pace at times it seemed like it dragged. On the other hand, it is undoubtedly a good plot line and well written to keep your attention. Just as I got irritated at the pace it picked up again. All in all it is a book worth reading just keep in mind at times it will lag a little. I will keep my eyes on this author for I expect even greater from her in the future. I was given this book in return for an honest review. Anna Swedenmom

'A Dance with Seduction' by Alyssa Alexander is Book Three in the " A Spy in the Ton". This is the story of Max and Vivienne. I have not yet read the other books, so for me this was a standalone book.
Vivienne is a spy they call Flower...and someone wants her to turn her spying to their purpose. When she refuses they kidnap her younger sister. Vivienne needs help breaking the code they have left her and she turns to Max who at one time they did a job together and she trust him as much as she can trust anyone. Vivienne had to at an early age choose between spying or prison. So she doesn't really know who she is with so many identities she has to play. But she does know she needs her sister back safely at any cost. Max at first isn't wiling to help her it seems but he gets drawn into her world and does try to help. But can these two have a future....it was interesting to see it play out for sure.
"My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read."
https://www.amazon.com/gp/profile/A2H...
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1...
https://twitter.com/soapsrus68
https://www.facebook.com/RomanceBookR...
http://sissymaereads.blogspot.com/
http://booklikes.com/blog
https://romancebookreviewforyou.wordp...
https://www.tumblr.com/blog/romancebo...
https://plus.google.com/+SissyHicks

A Dance with Seduction by Alyssa Alexander
A Spy in the Ton #1

Given the choice between prison, hanging and becoming a spy – which would you choose?
If your younger sister was kidnapped and her life threatened to force you to become a double spy – what would you do?
If you had a coded document needing to be deciphered - who would you go to?

Faced with such questions and not knowing which way to turn was not easy for “The Flower” but her first stop was with code breaker Maximilian Westwood. After that all bets were off as thief, spy and dancer, Vivenne Le Fleur, set out to find her sister and do the best that she could to do right by England. Max does step in to help out from time to time and in the process the two learn more about one another, begin to care for each other and eventually come to an understanding they – and their country – can live with.

Fun story and interesting read. I look forward to reading the next book in the series when it comes out and would like to thank NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for the ARC – This is my honest review.

4 Stars

Spy stories don't normally hold. My attention, but this one was very well paced and the characters had an attraction to each other that grew as the book went along.
I received an ARC copy of this book from netgalley.

It’s been a few years since I’ve seen a new novel from Alyssa Alexander, so I eagerly pounced on A Dance with Seduction, which, while released by a different publisher, is a continuation of her A Spy in the Ton series. I enjoyed her last book, a tightly written, sexy historical thriller and looked forward to more of the same.  The plot – which pairs a female British spy with a bookish former code-breaker (I do love a nerdy hero!) – is intriguing and well put-together, and sees our intrepid heroine trying to thwart the attempts of a dangerous French spy to turn her into a double agent and involve her in a treasonous assassination plot.  It’s a good read, but didn’t quite meet my expectations which, I admit, were high based on how much I’d enjoyed her previous book, In Bed with a Spy.

Vivienne La Fleur – the Flower – was recruited to a life of espionage when she was little more than a girl, and even though the Napoleonic Wars have ended, she continues to work for the British government at the direction of her ‘commander’ or handler, Lord Wycomb.  Her public persona is that of one of London’s finest opera dancers, and as Wycomb’s mistress, but while she does live as a kept woman, he does not share her bed – although she suspects he would like to.

During the war, Vivienne was frequently in contact with Maximillian Westwood, the country’s top code-breaker.  When the war ended, he retired from government service and now puts his facility with something like eleven different languages to use by working as a translator.  He might be the scion of an aristocratic family, but as a younger son, he has to make his own way and his own living, which he does by translating documents, books and whatever else comes his way.  He’s done with secret codes and espionage but it seems that secret codes and espionage aren’t done with him when the Flower pays him a late night visit and asks him to decode a short message for her.

Maximillian – who thinks Max is a ridiculous appellation – has no desire to become entangled with secrets and intrigue once again, and points out that he no longer works for government spymasters.  But Vivienne explains that this is something personal, and clearly, the message is of some importance to her, so he agrees and tells her to come back in the morning.

The code is complicated, but presents no real problem for Maximillian apart from the final symbol, which is something like an Egyptian hieroglyph but isn’t – and which is oddly familiar.  Disgruntled because he can’t place it, he tells Vivienne that he hasn’t been able to completely finish the work, but she isn’t concerned.  The message is clear, and while she doesn’t care to enlighten Maximillian as to the signatory, she knows all too well who it’s from – an elusive, ruthless French agent known as the Vulture - and the instructions contained in the note are telling her to steal a document from an Englishman… and deliver it to a Frenchman.

Vivienne is chilled to the bone, because she knows what this means.  The Vulture wants her to work against the British, probably to become a double agent, but she is determined to resist – until her younger sister, Anne, is abducted, which changes everything.  Vivienne had kept the existence of her sibling a secret, making it seem as though she was nothing more than a maid in her household to try to prevent Anne being used as leverage against her. Somehow, the Vulture has discovered the truth and Vivienne is distraught.  Frantic to discover her sister’s whereabouts, Vivienne risks everything, walking a tightrope between espionage and treason; between trying to make it seem as though she is co-operating with the enemy while at the same time scheming to bring him down.  She has become so used to relying on herself and herself alone, that Vivienne doesn’t even tell Maximillian the whole truth. She lets him believe she is concerned for a girl in her employ who has gone missing, his insistence on helping her, standing by her and trusting her to know what she’s doing just adding to the burden of guilt she already carries for failing to keep her sister safe.

I enjoyed the pairing of the resourceful spy with the rather grumpy scholar. Maximillian is an endearing beta hero who really steps up to the plate when he realises Vivienne is in trouble, despite the fact that he’s unfamiliar with her world of shady characters, late night break-ins and shadowy double-dealing.  He never talks down to her or treats her as anything less than the highly competent operative that she is; in fact, he’s the only man who really sees Vivienne as anything other than the exquisitely beautiful dancer, the delicate ‘flower’ she pretends to be.  It’s obvious from the start that he is attracted to Vivienne, but also that he has firmly quashed those feelings because he believes her to be under the protection of another man, while Vivienne has to maintain the appearance of being another man’s mistress and also feels that she can’t allow herself to be distracted by her growing attachment to Maximillian, no matter that he’s handsome, kind and honourable – and that he refuses to let her to push him away.

Vivienne has long believed that her line of work is incompatible with relationships, and continues to think that, but she’s never wanted a man as much as she wants Maximillian and decides at last that while there’s no ‘forever’ in their future, they can at least enjoy each other for a while.  There’s a nice frisson of sexual tension between the pair which eventually translates into some sensual kisses and love scenes, but reality intrudes when the Vulture attempts to force Vivienne’s hand and Maximillian realises how little she has trusted him.

Ms. Alexander has penned an entertaining story and created a couple of attractive protagonists and a strongly drawn secondary cast, but Vivienne’s failure to confide in Maximillian – who repeatedly shows himself to be trustworthy and to have her best interests at heart – goes on for too long.  This becomes frustrating and sometimes makes her difficult to like, although her inner conflicts - her need to protect her sister, and her doubts as to who the real person is beneath the spy - are well expressed.   The writing is strong, although I can’t help feeling that the editor should have picked up and eliminated the majority of the constant references to Vivienne’s ‘lithe dancer’s body’ or ‘strong dancer’s legs’ or ‘dancer’s grace’ – honestly, it got to the stage when it seemed there was mention of her profession on every page and it became very distracting.  I also hope that ‘Carleton House’ will have been corrected to ‘Carlton House’ in the finished product (I read an advance copy), an error which jumped out at me every time I read it.

Overall however, I’m happy to recommend A Dance with Seduction to others.  It’s well-written and well-conceived and I’m pleased that Ms. Alexander has re-surfaced and am looking forward to reading more of her work.

Buy Now: A/BN/iB/K

I found the writing very awkward and the storyline very slow which wasn't a good mix.

Overall a good historical romance with a unique and interesting plot.

I absolutely loved this book! Ms. Alexander has a flair with words that convey such deep emotions without going on and on. I appreciate that as I'm not a fan of authors who keep repeating the same internal dialogue over and over again. This story revolves around Vivienne Le Fleur, a French opera dancer and spy and Maximilian Westword, a second son, who works as a code breaker and translator. These two have a complicated relationship; Maximilian hates mysteries and Vivienne is the biggest mystery he's ever encountered. When Vivienne's sister is kidnapped by an unsavory French spy, she turns to Maximilian for help and that starts a complicated dance of need and want between them. Can they work together long enough to find her sister or will their differences become too much to overcome?

I will definitely be checking out more books in this series. I very much enjoy Ms. Alexander's writing style.

3.75 stars
Vivienne Le Fleur’s life is multi-layered an opera dancer, a mistress & the spy known as the Flower. When her sister Anne is abducted by a French spy, the Vulture, Vivienne knows she is being pressured into becoming a double agent is forced to seek the help of the only man in London who sets her pulses racing.
Maximilian Westwood is a second son, retired code breaker who now earns a living deciphering messages & doing translations, he doesn't like surprises or mysteries and The Flower is both. When she sneaks into his study in the middle of the night with a coded message, he’s ready to push her out whatever window she arrived through. Except Maximilian is unable to turn away a woman in trouble. Determined to rescue Vivienne’s sister, they engage in a game of cat and mouse with French spies that requires all of Vivienne’s training and Maximilian’s abilities.
A well written story that held my attention all the way through although it took some time for the pace to really get going. The characters are very well portrayed, Vivienne & Maximilian are very likeable, their attraction grows throughout the story & the way he protects her is lovely even though she’s more than capable of looking after herself. There are twists & turns & I was surprised to find out who The Vulture was, I didn’t see that coming & made my enjoyment of the book more intense. Being able to work out the villain early on does cloud my enjoyment. I had 2 disappointments I wish Henri & Max’s brother had had their comeuppances, they truly deserved far more punishment. This is the first book I’ve read by the author & I’ll now certainly read the other books in the series

Publisher's Description:

She was the only code he couldn't break...

Vivienne Le Fleur is one of London’s most sought after opera dancer and one of England’s best weapons: the spy known as the Flower. When a French agent pressures her to change allegiance by abducting her sister, Vivienne is forced to seek the help of the only man in London who doesn’t want her.

Maximilian Westwood, retired code breaker, doesn't like surprises or mysteries and The Flower is both. When she sneaks into his study in the middle of the night with a coded message, he’s ready to push her out whatever window she arrived through. Except Maximilian is unable to turn away a woman in trouble. Determined to rescue Vivienne’s sister, they engage in a game of cat and mouse with French spies that requires all of Vivienne’s training and Maximilian’s abilities. Bound together by secrecy, they discover there is more between them than politics and hidden codes, but love has no place among the secrets of espionage...

My Thoughts:

This book contains a very descriptive writing style. It is a convoluted tale of espionage, danger and spies galore.

Vivienne Le Fleur a notorious opera dancer is actually an undercover agent known as The Flower

Maximilian Westwood is a retired code breaker who cares nothing for spies or mysteries. When he discovers Vivienne, The Flower, Le Fleur sneaking into his study in the middle of the night with a coded message, he is ready to toss her out of whatever window she entered through until he finds she needs his help.
When she refused the demands of a French Agent to change allegiance, he kidnapped her sister. Maximilian simply can't refuse a woman who is in trouble.
Will this ex-code breaker and this notorious opera dancer/spy find the missing sister and will their attraction lead to an incomparable love?
Although there are well written and very descriptive parts to this story, I did not care for the storyline. It was maybe too full of the darker side and not infused with enough of the romantic for my taste.
I gave this book 3.25 of 5 stars for storyline and character development and a sensual rating of 3 of 5 flames.
I received a complimentary digital ARC of this title via NetGalley to read. This in no way affected my opinion of this book which I read and reviewed voluntarily.

Very slow moving at first without a lot of intrigue. Took a while to get into.

I was quickly drawn into the story with the first paragraph. The descriptions were wonderful, vivid and you feel as though you could step into the scene. It was so dark, he could not see a thing, but her hand always found his without fumbling, as if she could see in the dark. The characters seemed real and life like. Flower did her dancing exercises every night before bed. The plot was complex but expertly woven into a mesmerizing tale. The author wrote a smooth and even paced book, worth the time and effort to read. I really loved it and highly recommend it. I received this book from Net Galley for a review.

Series: A Spy In The Ton #3
Publication Date: 07/24/17

Rating is actually 3.5 Stars

This is my first book by Alyssa Alexander. After looking at reviews of the other books in this series, I may go back and read them.

I seem to be all over the place with this book. I love spy stories and I think code-breakers are some of the unsung heroes of war. This book has both and the premise of the story was a good one. I just felt that it frequently moved too slowly.

Maximilian Westwood is a second son who makes his living doing translations in the several languages he speaks. He is also a retired code-breaker for the crown. He is taciturn, growly, frowning and totally engrossed in his translations. Max is the most honorable man you could ever want to meet. That is his nature and it is also to contrast his disreputable older brother.

Vivienne Le Fleur is a British spy. She has been trained since she was a child in all of the skills to become the consummate spy. She is superb with all weapons – pistols, knives, swords, etc. The Flower is an opera dancer and the mistress of Henri. She is also totally immersed in the persona she had to adopt in order to facilitate her spying. She is so immersed that she no longer knows where that persona ends and where the real ‘her’ begins.

Henri is the handler for Vivienne, The Flower, and I won’t say much about him other than to say that he’s a real jerk.

A French spymaster known as The Vulture wants to recruit the Flower and turn her into a double agent by any means – fair or foul – mostly foul. When she won’t turn, he kidnaps her sister to force her to do her bidding.

Flower worked with Max when he was a government code-breaker and she trusted him – at least as much as she trusted anyone. So, when she needed to have the Vulture’s coded messages deciphered, she went to him. They end up working together to solve the mystery.

What I really didn’t like really didn’t have much to do with the story – Max’s brother was really detestable and I would have loved it if something irreversible had happened to him. He could die or he could go insane or . . . Well, I just didn’t care, but it would have been nice for Max to take over the title or at least the management of the estate.

I also didn’t like that there was no real, lasting punishment for Henri. Somebody other than the Flower should have taken him on!

"I requested and received this book at no cost to me and volunteered to read it; my review is my honest opinion and given without any influence by the author or publisher."

This story wasn't for me. It went too slowly for my taste. I felt that even at 50% in we were getting nowhere- not much has happened. There are spies and kidnapping and other misadventures. I'm sure other people who have more patience than I do would enjoy the story. It is well written and I can picture everything clearly in my head.

I find it hard reviewing this book. On the one hand, I absolutely love spy novels. On the other, I was on the fence about Vivienne. I understand her need to try and save her sister and that is the thing that brought me around to caring about her. Maximilian is great in this book. He is a beta hero which I am not normally attracted to but in this he makes it work. The spy story is also very good.

This novel was a good read. It brings together code breakers and spies during an era where trouble is constantly being diverted and manipulated. There is also romance in this story, but there is also much deception.
Vivienne Le Fleur is an opera dance who is also a spy known as the Flower. She had to make a choice as a young girl to commit to this life of espionage. She does her job well. Her handler is also her "protector", but she uses her talents to gather information and steal things as well. When her sister is kidnapped by a man known as the Vulture, she seeks the help of a former code breaker, Maximilian Westwood.
Max knows the Flower, for they have met before when she needed coded deciphered. At first, he refuses to break a code for her, but eventually, he agrees. Max gets pulled into helping Vivienne, but does not know the entire truth of the matter. The both begin working together, both having ties to London society and Prinny. Max and Vivienne are both attracted to each other, but Vivienne does not know who she truly is. After all, she has multiple identities depending what she is needed to do.
As they travel through the opera house, balls, brothels, they get deeper into the underground and the plans of the French spies, who want to use Vivienne skills. Vivienne will do whatever is necessary to save her sister, even if it means lying to all those around her. Max helps her, but wants to know the truth and is deeply hurt when he discovers her lies. When Vivienne is believed to be a double agent, will Max help her or turn her in? Will they find her sister in time or will the Vulture get his way?