Title: The Garden Intrigue (Pink Carnation #9)
Author: Lauren Willig
Publisher: New American Library 2012
Genre: Historical Fiction
Pages: 388
Rating: 4/5 stars
Reading Challenges: Read My Own Damn Books
Secret agent Augustus Whittlesby has spent a decade undercover in France, posing as an insufferably bad poet. The French surveillance officers can’t bear to read his work closely enough to recognize the information drowned in a sea of verbiage.
New York-born Emma Morris Delagardie is a thorn in Augustus’s side. An old school friend of Napoleon’s stepdaughter, she came to France with her uncle, eloped with a Frenchman, and has been rattling around the salons of Paris ever since. Now widowed, she entertains herself by holding a weekly salon, and loudly critiquing Augustus’s poetry.
As Napoleon pursues his plans for the invasion of England, Whittlesby hears of a top-secret device to be demonstrated at a house party. The catch? The only way in is with Emma, who has been asked to write a masque for the weekend’s entertainment. In this complicated masque within a masque, nothing goes quite as scripted—especially Augustus’s unexpected feelings for Emma.
Still loving this series, but I will say this volume wasn't my favorite. I was a fan of Augustus and Emma, but the pacing seemed very off. The ending felt very rushed and a bit far-fetched. I would have loved to spend a bit more time wrapping up the storyline and getting a better declaration of love the two main characters. I just didn't completely buy into their ending. Possibly we will see these two characters again... Can't wait to see what happens in the next volume!
Pink Carnation:
- #1 The Secret History of the Pink Carnation
- #2 The Masque of the Black Tulip
- #3 The Deception of the Emerald Ring
- #4 The Seduction of the Crimson Rose
- #5 The Temptation of the Night Jasmine
- #6 The Betrayal of the Blood Lily
- #7 The Mischief of the Mistletoe
- #8 The Orchid Affair
- #8.5 Away in a Manger
- #8.7 Ivy and Intrigue
- #9 The Garden Intrigue
- #10 The Passion of the Purple Plumeria
- #11 The Mark of the Midnight Manzanilla
- #12 The Lure of the Moonflower