The Leading Lady

Miss Callie Grant has hidden her true identity her entire life, but now elements from her past are threatening to destroy England’s future. To save Letty, someone she loves, she agrees to a dangerous mission and to masquerade as the wife of Lord Truitt Russell. Tru wants only one thing to restore his honour, which was brought into question when he became involved with the Lord Marstoke. Only the capture of the Wicked Lord will do the job. This is the second book in the Half Moon series & whilst it could be read on its own I feel to fully appreciate it, it is best read after the first book. Tru & Callie don't like each other but are attracted to each other. However the more time they spend together the more they get to know each other & realise first impressions can be deceptive. A well written very well paced book that I raced through & was totally captivated. I particularly loved the extracts from Hestia’s journal at the start of each chapter. My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

I was on the edge of my seat from the moment Callie questioned the two men. This is not a love at first sight story, more of a loath at first sight that takes you on a whirlwind. Once they got to know each other it was clear they were perfect for each other. As always I love reading Hestia’s diary and getting to know her story more and more. I was holding my breath a couple of times because I didn’t know what Marstroke was going to do next. OMG the ending shocks you so much! Callie is fiercely independent and won’t hesitate to take down someone if needed. I loved her right away with how she made it clear how she felt and what she wanted. She knew things had to change. Tru hates that he was tricked in the past and will do anything to end Marstroke. I love how he understood her and didn’t want to try to control her. He saw things that most didn’t. Copy provided for an honest and voluntary review via NetGalley

What a pleasure to pick up a book by a new to me author and thoroughly enjoy it! <3 This is the second book in the series but it can be read as a standalone. I haven’t read the first one yet I never felt lost or like I needed to read the first one first. I love enemies to lovers stories and this one hit the mark in all the right places. Callie is smart, determined, caring, and knows how to fight against injustices in a world where men set the rules. Although Truitt was at first hesitant of working alongside such woman, he learned to admire her both as a fighter and as a woman. Their romance had the perfect pace and their chemistry, in and outside the bedroom, was perfect as well. They made have made a few mistakes towards the end but overall they made a pretty good team. I think they are one of my favorite couples ever. So the romance was wonderful but it was not the only good thing about the book. Not exactly a story about spies it had some its elements. The suspense was engaging from the start and it kept me turning the pages even when it wasn’t about the two main characters, which is always a good thing. Most of the story takes place in France and I loved that the author didn’t use any “accented” dialogue nor used unnecessary situations to remind me where the story was taking place. With complex, fun characters; suspense, action, and romance, this is a story I definitely recommend to anyone that enjoys stories outside ballrooms. *I received this book at no cost to me and I volunteered to read it; this is my honest opinion and given without any influence by the author or publisher*