#i'm so glad that they hired a women expert

[mermaidsirennikita]

ARC Review: The Lady Thief of Belgravia by Allison Grey

4/5. Releases 1/18/2024 (audio).

Vibes: Sydney/Vaughn (if you know... you know) otherwise known as spy/handler, coiffed gentleman/brassy broad, My Fair Lady but make it espionage and also there's fucking

Heat Index: 6/10

It's rare for expert pickpocket Della Rose to get caught--and rarer still for the person she's stolen from to hire her to steal from a duke. But the payout Cole Winthrop (secret operative/lord) offers is too good to resist. In order for Della to succeed, Cole must teach her how to pass as a fine lady--but the more time they spend together, the more they get under one another's skin, and the harder it becomes to imagine the day they'll part.

Historical romances with lite mystery elements are hit or miss for me, and espionage historicals... even more so. But something about this one--maybe it's the fact that it's a debut--made me want to give it a shot. And I'm glad I did! It's a run romcom with fun sparks between a sleek, cool hero and a heroine who frankly doesn't give a fuck about his deal and turns his world upside down. It really does lean in to the My Fair Lady/Pretty Woman vibes, which keeps Della from coming off as grating. There are some aspects that could've perhaps been a bit tighter, but it's a debut with a strong voice and a focus on the love story, which is something I've found a lot of historical romances with mystery arcs miss. I enjoyed the undercover spy stuff (I mean really, it's more undercover than mystery but that all blends together for me) and I had even more fun watching Cole and Della fall in love and break through each other's walls.

Quick Takes:

--Della Rose is the type of character I have a hard time buying into: a tough, hardscrabble woman who eschews high society and doesn't need a man!!! Like, great, but I tend to prefer refined ice queens or women who actually like... do want to fall in love. And there were points in the beginning of the book where I was like "I don't know if this girl is going to work for me".

But she does work, and I want to get into why. Yes, Della is mouthy and brassy and an extremely competent pickpocket, and so on. However, she also has deep-seated vulnerabilities and fears, and the narrative makes it clear that these aspects of her personality? Are really driving a lot of that brassiness. And yeah, she does actually want to be loved. She's a bit awed by the luxury of Cole's home. She WANTS nice things. She WANTS a soft place to land. She WANTS to be touched and kissed and comforted by this compelling, accomplished man--but she doesn't trust that she can accept all of this and be safe at the same time. She believes the rug is going to be pulled out from under her, and she's prickly and guarded in advance.

Which like--should be something we see a lot of, and I think many writers believe they're conveying this, but they forget to write in the character beats Grey adds. I won't lie: at points, I was like "Della, get over this shit, be with him". But then Grey would write something that reminded me of why this woman was being so difficult. Because she's like me and you and every other woman who's a bit too snarky and a bit too frosty because she can't accept love. And she can't accept love because she doesn't trust it. WHEW.

--This is a heroine-forward romance, but Cole is still a strong hero. He's got his own tragic backstory, it's good if not super original, and he is a very good spy and he is hot and there is a moment when they're outside and he has her up against a wall or something and he jerks his glove off so he can finger her properly and THAT. SHIT. HIT.

However, where Cole shines is in being in love with Della. Like, these two are immediately attracted to each other, but I super disagree with the reviews that call this instalove. It's by no means an emotional or physical slow burn, but it's also not instalove or fuck first feelings later. It totally makes sense that these two would fall for each other relatively quickly. They're spending all their time together. And the more time Cole spends with her, the more he gets all heart eyes--and why wouldn't he? Della is a cool broad! They actually have a lot in common! Cole has a competence kink, and honestly, he's right for it.

What keeps Cole from being just... besotted and without conflict... is a little shallow compared to what Della's dealing with. But it does what it needs to do, and I actually really liked a hero that was basically on a "I love you but no, I can't give you everything you need" level. Their conflicts actually did make sense to me. They weren't the most original conflicts, but they didn't annoy me.

--Della is one of those characters that is like, only looking out for herself... but also like, that one person who super matters to her. And I enjoyed that she had a female friend (who I hope gets her own book) with a consistent presence. I also loved that they were kind of scammy together.

Cole also has a friend and mentor, who's basically a wise older woman. I enjoy historical romance heroes who get advice from women who've been around the block because the heroes themselves are dumb and don't understand how their hearts work.

--There are a lot of cute scenes where Della is acting undercover as Cole's COUSIN and he's like, desperate to have her, staring longingly, watching with irritation as she dances with other dudes.... And everyone is all "dude that's your cousin...."

--Audiobook note: solid narrator. I think she captured Della's voice and personality well, while also giving an appropriate gravity and lovelorn vibe to Cole.

The Sex:

The sex is good in this one! It starts a bit more chill and light, and builds as Cole and Della's feelings grow. I mean, I really loved that glove moment. I really did.

But you also get some super good angsty sex towards the end. Della was super living on the edge at points, but it made sense and reflected her getting all twisted up in the game as she fell harder for Cole.

Also, Cole is one of those guys who corrects her when she says "fuck me" and is like "um excuse me I am going to MAKE LOVE to you" which really. Reflects their different perspectives on shit. Cole is one of THOSE but then when shit hits the fan he's also one of THOSE. Good for Della.

Anyway, this was a super cute first book out, and I definitely want to read more from Allison Grey. There were points in the last act where I was definitely thinking "Please pull yourselves together", but then... it did. I really liked how the book came together in the end. Yay! Always nice to see a new historical romance author dipping their toe in the water.

Thanks to Netgalley and Storm Publishing for providing me with a copy of this audiobookbook. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[shop-korea]

shanghai 上海 vlog: places to visit, michelin steamed buns, ferry ride on ...

SHANGHAI - IS - OUR

DESTINATION - TRUE

SHANGHAINESE

FORGIVE - SPELLING

CHINESE - MANDARIN

MAINLAND - CHINA

TAX FREE - HONG KONG

ISLAND - CANTONESE 2

HIRING - HONG KONG

MALES AS MY STAFF

MARTIAL - ARTS

WEAPONS - EXPERTS

RAMEN - NOODLES

PEKING - DUCK

CHINESE - FOOD SINCE

KIDS - MAKING SHUMAI

PORK - BAO - SWEET - 2

RAMEN - NOODLES - FR

SCRATCH - FASTEST YES

COOKS - BAKERS IN THE

WORLD - LOVE - THEM

HONG KONG - GIRLS

SPEAKS - ENGLISH

TELEPHONE - JOBS

CUSTOMER - SERVICE

24 HRS

LIVE - RECEPTION

RECEPTION - DESK

MY - PERSONAL

ASSISTANTS - SINCE

ME - PARIS - FRANCE

ALSO - 5 FLR - BLDG

MY - COUTURE FASHION

BOUTIQUE - WITH FOOD

2 - SHOWCASE - TALENT

RUNWAYS

THINKING - ITZY - AESPA

RED VELVET - GIRLS YES

PARIS - FASHION CAPITAL

OF - THE - WORLD

SUPER - TALL - MODELS

MALES - FEMALES

SHOWCASING - MY - YES

GOING - BACK - 2 - PAST

ROYAL - BRIDES

ROYALTY - CLOTHES

ASIA - AND - EUROPE

JUST - MAKING MODERN

TODAY - ALSO - EVERYDAY

WEARABLE

SHIRTS - SHORTS - DAILY

SWIMMING - SUITS

WE - WON'T - LIVE LONG

BEAUTIFUL - ROYAL YES

CLOTHES - OF - PAST

NEW - NATIONAL YES

COSTUMES - WE HAVE

DREAMY - NIGHTS HAI

DREAMY - EVENTS SO

WE - LIVE - LONG WHEN

WE - HAVE - BEAUTIFUL

OTHER - CLOTHES 2 YES

WEAR - LOVE - FILMS

KOREAN - CHINESE

TV - EPISODES

LOVE - THE - FASHION

LOVE - COMEDY ROMANCE

BEAUTIFUL - CLOTHES

2 - WEAR - ESPECIALLY

GALA - MUSEUM - YES

OPENINGS - BALLROOM

EVENTS - MASKED BALLS

WE - WILL - LIVE - LONG

BRINGING - PAST - LUXURY

AND - DECADENCE - LONG

LOST - OPULENT - ERAS

HONG KONG - GIRLS TO

EMPLOY - 4 - MUSEUM

JOBS - RECEPTION - AND

MORE - MY - MAGAZINES

WRITERS - RECEPTION 2

GOING - 2 - CONTRACT

ALLIANCES - SHANGHAI

TAX - FREE - HONG KONG

ISLAND - GETTING - HOT

PREPARINGH - 4 - MAIN

LIBRARY - HISPANIC OLD

MALE - WANTED - 2 HELP

2 NIGHTS - AGO - SO THEY

CAN - TOUCH - CLOTHES

YOUR - THINGS - AS - HE

STAYS - IN - A - STORE AT

LEAST - NO - SHOWER

HE - WANTED - ME - 2 GO

ALL - THE - WAY - WITH

HIM - THERE - OF COURSE

LAST - NIGHT - HE WANTED

2 - GIVE - ME - THE - THINGS

2 - COVER - MESQUITE NET

NO - NO - NO

AMAZON - PRIME

WATERPROOF - SELF STICK

2 - COVER - NETS - WHEN IT

RAINS - GLAD - ABOUT NO

TENTS - I - WAS - FREEZING

IKEA - USING - SMALL BINS

PLASTIC - SALE - $4.99

COVER - $2.49 - WE HAVE

NO - CHOICE - WHEN - IT

RAINS - PROTECTED - HE

WANTED - 2 - SUPPLY ME

WITH - PLASTIC - BINS SO

I'M - NOT - WASTING - $$$

BUT - IS - IT - CLEAR

BPA - FREE - BETTER THAN

IKEA -MY - THINKING - SO

TOLD - HIM - WHEN - WE

FIGHT - U - WANT - IT BACK

WASTED - HOURS & HOURS

WILL - GET - RID - OF - YES

CLOTHES - I - DON'T - NEED

FINAL - DECLUTTER

18 INCH - COT - SPACE SAVER

UNDER - SO - CAN - FILL - UP

SMALL - PLASTIC - BINS

IKEA - SO - ORGANIZED

ROSS - BAGS - MAKING

TENT - OXFORD - CLOTH

BULKY - INSTEAD - OF

SMALL - ORGANIZED

EATING - THERE - ALSO

WILL - B - ENJOYING IKEA

OFTEN - BUYING - $6.99

SMALL - MANUAL - BRICK

RED - WITH - DESIGN THEIR

UMBRELLAS - LOVE - IKEA

TIME - 4 - HOMEWOOD

SUITES - HILTON - OVEN

PUTTING - INSIDE ROSS

BAGS - LIKE - WENT YES

SHOPPING - 2 EACH ONE

MAYBE - FITS - NAUTICA

MEDIUM - LUGGAGE

MIGHT - FIT - WILL NOT

WORRY - STEP - BY STEP

IKEA - PLASTIC - OUR YES

ONLY - ALTERNATIVE RIGHT

NOW - BAMBOO - BINS - IN

THE - FUTURE - WITH MOSO

BAMBOO - CREATING - YES

ALTERNATIVES - 2 - PLASTIC

BINS - BUT - SINCE - FREE - 2

CUT - AND - WILL - GROW

AGAIN - MOSO - BAMBOO

75 FEET - 3 FEET - DAILY

CREATING - BAMBOO BINS

2 - SUB - PLASTIC - BINS

THESE - BLK - HISPANICS

ALL - THEY - WANT - IS 2

GIVE - ME - THINGS

HISPANICS - SAME - $$$$

BLKS - STAY - WITH - YOUR

THINGS - UNTIL - YOU DIE

BLKS - SPEND - MONEY

GET - STORAGE - BINS

SO - THEY - KNOW LACKING

MONEY - DJ - GIVE - ME

LOTS - OF - FOOD - ALL THE

TIME - BLK - WOMEN - ARE

SUPER - OBESE - USA - NOT

MANY - THIN - BLK WOMEN

OBESITY - SO - NOT - 2 B

DESIRED - BY - OTHERS

NO - ADMIRING - GLANCES

USA - TERRIBLE - BLK MEN

HISPANIC - MEN

ALWAYS - GIVING - YES TO

OVERWHELM - WITH THINGS

SO - U - CAN'T - LEAVE SINCE

U - HAVE - SO - MANY THINGS

CAN'T - ESCAPE - FAST

HISPANIC - MEN - GIVE MOMS

FAMILIES - HEART - ATTACKS

SO - MANY - THINGS - YOUR

MIND - IS - CLUTTERED

SAD - AND - DEPRESSED

BLKS - HISPANIC - MEN

KILL - WOMEN - FASTER

JESUS - IS - LORD

TRUST - NOT - IN - MEN

WOMEN - NON-VIRGINS

TRUST - ONLY - MOST

HIGH - WHO - CANNOT

LIE - AND - GIVES - US ALL

THINGS - 2 -- ENJOY - I SAID

2 - HISPANIC - MALE - ALL

MY - LIFE - GOD - GAVE ME

ALL - MY - THINGS - I'M - A

STRANGER - DON'T - GIVE

ME - ANYTHING - ITS CALLED

PRIDE - ALL - THOSE - MEN

EVEN - THEIR - UNDERWEAR

DONATED - ALL - THESE YES

FREE - FOOD - FREE - ALL

FREE - CLOTHES - USED

FREE - SHOES - USED

DJ - GOT - EXCITED ABOUT

FREE - USED - SPORTS

SHOES - DIRTY - SOLES

USED - BY - OTHERS

ROSS - DRESS - 4 - LESS

FILA - SPORTS - SIZE 8

FOR - ME - NOT - WORN

BY - OTHERS - HOT NOW

PREPARING - 4 - LIBRARY

[lewanarta]

No thoughts head empty just a former Polish ski jumper Joanna Kil in the Eurosport studio ♡