Review: The Soldier and the Spy (Society of Beasts #2) by Annabelle Greene

The Soldier and the Spy (Society of Beasts #2) by Annabelle Greene

the kevin's review: 4 stars

I had a lot of fun reading this! This was a very accessible historical - often I feel like they can get bogged down in too heavy of writing to match the time period. This story had that historical time period feel while still having easy readability.

Plot

There was a great balance between the blackmail plot and the romance arc. I loved seeing them both develop and intertwine, especially towards the end.

Benjamin’s snappishness was so understandable with the reveals about his friends, it made all his grouchiness and resistance make perfect sense. August as well had solid characterization, with his devotion to his sister and his struggles with having to betray anyone to keep someone else safe.

The build up to the betrayal was so intense. Greene really wanted to make it hurt and ooof did it ever. Benjamin learning to let August in and trust him and the whole time he’s a spy! pls

Romance

The instant connection between August and Benjamin really worked for me here. It was potent, and a great balance of interest with chemistry that I really felt it.

The neediness, the desire, the fighting and resistance to their connection - all done so well. The tension ratcheted up with their back and forth flirting, the push-pull of their attraction, before they come together.

At the end omg pls August such dramatic romantic babby! I cannot. So many swoony quotes. The end was adorable.

Overall, this was a very enjoyable read! The romance was so precious and emotional, and the plot was exciting.

My one thing, which didn’t affect my enjoyment of this book…why are they so mean to Josiah! omg. Thank goodness I can go straight into Josiah’s book where someone will appreciate him.

or else.

Ellie's review: 5 stars

This book has such a fun premise: August is blackmailed into getting incriminating evidence about Captain Benjamin Flake, so he infiltrates his (super gay) gentlemen's society and has to earn his trust. Hidden identity/betrayal shenanigans is one of my favorite tropes. I loved the relationship dynamic: young, flirty, bratty MC and an older, grumpy Captain with a tormented past. What's even better is that the young, eager and inexperienced MC is the pursuer! They have immediate chemistry, even though Benjamin tries to fight it at first (you've probably heard of characters refusing to kiss because it's too intimate, well Benjamin takes that to another level). Their flirty banter was great and amusing, without being too cliché, and I savored every moment of it :

“Such silence from the old dog.” Weatherby’s voice broke into his reverie. “I understand it. People of your great age have a little trouble finding words. And you must be a little ashamed of having your life saved.”

Benjamin leaned over. Half shocked at what he was about to do, half surprised that it had taken so long, he whispered as a crowd of chattering ladies walked by. “You didn’t save my life. And this old dog knows more than enough tricks.” He paused, feeling an unfamiliar tremble of nervousness. “Tricks that you haven’t earned.”

“And what do I have to do to earn them?” There was a note of eagerness in Weatherby’s voice, one that made Benjamin tense his thighs and clench his fists.

“Grow older. Grow wiser.”

“I’m far too impatient for that.” Weatherby bit his lip; rose flushed to plum. At this rate a cockstand in the middle of a ballroom was not only possible, but likely. “Far too impatient, and far too talented. Take me somewhere quiet, and I’ll earn every single trick you have.”

Their relationship takes this little D/s undertone with a lot of needy, urgent, intense feels that make for some very hot sex scenes while still making sense for the characters. This starts pretty high heat, but the developing emotional connection is what stayed with me in the end. I only wish the big betrayal scene was a little more emotional, as I felt there was a lot of dialogue there, but I didn't feel the angst as much as I thought I would.

I'm so glad I picked this up. I don't usually go for historicals. Part of it is because I'm not drawn to the usual historical tropes, but also because I find that the writing style in historicals can be a little boring to me. In The Soldier and the Spy, Annabelle Greene's prose was very compelling to me and felt right for the time period while still having that modern feel to it that made it easy to read. Some lines were very poetic without looking out of place. The plot isn't overly complex, nor does it need to be. I liked that homophobia, while very present in the world, is not a big feature or obstacle in this.

Overall, this is a high steam historical romance with great prose that is light-hearted, but still delivers in emotional moments. It includes a lot of fun tropes (hidden identity/betrayal, age gap, flirty virgin MC1 with a repressed grumpy MC2) and executes them well. I'm looking forward to more from this author!

Note that I didn't read the first book and still thought it worked as a standalone even though it refers to events from book 1 a lot.

The Soldier and the Spy on Amazon