The Lure of the Moonflower by Lauren Willig
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Title: Lure of the Moonflower
Author: Lauren Willig
Series: Pink Carnation, #12
Pages: 528
Publisher: NAL
Date: August 4, 2015
Summary:
In the final Pink Carnation novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Mark of the Midnight Manzanilla, Napoleon has occupied Lisbon, and Jane Wooliston, aka the Pink Carnation, teams up with a rogue agent to protect the escaped Queen of Portugal.
Portugal, December 1807. Jack Reid, the British agent known as the Moonflower (formerly the French agent known as the Moonflower), has been stationed in Portugal and is awaiting his new contact. He does not expect to be paired with a woman—especially not the legendary Pink Carnation.
All of Portugal believes that the royal family departed for Brazil just before the French troops marched into Lisbon. Only the English government knows that mad seventy-three-year-old Queen Maria was spirited away by a group of loyalists determined to rally a resistance. But as the French garrison scours the countryside, it’s only a matter of time before she’s found and taken.
It’s up to Jane to find her first and ensure her safety. But she has no knowledge of Portugal or the language. Though she is loath to admit it, she needs the Moonflower. Operating alone has taught her to respect her own limitations. But she knows better than to show weakness around the Moonflower—an agent with a reputation for brilliance, a tendency toward insubordination, and a history of going rogue.
Review:
I resisted reading this book. Not because I didn’t want to read it, but because I did. The Lure of the Moonflower is the last of the Pink Carnation books and I don’t want the series to end. I adore these books. I love the historical sections and I love Eloise and Colin in modern times. I have been dying for Jane’s, aka The Pink Carnation’s, book, but I don’t want it to be over.
-sigh-
It’s over readers . . . and it’s a great ending. All the ins and outs get tied up. It seems like everyone from the previous books either shows up or is at least mentioned. We even get a wonderful “after the book” section telling us what happens to the kids. Don’t call it an epilogue. You’ll understand why if you read it.
There is a twist in Eloise’s and Colin’s storyline that I did not see coming, but it so fits with everything that has gone before.
Jeremy is still smarmy, Colin’s mother is still a pain, Serena is still helpless and needy, and that’s just the modern day characters.
In case you’re wondering, Miles is still addicted to ginger biscuits and Miss Gwen still wears purple and carries her parasol.
This is such a satisfying ending to the series.
Read it! Read it, but not unless you’ve read all the others. I mean it. Right now. Start reading.
This book was sent to me by NetGalley in return for an honest review.
Elaine Reads . . . constantly! 