Sadie was a new chambermaid in a shabby inn. This was Sadie’s first job. Two men came barrelling down the stairs and knocked Sadie down the way man paused to help her. She got up but her back ached and her head spun. The one man had been a labor agitating Bolshevik. The old desk clerk told her to go lay down for a half hour to rest after being hurt. Les- a handsome man had been one of the men who knocked Sadie over he is attracted to Sadie and feel he should go back and apologize to her for being one of the people who knocked her over. Sadie turns twenty the next day and he invites her to a party. Les works for the Secret Intelligence Service and he is undercover as a man selling American magazines. He pretends to be Russian at the party he takes Sadie to. Sadie is a little confused.  Les brings Sadie into his world as a cover. Les has Sadie to act as his wife. Then Les gets hurt and Sadie is stranded at the hospital with him until Les is released. Sadie knows she has to stay with Les or ruin her reputation. Les really likes Sadie and is sorry he ever brought her into his world. Les was ordered to fake marry Sadie and ordered to try to move into the Grand Kusse to spy on a Russian diplomat. Sadie eventually finds out her marriage was fake and why Les fake married her.

I did feel this was well researched but just wasn’t a story for me. I may have accidently picked this as I really didn’t get into this book.

Inside the glittering walls of a famous hotel, an ingénue experiences first passion . . .
 
As she stands before the gilded doors of The Grand Russe Hotel, Alecia Loudon is poised on the threshold of a profound awakening. It is the Roaring Twenties, and London is buzzing with opportunities for adventure . . . and indiscretion. The young personal secretary knows nothing of the ways of men, but a chance meeting with the hotel’s handsome night watchman sets her imagination afire.
 
Ivan Salter has noticed the quiet Englishwoman and wonders what delicate beauty might be lurking behind Alecia’s plain clothes. As the handsome Russian draws Alecia further into the hotel’s luxurious world, he introduces her to fine food, cool jazz, and forbidden assignations. Their dalliance is tested, however, by a surprising link between Ivan’s family history and Alecia’s bosses. Tangled up in international intrigue, the lovers must decide if their sparkling new romance is worth the cost . . .

A thrill seeker on the hunt for the next discovery tackles the biggest challenge of his career, a dreamer with a plan. Adventure awaits in the most of surprising of places with That Gold in Laguna. Ms. Hiestand sparkles with sizzling romance and fierce exchanges in this playful battle of wills. Rachel loves her family but yearns for a change of direction professionally. Her plan to make it on her own ends up involving a reality show, a treasure hunter and a total eclipse of the heart. Who knew the biggest adventure of her life lay right in her own backyard? Thor, Rachel and author Heather lighten up a series with spice and fun in That Gold in Laguna.

Uhm where did my review go?!!
Soo annoying when that happens. :(((((

So I shall just give a small recap because frankly I'm not into typing reviews out more than once.

writing style
Hiestand writes beautifully. I love her prose and her insight. I love the dialogues and the way she describes the setting.

character building
Just like in Redcakes #1 we get unique characters. I liked Judah's quest and how he tried to deal with his past. Magdalene is a interesting female heroine, who is not your run of the mill-historical damsel in distress.
It was fun to revisit the characters from the previous book, and very interesting to see them from a different characters POV.

plot
Definitely not your usual usual historical romance. It's set in victorian times and there is kinda insta-attraction but the romance slowly builds. There is alot of other things going on however, which I personally found a bit to distracting.

emotionally
So basically this is well written, I liked the character building and I think the plot is not bad. But- and this is what reflects in my rather low rating considering the quality of work- I kinda lost interest halfway through. I get why Judah was on his quest, I quite liked that, I enjoyed the bakery bits, even the social background stuff, still I found it all put together made the story drag rather than enrich it. And let me make this clear this is totally and utterly do with taste and enjoyment. So while I do think this is a job well done, personally I didn't really enjoy it.
Hence 2.5 Stars.

oooohh and as a total cover slut can I just say the covers of this series need to be redesigned. They really quite.. well... ugly .

Uhm where did my review go?!!
Soo annoying when that happens. :(((((

So I shall just give a small recap because frankly I'm not into typing reviews out more than once.

writing style
Hiestand writes beautifully. I love her prose and her insight. I love the dialogues and the way she describes the setting.

character building
Just like in Redcakes #1 we get unique characters. I liked Judah's quest and how he tried to deal with his past. Magdalene is a interesting female heroine, who is not your run of the mill-historical damsel in distress.
It was fun to revisit the characters from the previous book, and very interesting to see them from a different characters POV.

plot
Definitely not your usual usual historical romance. It's set in victorian times and there is kinda insta-attraction but the romance slowly builds. There is alot of other things going on however, which I personally found a bit to distracting.

emotionally
So basically this is well written, I liked the character building and I think the plot is not bad. But- and this is what reflects in my rather low rating considering the quality of work- I kinda lost interest halfway through. I get why Judah was on his quest, I quite liked that, I enjoyed the bakery bits, even the social background stuff, still I found it all put together made the story drag rather than enrich it. And let me make this clear this is totally and utterly do with taste and enjoyment. So while I do think this is a job well done, personally I didn't really enjoy it.
Hence 2.5 Stars.

oooohh and as a total cover slut can I just say the covers of this series need to be redesigned. They really quite.. well... ugly .