The Soldier and the Spy
A Gay Regency Romance
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- $7.99
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
A beholden man finds himself falling for the war hero he’s destined to double-cross.
Three hundred pounds for one night of protection. It’s a job offer, but it’s also a ruse. Captain Benjamin Frakes, war hero and de facto head of the Society of Beasts—a club for gentlemen who prefer gentlemen—is tempted to turn it down. But August Weatherby, the sexy, brazen stranger making the offer, has captivated him completely.
August is hardly the flush flirt he claims to be, however. An indebted man, desperate to save his infirm sister, August makes an ideal pawn for a lord eager to bring down the Society of Beasts once and for all. But August’s charge to find evidence against Frakes is at odds with his own virgin desire to entice the captain into showing him the true meaning of pleasure.
As August’s infiltration pushes him deeper into the beguiling world of delights behind the Society’s closed doors, he and Frakes discover new ways to push the boundaries of their own cravings. But with mounting pressure to complete his devious mission, August finds himself torn between the man his heart yearns for and the sister whose life depends on his betrayal.
Society of Beasts
Book 1: The Vicar and the Rake
Book 2: The Soldier and the Spy
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Greene's middling sophomore effort in her Society of Beasts series (after The Vicar and the Rake) sees impudent, impoverished August Weatherby sidle up to arrogant war hero Benjamin Frakes with a request that Benjamin protect him from his creditors at an upcoming ball. Benjamin, who is immediately attracted to August, reluctantly agrees—and a near-death incident at the ball ensures August's introduction to the Society of Beasts, a private club for men who love men. But August has a secret agenda: he's being blackmailed by Lord Eustace Harbury, who knows of August's sexuality and hopes to expose London's most prominent men as sharing his proclivities. To that end, August must purloin evidence that will expose Benjamin and the society. The mounting passions between August and Benjamin—including their frisson during a tennis game—provide the story's highlights, as in the emotional scene after a fight when August tells his lover, "Say we're done, and I'll tell you you're lying." But the spy drama, which involves August and some incriminating letters, lacks tension, and a subplot about August keeping his ailing sister, Leticia, safe feels perfunctory. The result is an uneven series entry that fails to balance the romance with the suspense.
