Member Reviews
Thank you SO MUCH to Berkley Romance and Netgalley for providing an advanced copy of this. All thoughts and opinions are still my own.
Hands down one of my favorite series of all time. I don't think any other historical romance will live up to my love for this series.
Since book 1, I've fallen head over heels in love with these characters and this world. India Holton built such a fun, quirky, and lovable world.
This book follows a secret society of undercover spies (Butlers, Maids, Cooks, and other employees who go unnoticed). We follow the top 2 spies in the organization as they try and infiltrate the Wisteria Society by pretending to be a pirate couple.
Just like in the previous books, these characters are witty, charismatic, and laugh out loud hilarious. Bixby's dry humor and likelihood to miss jokes makes him such a fun character to follow. The banter between him and Alice was everything I've come to expect and enjoy in this series.
But I think my favorite part of this entire book was the ending. The way Bixby fights for Alice broke me in ways I wasn't expecting (I cried. Through like 4 chapters). And on top of that, the final scene where all the characters came together... beautiful.
I'm going to miss these characters so much but I can't wait to see where India Holton goes next!
I'm dnfing this one for now, I'm 10% in and just lost. I didn't realize this was a series so I'm going to go back and read the first two books and come back to this!
Thank you netgalley!
THE SECRET SERVICE OF TEA AND TREASON brings us back into the world of witches, pirates, and spies. And, oh, how much fun it is to be back. Holton has an amazing ability to infuse her stories with heart, romance, and humor, all while throwing around some impressive supernatural whimsy.
This is now the third book in the Dangerous Damsels series I have read. Each couple met has made me fall in love with them. However, I think it is Alice and Daniel who stole my heart. These book-loving spies are such a perfect pair that the reader canโt help but hope for a happy ending for our agents.
As with the others, THE SECRET SERVICE OF TEA AND TREASON brings a cast of characters with larger-than-life personalities and pirate antics to make anyone want to join the fun. Though, I might want to pass on the more explosive games. If you are the type of reader who likes to be entertained from beginning to end, then this is the book for you. I cannot express how much I love this book and this series.
PS. It was also great to see Cecilia, Ned, Charlotte, and Alex in this story. I always love learning what they are up to now.
|| ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐
๐ง๐๐ ๐ฆ๐๐๐ฅ๐๐ง ๐ฆ๐๐ฅ๐ฉ๐๐๐ ๐ข๐ ๐ง๐๐ ๐๐ก๐ ๐ง๐ฅ๐๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ก
๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฎ ๐๐ผ๐น๐๐ผ๐ป
โ
โ
โ
โ
โ
We are back again into this quirky, fun, and romantic world! India always makes me laugh and her writing style is so unique and I have enjoyed this series so much!!
|| ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐
๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐
๐ Interconnected stories
๐ฅง Sweet romances (this pie is spicy though)
๐ต๏ธโโ๏ธ Secret Agents
๐ก Flying Houses
๐ดโโ ๏ธ๐งโโ๏ธ Your favorite pirates and witches
โค๏ธ The sweetest epilogue
|| ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
Through this whole series Iโve loved the mash up of fantasy, historical fiction/romance, the way our characters think and talk. Like I said India has a unique writing style and Iโm obsessed. Book 1 was so much fun, book 2 brought all the spice, and now we have Alice and Danielโs story.
Alice is tough around the edges and strives to be the best. Daniel fell first (swoon โค๏ธ). These two have to become fake married to infiltrate a pirate affair. There are hijinks galore. We see our favorites from the other books. This book brings all the sweetness to end this series, and the epilogue keeps it going. Alice and Daniel are little cinnamon rolls at heart and the way they feel about each other makes me so happy. This was a perfect ending!
Thank you to @berkleyromance always for the E-ARC!
India Holtonโs books never disappoint!!! No one is ever quite what they seem! Alice + Bixby have my whole heart! This was the perfect end to this series.
Read if you love:
- rivals to lovers
- pirates, witches, and SPIES
- Victorian England
- magical realism
- sleuthing
- allll the shenanigans
*Received as a free ARC*
When I started this book I did not realize that it was part of a series. This made the entire experience a little chaotic. The premise was rather wild, but I enjoyed it. The characters were vivid and well thought out. I find myself now wanting to read the rest. I'd highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to enjoy chaotic magical Victorian pirates and spies.
This series is everythinggg to me. I love how witty and fun each character is, and I love the spies/pirates/witches twist of a classic historical romance. India Holton's books are laugh-out-loud funny, and add the fake dating trope onto that made this a 5 star.
I absolutely adored this installment of the series. We got to see characters from the previous books, while learning more about our current characters. The witches, pirates, flying houses a scandalous secrets were to be had and I had so much fun reading this one! I think it might even be my favorite in the series!
I absolutely love this series!! It just keeps getting better, thank you India Holton for this light, fun, flirty series!!
"โReading is not a hobby,โ she said. โIt is a way of life.โ He was silent a moment as he considered this, then he nodded in agreement."
This series is just so fun, mixing historical romance, whimsy with flying houses, pirates and spy games.
They were in a fake marriage set up as a cover but then there were some intimacy experiments to help her be more comfortable that got pretty steamy. Was def different than the books she had read They were trying to sus out an assassination plot.
Loved the pirate house party and all of their interesting rules and faux paus. They were very entertaining.
Thank you berkleyromance for the e-ARC for my honest and voluntary review.
i think this book was pretty good but maybe not the one for me. some parts of this book were very and confusing and made this book difficult to read. while there were some humorous parts a lot of it seemed force and this book really struggled to keep my attention.
i really like plot, idea, and the characters personalities of this book but i do think it couldโve been executed better. overall, i donโt think this book was bad and i definitely understand why people like but itโs not the book for me.
DNF. I really liked the premise but the writing did not work for me at all. It wouldn't be fair to the book if I finished reading and gave it a low rating.
Fun concept but a little too formulaic and precious for me to hand past 20%. May have been more invested if had read previous books in series and had more attachment to characters. Iโd like to try it again at some point after Iโve had the time to read the whole series but right now, itโs just not for me. Iโm sure those who have had a chance to take in the whole story will enjoy it!
I received a copy of this book for review from NetGalley. This book is charming, delightful, fluffy, and so very quotable. I adore Alice and Daniel, and their adventure was full of action, pirates, flying houses, explosions, and so many literary jokes. I cackled, and it was glorious. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute, and I would definitely read this again.
I adored The Secret Service of Tea and Treason. Itโs whimsical and fun and just a delight the whole way through. This cast of characters are so endearing and the world Holton created in this series is so enchanting. This book and this series as a whole will be one I reread often.
This had me with โtwo rival spiesโ โฆ India Holtonโs latest is zany, inventive and fantastically fun. an absolute must-read.
*Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC.*
This third book in the series by India Holton is completely witty and dangerously good. Just like the first two books, The Secret Service of Tea and Treason, is captivating and clever. The main characters Bixby and Alice are fun but also complicated, given childhoodโs raised by spies and being treated like weapons but their interactions in the pursuit of investigating the pirates leads them to new thoughts and ideas. And as they spend time with each other, feelings develop. The romance is handled well and the villain of the piece is unexpected as is the resolution of the story.ย
One of the best parts of the book is the message of being true to yourself despite what people and the world will force you to be. Daniel Bixby and Alice have to learn that it is okay to accept love and learn to be true to themselves. They also learn that they can change even late in life and learn to be happy. The dialogue is witty but the story is beautiful. If you like novels that are witty and dangerously good, I recommend checking out this book but you may want to check out the first two books first.
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a reader who loves Victorian literature must be in want of this hilarious cozy romance/fantasy/mystery read!
I had the best time reading this series. Itโs the perfect blend of everything that I love in a book. โค๏ธ The Secret Service of Tea and Treason is book three in India Holton's amazing Dangerous Damsels series. Book one features pirates, book 2 witches and book three now gives us spies!
Everybody knows itโs the servants that know all, so it seems the logical conclusion that they are all actually spies. Here Daniel (Alexโs former Butler) and Alice(a maid who just happened to save the day for Charlotte) are revealed to be the top spies for the crown. Now tasked with going undercover as pirates they must work together without giving into their attraction for each other. How do you think that will turn out? ๐
Alice and Daniel are both delightfully neurodivergent coded in ways that as a neurodivergent reader resonated with me as relatable without falling into quirky reductionist stereotypes. We see their strengths and their weaknesses which made me root for them all the more.
I canโt get enough of these books. They may not be for everyone, but they are exactly the books I didnโt know I needed. Read them!
Thanks to @berkleyromance and @netgalley for providing me an eARC of Secret Service of Tea and Treason for this fair review.
This series is absurd in the best possible way. Holton has created a ridiculous world where you never quite know whatโll happenโฆ but you know itโll be entertaining. Alice and Daniel were delightful, with Aliceโs penchant for literalism particularly funny given Holtonโs prose. The two had lots of chemistry and also had to deal with significant traumas. I liked seeing a different aspect of the society - more focused on the โdownstairsโ folks.
Thank you for the free book @berkleyromance!! #penguinrandomhousepartner #berkleyIG #BerkleyBookstagram
๐ป๐๐ ๐บ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐บ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ป๐๐ ๐๐๐
๐ป๐๐๐๐๐๐
โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ๐ซ
๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ ๐ถ๐ณ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐น๐ถ๐ธ๐ฒ: fake marriage, historical romance, workplace, one bed trope
๐ง๐ปโโ๏ธโ๐ ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ฌ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ข ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฌ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐ช๐ป๐ฆ ๐ช๐ต'๐ด ๐จ๐ฐ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ง๐ฆ๐ค๐ต?"
๐ฉ๐ปโ๐ฌ๐ฒ๐"
๐ง๐ปโโ๏ธโ๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ต'๐ด ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ ๐ง๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ญ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฌ ๐ข๐ต ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ"
aaaand letโs all swoon! โค๏ธ
This one was entertaining but I think that I really struggle with regency/ historical romances plainly based on how theyโre written sometimes so it did take me awhile to finish this.
It has some spice and it was written in such a cute way hahaha I donโt want to say anything about it anymore other than that for fear of spoiling lol but that one bed scene was very cute and entertaining to read. ๐
So basically we have two top agents with the sole mission of protecting the Queen from assassination. But in order for them to do that, they have to infiltrate a party as a married couple and here youโll be introduced to the cutest fake dating setup ๐
Itโs so hard to say anything more about this because itโs part of the series but defintely go check this out! I havenโt read the first two books and it didnโt affect my enjoyment for this book. โค๏ธ
๐ญ Whatโs your current read?
โ๏ธ So friends, life had been really busy to me. Iโve only read 4! omg. I plan to start True Love Experiment today and I plan to finish Said No One Ever on audio while I tackle the bedroom and closet.
๐ญ Ooooh, another QOTD for you, how do you declutter your closet? Do you have any organization items that were game changers? Please send me their links! ๐