A License to Wed: Rebellious Brides - Diana Quincy

  A License to Wed: Rebellious Brides by Diana Quincy

Blurb: 

Lady Elinor Dunsmore made the mistake of falling for her older brother's best friend, who vanished after a night of unbridled passion. Six years and a lifetime later, their eyes meet across a Paris salon. Her friends and family believe she's dead, but Elle is very much alive. She's now associated with a ruthless general, who wants her to seduce the man who broke her heart in order to learn his deepest secrets. Is Will a mild-mannered scholar—or the notorious agent they call The Razor?

The bastard son of an earl and an actress, Will Naismith always knew he was an unsuitable match for Elle Dunsmore, no matter how powerfully he ached for her. And yet he almost allowed his desires to spoil her glittering future. After the agony caused by Elle's supposed death, Will has devoted himself to the Crown, but his entire life has been leading up to this unexpected reunion. As much as he still wants her, though, he must not succumb to lust once again. For his mission is delicate—and Elle is delectably dangerous.
 

First I fell in love with the description of the book, then, after a couple of pages, I realized that this is the sequel to Spy Fall which I really really loved and - this book is as good as Spy Fall and I simply love it!
Alright alright, lots of love for one, okay, make that two books, but really they are amazing! Strong and complex characters and imagine - they don't just presume and pout but they try to talk to each other and they acknowledge when they have been wrong and they apologize! They are not infallible, they are authentic, they make mistakes, they make the wrong decisions, they hurt each other but they use ther heart and their brain to figure things out and  - I must repeat it: They talk. To each other. About their problems. Ain't that something? Right!

Apart from that this is a fast-paced and well plotted story that is set a bit after the events that took place in Spy Fall. Both of them are standalones but I would read Spy Fall first because some things are mentioned in License to wed that are important parts of the story in Spy Fall.

We met Will, the hero of our book in Spy Fall where he was introduced as a friend of Cosmo's and, well, as a friend of Cosmo's. License to wed sees him in Paris where he discovers that Elinor, Cosmo's sister and his former lover is still alive and not dead as they had all been led to believe. Due to the aftermath of the French Revolution, Elinor and Will seem to be on different sides as Elinor is forced by a member of the French intelligence network to find out if Will, nice, sweet, well-mannered scholar Will, a simple numimatist, is the famous agent "The Razor".
Will they be able to overcome not only the differences posed by their current circumstances or will they be able to build the life they were meant to have if fate - and some less than benevolent friends - hadn't interfered?

I guess, I mentioned it but - I really loved this book! Both books are well written, gripping and imaginative - this author just made it on my very short auto-read/auto-buy list!

★★★★★