A Raven’s Heart (Secrets and Spies: Book 2) by K.C. Bateman

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Loveswept, Loveswept

Date of publication: October 18th, 2016

Series: Secrets and Spies

To Steal a Heart – Book 1

A Raven’s Heart – Book 2

Genre: Romance

Where you can find this book: Amazon

Goodreads synopsis:

When a bookish codebreaker and a dashing spy are reunited in this steamy historical romance from the author of To Steal a Heart, their lives depend on their ability to resist temptation. But fate is a mistress who cannot be denied. . . .
 
In the war against France, Heloise Hampden is a high-value asset to the Crown. She’s cracked the enemy’s most recent communication, and for that, someone is trying to kill her. However, it’s the agent assigned to protect Heloise who poses the greatest threat to her heart: William de l’Isle, Viscount Ravenwood. Heloise has quarreled with the man they call Raven since childhood, yet always maintained a chaste distance. She’s sure nothing will change, thanks to the disfiguring scar on her face. So why is she so enchanted by the sight of Raven’s jet-black hair, rakish smile, and wicked green eyes?
 
Nothing has changed. Raven still wonders how Hell-cat Hampden’s lithe body would feel pressed against his, but for the mission he must remind himself that the woman takes more pleasure in ancient languages than she does in seduction. His imprisonment six years ago broke him in a way that makes the prospect of love impossible. Still, his heart beats like mad whenever he’s within ten paces of Heloise, and he’ll do whatever it takes to keep her safe—even if that means taking her to Spain as an unwilling hostage. Protecting her from danger will be a challenge; protecting her from desire will be pure agony.

My review:

I love to read historical romance and have been reading them since I was 14. Something about them sparked my interest and fueled my obsession with historical romances.

So saying that, when I got the email that I was accepted (through NetGalley) to read this book, I was excited. It sounded perfect. Regency Era romance plus spies, the ideal read!!

It was, for the most part.

I liked the book and am interested in reading not only the 1st book but any afterward. But, Heloise got on my nerves. Raven is trying to protect her and she is going out of her way not to follow his orders.The Altamira Caves was a huge one. Raven tells her to stay put, and she goes, with an armed escort, anyways. At that point in the book, I was sick of her headstrongness and wanted to smack her and say ,”Listen to him, you idiot.”

I did like her, though. She had a fantastic bucket list. I loved it when Raven took her diary, was reading them out loud and then rewriting them. I cracked up laughing. I also cracked up laughing at all the mentions of her fancy undergarments. Heloise surprised Raven but having such decadent things.

Raven drove me nuts too. All his inner dialogue was about Heloise. How she was perfect and how he wasn’t. How he didn’t deserve her because of what he went through when he was kidnapped. When he was abducted, thoughts of her kept him sane. How he wrote her name, her name with his last name. Put his crest of arms, her crest of arms and what he thought a combined crest of arms would be. There are more examples, but I won’t bore you guys with them. After a while, it got tedious and at one point I said out loud, “Tell her how you feel, ding-dong.”

Other than that, the book was great. Heloise and Raven had a rocky relationship at the beginning of the book that turned into a great relationship by the end. They had fantastic chemistry together. The pages sizzled with looks and Heloise’s tongue wetting her lips (that drove Raven crazy). When they ended up having sex, it was off the page hot.

The end of the book was a little bit of a surprise, and there was a lot of action. People die, people makeup, and people do things that even they didn’t think they were going to do. The epilogue was perfect!!!

How many stars will I give A Raven’s Heart? 3.5/4

Why? Great romance with steamy sex scenes but Heloise was too headstrong and Raven was stuck in the past. Once he moved past his self-doubts, the book became fantastic.

Will I reread? Yes

Will I recommend to family and friends? Yes

Age range: Adult

Why: Sex and violence

**I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book**