How can you say no to spies!

Still grieving the loss of their parents and their idyllic family life in Ardsley, New York, Lia wouldn’t have thought life could surprise her any more than it already has. But, with Coen’s unexpected arrival comes more questions than ever before for Lia and Tyler about their family’s mysterious past, but also—finally—the chance to maybe find some answers too. That possibility has them readily following Coen to Gaea: a parallel world which perfectly mirrored Earth millennia ago, though the two worlds have evolved to be markedly different realms today.

Can't say I've ever read anything quite like it, but I struggled to find it believable. I don't regret reading it, but I can't say I enthusiastically recommend it. If you LOVE historical fiction and romance more than any other genre, it might be your cup of tea, but if not, I'd say it isn't for you.

Mary and Gabriel are childhood best friends who grew apart when he moved away following his father's death. Years later, they end up working as spies for the Crown. Set in the Georgian era, the book follows the two of them as they embark on an assignment together to recapture stolen documents before they're given to the French. The circumstances that force them to work together didn't feel particularly compelling to me, and the band of "traitors" that they're trying to expose felt almost cartoonishly evil at times. There were loose threads in the plotline that didn't quite make sense, and the cast of villains was difficult to keep track of at times. That being said, there was an element of suspense in the story that worked well, the period details felt accurate, and the romantic relationship between Mary and Gabriel was overall good.

I'd give the book a solid 2.5-3.