I confess, I library book stalked this book. It came out yesterday, and I had already put a hold on it, so as soon as the library processed, I got a call for it. Then I read it, and no you don't have to point it out that I have no life. I know. I embrace it in fact. I have an undying devotion to Lauren Willig, she could write children's books about talking vegetables and I would still read them. I confess however that I was not particularly psyched about this one, before it came out at least. I can't exactly pinpoint why, but I did have the same doubts about The Mischief of the Mistletoe, the Christmas novel I read last month. In the end I loved it, laughed like silly and it put me in an appropriate holiday mood. That being said the past 2 novels in the series, The Temptation of the Night Jasmine and The Betrayal of the Blood Lily were less appealing to me than the start of the series, which may have a lot to do with this. The core players in the story, the ones that readers came to love, fell by the wayside for a large part. Some of this had to do with setting (Blood Lily took place in India) and the fact that the characters were not part of the original network of spies that the first few books centered around. The Mischief of the Mistletoe and now The Orchid Affair have returned to the fold so to speak, and I think are better for it.
We see the famed Selwick Spy school in action, something Willig has hinted at through the previous seven books, but which we only see in action now. We also return to France, setting for the first book. Thirdly it is strictly spy story, rather than the past three books which have been more parodies of spy novels where our unsuspecting heros and heroines stumble across clues and get sucked in. Laura Griscogne, the heroine is a trained spy in the guise of a governess, a pairing of a classic nineteenth century novel plot with a new twist. There is also an excellent double blind involving our hero Andre Jaouen. Do you like gypsies? Of course you do, and you're in luck because we also get to hitch a ride with a wandering acting troop. The romance is more of a slow simmer than a towering inferno, Willig has definitely gotten more timid as her writing matures. While I do wax nostalgic for the old school sex bonanzas, I can appreciate that she tempers the amorous activities of her characters based on situation and personality. Even when there are a lot of love scenes they're never gratuitous or tawdry.
Its a great book, Willig will keep you involved in the past, perhaps not so much in the future. Her modern-day heroine and story teller Eloise is on a less-than-wild-ride to Paris with her boyfriend. These plots are the only real complaint I have with the story, they are a little on the flat side, you're not exactly charging through the intermediate historical chapters to find out if Eloise and Colin end up having to share a hotel room with his sister. In the end however its not important. As far as I'm concerned Lauren Willig can do whatever the hell she wants, talking vegetables or not. Oh wait, she already did that, I almost forgot about good ole Turnip Fitzhugh. I should go to the guillotine for that, its almost as bad as Augustus Whittlesby's poetry.
