Cover Image: Lady Spy

Lady Spy

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Member Reviews

A Massive Thank You to the Author, the Publisher and NetGalley for giving me the chance to read and review this book prior to its release date.

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I need to go back and read the first three books in this series because if this is wat the world looks like now I would love to see what it looked like from the first page. You can tell that a lot of care went into making this the series that it is today and I can't wait to read more.

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This story was captivating; the characters felt real and were compelling. I was able to connect with their motives which made the plot far easier to follow and enjoy. It was somewhat formulaic, but that’s not an issue for me since I love reading the same story ideas in different forms. It was a little long, but the story was engaging enough that it didn’t bother me.

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This was a great book! I did not want to put it down. The characters in this books were really likeable and interesting, and made the engaging plot even more interesting. Overall I would definitely buy a physical copy when I have the chance, and would 100% recommend this book to friends who love fantasy! 5 stars!

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I enjoyed the different perspective in this book, it was nice to see a whole new side of the Serving magic world. I found the main character and the love interest to be compelling and you spend the whole time rooting for them. The writing is a bit simplistic but it is a great, friendly YA fantasy. If you liked the other books in the series then you will for sure like this one as well.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily

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Firstly: I haven't read any of the previous books in this series. Secondly: I didn't finish this book. Bear both of those things in mind when it comes to the rest of my review. Before I began reading, I read someone else's review that had a brief summary of other books and also said that this one was okay to read without context as everything was explained anyway. It is true that I did not need the context of the previous books to understand what was happening, in fact, I think I got too much explanation. I got to chapter 4 (page 54) before I gave up. I understood the plot just fine, but I didn't care about it. Maybe, perhaps, if I had read the other books I would have a vested interest in the characters already, but I doubt it. The protagonist was very 2-dimensional and bland. The supporting characters were not very good at supporting. I guess I couldn't connect to this book on any wavelength. Even though I only got to page 54, I'm pretty sure I could still tell you what happens in the rest of the book. I could say more about it, but it wouldn't be very constructive. This might also be better suited for a younger teen audience rather than a young adult audience as the language and writing style is more elementary than I was expecting and so was the content (characters, plot, setting).If this is the fourth book in the series then the author must have an audience who enjoys it, it's just not me. If you're interested in this book, maybe start at the beginning of the series and hopefully that will help with a few of the problems I have.

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Lady Spy is the fourth book in a series, which I didn’t realize. I’m going back and reading the other books so I can understand this one.
Many thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

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This is a solid fantasy. It is the fourth in a series in which I have not read the first three. It wasn’t necessary to read them to understand what was going on but it is obvious that some context is missing. There is action, a bit of mystery, decent world-building, and a little romance.

Mara is a strong character, a skilled spy and warrior, has great loyalty to her country and friends and is compassionate. However, she is not perfect. I like characters like this. Now she has to train a handsome and powerful fay mage in the ways of being a spy. Arnesto is a bit impulsive and very much not adjusted to human culture. However, he is willing to learn. Needless to say, that leads to some uncomfortable situations.

But these are small things compared to the threats to both Mara and Arnesto’s countries. They must work together to defeat necromancers, dark fay, power hungry politicians and intolerance.
I enjoyed this book. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

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Magic, Half breeds, good fay, evil fay, and war. This story if everything you expect from a story of magic. I read it as a stand alone even though it is book 4 (or 5 if you count the prequel) in a series. The story wraps up with a solid ending, but the reader knows that there is more to come. The only regret I have for reading this is that the next book isn’t available yet.

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Absolutely loved this author's writing style. Didn't realize this book was the middle in an on-going series, just loved the title Lady Spy, but you should probably back up and read from beginning of series if you like strong female paranormal spy books. The series is currently free on Amazon with Kindle Unlimited. The story follows, Mara, a spy located in what feels like a steampunk version of NYC or London wandering around trying to figure out what is happening to her werewolf friends. First, they are being experimented on by a sinister doctor. Then people start turning up dead as the mystery gets deeper. The story is light-hearted and fun, more Sherlock Holmes caper than deep mysteries of the universe, but sometimes that can be a nice break. Perfect for an evening off to relax. Look forward to seeing what the next book in the series brings.

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Lady Spy is the fourth part in the Serving Magic series. I have read the previous books and enjoyed them mostly. For me it fell into the pattern of overly formulaic/ predictable YA fantasy. There was a lot of unecessary backfilling of worldbuilding that has already been well covered in the previous books in the series. There is a romance plotline, but its mostly secondary to the overall fantasy/ worldbuilding narrative, so if a detailed romance is what you are looking for, this might not be the book for you. Having said that, it is enjoyable for what it is. An easy read to fill an afternoon.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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This book was fine. It will most be enjoyed by fans of repetitive young adult fantasy romance with more action than character development, and readers who like novelizations of games.

The story is mostly formulaic and unimaginative (with a character named King Roi - King King, really?). The narrative reminds me a lot of the books of R.A. Salvatore, but without the compelling character of Drizzt. It feels like it is based on a game (or perhaps the author would like to see it become a game). I haven't read the first three books and it felt to me like there was a lot of unnecessary filling in of backstory from previous books.

I dub this fun and forgettable. Perhaps I would have liked it more if I'd read the first three books in the series, but I doubt it.

I read an advance reader copy from Netgalley.

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I was provided this book as an ARC via NetGalley and BooksGoSocial - thank you for this!

**This review may have spoilers from previous books, but will not contain spoilers for this installment.**

Lady Spy is the fourth book in a fantasy series, set in a world where three factions - the country of Valerra (humans with some prevalence of Serving Magic), the country of Glenbarra (humans with some prevalence of necromancy), and the fay of Havynweal (a combination plus elemental magic) - are the main players. In the earlier books, Glenbarra took over Valerra, and an underground resistance, aided by the fay, ousted them and ragained control of Valerra.

This book picks up after the war, following the story of Mara, a spy who was part of the main resistance group and played a major role in the defeat of the Glenbarrans. Mara is pulled in to help train a fay scout, Arnesto, brother of a friend and fellow resistance veteran. Mara and Arnesto are quickly pulled into a conspiracy that points towards a new enemy, and must work together with the help of others in the resistance to protect both Valerra and Gavynweal from the new threat.

I have not read the other books, so I approached this one carefully - though I needn't have bothered - everything is explained in due time, and there is very little that occurs in this book that relies entirely on knowledge from the previous books, though I presume they help with context. The information isn't thrown at you either - it comes up when it's relevant, and feels like a natural part of the storytelling. Mara is a strong woman who's using her experiences to be better, though she's caught off balance by the fay and her interactions with Arnesto, who hasn't been in Valerra for very long. She's the kind of character I love reading about - flawed, certainly, but determined, and completely loyal to her friends and her cause.

This book is fun, ultimately - I never wanted to put it down, The only thing I would have liked more of is the ending - parts of it felt a little anticlimactic, though there was a nice reveal at the end, and it put you through the emotional wringer to get there. However, this also feels almost intentional due to Mara's character - she is one to process later and act now, so it almost makes sense that some of the emotional weight isn't there initially. I think I also just really like Mara, and would have liked to have had more pages to spend with her!

There is a romance element to this book though it's a minor subplot rather than being the main plot of the book - I'd fully recommend this to anyone who loves their fantasy and worldbuilding with a splash of romance and feelings, rather than a romance with a splash of fantasy (so, readers like me!). I'm definitely going back to read the rest of the series now.

4.75/5

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This was such a great read! I absolutely loved the main characters and the plot of the story. The author did a great job making the story interesting and keeping it moving. I loved how unique the story was and all that the author brought to it. Great book!

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I'm a sucker for a book about a female spy and this one was no different. It was fast paced and kept my attention through the whole story.

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