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The Orchid Affair Pink Carnation Lauren Willig 9780525951995 Books

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The Orchid Affair Pink Carnation Lauren Willig 9780525951995 Books

After sixteen years as a governess, Laura Grey changes career paths, attends the Selwick Spy School, is rechristened as the Silver Orchid, and sent off to France to become the governess of Andre Jaouen who is one of Fouche's protegees. Things go pretty well until she discovers a plot to kidnap or assassinate Bonaparte and put a Bourbon back on the throne.

Part of Jaouen's role is to keep track of the artistic crowd in Paris. After all, his first wife was a noted painter before her death. He invites Laura to attend which causes her to meet people who were part of her childhood. Her parents were a famous sculptor and a famous poet who dragged her all over Europe until their deaths when she was sixteen. When one of their friends, painter Daubier, is arrested by Jaouen's rival Delaroche, the plot threatens to unravel and make it necessary for Jaouen to rescue him, grab his family, grab the Bourbon Prince, and leave Paris.

Laura calls on her fellow English spies to find a way to get all of them to safety. They find themselves traveling with a theatrical troop as they make their way to the coast and safety. I liked the way Jaouen and Laura grow closer as they travel together. Being forced to pretend to be husband and wife adds to their tension but also forces them to learn about each other.

In the present timeline, Eloise and Colin travel to France to celebrate his mother's birthday. Eloise is apprehensive but grossly underestimates just how horrible the situation really is. Luckily, it makes her relationship with Colin even stronger.

I can't wait to find out what happens next in the present and in the 1800s.


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The Orchid Affair Pink Carnation Lauren Willig 9780525951995 Books Reviews

OK, the latest installment of the "Pink Carnation" series of romantic adventure novels is anything but literature, but if you've read thus far in the series, you know what you're in for. And you know that Willig's amusing Regency-era spy romps can be a great cure for the winter blahs, as long as you're willing to suspend some of your critical faculties, and overlook hopeless anachronisms in the behavior of her heroes and heroines.

On the plus side, Willig has a knack for a silly deadpan observations that somehow end up being very funny -- a case in point "Three whole days with Colin's charmingly dysfunctional family was not my idea of a romantic weekend. It was, however, my idea of an Agatha Christie novel," muses modern-day heroine Eloise Kelly, still sleuthing into the spies of Regency England. In the historical part of the narrative (which makes up about 80% of the book), Laura Grey has gone undercover as a governess in the household of a member of Napoleon's police force. "One could hide an army in the Hôtel de Bac and still have room for an amateur theatrical troupe, a haberdashery, and a few aspiring sopranos," Laura muses. That somewhat goofy approach to writing like that tells me Willig isn't taking herself too seriously, which wins her marks. (You don't read this kind of novel is search of literary style and flair...)

What loses some marks is that this time, the past and present narratives are so loosely connected as to make me wonder why she bothered. Eloise happens to be in Paris with Colin to attend a family event; a character who until now hasn't really surfaced in the Pink Carnation narrative happens to be placed in the household of a Napoleonic official as a spy. There's no real historical sleuthing on Eloise's part, and the connection feels a bit slapdash. So does the narrative at points; it's not as detailed as some of her earlier books, or even as well thought out as her recent Christmas-themed novel. But if you find a library copy for an icy winter's day, it's a great escapist read. I've rated it 3.5 stars and rounded up simply because it helped me pass just that kind of "blah" day, so rounding down felt too curmudgeonly.
This book keeps up the series tradition of interesting and amusing characters in 2 different centuries. The locale and historical characters and events are quite convincing and the plot has satisfactory twists and turns. Kate Reading's excellent reading fleshes out each unique characterization. The story flows very well and tugs the reader from event to event. Now I am looking forward to the NEXT book in the series. This series is fun to listen to over and over-- its very good humored tone and charming word play are a great company during life's routine tasks.
Lauren Willig's Pink Carnation series gets better and better as she introduces a new spy, The Silver Orchid. Laura Grey is a graduate of the spy school established by the former Purple Gentian and his wife Amy. Although this sounds a bit confusing, the book does stand alone on its own merits,although one would certainly want to turn to the other books to learn more. Although grounded in true historical events, it is the characters who become so intriguing, and make the wait between books solong. Willig includes a modern day story that frames the historical events, about a researcher named Eloise. Her story is also very interesting, so it is almost like getting two books in one. Each book is like one's favorite dessert you can't wait to gobble it up, but then hate when it's over.
After sixteen years as a governess, Laura Grey changes career paths, attends the Selwick Spy School, is rechristened as the Silver Orchid, and sent off to France to become the governess of Andre Jaouen who is one of Fouche's protegees. Things go pretty well until she discovers a plot to kidnap or assassinate Bonaparte and put a Bourbon back on the throne.

Part of Jaouen's role is to keep track of the artistic crowd in Paris. After all, his first wife was a noted painter before her death. He invites Laura to attend which causes her to meet people who were part of her childhood. Her parents were a famous sculptor and a famous poet who dragged her all over Europe until their deaths when she was sixteen. When one of their friends, painter Daubier, is arrested by Jaouen's rival Delaroche, the plot threatens to unravel and make it necessary for Jaouen to rescue him, grab his family, grab the Bourbon Prince, and leave Paris.

Laura calls on her fellow English spies to find a way to get all of them to safety. They find themselves traveling with a theatrical troop as they make their way to the coast and safety. I liked the way Jaouen and Laura grow closer as they travel together. Being forced to pretend to be husband and wife adds to their tension but also forces them to learn about each other.

In the present timeline, Eloise and Colin travel to France to celebrate his mother's birthday. Eloise is apprehensive but grossly underestimates just how horrible the situation really is. Luckily, it makes her relationship with Colin even stronger.

I can't wait to find out what happens next in the present and in the 1800s.