All I have to say here is that I loved this book so much.

I don't even know if I can explain how much I loved this book. My favorite book in the series for sure, I ended up loving it so much more than I ever expected. The best way to describe this book is FUN, it was truly so much fun. The kind of book that had some of the most ridiculous sentences I've ever read, but it works somehow. I absolutely loved our main characters, Alice and Daniel, and their interactions with each other. Seeing them fall for each other, but also realize that they were worthy of being loved had me 🥺

The thing that hit the most for me though, was the autism representation in this book. Both Alice and Daniel are clearly autistic, although it manifests differently in them. And seeing them being truly themselves with each other, after a childhood of being othered, was so special.

This book was cozy, quirky, romantic, a little steamy, but all-around so much fun. Sad to see the series come to an end but can't wait for whatever India Holton puts out next.

Posted on Forever Young Adult's blog on 7/10/23.

First Impressions: Third Time’s A Charm

I’m glad this cover falls in line with the other two and they didn’t mix it up at the end of the series. It’s pretty and girly and I love all the little touches that relate to the book.

What’s Your Type?

Spies
Fake Marriages
Only One Bed
Two Straight Men In A Crowd of Pirates
Learning To Love

Dating Profile

Agent A—or Alice to her friends, if she had any—is one of the top agents in A.U.N.T., a secret government agency comprised of people who can fade into the background: your butler or valet, your ladies’ maid or server. Because A.U.N.T. recruits from young orphans and trains them to be loyal workers, not much ruffles Alice’s feathers, and there’s no ugly dress or would-be assassin she can’t handle.

Alice’s greatest rival in the spy agency is the elusive and extremely capable Agent B, who has apparently spent the last few years undercover in the pirate Alex O’Leary’s home as his right-hand man. That much forced proximity to the rakish rogue has made the eminently proper and stoic Daniel Bixby a little…different than he used to be, as evidenced by the earring he’s kept wearing long after his job with Alex ended.

Meet Cute: Fake Marriage Of Convenience

Alice and Daniel actually met briefly in the last book in Bath, where they were both pretending to be nothing more than a maid and a butler. Alice is excited to learn she is going to work a high-stakes undercover mission with Agent B, until she finds out it’s the only man she’s ever thought more than two seconds about. Worse yet, they’re going to need to be pretend to be married AND pirates if they’re going to infiltrate a pirate party to search for a weapon designed to assassinate Queen Victoria. It will be the ultimate test of their skills.

The Lean: Competency Porn

Both Daniel and Alice are orphans raised by an uncaring spy agency, so their emotional maturity is quite stunted and they’re both secretly longing for a human touch yet unable to voice that need. It’s quite clear with every reveal they learn about each other that they’re equally smitten, and Holton finds the right balance between “just kiss already” and shaking your head in amusement at these silly fools in love. I enjoyed seeing the two of them, both quite capable, become more protective of each other while still recognizing the other’s killer strengths.

Dirty Talk

By this point in the series, you know that Holton delights in nothing more than a witty, pithy double entendre or euphemism, and her love scenes are true to form. There were some moments of sweetness:

He smiled, making her shiver right through. “You know when you open a new book and realize it’s going to be perfect?” he whispered.

“Yes,” Alice said.

“That’s how I feel when I look at you.”

However, my favorite “dirty” moments were when Alice just did not get the euphemisms everyone around her was using:

As Daniel returned to the washroom to dress again, Alice and Veronica shared a speaking glance. “Oh my giddy aunt,” Veronica whispered.

“Your giddy A.U.N.T.?” Alice whispered back, confused.

Veronica’s eyebrows gave a suggestive dance. “I’ll bet that man has a golden gun, if you know what I mean.”

“No, it’s metal, with—”

“And balls of steel.”

Alice felt like she had fallen entirely off the roller coaster of this conversation. “Do you refer to some variation of cricket?”

Veronica fanned herself with her apron. “I wonder if he would shoot me if I asked?”

Alice stared with concern at the girl. She was rambling incoherently and expressing suicidal ideation; clearly, A.U.N.T. had overworked her!

Ms. Perky’s Prize for Purplest Prose

Forget purple prose—once again I highlighted so many snort-worthy lines and scenes that I’m surprised my e-reader didn’t just ask if I wanted ALL of it to be highlighted pink. Some choice nuggets:

“Very well, return to headquarters and bring us back the information. But be quick about it. Any moment now, the Wisteria Society might—”

“Find the weapon and use it for nefarious purposes,” Mia said, nodding somberly.

Daniel frowned . “ I was more thinking they might—”

“Discover your identity and force you to walk the plank?”

“Make us play another parlor game,” Alice said, and both she and Daniel shuddered.

She nodded to the old man, then strode across the room, her bootheels tapping smartly against its wooden floorboards. Alice loved that sound. It made her feel like a capable woman. An intelligent woman. A woman who had this morning made an omelet without it turning into scrambled eggs! Certainly not a woman who had tossed and turned all night, trying to ignore visions of a bespectacled butler straightening his cuffs after having bashed a man senseless.

The pirates were my FAVE this book:

“Let us in,” Mrs. Rotunder called out in a voice as sweet as Mrs. Kew’s tea. “We only want to chat!”

“Chat you right off the plank,” Millie added, chuckling.

“Millie!” Mrs. Rotunder tsked with exasperation. “I’m trying to fool them into a false sense of security.”

“They’re spies, not idiots,” Millie retorted. “Well, not complete idiots.”

“Fair point,” Mrs. Rotunder said, and the thumping against the door grew louder.

Now the pirates were enjoying a quiet period, much in the same way the eye of a hurricane is quiet. Settled in the Ecru Drawing Room, they engaged in ladylike occupations such as needlework—“oh, stop sniveling, Olivia, I’ll have this tattoo finished in one minute”—sipping a few extra cups of tea—“dearest, could you pass me the milk jug, and by milk jug I mean rum bottle”—and attending to their correspondence—“I say, Hadiza, how do you spell extortion?”

We Need To Talk: Thoughtfully Fun

It’s never made explicit in the text, but I got the sense that both Alice and Daniel may have been on the autism spectrum. Some of it was definitely just the way they were raised by literal killers, but there were other moments, like the memories they shared about their childhood punishments, and Alice’s reactions to what she perceived as over-stimulating experiences, her issue with light touches, and her inability to recognize idioms. It made for a bit more of a grounded story than the previous two, mainly because you just wanted to see these attention-starved people finally get the love and appreciation they deserved from someone other than their favorite books.

We’ve already seen plenty of the Wisteria Society pirates, and their wacky hijinks were on full display in this book, and I loved every glimpse of their antics even as it exhausted our main characters. Please, someone, invite me to a pirate house party! I would love to play “the floor is lava” with them while trying to steal the host’s silver candlesticks. I also liked that our previous main characters popped in here and there for little cameos, tying everything together.

Was It Good For You? A Standing “O”

The ending made me happy-sigh, and I laughed my way through the book. It’s such a fun, inventive, and smartly funny series that has surprised and delighted me for the last few years, and the author gave it a happy conclusion. I look forward to seeing what new worlds India Holton comes up with next!

FTC Full Disclosure: I received my free review copy from Berkley. I received neither money nor peanut butter cups in exchange for this review. The Secret Service of Tea and Treason is available now.

DNF. For some reason, it was really confusing to me, and so I just couldn't get very far with it. It may be a lovely book for someone else.

Why can’t there be more books in this series! The wit and banter alone is so fantastic not to mention the premise is so unique.

I loved the romance in this story and loved that each book in this series covers different tropes and that they all connect to one main storyline.

Honestly, I’m just hoping India Holton writes more books in this world.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Much as I loved the world India Holton had created and populated with interesting, powerful and funny women who find happiness both professionally and romantically, this book did not work for me. I know I am in the minority, as Holton's books have everything I should love. Unfortunately, something about this book just did not work for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Berkley Publishing Group for this ARC in exchange for my review.

This is another excellent and super fun installation to this series. There are some good cameos from prior books to connect some storylines - but I love that these stories are independent and uniquely madcap adventures. The dry wit and humor that runs through these stories is especially humorous and the visuals continue to make me think of this almost as a movie running through my brain. I really enjoyed the relationship arc in this storyline and how that was an integral part of the plot.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC to read and review!

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 can’t 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.

|| 𝐁𝐎𝐎𝐊 𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐖

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗘𝗖𝗥𝗘𝗧 𝗦𝗘𝗥𝗩𝗜𝗖𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗘𝗔 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗢𝗡
𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗮 𝗛𝗼𝗹𝘁𝗼𝗻
★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

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!!

|| 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐈𝐅 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄
📈 Interconnected stories
🥧 Sweet romances (this pie is spicy though)
🕵️‍♀️ Secret Agents
🏡 Flying Houses
🏴‍☠️🧙‍♀️ Your favorite pirates and witches
❤️ The sweetest epilogue

|| 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒
Through this whole series I’ve 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 I’m obsessed. Book 1 was so much fun, book 2 brought all the spice, and now we have Alice and Daniel’s story.

Alice is tough around the edges and strives to be the best. Daniel fell first (swoon ❤️). 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 Holton’s 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!!

"“Reading is not a hobby,” she said. “It is a way of life.” 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 could’ve been executed better. overall, i don’t think this book was bad and i definitely understand why people like but it’s 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. I’d like to try it again at some point after I’ve had the time to read the whole series but right now, it’s just not for me. I’m 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.