Against The Wind by Regan Walker – a Review
Links to order Against the Wind: Amazon / Kobo/ Amazon.uk
Against the Wind by Regan Walker is her second book in her Agents of the Crown series.
Description:
A night in London’s most exclusive bordello. Agent of the Crown Sir Martin Powell would not normally indulge, but the end of his time spying against Napoleon deserves a victory celebration. Yet, such pleasure will not come cheap. The auburn-haired courtesan he calls “Kitten” is in truth Katherine, Lady Egerton, a dowager baroness and the daughter of an earl as elusive as she is alluring. She flees a fate worse than death. But Martin has known darkness, too, and he alone can touch her heart—as she has touched his. To the English Midlands they will steal, into the rising winds of revolution.
Review:
Against the Wind begins with heart breaking tragedy for Sir Martin Powell. Seems his enemies were closer that he imagined and he suffers a terrible loss while in France working for the Crown as a spy. Once he returns a few years later to England at the end of his service, he finds out that there is one more mission the Prince needs his help with. There are murmurs of a rebellion in the Midlands, and the Prince himself sends word that Martin is to look into what’s going on and report back. So, staying with the Ormonds, whom we meet in Racing with the Wind, he decides on a night out in London at an exclusive bordello before he heads to the Midlands. Who knew that choosing the wrong door at the right place would have such a profound effect on his life?
Against the Wind begins with heart breaking tragedy for Sir Martin Powell. Seems his enemies were closer that he imagined and he suffers a terrible loss while in France working for the Crown as a spy. Once he returns a few years later to England at the end of his service, he finds out that there is one more mission the Prince needs his help with. There are murmurs of a rebellion in the Midlands, and the Prince himself sends word that Martin is to look into what’s going on and report back. So, staying with the Ormonds, whom we meet in Racing with the Wind, he decides on a night out in London at an exclusive bordello before he heads to the Midlands. Who knew that choosing the wrong door at the right place would have such a profound effect on his life?
Lady Katherine “Kit” Egerton has seen tragedy of her own. He much older husband died not long after their marriage and her sister, Anne, married a cruel man, the Earl of Rutledge. To complicate things, Anne had taken very ill and Kit had moved in to help take care of her sister. Anne’s death sets into motion a series of events that take the length of the book to come full circle. Seems Anne’s husband had wanted Kit all along, and with Anne’s death, nothing, or no one, would stop him from having what he wanted. But Kit had other ideas. Once she escapes his attack, she heads to the only person she knows that can help her. Abby, a former nanny to Kit & Anne, and owner of Willow House, an exclusive brothel in London. Of course Abby takes Kit in and puts her in a room where she can rest and not worry about Rutledge until she can figure out what she wants to do about her situation. No money, no place to stay and no family……….. Who knew when her bedroom door opened that fateful night, that her life would be forever changed?
Against the Wind is another wonderful story in the Agents of the Crown series. I think I’ve said before that I always feel a little smarter after I read one of Regan Walker’s books. She does a fantastic job of weaving her story through actual events of the time. From the author’s notes:
After the war with France ended in 1814, England suffered from great social, economic and political problems. Many of the major issues were the direct result of the war, but others were the necessary product of the changes occurring throughout society, some of which had begun earlier. The discontent that this change brought, and the distress in the lives of the working people, culminated in the series of events that occurred during 1811-1819, including the attack on the Prince Regent’s carriage, the March of the Blanketeers and the Pentrich Rebellion in 1817.
And, even as I type this review, fantastic does not do Regan justice in how she tells her stories. The fiction is brilliantly entwined with the history and grabs your attention before you know it. Her characters are always relatable and totally believable. From the footman to the Earls and Countesses, each character is tantamount to the story as she tells it. Kit is a wonderful heroine who has suffered so much loss in her short life that you find yourself rooting for her right from the beginning. And, Martin grabs hold and never lets go. If I had any complaint about the book, it would be that he kept Kit in the dark too long as to what they were doing in the Midlands, but, I also know that was probably the way of things back then. There is romance, more political intrigue, heartbreak and so much love in this book that you will not be able to put it down. And, I love the way she keeps her already established characters from previous books relevant. The next installment, Wind Raven, I believe comes out this year and I for one can’t wait!!! Again, Regan Walker delivers a MUST READ for any fan of this genre!!
Reviewed by Vickie
Copy provided by Author
From Goodreads:
I am an avid reader/reviewer of romances–mostly historical romance. And, since 2012, I am a published author of Regency romances. My work as a lawyer working issues across the globe gave me a love of international travel and a feel for the demands of the “Crown.” Hence, my first novels feature dashing heroes who are drafted by a demanding Prince Regent for “special assignments.” I hope my stories will sweep you away to another time and another place for adventure as well as love.
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