I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and Sapere Books for an honest review.
I really wanted to like this book, but it seem to dark at times to me, I was unable to connect with any of the characters, and everything seemed a bit overdone.
The plot was good as was the action.

Six years ago, Willoughby Rossington’s father Joshua was murdered while searching for the kingpin of a smuggling and spy ring. Taken under the wing of his uncle Nathaniel, who is running a counter-intelligence operation against Napoleon’s spies, Willoughby is assigned to take up his father’s last mission—and, hopefully, in the process find who killed his father and bring them to justice.
Whilst in his disguise as a priest, Willoughby meets a young woman, Beth, who works at the local inn. Her spark and resilience against her master’s attempts to break her will strike a chord in him and he, albeit reluctantly, takes her with him when he leaves town.
She’s overheard things and knows things about the seedy side of the North Yorkshire villages that could be helpful to him and his mission.
Though Beth hasn’t had the opportunity for education, she’s smart and quite cunning while still maintaining a child-like wonder.
A very good story that has Willoughby & Beth running for their lives. He needs to solve this father’s murder & break the spy ring. The story mostly takes place around York, Whitby & outlying villages.
Both Willoughby & Beth are very likeable, Beth was an orphan sold to work in an inn & was raped & was being groomed to become a prostitute once the owner had ‘finished ‘with her. A note Joshua wrote just before he was killed eventually leads the pair to the kingpin. This is the first book I’ve read by the author & thoroughly enjoyed it.

This was pretty rough. The subject matter was dark, which is fine, but it simply wasn’t well-written. I had to force myself to finish it.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

This was my first time reading this author. I was absolutely enthralled with her writing. Beautiful story, amazing characters, and a believable story line. In other words, simply amazing!

Although I don't often read historical romances from the Georgian era I really enjoyed this one and I think fans of the genre will absolutely love it. The story is fast paced with the mystery and romantic elements perfectly balanced.

It reminded me very much of a Yorkshire Poldark - but with a rather less brooding hero. The sense of the era, the thrilling action, the unconventional romance and the author's clear love of the setting were all there though. A great book.

Beth is a young woman who left an orphanage and was sold to serve drinks and herself at an inn. She is owned by a cruel man and nothing can be done. Willoughby Rossington saves Beth from her situation. Years before, Willoughby's father had been killed while working as a spy against Napoleon. Working under his uncle, he plans to avenge his father. As feelings grow between Beth and Willoughby, the danger intensifIes. Spies are everywhere. Who can you trust? Beth was born beneath Willoughby and no one knows this more than she does. Spies, deceit and intrigue make this a book that should not be missed. I received this book from Net Galley and Sapere Books for a honest review and no compensation otherwise.The opinions expressed are my own.

Willoughby is finally to be allowed a chance to avenge his father, murdered six years previously by someone in a band of spies/smugglers he was trying to track down. But as Willoughby heads north to the scene, tasked with bringing those same criminals to justice, he intervenes in an inn to prevent the abuse of a kitchen-maid/prostitute, and ends up taking the girl with him to protect her. This brings him into direct conflict with the very men he was sent to investigate secretly, putting the pair in great danger and jeopardising his mission. Will he bring the spies to justice? And in the end, will he choose love, revenge, or duty?

I was intrigued by the idea of the story, but was disappointed that the execution didn't live up to the idea. I found myself unable to connect with or even understand any of the characters, and everything seemed a bit overdone. The whole feeling of the book was also just a bit dark in some way that I couldn't put my finger on. Some parts I thought could have been good if they were expanded on a bit more, but there was really very little exploration of the characters, or indeed the underlying mystery of the spies. I don't think I'll be reading more by the author.

Characters: Didn't seem consistent or logical in their behaviours.
Storyline: Too much 'in your face', everything is happening at once, over the top action for me.
Content and language: Nothing particularly explicit, though a few times I thought it was headed that way, but some insinuation. Probably still largely clean. Language-wise there was some limited use of bad language that I could have done without.

Note that I received a complimentary copy of the book from NetGalley. I was not required to write a positive review and this is my considered opinion of the book.