Dark, raw, and utterly addictive, A Lady’s Handbook of Espionage delivers a scorching blend of high-stakes espionage, forced proximity tension, and heart-stopping romance.

Ronan Callahan, once a criminal, is now the Crown’s most lethal spy. His mission for years has been to capture the elusive thief known only as Spectre – the cunning mastermind who has danced circles around him across continents. That thief is Isabel Dumont, a woman who rose from the Parisian gutters to become the Syndicate’s most skilled operative… until betrayal made her their most wanted target.

Forced into an uneasy alliance, Ronan and Isabel enter a dangerous undercover mission that demands a fake marriage and complete trust in one another – a dangerous risk when loyalty can be fatal. With enemies closing in, their sharp-edged banter and undeniable chemistry ignite into passion that burns as hot as the peril they face.

This is Kendrick’s most intense book yet – a mix of brutal history, vulnerable tenderness, and searing heat. Isabel’s trauma and resilience are balanced with moments of aching intimacy, while the constant cat-and-mouse danger ensures the tension never lets go. Fans of dark historical romance with espionage, grit, and unforgettable yearning will devour every page.

Read more at The Secret Book Review.

Ronan Callaghan, a spy for the Government, has been chasing Isabel Dumont (the Spectre) for years but he is irresistibly drawn to her especially when agrees to betray the criminal empire that she works for. They are partnered together on an undercover mission, will they both survive.

A lot of humour but a bit too 'fifty shades of grey' in parts.

Abuse, theft and violent murder.
The title of this book sounds lighthearted but in places it is gritty and violently dark. The head of The Syndicate is a monster and Isabel has been caught in his web for years. Known as Spectre, Isabel is an accomplished thief and assassin, a wanted woman on three continents. Tracked by Ronan Callaghan, an agent of the Crown, with a murky past, she taunts and evades him. However her attempt to leave her abuser sees her fighting for her life and eventually she has no choice but to turn herself in and exchange The Syndicate’s secrets for protection. But Favreau has plans to get his pet back,can he be foiled?
This reads a bit like a James Bond story rather than a historical but I found it an absorbing read.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you NetGalley for this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

This was different and a very fun read! Witty, funny, great setting of different countries in the 1800s, but mostly England.
Both main characters were great, so were the side characters, written using my kind of humour, greatly paced. When I first started this I did not expect to enjoy it this much. Would very gladly read a whole series of books about Isabel and Ronan.

This is an excellent book for a long journey or a day on the beach. It's set in the 19th century, but this is irrelevant, Callahan is a government agent and Spectre is a thief and killer. They are attracted to each other, but both try to resist. The two characters are a lot of fun.

I had no idea this title was part of a series so I can only look at it as a stand alone - are there recurring characters? I have no idea.

So, I read it in two days and it was gripping, a good plot, probably marginally better than normal, with characters that were a step up. Intense emotions and graphic with adult language. I liked the way we saw Callahan through his own eyes and Isabel's, but Isabel wasn't as well drawn in the same way. Callaghan's view of her was very much her own. A strong female character and a male who has been through the same experiences so they were well matched.

I didn't know the author is American when I chose the book but after a very short while, it was clear. She's trying far too hard to use British English to the point it was dipping into parody. We don't use 'quid' the same way Americans use 'buck', being one example. The names are also trying too hard - Earl of Kent, Ramsgate, neither would be chosen by a British writer. It just didn't feel British.

I found the endless repetition of the backgrounds of the characters a bit much - I read it, I know where Callaghan came from. And, while we're talking about him, Isabel constantly refers to him as dangerous but we only see him actually be dangerous right at the end. For the rest of the book we see him capitulate to everyone, Wentworth, Nick, O'Sullivan. Without Isabel's comments, he's merely an errand boy.

Now knowing it is part of a series, I'm not sure I would want to read more. The above observations are likely continuations from these other novels and they really annoy me. Did no one sense check it? It is otherwise well written and thought provoking, certainly about how far a writer can push their characters and for that I'm glad I read it, but I'm conscious of the holes.

I’m not really a fan of historical fiction books but this one blew me away
It follows Spectre the female spy Callaghan..(the British spy) is searching high and low worldwide for
They meet in various places and the sexual chemistry is off the page!! Katrina leaves nothing to to your imagination it’s all in there !!
The two are supposed to go looking for a sadistic killer named Faveraux he tortured her and beat her raped her and stabbed/.crossed her body with knife wounds and scars. Every inch of her body had a wound or scar on it from him she hated it
But Callaghan had kissed every bit of them and told her how beautiful they were and his body could almost match hers wit( all scars on his body
So they were a perfect match for each other
And the British government hired them to find Faveraux one way or another they wanted him dead or alive
But Faveraux wanted spectre alias Isabella Dunbaton desperately he wanted to destroy her one last time but Isabel wasn’t going to let this happen no way, he tied her up but this was under her control not his !!
Faveraux made his biggest mistake ever !
But did he realise ??.

Ooooh boy.

Let me start by saying that the premise of this book is genuinely appealing. I enjoyed following Ronan and Isabel’s journey, the way they danced around each other, and especially how their past and PTSD (please check the trigger warnings!) shaped them. It was touching to see how, especially Isabel, gradually learns to love and trust physical intimacy. While the plot doesn’t offer many twists, the development of their relationship was well done. There is maybe a bit (waaay) too much smut for my taste…

However, this book is filled with anachronisms - to the point where it became a bit of a game to spot them. I can understand the choice of a simpler, more modern writing style even in historical romance, but here, the amount of expressions, vocabulary, and phrasing that just didn’t exist at the time (both in English and in the French used by Isabel) is hard to ignore. The historical setting is limited to the surface: the balls, the dresses, the aristocracy… but otherwise, it felt very much like a modern, smutty romance dressed up in historical costume.

This was over the top in a James-Bondy kinda way. And pretending to be Victorian.

It was entertaining, but I didn’t love it. The characters were overdone, the banter was too intense, everything felt like too much.
Like a book written in all caps. In fluorescent yellow.

Isabel and Ronan keep bumping into each other in cloak-and-dagger extravaganza style: street chases, fraud attempts, near-death experiences — that sort of thing. They’re wildly attracted to each other but also emotionally unavailable and doing their best to resist said attraction. Mostly. When they give in, it’s all emotional explosions, fireworks — occasionally handcuffs or knives. The doors wide open, obvs.

I liked the parts where they finally started getting honest and vulnerable with each other. Luckily, there were more of those in the second half. I’m not sure if the second half was more measured, or if I just got used to that loud writing style, but I enjoyed it more.

My head is still spinning from this book. There are some side characters who have their own books (because of course this is part of a series, and neither NetGalley nor Goodreads will tell you that), but it looks like all the stories run parallel to this one — which is a very overwhelming concept.
As if I weren’t overwhelmed enough.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Broadly, I enjoyed this period romance, having previously read His Scandalous Lessons but not the others I welcomed the opportunity to jump back in. Ronan and Isabel's international chase was initially very fun and the attraction and relationship between the two builds, I was definitely invested. The second part of the book centres around a joint mission - this section of the book was less fun for me and does touch on some uncomfortable themes (which in fairness we are warned about in the beginning with an author's note!) - it just wasn't what I was looking for after the initial hi-jinks style build up and it kind of brought me down. Probably a me problem!

5 stars

Great book, quite dark in places. Isabel is the sister of an earlier heroine from the series, Emma, book 0.5. Isabel was inviegled into the world of crime by a handsome villain. There are some amusing scenes with the hero, who is a bit James Bond ish, in that he's working for the government as a spy. There a quite a few encounters over a few years until Emma seeks to find Isabel.

Isabel is a thief with murderous skills which she uses to her advantage. There is some aspects which I think almost needs a warning of self harm but generally I loved this book and this series. Lots of passionate encounters. I'm sad to see it ending....what about the spymaster general did I miss his book?

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

I had such a good time with this book.
While it is historical, the story is more focused on the action / adventure and romance aspects of the story, which I really enjoyed. The pace is fast and I was hooked. I couldn’t put this book down and finished reading in less than 24 hours. It gave me so many tropes I love to see - fake relationship, one bed, touch her and I’ll kill you, hurt/comfort to name but a few!
I hadn’t read any Katrina Kendrick books prior to this, but I’ll definitely be reading the rest of the series. I didn’t feel like I was missing out coming in to this one blind, I’m sure I’ve missed some aspects of the cameos without the relevant background stories, but nothing felt jarring or confusing.

Thank you to Katrina Kendrick, Aria, and. NetGalley for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I went into this believing it was a cute period / historical romance / rom-com (think Lex Croucher, Sophie Irwin). It’s historically inaccurate, the characters suffer from insta-lust within the first few pages, and there’s full smut scenes 30 pages in. I don’t mind some spice but there needs to be substance to the story, which this book was lacking, and a build-up so it’s believable. If you read just for smut, you might enjoy it more. I had to dnf.

The Lady’s Handbook of Espionage presents two parallel story lines, however it is tricky to work out exactly what they are. One seems to trace the redemption of Isabel Dumont, international thief and woman of mystery and the other on Ronan Gallagher’s pursuit of the mysterious Spectre. The lines are like railway tracks, they run together crossing occasionally. Whilst the story line is interesting seemingly with and the writing is of a high standard, for me there were issues with the language, the crudity and the underlying cruelty of the story, in particular that relating to Isaobel’s background and lifestyle. The author does provide a warning that the content might be disturbing, but as this is set in the Victorian era I did not expect the levels of foul language and implied violence. I would recommend the novel to anyone who is able to accept such, but overall this was not the book for me. 2/5

I am a big fan of Elizabeth May so when I learned of her historical romance pen name, I knew that I had to read every single one!

A Lady's Handbook of Espionage is the fifth Katrina Kendrick book I have picked up and it had all the elements that I have come to love about her books. It was fast paced, suspenseful and full of sizzling romance that had me entranced.

Ronan and Isabel were such a joy to read about and I thought they were such well written characters. The romance was absolutely incredible and was definitely my favourite element of the book. The author does such a splendid job of detailing certain struggles and emotions during the era and you can tell that a lot of passion and research has gone into this story. The romance was absolutely incredible and was definitely my favourite element of the book.

A Lady's Handbook of Espionage is definitely in my top five favourite historical romance books!

This was such a run suspenseful caper of a novel! Ronan & Isabel are two thieves trying to stay afloat and unite together to take on their crimes. It had me gripping the edge of my seat. Perfect mix of regency vibes and romance, suspense, and intrigue: highly recommend if your looking for a great escapist novel

"A Lady's Handbook of Espionage" centres around spies Ronan and Isabel- one works for the crown and the other is a mercenary. Their paths cross frequently until fully converging, leading to them working together.
This book was grand. I'm not a big fan of instant love or miscommunication, both of which I would say feature quite heavily here. I found a lot of the moments between the main characters to be repetitive.
I want to acknowledge that I haven't read the other books in this series so may be on the back foot and not as emotionally invested as I should be. Katrina Kendrick does do a great job of catching up a less seasoned reader of her work, without bogging down the central story.

Many thanks to Aria and NetGalley for the preview. All opinions are my own.

I am devasted if this is reall the last Katrina Kendrick book in this world. But damn, are we going out with fireworks! Seriously the flames errupt between Ronan and Isabel from the first chapter, and we get hot and heavy fast. But at the same time, it's actually over the course of over 2 years. This book spans the whole timeframe of the series in fact, and we get lots of cameos of previous characters (which was amazing).

This is probably the darkest, most raw, hottest, and most devastating book yet. Isabel has been so terribly abused before, and she has the literal scars to prove it. And we move from the cat and mouse game across continents to a forced proximity fake marriage to catch a dangerous man. The tension, the yearning, the FLAMES, and the banter are all exquisite. Tender moments mixed with punishing intimacy had me both fanning myself and wiping away tears.

These books have been utterly un-put-down-able. I think this one in particular would appeal to fans of Written on Your Skin by Meredith Duran. I'm seriously sad about not having more of these to look forward to, but I will always recommend this series and literally anything Elizabeth May ever writes.