Amanda, a countess, is a widow in her 30’s with two young boys. She married the man her parents picked out when she was 19, is constantly told to mind her step by her mother and is expected to marry her sons’ dull guardian. She needs an adventure when she becomes in possession of a code book and meets Langley. Langley is a spy, in his 40’s, knighted for his services and the perfect lover for Amanda. The boys are charming, the mother and would be fiancé are bullies and Langley’s boss is manipulative in a good way. A lovely romance with interesting characters.

This is my first Susanna Craig, I did not know anything about the series but I was very struck by the cover of the first book in the series.
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I like that it can be read as a standalone and the line of the series, espionage for the crown, is easily understood without much introduction.
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Behind this group of spies in her Majesty's service is Colonel Scott who enjoys matchmaking with his spies.
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I liked the chemistry between Amanda and Langley, the situations they are in and how their relationship flows. I also liked how it presents the countess's family life and social situations, and the relation with her kids.
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One thing leads to a lover, is a very entertaining Spy to lovers Regency that makes you want to read all the books in the series.
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Thank to #NetGalley and Kensington Books for let me read #OneThingLeadsToaLover by Susanna Craig before goes on sale this 6 April 2021

I really like the premise of this series! It's spies and adventure, but not too dark or angsty. I do enjoy a meddling matchmaker, and General Scott gets to order his men around while scheming to get them settled with just the right woman.

In this second book, the hero is a knighted agent to the crown, Sir Langley Stanhope, known as Magpie. He is skilled in mimicry and disguise, and he's the first historical romance hero I've read who wears glasses. (I never knew what I was missing until now.) His mission is to find a valuable French code book, which unexpectedly fell into the lap of the Countess of Kingston, a sheltered widow with an overbearing mother and two young sons.

Magpie has to retrieve the book, make sure the Countess and her boys are kept safe from dangerous men who are after the same book, and somehow manage not to fall in love with Amanda, the Countess of Kingston.

This is the second book in a series. I liked Amanda the widowed countess with young boys, I felt she was a little too complacent in letting her mother run her life at this point in her life. The spark between Langley and Amanda wasn't as strong for me. I did like the intrigue theme and the relationship between Langley and Amanda's sons.

One Thing Leads to a Lover is an absolutely charming book! It is the second in the Series, but is a stand alone. It is the story of a widowed Countess who at 32 is raising her two young sons while under the "care" of her mother and co-guardian of her children, much to her dismay. A random incident brings a character called The Magpie, a disillusioned spy, into her life and so starts this adventure.. It's one you will want to follow along with.!

Amanda Bartlett is a widowed countess at the age of 32 and mother to two children. She’s spent her whole life doing exactly what was expected of her, and it’s just as boring as one would expect. Her entire life has been dictated by her mother, then her husband, and then her mother again. While buying a book for her son she is bumped into by a stranger on the streets wherein she leaves with the wrong book. Unbeknownst to her, the book she has in her possession is vital to the Crown and Langley Stanhope is tasked with its retrieval.

This is my second book by Susanna Craig (my first being “Who’s that Earl” which is the previous book in the Love and Let Spy series) and beyond just LOVING the word play in the book titles, I really did enjoy this book. The whole spy plot line gives it another layer that sets this book apart from other historical romance novels.

Overall, I would have loved to have seen more resolution with her mother since she really annoyed me for a large part of the book, but I loved that Amanda was able to finally get the adventure and excitement she deserved and wanted. Langley/the Magpie was a great love interest for Amanda and I loved their dynamic and the way they treated each other right from the beginning. A fun read with enough excitement that it kept me up til 2AM to finish lol

* I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, thank you to Netgalley and Kensington Books!

Susanna Craig, a new to me author, writes a great story about a widow, Amanda, who has no control of her own life. Amanda is dictated to by her children’s guardian as well as her own widowed mother who lives with her. When her family is accidently put in danger an intelligence officer named Langley is sent to protect her. Amanda realizes that she not only wants more control of the decisions in her life, but she also wants Langley. I received an ARC from NetGalley and Kensington Books for my honest review.

This was delightful and I loved it. I needed a good regency romance with a bit of spy action to get me through a day spent stuck in bed, and this didn't disappoint.

Amanda was stifled and frustrated with her overbearing mother and suitor, the Magpie was a master of disguise and excellent with her children, and the romance and adventure were swoon-worthy.

I loved watching Amanda come into her own and give herself permission to live and have some adventure, and I loved seeing the Magpie as he came to care about her and her children and protect them.

The actual spying takes a backseat to the romance a good bit of the time, but as it's what I wanted I definitely didn't mind. There's also enough intrigue going on to add some extra flavor to the romance.

I will definitely be seeking out more of Susanna Craig's books, since I enjoyed this one and Who's that Earl so much.

*Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books for providing an e-arc for review.

This is a fun Regency read and I liked that Amanda gets into the spying as well. The romance was sweet. I wanted more resolution between Amanda and her mom though about her mom trying to control her life.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.

Amanda Bartlett, the widowed Countess of Kingston, has always been told to watch her step. Married at 19, she is finally free to be herself, but with two young children in her care, her mother living in her home, and a suitor dogging her heels, she is still trapped in some way. While out shopping for a birthday present from her eldest son, she is jolted in the street, and the book she thinks she bought turns out to be a book full of French war codes, valuable to the war effort, and embroiled in an adventure than just could be the making for her. Sir Langley Stanley, a major and intelligence officer, feels guilt over the death of his comrade, and now that another has been kidnapped, and the code book holds the key to his recovery, he needs to get Amanda to help him retrieve it, and find the traitor who is in their midst. Masquerading as the tutor for the young boys, Langley moves into Amanda's home, for protection, and it's soon clear that their attraction may just be one thing they need to overcome.

I was completely blown away by Who's That Earl when I read it last year, and as soon as I spotted this one on NetGalley, I requested it. Amanda's life has been boring since she married during her first season, with a husband old enough to be her father, not allowed to do anything more straining than picking the meal options for dinner. Now widowed, she's still young, and wants her chance at freedom, but is stopped at every turn. Her two boys, Jamie and Pip, are her entire life, but she shares guardianship of them with her late husband's friend, Lord Dulsworthy, who is adamant they should be off at Harrow, and also wants to marry her too. It doesn't help, either, that Amanda's mother has moved in, and has taken over everything, from answering invitations, or creating the menu at dinner, to stating what Amanda should wear, even. It's too much, and I really felt for Amanda here - she deserves to be her own person, and have a little fun. Becoming embroiled in intrigue and espionage may not have been what I was expecting for her, but she took to it like a duck out of water, and was perfectly aided by Langley. Langley was an amazing love interest, with his own complex backstory as an orphan on the streets of London, to being adopted by a loving couple, and raised to join the military and help with the intelligence services. He's only once let down his guard, and that's when his friend was killed, and he won't make the same mistake again. He fights his attraction to Amanda almost as much as she does for him, but it's inevitable, and swoony, and downright perfect for them both. There were twists and turns that I didn't see coming, and I was again blown away by the brilliance of Susanna's writing, and her story telling. I can't wait for the next book, hinted at in the final pages of this one.

I received an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review

Sweet and spicy, with one of the more affable heroes and daring heroines I’d seen in a while. Can’t wait to read more from this author