Another fun romp though Napoleonic France.. the modern day story line is finally moving forward as well. Looking forward to seeing what happens - preferably to Jeremy. Perhaps Miss Gwen will send her pirates? =) ( )

Two stories in one – a historical spy-mystery-romance and a contemporary mystery-romance. While researching the lives of spies in the time of Napoleon, an American graduate student Eloise Kelly must make an important decision about her future. Although the plotlines made for interesting stories separately, flipping back and forth between them made the reading somewhat tedious. I found myself not really engaged in either story.

Perhaps this is because I have not read any of the other books in the series and had not realized that this was the 9th book of a series when I began reading. Although there were hints along the way that there had been previous adventures, it did not detract from my understanding of the story.

Mainly it was the characters I had trouble connecting to. I didn’t find myself particularly fond of any of them, therefore, I couldn’t build up any enthusiasm for their successes or despair over their losses.
Based on the wonderful reviews I’ve read from readers who love the series, I might try reading one of the earlier volumes to see if it is able to draw me into this series.

I received this book in a giveaway from the Goodread’s First Reads program.
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Our favorite bad poet, spy Augustus Whittlesby, needs to get to Malmaison to find out what top-secret machine is being demonstrated there. His ticket in is Emma Morris Delagardie who is New York born but an old school friend of Josephine's daughter Hortense. Emma has been quite a vocal critic of Augustus's poetry but she definitely likes the way he wears his pantaloons. She agrees to collaborate with him on a masque to be performed during the house party.

Emma is convinced the Augustus is in love with Jane who is the Pink Carnation. Augustus is pretty sure that he loves her too. Jane isn't interested which leads to some heartbreak for both Augustus and Emma who is sure that he will never see her as anything but a friend.

There are all kinds of fun hijinks at the house party as they prepare for the play, discover and steal Fulton's plans for a submarine, and fall in love. There are all kinds of misunderstandings until both Augustus and Emma decide what they really want and decide to take a chance on each other.

In the present timeline, a movie is being shot a Selwick Hall which has Colin upset. It doesn't help that his cousin/stepfather is hanging around the crew as is the man who dated and dumped Colin's sister just to get a chance to look at the Selwick papers. Eloise is coming to the end of her Fellowship year in England and has to decide whether to go back to Cambridge for a teaching position as she works on her thesis.

This is a fun series. I like the way it weaves a historical romance with a contemporary one. ( )

Eloise Kelly is continuing her research into the Pink Carnation. While at Selwick Hall a film crew is keeping she and Colin Selwick on their toes. As for the Pink Carnation timeline an American heiress is tussling with an undercover agent posing as a poet. Robert Fulton plays an interesting foil supposedly inventing a submarine for Napoleon's fleet. Both story-lines blend well together. ( )

Definitely not her best work. ( )