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The Unlikely Spy Catchers is the book 2 of Carla Kelly’s ongoing historical romance series, St. Brendan. My love for this series began with a short novella that you can also call a prequel to the series, which was featured in an anthology. It was titled ‘The Christmas Angle’. Even though I’d bought book 1 first, I read in a few reviews that Able and Meridee’s love story began in that novella. I was really glad to have that nugget of information because I absolutely adored that story. It was just...... So good. :) Our hero is a nerdy genius but he’s also super hot and attractive. And our heroine is just the perfect match for him.

Born in a street behind a church in Scotland, where his supposed mother died right after his birth without even giving him a name, Durable Six has come a long way. The name he’s got is the aftermath of becoming a nameless orphan left unclaimed in a workhouse of Dumfries, where his life was everything that was never nice, loving or pleasant. He’d shortened the silly name to Able later in life to give it some semblance of normalcy. After his initial resistance to death–hence he surpassed the first 5 ‘Durables’ and became number Six that lived—Able fought to survive. He fought hunger, abuse at the hand of his so-called teachers but most of all, he fought death to stay alive.

Able joined Navy to escape the appalling workhouse so I doubt he had any big ambition but as Sailing Master Able Six at 26 he’d already climbed the ladder of success when it comes to HRM Navy. At least as far as success is concerned for a total nobody like him. No one ever heard a person becoming a sailing master at the age of 22 but Able had become what no one has been before. Hell, he’s someone so unique that no one probably had seen anyone like him in the past decades, maybe more, and likely won’t see another for a long time to come. Able Six, what you can describe in the simplest terms possible, is a genius. A polymath; Someone with photographic memory. He’d basically experience anything and remember every single crisp detail. His mind is always whirring. It never stops.

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After reading and loving a short story ‘The Christmas Angle’ by Carla Kelly in an anthology, I was anticipating The Unlikely Master Genius, book 1 in the St. Brendan series. The above mentioned short story is kind of a prequel to this one and I enjoyed it so much, I was totally invested in the series already. I mean, who doesn’t like a hero who is a nerd and a genius with a heart of gold? Who is also a gentleman that loves his wife to distraction? However, after reading it can’t say I loved it as much as I thought I would. I’ll try to elaborate as best as I can.

Born in a street behind a church in Scotland, where his supposed mother died right after his birth without even giving him a name, Durable or ‘Able’ Six has come a long way. The name he’s got is the aftermath of becoming a nameless orphan left unclaimed in a workhouse of Dumfries, where his life was everything that was never nice, loving or pleasant. He’d shortened the silly name to Able later in life to give it some semblance of normalcy. After his initial resistance to death–hence he surpassed the first 5 ‘Durables’ and became number Six that lived—Able fought to survive. He fought hunger, abuse at the hand of his so-called teachers but most of all, he fought death to stay alive.

Able joined Navy to escape the workhouse so I doubt he had any big ambition but as Sailing Master Able Six at 26 he’d already climbed the ladder of success when it comes to HRM Navy. At least as far as success is concerned for a total nobody like him. No one ever heard a person becoming a sailing master at the age of 22 but Able had become what no one has been before. Hell, he’s someone so unique that no one probably had seen anyone like him in the past decades, maybe more, and likely won’t see another for a long time to come. Able Six, what you can describe in the simplest terms possible, is a genius. A prodigy if you’d like that word too. Someone with photographic memory. He’d read/see/hear, basically experience anything, and he’d remember every single crisp detail.

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It’s been a while since I read a Carla Kelly book so gathered it’s time to read something new. I bought her latest back in May 2018, which is book 1 of the new St. Brendan series. Then I found out that the H and h of the story were introduced in a novella in the anthology A Country Christmas. This review and rating (4.5 stars) is solely based on Carla Kelly’s “The Christmas Angle”.

Sailing Master Able Six maybe only 26 years old but he’d already climbed the ladder of success when it comes to HRM Navy. At least as far as success is concerned for a total nobody, a bastard (and an orphan) like him. No one ever heard a person becoming a sailing master at the age of 22 (I don’t know a whole lot about this bit of HRM Navy so I’m solely relying on the author’s knowledge) but Able had become what no one has been before. Hell, he’s someone so unique that no one probably had seen anyone like him in the past decades, maybe more, and likely won’t see another for a long time to come. Able Six, what you can describe in the simplest terms possible, is a genius. A prodigy if you’d like that word too. Someone with photographic memory. He’d read/see/hear, basically experience anything, and he’d remember every single crisp detail. His memory is like sponge; it takes everything and can reproduce when the need arrives. Detail by detail.

This set of Novellas starts out well with The Captain's Christmas Journey where Captain Everard is escorting Verity to her job as governess only to discover that her prospective employers are terrible people that he wouldn't let mind his coat never mind a human.

Eleanor advertises for a suitable gentleman to pose as her bethrothed over Christmas, Captain Andrew Padgett Stanton is waiting for the paperwork to declare him Lord Ravenscroft and meanwhile he's at a loose end. On half pay from the Armed Forces he's getting tired of relying on friends to help. Sparks fly and it's a fun read.

Lord Montague Pearse and Lady Juliet Sommersby are caught in a compromising position and have to find out if they compatable. An opportunity to know each other happens when they're retrieving mistletoe in the estate.

All the stories are well done and enjoyable but I really enjoyed the first story by Carla Kelly and wanted more.

Task 1:  Share a picture of your favorite light display. ~ I might be reaching here, but no man-made display has ever captivated me as much as the night sky (though lantern festivals come close).

Task 2:  Cleaning is a big part of this holiday; choose one of your shelves, real or virtual, and tidy / organise it.  Give us the before and after photos.  OR Tidy up 5 of the books on your BookLikes shelves by adding the CORRECT cover, and/or any other missing information.

Well, since I can never help myself, while searching for the girl with flowers covers I ended up merging one of my books into it's proper author, and I bet I'll end up doing some more, lol.

As for my physical library, I plan on an overhaul around Christmas, so I'll post pictures then.

Task 3: Eating sweets is also a big part of Diwali. Either select a recipe for a traditional sweet, or make a family favorite and share a picture with us.

Dulce de Leche!!

This is not an easy one to make, actually. I think we only attempted it once, it took a looooong time, and the consistence was not that firm (plus, I think we got a bit enthusiastic with the sodium bicarbonate)

Task 4: During Diwali, people pray to the goddess Lakhshmi, who is typically depicted as a beautiful young woman holding a lotus flower. Find 5 books on your shelves (either physical or virtual) whose covers show a young woman holding a flower and share their cover images.

I'm among those having a lot less difficulty finding women brandishing weapons than carying flowers among my covers, but children and classic books came to my rescue. Clearly, I might want to "make love not war" more reading-wise. If only I could find more romances that treaded better the line between crazy drama and blandness.

Book: Read a book with candles on the cover or the word “candle” or “light” in the title; OR a book that is the latest in a series; OR set in India; OR any non-fiction book that is ‘illuminating’ (Diwali is Sanskrit for light/knowledge and row, line or series)