A little over the place overall - not enough romance, not enough spy, too much of everything else. It had potential, but just felt a tad underdeveloped throughout. Still, it makes for quick reading and if you're looking for something to just while away some time, it's good frivolous fun in the genre

I am in love with this series. Every one of these books has been too-notch!

Really loved this book!

It’s original, fresh and fun!

I really like how strong the heroine is in this story. The plot moves quickly and keeps the reader engaged.

If you love Regency romance, this one is not to be missed!

Cute and sexy, and very easy read. I was excited to read another book by this author and they've kept the same style and tone as from the other book I've read. It's fun and sparky which is exactly what I wanted to read.

I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the ebook. A cute romcom. The cover is cute. Recommend

Thank you for letting me read and review this book. This was a cover grab and the book did not disappoint. I look forward to recommending this author's book in my podcast.

Amanda Bartlett is the widowed Countess of Kingston. She's led a boring and respectable life abiding by the rules of society and the expectations of her overbearing mother. Some much needed adventure finds her when a book of significant importance falls into her possession. Sir Langley Stanhope, an intelligence officer is tasked with retrieving the book. However, the treasured book ends up in the wrong hands and because of the circumstances Langley is now the protector of Amanda and her two sons.

I didn't feel that the stakes were great enough, nor did I feel the heat and passion I seek in a romance.

Overall, a cute premise, but I wish it was executed with a bit more drama.

I tried really hard to get into this book and it's completely possible it was just my mindset at the time. I can see myself enjoying One Thing Leads to a Lover at a later date but right now, it just wasn't for me.

I enjoyed this historical romances story with all of the characters. The two main characters were Lady Amanda Bartlett and Major Langley Stanhope.

Lady Amanda Bartlett is a widower of the late Lord Earl of Kingston. Before her husband death she did give him an heir and a spare that she love dearly. While on a trip from the book store she is bump in to and lost her package. After finding and saving the package she returns home to find out the someone switched the package with her.

Major Langley Stanhope is an intelligence officer and also a master mimic of people. He is on a mission to retrieve a book that has been located at Lady's Bartlett home.

I had fun reading or listen to this story. It has a lot of action and adventure to it. It also has a few laughs along the way.

I received a complimentary copy via Netgalley. This is my honest unbiased opinions.

This is the second book in the Love and Let Spy series by Susanna Craig. This book tells the story of Amanda Bartlett the widowed Countess of Kingston. She is considered the model woman for the time period. She married young and did her duty by giving the Earl an heir and a spare. She now lives a quiet, simple life until she accidentally ends up with a book that she was not meant to have.

Major Langley Stanhope is an intelligence officer and a master mimic. He is known as the Magpie to his cohorts. He needs to retrieve the code book from Amanda. The book has brought danger to Amanda's life in the form of traitorous villians who need to get back the book. While all of the this is going on Amanda is being pushed into a loveless marriage.

I enjoyed this story and found both of the characters likeable. There is a good mystery taking place within the romance that allows for some compromising situations.

I loved Book 1 in Susanna Craig's Live and Let Spy series, Who's That Earl? These books all work as standalones with their own unique characters and plots, but take place in the same universe with the same themes of spies with mysteries to solve. In One Things Leads to a Lover, Amanda is a widow with two sons. She purchases a book for the eldest's birthday, but when someone runs into her, she drops her book and picks up the wrong one. It turns out the the French cookbook is actually a codebook. Major Langley Stanhope is sent to retrieve the book from Amanda. Of course, things aren't as simple as they seem at face value. When the book goes missing, Langley and Amanda search for it, and with the French on their tails, Langley must post as a tutor to stay in Amanda's household. Inevitably, an attraction forms between the two.
This book was wonderfully steamy and I loved that the hero wore glasses. The children characters, Pip and Jamie, were wonderfully fleshed out. Sometimes in romance novels, kids feel like props, but both boys were essential to the plot and had memorable personalities. Overall, this was a great read and I'm excited for Better Off Wed, the third standalone in this series, which is teased at in the epilogue.

Have you ever read a book where there is a lot of talk but nothing seems to be happening? That is what I felt happened in this book. I didn't feel the chemistry between Amanda and Stanhope(if that's his name). I found myself skimming through this by the end.

A pretty solid historical romance, I think if I were new to the genre this would be great to pick up.

3.5 stars. Young widow Amanda is leading a very proper, very dull life, raising her two young boys and staying out of public view. When she is literally jostled into a spy plot, things suddenly become much more interesting--and not just because of the handsome and protective Major Langley Stanhope, who is determined to keep Amanda and her sons safe.

This had some fun spy elements, and overall I enjoyed it. I didn't feel like the whole plot held together really well, as some things were wrapped up hastily or not at all. I'm hoping we'll learn more in the next book.

This is part of a series, but could definitely be read as a standalone. None of the major characters appeared in the first book (as far as I recall).

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC to review. All opinions are my own.

I constantly want to read romance novels and then I get my hands on some and it feels like I am never satisfied, which is probably just an ordinary experience but is growing increasingly frustrating for me, who wants to read romance but not like that, not like that, and not like this. So my reaction to this book was pretty lukewarm but I don't think it was the book's fault really, it was simply ordinary and I am simply never as undiscerning as I think I am. I adore spies so much which is why I requested this on Netgalley sight unseen but unfortunately there was really not a lot of spying done, more a lot of fuss over a misplaced code book which as you can imagine was a little less exciting for me. This book falls into what I am confidently and probably incorrectly going to declare is a recent trend of having everything be soft, by which I mean the hero is overprotective of the heroine who is in turn overprotective of her sons, and she has an unhappy relationship with her mother and the legal co-guardian of her sons, the hero has made enemies of half his spy ring and his best friend's ex-wife - there's a lot going on, is my point, a lot of fraught relationships, and somehow I still wound up by the end of the book going please.... please..... can someone have a fight..... I am begging for some conflict, a little bit of interpersonal drama. Instead the legal co-guardian gets soused and apologises for being a cad, the hero is told like 2 times to stop being overprotective and somehow follows this instruction, the heroie actually facilitates a totally civil reconciliation between hero and his ex, and at the end of the book the heroine looks at her sons and is like it's fine boys :) we shall send you off to boarding school presently :). There's even this miscommunication where the hero thinks he's just a bit of excitement for the higher-class heroine and somehow they DON'T fight about this at all??? He's barely even resentful! Sir! The heroine has a tiff with her mother early on and this is never mentioned again... They are still cohabiting by the end of the book. I don't know man I hate fights in real life and will do anything to avoid them but in a book it is wildly unsatisfying to have none?? Even the actual villains barely featured, I don't know who they were working for. I think one of them might have been French?? Maybe this was a French revolution book? Actually maybe I'm doing this book an injustice because due to the aforementioned lack of interpersonal conflict my eyes were glazing over a lot during this reading. Obviously other peoples' mileages may vary on this. Maybe 0 fights is what some people want out of a book and in that case this one would be perfect. Unfortunately it was not perfect for me. Nevertheless thank you to Netgalley & Kensington Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

*I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via NetGalley and the publishers.*

What a refreshing and satisfying read! In a genre full of very young, inexperienced women, it's a delightful change to read about a heroine in her early 30s who has two children and has been widowed, falling in love with a man in his late 30s. The spy and mystery aspect heightens the story!

Amanda is such a wonderful heroine - she's intelligent and capable, though her family and sometimes even she herself seem to have lost sight of those capabilities. She can seem chatty and flighty, and I like seeing those qualities in a woman whose skills are so clearly portrayed as well - these aren't negative things and they don't detract from her character. It's also nice to see the passionate side of a heroine who's a mother, and see what a woman in that position would want out of life. Langley is a classic hero with a dark past he has to come to terms with, portrayed in a sensitive and multifaceted way. His background is beautifully developed, and his character growth so well done. They complement and strengthen each other in different ways.

The dynamic and attraction between the two leads grows nicely, with several delicious situations that serve to heighten the burgeoning attraction between them, and satisfying steamy scenes where that attraction is fulfilled. We see the wit and teasing and the initial pull as well as the eventual deeper connection, and the chemistry between the two leads comes across well. This unfurls as the mystery deepens - and the intrigue is so well done, too, keeping you guessing up to the finale. It moves at a good pace, with the initial setup of the lost code book not drawn out for too long (and it's resolved in such a surprising and brilliant way!). There are some unresolved questions at the end, but nothing too major.

The side characters are also worth mentioning, especially Amanda's sweet sons and her overbearing mother, who we come to understand a bit better by story's end. The members of the spy network, including Mrs. Drummond and the General, also add flair and depth. Though minor, their characters are fleshed out well.

Overall this is an enjoyable read that's perfect for readers looking for a historical romance with some mystery that's a bit different and more mature. I'd definitely recommend this!

I really enjoyed this addition to the series! This is a slow-burn romance where the couple bonds over solving a mystery and I enjoyed every bit of it. The characters were well drawn and complex while the plot was well paced and fun.

I received a NetGalley review copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Susanna Craig delivered a fun romance in One Thing Leads to a Lover. The story follows widowed Amanda Bartlett who is a mother of two children. She leads a relatively "boring" lifestyle and basically just does whatever her mother or former husband told her to do. Things take a turn when she bumps into Sir Langley Stanhope and Amanda's life begins to change. Amanda is suddenly swept up in an espionage adventure and a romance with Langley. I would recommend this romance to anyone who loves mystery, adventure, and spies. This was a story that I did not want to put down.

Honestly, I loved the romance in this. It was more slow burn than I'm used to, and you get to see the two of them grow together. But, the rest of the story was a little flat for me. At the least, it followed the pace of the romance (slow). I like the spy aspect, but might have liked it more in the first one. If I'm going to compare the two, there was less family growth here, I think we had an overbearing mother character who didn't really have an explanation for how controlling she was to her adult daughter, and the mystery was very slow moving and kind of boring.

3.75 stars

One Thing Leads to a Lover is a fun, slow-burn historical romance with a very True Lies flair.

Amanda is a widowed Countess that is suffering the doldrums of being a widow. She is caring for her aging and meddling mother as well as her two young boys. She is a respectable lady of society and is always following her mother's guidance to "mind her step." Amanda's mother is pushing one of her late husband's friends, Lord Dulsworthy, to be a potential suitor as society expects. One day, Amanda has a mishap with a book she was buying for one of her boys and instead gets a mysterious book. Then an even more mysterious man comes to collect the book and Amanda's dull dry life becomes unimaginably more interesting.

Langley Stanhope is a master mimicking spy, known as the Magpie, working as an intelligence officer. He was tasked with retrieving a book from a mishap at the books store. But even that simple task gets bungled between Amanda's well-meaning mother, meddling suitor, and her children. Soon, it is clear that he will have to protect Amanda and her sons from danger but it's his heart that might truly be in danger.

I quite enjoyed the simple, society woman being drawn into a mysterious spy sting operation. It was completely of the realm of suspending disbelief- because if you were an international spy, why would you tell a complete stranger privileged and secret and potentially very harmful secrets about your secret society?!? But I digress.

Amanda and the Magpie were fun. I enjoyed the slow burn romance aspect. I sort of hated how fragile and delicate she was treated and how she allowed herself to pretty much be maneuvered and maybe a little bullied by her mother and Lord Dulsworthy but, again, I digress.

I have not read the first book, and I didn't feel left out in the cold regarding the plot or characters so I'm fairly certain this can be read as a stand-alone.

One Thing Leads to a Lover was cute and light with a fun mystery aspect. If you are looking for a light historical romance, with fairly low-risk, some yummy steam, and a fun mystery, I would definitely recommend this book.

*ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

This was SO much dang fun. Older/mature widow meets handsome bespectacled spy when she accidentally picks up a codebook intended for someone else and he needs to get it into the right hands on behalf of the secret organization he works for. The attraction levels between these two were off the charts, and I think the thing that made it stand out so distinctively as a spy romance is that Amanda knew Stanhope was a spy from pretty much the beginning of their relationship, so it wasn’t really something established on a lie, even if he often had to lie about who he really was to other people. It gave their dynamic a more even footing from the jump and they felt like a very strong couple throughout. Plus I kind of adored Stanhope ending up a “tutor” to Amanda’s sons and other sweet moments like that where you could tell they were slowly moving towards becoming a family. And the whole premise of the series being based around Stanhope’s commanding officer thinking of ways to set his men up with new romances! So lovely and diverting.

content notes: kidnapping of children/young characters in peril, hero suffers bullet wound

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.