The Bed and the Bachelor by Tracy Anne Warren

August 8, 2011

Giant boobs alert!
http://www.tracyannewarren.com/

Perplexed. After looking at the cover of this book I have come to the conclusion that there must be something wrong with me. When I lay down flat on my back I do not have what appear to be two giant scoops of ice cream sitting on my chest. Or maybe two giant perfectly shaped Jell-O molds. Or maybe two silicone objects that look mighty hard. And what's with the red satin sheet wrapping/tucking? Looks like a prom dress.

Now to the inside of The Bed and the Bachelor. Another spy. I have read about 50 kilzillion spy stories this year. How can so many authors be thinking the same thing? Not that I'm complaining.

Evidently this is the first Tracy Anne Warren book I've read, although I seem to have a number of them at home in my TBR pile. And, when I started reading this book I thought I recognized the characters. Must be some other series. Oh well, can't keep them straight. Sigh.

This is the fifth book in the Byrons of Braebourne series and I guess I'm going have to dig into my pile and read the others. Even though this was a spy story, sort of, I did enjoy it. Actually, it really wasn't a spy story, it's just that our hero, Drake, is creating a cipher that will be used by spies. And once again the French are the bad guys. Is there a book out there with a French hero? Anyway, this book was an enjoyable read, a fast read and with a very likable couple. It only took a day to finish. There was nothing dark, not much tension...a light read. Which is interesting, considering we have a villain, but also a heroine sneaking around the house disguised as a housekeeper. Light.

I really liked Drake. He is a well-written beta hero. It was nice to see a guy who wasn't angsty, didn't have a "I hate women" complex or any kind of dependency to overcome. He was a nice guy. He did have a tendency to become distracted by his mathematical problems, but I found that endearing. For those of you that ever watch any reruns of Leave it to Beaver, you might see a bit of the father in Drake's character. Nothing seemed to bother him, and he seems to have all the right answers. He also seemed to have the scary ability to find someone in a different country - without knowing their correct name - in a matter of days. Like a super hero with weird powers. Almost everything in this book was taken care of right away; all the problems, solved just like that and even the moment of misunderstanding is over in the blink of an eye. The falling in love part - fast - Whamo!

Sebastianne, our heroine, disguises herself as the housekeeper Mrs. Greenway in order to infiltrate Drake's household and steal the cipher. She was an interesting character. She is being forced to steal to protect her family. However, she has a lot of trouble lying to everyone. She grows to like all the servants in the household, befriends a number of them and finds herself attracted to their employer, Drake. She constantly struggles with the guilt she feels while sneaking through the house searching for the cipher. She does get over the guilt long enough to drug Drake and make a copy of the key that accesses the cipher.

This is almost a lazy book. Every problem, every stumbling block is solved and solved almost immediately. But, I didn't really mind that; what I did raise an eyebrow to was the startlingly rapid time it took for Sebastianne to realize she was in love with Drake. I know, I know - this is romance, they're going to fall in love. But, gee willikers this was mighty speedy. Thankfully, Drake took a little longer to realize he'd fallen.

So now having read The Bed and the Bachelor, I'm going to have to read the other ones in the series. Even though everything was solved really, really fast and Drake was an amazing magical beta hero who didn't let too much bother him, I did enjoy this story. It was a nice breath of fresh air.

Oh by the way, the title was a bit silly. Reminded me of that old Gary Grant movie The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer, which is a pretty light-weight entry, but with a giggle here and there.

Time/Place: Regency England
Rating:
Sensuality Rating: Hot