Beauty Like the Night is the first book by Joanna Bourne that I’ve read, but it definitely won’t be the last. (Somewhere, in Scotland, Redheadedgirl just sat up and went “what?” and isn’t sure why). This book was so good. It’s got a bad-ass heroine, a richly developed world, an element of mystery, and a delicious slow-burn romance.
For me, hands down, the best part of this story was the heroine, Severine de Cabrillac. She was orphaned during the French Revolution and adopted by a British Intelligence agent. She worked as a spy for military intelligence in Spain during the Peninsular War. Now she sometimes works as a spy, and in her spare time runs a detective agency. She’s cool and collected, a keenly observant, and has zero time for the shithead member of the ton who is spreading rumors he deflowered her (she was deflowered long ago, okay? And it was awesome. Fuck that guy). At one point in the book, she punches a guy straight in the junk. I want to hang out with Severine so badly. So, so badly.
The daughter of aristocrats, Severine fits in well among the ton, but her history and training as a spy means she’s equally comfortable (and invisible) among the working class. As a result Beauty Like the Night isn’t set purely in a haute ton ballroom. I loved that about it, too.
So Severine is living her best life, punching would-be assassins in the crotch and solving mysteries, when she’s approached by Raoul Deverney, a half-French, half-Spanish winemaker aristocrat who is also a jewel thief (more on that later). Raoul’s estranged wife was murdered in London and his twelve-year-old daughter Pilar is missing. Raoul wants Severine to find Pilar.
Severine doesn’t trust Raoul, which is a good instinct because, like I said, he’s also a secret jewel thief known as the Comodin. His family jewels (insert ball jokes here) were stolen during the Peninsular War and he’s been stealing them back, like you do.
Anyway, while Severine doesn’t trust Raoul, she also knows that being alone on the London streets is not a great situation for a twelve-year-old girl. While she’s working on that case, she’s also helping her British Intelligence family foil a plot to kill Wellington, and planning the downfall of the little shit who is spreading rumors about her virtue among the ton.
Severine never operates in a vacuum. She’s got a strong support system of family and friends and that made me so happy. She’s at a ball where said little shit’s friends are trying to make her miserable (not realizing that she’s a spy and detective and is probably armed and just junk-punched a guy):
She’d been waiting for a direct approach from Robin’s set. They’d sent Brandy to deliver it. She preferred this, frankly, to slippery whispers in corners.
He brayed, “Evening, Sevie, sweet. Evening, Lady Lucinda.” When enough heads had turned in their direction, he added loudly, “Lovely dress, Sevie. Quite the scarlet woman, aren’t you?”
Maman had taught her how to deal with presumption before she was seven. A de Cabrillac, one who had been a spy for years, who bore the marks of torture by Spanish guerrilleros and the scar of a French bullet, is not put out of countenance by a jumped-up fop strutting about in a ballroom.
She turned her back on him without reply. Beside her Lucy said coolly, “We have not been introduced,” and did the same. A duke’s daughter can turn her back with the clang of disapproval heard from Soho to Suffolk.
Lucy linked arms with her and they strolled in the direction of the dancing. “Have you seen the Lawrence portrait of Wellington? Lovely brushwork. The real man looks surprisingly like his portrait.”
Brandy was left gape-mouthed behind them. No cut was ever more direct.
Huzzah for female friendships!
But more about the romance. Because Severine and Raoul are both dangerous, not-entirely-honest people, there’s an air of two predators circling each other during their “courtship.” And by courtship I mean the pants feelings both of them have as they dodge killers and search London’s underbelly for Pilar.
Severine was in love once, but her lover died in the war and she’s closed that part of herself off. In Raoul, however, she finds someone who respects the fact that she’s deadly, and who complements her nicely:
“I will reassure you with my mild behavior. Now we hold hands. Come. Dance is a civilized art. It’ll take the taste of fighting out of your mouth.” His lips twitched. “You don’t have to like me or trust me, mademoiselle. It’s a dance, not a kiss.”
She surrendered–with reservations–to Deverney’s urging and let him lead her into the music, among the waltzers. His hand was light on her back, feeding tiny guidance to her body, warm and persuasive. This was not a bad vantage point to watch for a secondary attack. She could study every corner without being obvious about it. Deverney, damn him, knew what she was doing. He marked a slow and staid course around the room, a waltz of sufficient dignity to please the most starchy matron. He turned their steps to let her see what she needed to see. They could have been fellow agents, partnered together, working at the same operation. He knew, before she did, what path she wished to take through the dancers. He listened to her body even as he spoke to it. His awareness of her was as worrisome as whatever plans hid behind his face.
Raoul is an anti-hero, and a delightful one. He’s untrustworthy, but abides by a code of ethics that sets rules in place for his behavior. Both he and Severine occupy a moral gray area that makes sense given their professions. It also means that it takes a lot for the two of them to trust each other. That trust, and budding love, is intertwined so carefully through the suspense element of the book which unfolds in a wonderfully organic way.
The lust they share for each other is always present, however, and Raoul articulates it, and their relationship, perfectly:
“Never doubt this.” He stopped her. His hand closed around her elbow, gentle as wind and unyielding as carved oak. “I was thinking about your breasts the whole time, Severine. Your beautiful little breasts that were showing over the bodice of your dress.” His voice stayed steely calm but his eyes kindled to fire. “That’s why I kissed you. Your male colleagues can explain it to you if it’s not obvious.”
“I can see the obvious from time to time. I also recognize lies.” She sounded, in her own ears, like a sour old spinster.
There, stopped in the middle of the pavement, Deverney spoke softly. “You swim in a sea of liars among the criminals of London, the spies of Europe, and the nest of glittering vipers you call the ton. That egregious plum pudding of self-satisfaction, Robin Carlington.”
“I won’t talk about him.”
“Wise of you. By comparison, my kisses are wholesome as new milk. I am–let me be immodest for a moment–a sophisticated lover, a much-sought-after partner for dalliance. I failed myself and you. In the middle of what should have been a pleasant waltz, all I could think about was carrying you off to an empty bed chamber.”
“And theft.”
“I planned that for later in the evening. Larceny didn’t distract me from you for an instant. For that hour I was entirely a rutting oaf. I was greedy, when I should been all consideration. I offered you fumbling kisses behind the arras instead of flowers to match your beauty. Clumsy of me. An insult to you. Last night you saw me at my least calculating.”
“Perhaps.”
“Someday I’ll show you my cynical, manipulative side and you can compare the two.”
That snippet is just one example of the amazing dialogue this book has to offer.
Despite all that, there were two things that bothered me a bit about the novel. For one, there’s some slut-shaming of Raoul’s estranged, late wife. She was legitimately an awful person, but for lots of reasons, and her decision to have sex with whomever she chooses shouldn’t be among them.
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So while it’s not a totally perfect book, Beauty Like the Night is an excellent example of action/adventure in historicals, and it’s got an amazing heroine and anti-hero to boot. Now excuse me while I order the rest of the series.
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The rest of the series is fabulous as well. You can then go back and re-read them, and see where all of the characters showed up previously along the way during different missions. Great review!
I recently purchased and tried to read Bourne’s The Spymasters Lady based on a recommendation from where I read here on the site. I hated it. Hated it. Generally if I don’t finish a book it’s because I get bored. In this one the hero made me so angry I wanted to hurl my Kindle against the wall. Anyway. Has anyone read this one and also that one that could compare them?
‘The Black Hawk’ with Justine and Hawker is one of my all-time romance favourites, closely followed by Maggie and Doyle’s story (‘Forbidden Rose’).
You make this sound so good, Elyse, I’m almost afraid to try it for fear of disappointment. 🙂
@Ellie — sadly, I think that if you did not like The Spymaster’s Lady, you probably will not enjoy any of Bourne’s other books, including this one. Her dialogue and description can be exquisite, but her characters tend to get into situations that require superhero-like skills to get out of and they spend a lot of time keeping secrets (well, they are spies) and misunderstanding and manipulating each other.
Thanks for an enjoyable interview, Elyse. I liked this book, but I’ve liked other Joanna Bourne books even more. She’s one of my favorite authors.
I have read and enjoyed all of her books except for The Spymmasters Lady. Forbidden Rose and Black Hawk remy favorites. I just couldn’t get into The Spymasters Lady for some reason.
BUT IS THERE JUSTINE AND ADRIAN???
Ahem. These are the important matters. Inquiring minds want to know!
I enjoyed this book and am a fan of Joanna Bourne. I don’t read many spy books, but I feel she does them well. Like you, I felt the item you mentioned under spoiler was a bit off.
Honestly, Elyse, what took you so long? You only hurt yourself.
I read Beauty Like The Night this past weekend and loved it. I’m a huge Bourne fan. But I do agree with Elyse’s criticism, especially the hidden spoiler. That bothered me too.
@Mrs. M: Just a pinch of Justine, but tons of Adrian. He continues to steal scenes and my heart with his amiable brand of ruthlessness. What a darling.
@Ellie: the hero in The Spymaster’s lady is the wooooooorst and he’s only made more terrible because Bourne doesn’t ever rectify the power imbalance between him and Annique. I think Bourne redeemed herself for that colossal fail with The Black Hawk (in which the hero and heroine are explicitly equals from skill set to body count to bird monikers) and The Forbidden Rose (in which it is the heroine who pulls off the final dashing rescue and who has been, it turns out, pulling off dashing rescues the entire time). No one should ever read The Spymaster’s Lady imo, sparkling prose cannot disguise that awful fuckhead of a hero.
@Ellie: I too am not a fan of the hero of Spymaster’s Lady. He’s way too alpha and spends almost all of the book manipulating the heroine, sometimes by lying to her, sometimes with physical force. (To her credit, she does try to kill him repeatedly.) I finished it because I love the writing, but I find all sorts of things about that book bothersome. Most of the rest of the books in series do not suffer from those problems (although honestly, My Lord and Spymaster is just meh). The Forbidden Rose and The Black Hawk are true delights, though. I enjoyed Rogue Spy, although it’s a bit uneven, and I also enjoyed Beauty Like the Night.
I didn’t feel like Pilar’s mother was being shamed specifically for sleeping around, I felt like she was being shamed for being a bad person–for one thing, she used sex to manipulate and blackmail, and I felt like that was the issue, not the sex itself. It’s a fine distinction, I realize, and others might not see it that way
I also did not care for The Spymaster’s Lady, but this review and the comments make think I’ll give Joanna Bourne another try and read Beauty Like the Night.
Wow, this sounds amazing! Off to buy. Thanks!
I didn’t find the hero too bad in The Spymaster’s Lady, but I really didn’t like the hero in My Lord and Spymaster. However I disagree that the balance of power is beyond redemption in both books. What saved those books in my opinion was the fact that both heroines never felt outpowered and therefore I didn’t think they were being pushed around. I also saw most of the power in the Spymaster’s Lady as not being about gender/sex rath intelligencere goals at odds with each other. (It helps that both heroines are able to somewhat accomplish their goals versus
I really liked The Forbidden Rose and everything after that. (The Black Hawk is so good!)
Joanna Bourne is really good at writing about class in romance/historical romance. It’s one of the things that really drew me to her writing.
I adore Joanna Bourne and all her works, but of all her heroes,Gray from Spymaster’s Lady is my least favorite. I don’t enjoy the way he acts either and he lacks the humor all her other heroes seem to have.
I am in the minority who also love My Lord And Spymaster and Sebastian the hero of that one. He’s bossy but being a Captain who owns a fleet of ships it would be hard for him not to be. He has a sense of humor and he and Jess (the heroine) think so much alike they really make a great couple.
I recommend The Forbidden Rose to first time Joanna Bourne readers and I would be shocked if it didn’t become an automatic favorite of anyone who reads it. IMHO it’s a near perfect book with an amazing heroine and a fantastic hero. The Black Hawk is also fantastic but it means more if you read all the books that lead up to it. Bourne parses out information about the the main couple in drips, drabs and sometimes huge dollops in the preceding books (that jump around chronologically) so the payoff in Black Hawk is just SO satisfying.
So the thing about The Black Hawk is that it is undeniably better if you have read the books leading up to it, including, I must admit, The Spymaster’s Lady (Adrian & Annique!!!). But the truth is, if you have read enough adventure novels, you already know Adrian. He is every dark eyed, curly haired, street smart, foul mouthed sidekick a hero has ever worked with, except he is now older and sexy and (swoon) forever truly to love only one woman.
I’m just saying I’m excited to see Justine’s little sister find some love (and not just because it means more Adrian, but also because it means more Adrian).
The thing that was just odd to me was that Justine was such a huge part of Severine’s life it felt deeply strange that she would fall in love and yet we would not get to see the payoff of that adult sister relationship and her getting to meet her sister’s love as well.
I’m a huge fan of Joanna Bourne–her writing just works really well for me, and her entire series is on my re-read repeatedly shelf 🙂
If you love Severine, I would read “The Forbidden Rose” next, where you get to see her as a young child, and how she ends up getting adopted by a British intelligence agent. It’s my favorite of the series.
You had me at, “she punches a guy straight in the junk.” Click!!
Then I read the rest of the review. 😉
Thanks for all the input, y’all. I will contemplate trying another of her books since so many people said that the hero in this one was by far the worst. Normally Adventure Romance is my catnip, so I want to like these. I think that made the disappointment all the worse.
@Nuha “No one should ever read The Spymaster’s Lady imo, sparkling prose cannot disguise that awful fuckhead of a hero.” YES. THIS. SO MUCH THIS.
Joanna Bourne is one of the only historical romance writers whose works I will gladly reread. My favorites of hers are Forbidden Rose, Black Hawk, and Rogue Spy. Adrian Hawkhurst is the only character who appears in every single one of her novels, so he must have a special place in the author’s heart! He’s great fun despite being a tough, ruthless spy of the Napoleonic Wars.
I like the hints she drops about the subjects of future books (I knew she would do a book for Hawker, Pax, and Severine, or at least I was not surprised when she explored them in their own stories). The humor and romance and lust are done so well, as are the adventures. I know that her heroes and heroines can sometimes seem like supers, but I just think she wants you to know that they are THAT smart and clever and THAT good at their jobs: the best of the best. Even so, they get into dangerous situations and sometimes get hurt, and I like how she allows the females to shine, not fade into the background or become damsels in distress when trouble comes. And it always does in their line of work.
Her earlier novels are good but not as good as her later novels. I thought Grey was the arrogant alpha male one sees so often in romance novels, and I, too, wish that Bourne had reexamined the balance of power between Grey and Annique, and allowed more of Robert to woo Annique, less of Grey being a jerk–but I think she moved well beyond that in later books. I like that her males are not all alike, nor are the heroines.
I would have given Beauty Like the Night at least an A-.
SPOILER ALERT!!! (Do not read any more if you haven’t read BLtN!
I wish Bourne had had Severine realize at some point that Peter was really a girl under all that clothing without knowing exactly who Peter is. I didn’t expect Raoul to know Pilar at all because Bourne does not say that he had ever met her. I hope Pilar gets her own novel some day! She’s going to make a great spy or detective.