Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this story and this is my freely given opinion.

This is book 3 of the Art of Love series. Years prior, Bella Blessingame was a shy young woman who was being courted by Aiden Nowlton, the younger son of the Dowager Duchess of Malmsby. But their courtship was destroyed by the mechanisms of others. It turns out that Bella has a talent for puzzles and breaking code, and when this talent came to light, outside forces manipulated their lives so her talents could be used by a spymaster. Aiden and Bella were turned against each other, and Bella ended up marrying Aiden's friend, Sir Harry Blessingame. It turns out that he was a spy working under Lord Candelstone, a spymaster for the Crown, who ordered him to break up Aiden and Bella, so he could control Bella and use her talents.

After marrying Bella, Harry took her on the continent where they both worked under the direction of the spymaster. Bella was widowed shortly after her marriage, but was still manipulated by Candelstone, until her life was placed in peril, and she decided to return to England, quitting her spying activities. Candelstone had since lost his posting with the Crown, but was convinced that he had a calling to protect his country and was in the midst of forming a private spy agency and determined to bring Bella back into the fold. Bella is not so easily manipulated this time, especially when the truth of her and Aiden's past is brought to light. It turns out her spy husband had regrets on his treatment of her and his friend Aiden and gave her the truth posthumously.

But Bella is afraid that what was broken could not be mended. Especially when more of her past comes back to haunt her and threaten her life.

I am a sucker for a spy adventure story or a murder mystery, especially if it is wrapped in the cozy warm blanket of a regency romance as well. Candelstone, despite being a relative of Nowlton, the Duchess, etc, is more a villain than anything, having no true familial warmth, or loyalty, and being such a manipulative ass. It would not have been surprising if his own family turned on him and shot him. The spy story aspect was interesting - the true villain not hard to figure out, but it was the story of Sir Harry and how Aiden and Bella were manipulated, and how Bella was recruited that were interesting to me. I liked Bella as a character because she obviously grew into a strong capable woman, though jaded, from her experiences, and I don't think Aiden fully appreciated that until the end.

An interesting story and I feel the series gets stronger as it goes along.

4 stars out of 5

VIVA EL AMOR, i mean this is a book about second chances and it shows, the main characters were in love until something drove them apart, and the way that they reconnect is just so lovely. I loved it.

This was a lovely book about second chances and what can happen if we don't fully trust and communicate with our partner. Bella is widowed and ends up in London to meet with her widows solicitors. While there she meets with her lost love Aiden's family and ends up staying at their home. While there Bella learns the real reason her and Aiden fell apart. Aiden has been angry with Bella for so long, but after learning the truth his heart begins to soften towards her again. There's also an attempted murder and the Bella and the family dive head on into finding the culprit. I will say the villain in this story was very obvious and it would've been a bit more fun to have a bit more intrigue and subterfuge around finding the villain. I did appreciate how independent and capable Bella was—she's definitely no damsel in distress but rather the anthesis of that. Can these two get past this miscommunication and find love again? Who is the attempted murderer? You shall have to read to find out.

Steam Level: Clean romance

Three years ago, Bella and Aidan were torn apart by betrayal and gossip. Bella married and became a cryptographer in the war effort. Aidan has become curator of a prestigious art gallery. Bella has returned to London by the request of her late husband’s solicitor. Here she learns the truth about what happened to rip her and Aidan apart. The man responsible for all of this is trying to coax Bella back into his spy ring. Will Aidan believe her when she tells him what she has learned? Will a lurking danger from her past come between them again. This is a well-written and interesting story. Bella and Aidan are compelling characters and a great couple. There are a couple of villains, both dangerous in different ways. I enjoyed this slow-burn second chance with a bit of intrigue and danger.
I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily reviewing it.

Oh, boy, this story drew me in, wrapped all around me and gave me an exceptional reading experience.
This review may contain spoilers.
This story opens with the heroine visiting a painting exhibition with her brother, when she sees an acquaintance from before she lived on the continent. She goes over to great the older lady and gets caught up on all of the lady's children when she sees the lady's youngest son. She quickly excuses herself to go to her brother. The lady's youngest son was a man who years before she had given her heart to and realized he had made a bet about her in the gentleman's club. When her brother confirmed it, the man's best friend was the one to help her broken heart. She married him and went to fight Napoleon on the continent in the best way she could, she is a cryptographer. She decrypted and encrypted messages to help the British War Office and to confuse the French. She was married to a spy who would do anything, including infidelity, for the good of England. And told her this every time she complained. They did not have any children and when her husband was killed in the line of duty, she returns to England to try to live a nice, quiet life. No more war, no more working to decrypt a message. Until the spy master wants her to continue her work. The lady she spoke with earlier, invites her to live in their mansion and enjoy the Season, even knowing that her youngest son had been interested in the heroine. The youngest son is the hero.
I was so deeply involved with this book. I wish I could give you more of the story, but that would take all of the enjoyment away. Let me just share that this book hit all.the highs and none of the lows. The main characters, supporting characters and background characters all had a place and made sense. There were no loose ends at the end of the story. And, this was part of a series. But it didn't matter. This was a total stand alone story. The characters from the previous books were all supporting and kept to that role. I didn't feel like I had to look at a previous story or have a "mini recap" to understand what was going on. I give this book 20 stars and re commend reading. But it only lets me give 5 stars. Boo

Working in cryptography for Wellington, Lady Bella Blessingame complied until the day after Waterloo. Her husband died a year ago and she has no other reason to stay. Finding passage back to England, she lives a quiet life for a year. Returning to London, she is once again close to Lady Malmsby's family and the man she loved and lost, Aidan Nowlton. Letters held by her dead husband's attorney, hold the key to the man who manipulated three people to get what he wanted. Candlestone, spymaster for The Crown. He is persistently after Bella to return to cryptography, but when Aidan discovers his manipulation, he threatens retaliation. Then Candlestone is shot. Interesting family interactions with some humor.
Clean romance.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book.

At first sight, it is an intriguing book... too bad that the plot focuses a lot on espionage/politics and very little on the love story between the two main protagonists (between whom no chemistry is perceived), and this makes for a boring read.

The story was entertaining for me in some places. My favorite character is Bella, because she seemed to be the most level head of them all. My second would be Lady Gwinnie. The story moves alright, but I couldn’t feel any excitement from the story. When Aiden came on scene, he offered good entertainment. The background story seems to provide more information over politics, but I wanted to read more of the romance between the characters.
I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Returned to London after a couple of years of widowhood, Bella finds that she is not as prepared as she believed to meet the man who she believes broke her heart. But as the truth comes to light and she finds that she and Aiden were deliberately parted by her husband at Lord Candlestone's orders, they are forced to face the question: what next? The years have changed them both, and are second chances really a possibility? Worse, Lord Candlestone isn't finished with her, and a spectre from her past is also haunting her. Can Aiden save her in time?

If I didn't already know I like the author, I wouldn't necessarily have picked this up because the cover suggested more spice than I want. However, having read earlier books in the series, I had no hesitation in trying this, and was pleased to find a clean, well-written story with only past (lying) insinuations of behaviour I object to. The story itself kept me guessing (in a good way) and held my interest, and I enjoyed watching two people who'd been most unfairly torn apart find their way back together and get their delayed happily ever after. Looking forward to more by the author - I appreciate the way she combines romance with a side of intrigue. 4.5 stars.

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.

I really really enjoyed this so much. I could not pick up another book for a day afterwards because I kept thinking about this book.
I just reviewed An Artful Lie by Holly Newman. #AnArtfulLie #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL]

Right from the start, the heroine, Bella, gets reacquainted with ladies Malmsby and Oakley, and they are so warm and engaging, you are instantly happy and want to read more about those two. Lady Malmsby had a hand in the engagement of two other young people and you just can picture her meddling. I liked that. The story continues with Bella moving in with lady Malmsby, because the hotel where she is staying isn’t to her liking. She traveled to London because her solicitor summoned her to finalize the inheritance, two years after the death of her husband. I didn’t quite understand why she accepted lady Malmsby’s invitation, since she is the mother of Aidan (who broke her heart) and mother-in-law of Candlestone, the man who used her in spywork that in the end caused her husband’s death. She wants nothing to do with either of the two men, so why taking up lodgings with a relative of them?
Candlestone is actually trying to get her to work for him again, which she vehemently does not want to do, but he doesn’t take no for an answer. At a musicale Candlestone gets shot and the majority of the book is about the investigation into who shot him. You don’t really get to know the other main character, Aidan, only that he is the kind of guy who fixes everything for his relatives. When the attempted murder is finally resolved, he asks Bella to marry him and that was that.
I missed the chemistry, the romance. I liked lady Malmsby and her eldest son, the duke, who kept everyone in the dark about what he did in his free time. It is clear the family didn’t communicate. So that was a bit funny but didn’t really add to the story.
I read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was a riveting story. Some of it, was pretty obvious of what was happening or about to happen, while there were a few mysteries that came off as a surprise and made the book have some unpredictable moments

4.5 stars

Quite complicated at the beginning as the author is bringing us up to speed on the heroine and hero's history. Aidan's brother-in-law is a piece of work and as well as splitting up Aidan and Bella originally he's desperate to manipulate her again to use her cryptography skills. This time Aidan is determined to protect her and his family. I liked the Duke, who is supposed to be a hermit like scholar but actually puts that information about so he can led an interesting life. The whole family do put upon Aidan as a Mr Fixer but he does come good. I just hope that's the last we see of the brother-in-law. Enjoyed the book and I really liked the first of this series. I think there might be some cross over of characters from the Chance Inquiry series as well. I enjoy Holly's writing and recommend this story. Clean read for those to whom that matters

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.