Miss Bonde was taken in by her uncle, Lord Melbourne, as a child when her parents died; he is the leader of the Barbican group, a division of the British Foreign Office. Agent Bonde takes her ratafia, shaken not stirred and carries a dagger hidden in her stays. She has never known any other kind of life, and she likes it that way until her uncle tells her she's getting a bit old, and at the ripe age of 24, she ought to marry, which would also be a good cover to explain her absences when she's away on missions. Lord Melbourne has even decided whom her intended should be: Dominic Griffyn, the bastard son of an actress, and stepson to Lord Edgeberry.

Dominic had a rough childhood, and often prefers the company of his horses to Society events, where is not exactly welcome with open arms. He is however a bit of a rake, and when a young woman says he fathered her child, even though it's not true, that's when his stepfather and mother decide it's high time for him to take a wife but Dominic has no intention of marrying anyone.

Dominic and Jane are thrust into each other's arms, so to speak, and inadvertently he becomes involved in the hunt for Foncé. To their astonishment, they are attracted to each other, but Jane overhears a conversation between her uncle and Dominic's mother that implies there is more to their betrothal than they were told. Dominic might not be a spy but he has very dark secrets of his own, and he is not the only one.

LOVE AND LET SPY is, as were the previous installments, an exciting spy story, with plenty of action, as well as quite funny references to another spy of a similar name. Ms. Galen is a very gifted author and gets better all the time. In this book, she might have gone where no historical romance writer has gone before, and the result is an absolutely sublime love story that shines above everything else.

The characters are extremely complex, Dominic's story is truly poignant, and Ms. Galen infuses LOVE AND LET SPY with beautiful, tender, and touching moments. There is one specific paragraph that is so extraordinarily moving that I read it over and over for the sheer beauty of the sentences and the profound meaning conveyed by some simple words; get your hankies ready. Thank you, Ms. Galen, for this splendid book; LOVE AND LET SPY is no ordinary historical romance.

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