Merlins Maidens is a wonderful series, and this book, you get to see the mastermind behind the academy, Thomas Lynsley, and a former student Valencia.

Fate brings them together after 10 years, and they set out on a joint mission. The close proximity brings out some witty banter, buried feelings, and passion. This book had plenty of twists and turns and was very fast-paced.

Let's continue to have more in this series, please.
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Stars....4.5

I love when an author can take a "job" filled usually by men and reverse it where women are filling the position and rocking it!!! This series has been chock full of some pretty awe-inspiring actions and HEA.

This adventure includes the Marquess of Lynsley (Thomas), Minister to the Secretary of State for War, who created and cultivated the Merlins. They were is secret group of warriors to help fight to keep the country safe. He doesn't usually go on missions himself, but there isn't time to pull together a team, formulate plans and gather the necessities. Fate steps into his personal plans giving him an ally and partner, Valencia. She was once a member of the Merlins and after a failed mission and injury she retires to a remote island.

This adventure brings Valencia and Thomas together to thwart a plan by a French operative to destroy the English navy. It looks good on paper, but emotions start to interfere. This was a great story that brought together two brilliant strategic minds together, but each is used to being in charge, so that creates tension making it occasionally harder than it needs to be. The villain was crafted perfectly making you dislike him and wish him to the dungeon or worse. The final confrontation had me sitting on the edge of the chair. Brilliant!!

I have enjoyed this series and this one did not disappoint. Ms. Pickens brings a perfect balance of tension, drama, mystery, and passion to the story. She has deep and thoughtful characters that have you engaged and caring from the first page. We did get to visit with a couple of friends from previous stories in the series, which was nice.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are solely my own.

3.5 stars rounded up. This was an entertaining historical mystery/spy thriller with a strong romance plot. I really liked the unique setting here — the protagonists venture into France while undercover to steal secret military weapon design plans based on ancient manuscripts. The villain here is truly evil, and his past history of nearly killing Valencia during a mission ten years earlier adds to the suspense of whether he can see through her disguise now.

I had not read the earlier books in the series, but this could be read as a standalone. The only drawback is that I would have liked more flashbacks to Valencia and Lynsley’s earlier interactions while she was a student. It felt quite instalove while being framed as a sort of second chance romance, which was a little confusing (especially given the age gap) and tempered the romance plot for me. That said, their romantic tension, coupled with the external threats during their mission, definitely made it an enjoyable read.

Thank you to the author and Netgalley for providing an ARC for review!

Valencia is the best operative Mrs. Merlin’s Academy has trained, but an injury during a failed mission ended her career. Lord Lynsley founded the spy academy. Since Valencia left, several other Merlins have married. When an assignment comes that Thomas, Lord Lynsley, deems too dangerous for the girls training at the academy, he takes it himself. Fate steps in, and Thomas finds himself washed ashore near the village where Valencia has settled. Now they are off to France to stop the same man who injured Valencia ten years ago. Valencia and Thomas make an awesome team in espionage, and in romance. Feelings that were not expressed before come to the surface now. This is a page turner, fast-paced and exciting. There is drama, danger, tension, revenge, and romance. The is also camaraderie, humor, and a surprise or two. From the prologue where Valencia showed she still had what it takes, I was hooked. From there it is an entertaining journey to a successful mission and a happy ending.
I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley and voluntarily reviewed it.

What an adventure packed story! The chemistry between Valencia and Thomas is explosive! I love their back stories. I enjoyed the Merlins group and what they stood for. I received an advance copy and truly enjoyed every word written. The ending is spectacular!

This is just what I wanted in a historical mystery. The plot was well thought out and full of twist and turns.

5 stars

Probably needed to read the rest of the series to get a good idea of the powerful interaction between Valencia and Lyndsey. Valencia was an agent that got seriously injured by one of the french arch villains and spies. Lyndsey decides to do the mission on his own but gets shipwrecked and turns up on the beach near Valencia's bar. They go on the mission together and eventually their romance blossoms. Lovely story.


I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own

Quite a spy thriller, this one is! Valencia is a former spy, driven to leave because of an injury. Thomas heads the department and has grieved her loss. How he found her again was a very different scenario from anything I have read and the mission they go on is not for the faint-hearted. This is fast-paced, exciting and intense, both physically and emotionally. Watching Valencia work through her lack of self-worth and Thomas feeling his age (a bit) felt very real. They were not the “perfect” spies and it was refreshing to read. The characters were well written and believable and the climax was certainly exciting. Help from a source not anticipated was a bit of a surprise as well. I adored the last few chapters at the school , especially all the banter. Well worth the read!

I received this story for free and these are my own views.

This is the first book by this author that I have read. I only read murder mystery/spy books now days. So when I saw Spy in the title, I thought this one was for me, but sadly it was more romance and relationship than what suits me. There was some action but I found it a bit slow so I didn’t finish it. If you like historical romance with some action and suspense I’m sure you will enjoy this. I received this as an ARC and freely give my review.

"When a mission of critical importance arises, Lord Lynsley, the enigmatic head of Mrs. Merlin's Academy for Extraordinary Young Ladies, is forced to take on the assignment himself. But when things take an unexpected turn, he has has no choice but to ask for help from a former agent whose injury during a botched mission ten years ago forced her to retire from the elite unit of unconventional lady spies.

Can old wounds - both physical and emotional - be put aside in order for them to work together to destroy a new weapon that may give Napoleon and the French an insurmountable edge in the war against Britain and its allies? The mission takes them into the heart of enemy territory, where danger threatens from all angles, and to have any hope of survival they will have put aside old hurts and trust each other..."

I was lucky enough to get to read the first book in this series as part of the "street team" to get out the news about it's rerelease. This book though is the forth and ALL NEW book in the series about Mrs. Merlin's Academy for Extraordinary Young Ladies and I could not be more excited.