If you’ve never read a Historical Fiction/Romance revolving around espionage here's what you can expect:• A heroine that stands above her peers. She’s schmart you see. She’s spechul. All the other debutantes are shallow, vapid young girls more concerned with title chasing and ribbons than the state of the nation. If you’re really lucky the heroine will have a few friends or a sister or two that are also spechul and you won’t be subjected to three hundred pages of the heroine’s lady boner for mis...

After recently reading the first in the series, The Secret History of the Pink Carnation, The Masque of the Black Tulip dove right back into the contemporary plot line and then introduced the historical plot line shortly after. Like any good series worth its salt, the second book can tell a lot about how it will go now that the introductions are out of the way. I happily dove in now knowing what to expect from writing, characters, and plot.The Masque of the Black Tulip picks up with a reluctant

★★★★★ (This is a review of the audiobook.) Kate Reading narrates the audiobook perfectly! I can’t believe this one is even better than the first in the Pink Carnation series.It’s not easy to pull off a “time warp” book, running two timelines in parallel, but Ms. Willig does it with aplomb. Not only that, but this novel is really two genres: historical romantic suspense (with a ton of humor), and a contemporary chick-lit romance. It is witty and clever and sophisticated. So much so, I had to

Looming. LOOMING. Hen and Miles remain the best, it's honestly one of the best these dumbasses have been in love all along books that I have ever read and I am so grateful it exists. No notes.

A colorful cast of characters is the highlight of this historical drama with doses of comedy typically tied into romance.Great voice acting by Kate Reading. OVERALL GRADE: B.

OK, you've heard of the Scarlet Pimpernel and all that mess in France, right? Well, the Pink Carnation picks up where the Pimpernel stopped (due to the discovery of his identity). At the same time in the story, but taking place in the present there is a grad student finding decedents of the Pink Carnation with letters from and about that time in history.If the story plot sounds complicated, it really isn't. While it jumps around, pulling you from character to character, making you wonder who mig...

In my eyes, this is a mystery through and through. I think some readers would classify this as chic-lit because much of the story is written from a female point of view. I guess an argument could even be made for calling this a romance. However, whatever genre you choose to put this book in, you need to read it!!!As usual, I never did figure out who the French spy was until the author “spoon-fed” me the name. Willig tells a story so well that I had four different suspects right up to the end.The...

Another excellent book from the author of "The Secret History of the Pink Carnation". I loved being sucked back into the world of flower-named spies. The book had romance, mystery, plenty of wit, and even a high-speed carriage chase! I also enjoy the interludes with Eloise, the modern-day historian, doing research into these fascinating characters... but I wish she and Colin's thing would move juuuust a bit faster.

It's always been Miles and Henrietta!! Everyone but them knew it!!! What good shit. I can't write reviews for these books because it's just me sitting there as the jenny slate scream.jpg. Anyway. Lots of fun. Richard not being happy about their compromising position was deeply hysterical after what he and Amy did.

Such a delight to read. Miles, although not the brightest bulb in the box, was such a funny pleasant guy to read about. He was basically worthless as a spy but made up for it in being nice. Hen was also hardly helpful. She is kind of like Marguerite from the OG Scarlet Pimpernel in that she tries to help, gets caught, needs help to be rescued. I did greatly enjoy Miles and Hen. They were darling together. The scene when they were catching the Black Tulip was seriously funny though.

Specific to this book - I found the heroine much more enjoyable in this book than in the last. Her personality and character fit the story better to my personal point of view. Lovely book.Since I will say nearly the same thing for every book in this series - this part will be the same in all of them. Fun regency mystery/romance. I’m not really much of a mystery reader, but these are more of an intrigue than a mystery and tied up with the regency style, they are delightful.The author bounces us b...

So, this was ridiculous. In a good way.Probably really 3.5 stars, but I'm rounding up.I really enjoyed Miles and Henrietta's banter. It was generally hysterical. I will say, I definitely enjoyed the first half of the book mroe than the second though.All of the literary illusions were tremendous fun.I'm really ridiculously invested in Eloise and Colin at this point as well.However, (view spoiler)[I think this book suffered a bit for me in the collision of tropes. I didn't necessarily need the rus...

I listened to the audiobook, which kept me constantly amazed at the narrator's ability to switch between English and American accents and sound totally natural either way. I'm a sucker for the Dashing Hero's Steadfast Best Friend, whether it's B.J. from M*A*S*H or Ron from Harry Potter, so a book about Miles Dorrington, the steadfast best friend from The Secret History of the Pink Carnation, was more interesting to me than the first installment.This is not Possession by A.S. Byatt. (I couldn't g...

Usually Willig's books are fun, light reading for me but this one was a bit much. The plot followed her usual romps with Eloise, the graduate student studying spying activities during the English/French war with Napoleon at the head of his troops. And, of course, Eloise falls for her host, Colin Selwig, hoping for a romantic adventure. However, all this is normal for this series. What bothered me was some of the dialog. I doubt that women of this period used the phrase, "Chop, Chop!" In addition...

A rollicking yarn, well told. Willig's writing is a cut above many HR authors, but for me this is only a two-star read for two reasons - 1) Lauren Willig adopts the same approach to each of the "Pink Carnation" books: there are two stories - the "main" (historical) one, and a modern one where Eloise researches the historical story and slowly develops a relationship with Colin (a descendant of the historical characters). This approach really doesn't do it for me: every time I get caught up in the...

This series remains one of my favourite guilty pleasures, even on a reread. It’s so much fun!It was probably a good four years after reading 'the Secret History of the Pink Carnation' that I ordered this book. Uni and life got in the way of my reading, unless it was a set text for a literacy unit. When I finally got back to picking whatever I wanted to read, I got back I to this series. Remembering that I didn't think it was the best writing I had ever read, I also remembered having an absolute

Second in the Pink Carnation series. I liked it. Maybe not quite as much as the first but close. I would have liked to see more of Eloise and Colin but I guess I'll have to continue the series to see how they do. This one is the romance between Lady Henrietta and Miles Dorrington. A friends to lovers theme, they have known each other since they were children. Miles was called upon to watch out for Henrietta and keep her out of trouble. Meanwhile, a french spy is loose in London and Miles is task...

well, there was no bodice ripping (though there was shift ripping =])!I liked that Ms. Willig had a parallel story line going on with the researcher and her subject- though she's now sucked me into reading the next novel to see what happens with the researcher and her potential love interest... It was fun, a nice flouncy romp (if those can be flouncy) through regency England and it's nest of spies and potential spyees..er, those spied upon.

10/25/2014--just finished a re-read in keeping with the Pink for All Seasons challenge in honor of book 12 coming out August 2015. I thoroughly enjoyed this, and had forgotten what an adorable and likable couple Miles & Henrietta are! I actually changed the rating from 4 stars to 5 because it was so delightful. I am looking forward to next month's read of book 3... :D

Grad student Eloise Kelly is in England researching the network of spies surrounding the English hero, the Pink Carnation, when dreamy Colin Selwick invites her to investigate the archives at his ancient manor house. In between trying to ascertain whether Colin is flirting with her and enduring the slings and arrows of outraged locals, Eloise stumbles across some old letters. They tell the story of Henrietta Selwick, the sister to the Purple Gentian, who is determined to be a spy in her own righ...

I liked The Secret History of the Pink Carnation, but I absolutely loved reading this installment in the series! I've been rereading the first few Pink Carnation books before I go on to finish the series, and while I remembered that this one had been a favorite, I'd forgotten just how charming it was. I enjoy the slowly unfolding tale of Eloise and Colin, but in this installment, the historical tale just sparkles.Henrietta has known her brother's friend Miles forever. And now, in the midst of al...

Loved this! The romance is of the 'oh no, but she's my best friend's sister' trope which, while not my favourite, is done really well here. I liked both Henrietta and Miles.Best things:- The humour is off the charts, this was SO funny.- There's a forced proximity carriage scene that took me ages to get through because I was laughing so much- A masked ball- Women being awesome at spying- Lots of great female friendship (Amy, Henrietta and Jane)- Lauren Willig is one of those authors who can write...

Chaaaaarming! Once I tuned into the fact that this less a full-on romance and more a historical romp with a great romantic sidestory I just sped through it. The other messier bits kind of fold in well with the "romp" vibe too - including the chaos of that climatic scene, and the two-dimensional-ness of Richard as the "older brother / best friend" archetype here. And Miles and Hen are cute as fuck, fumbly and earnest and total dummies.I just realised I read (and deeply adored) the Turnip story so...

I must have read this the first time before I was on Goodreads, so I will happily leave feedback! I love the romance between Miles and Henrietta :) The dialogue in these books is so much fun. I love that Eloise and Colin are speaking a bit more, and civily ;)I am re-reading because Lauren Willig is, and discussing once a month, (fan girl moment) and I am enjoying those immensely! If you want to join, check her page here or on Facebook. See you there!

These are so much fun! This is the true-love-never-runs-smooth story of Henrietta and Miles with a little espionage thrown in. The inner monologues of these characters are priceless. The book within a book format continues to bother me. Especially Chapter Twenty-Six. We end Chapter Twenty-Five with thrilling goings-0n in the garden in 1803, interrupted by the words "What in the hell is going on here?" only to be throw back into the twentieth century at the turn of the page. To quote Henrietta -

I feel the same as I did about the first book but I'll be reading #3 because it is still a good read (even if I have a few issues here and there with the characters).

Second one read for book club. Loved the conversation a bit more than the book this time, but overall, still enjoyable.

This series is a magnificent romp - historical intrigue meets current day academics with a frisson of romance.

Things to love about this novel? In chapter one, it picks up with the tale of its modern-day research, Eloise Kelly, who is off to the country with the dishy Colin Selwick for a look at his archives. (Insert eyebrow waggle here.) The Black Tulip also picks up with the lives of some of the characters introduced as secondary in the first book in the series, The Secret History of the Pink Carnation. Amy and Richard, the main couple in the historical portion of the first novel, are seen and heard fr...

Raise you hand if you liked the tripping back and forth in time with The Secret History of the Pink Carnation? OK, so I can only see two hands (my own and DH's), but they are waving enthusiastically! What? You didn't? OK, but you have heard of the Scarlet Pimpernel and all that mess in France, right? Well, the Pink Carnation took up where the Pimpernel stopped (due to the discovery of his identity). In the present there is a grad student (the present) finding decedents of the Pink Carnation with...