Loved it!!!

I enjoyed the storyline and it moved at such a quick pace. Very enjoyable
And I can't wait to settle in and read the second

3.75 stars. Never judge a book by its cover. This was a good first foray into the universe that leads into the sequel series Manners & Monsters, unfortunate cover aside.

http://wordnerdy.blogspot.com/2018/02/2018-book-35.html

A friend who knows that Recency-era fantasy novels are my jam recommended this to me, and it was pretty fun! It starts off on a low note for me, as the heroine laments that she can't make any female friends, yet she dismisses her boarding-house-mate's conversations as "inane chatter" because she is clearly Not Like Other Girls. The world-building and the love interest coming from a troop of Scottish werewolves are more than a little reminiscent of Gail Carriger--Wallace is definitely playing in that sandbox. I did wish for a more attentive editor; we shouldn't have to be told six times in the first couple chapters that most people think the protagonist is a maid (when really she is a secretary/codebreaker) and the “inane chatter” of women shouldn’t have come up even once, let alone multiple times. There were a few other things that seemed to be errors, too. In general, the writing is a bit overwrought and I wished things had been polished up a bit. The romance and the spy stuff are both pretty cute, though. B.

Aster Simmons has no family, no money, no prospects...luckily for her she has a clever mind, and so earns her bread by breaking codes for the war office in Regency England. Meanwhile, captain of the Highland Wolves (a group of secret werewolves who clearly aren't trying that hard to keep their secret) Hamish Logan is sent to find the spy in the war office.

I liked how the author mixed in paranormal with regency. Love when a book has humor and strong characters. Also like how she makes the characters more in touch with everyday people with problems and not perfect. Aster is smart, provides for herself with a good attitude without being pretty, as she herself describes saying she is plain. There has been lots of books that they are a total package with above average smarts, looks but not having a nice personality so it was a nice change. Loved how her dog was incorporated in the book. I am glad to see that there is other books for some of the secondary characters as you get to like them and want to see more. I hope she does another book with Ewan as would like to see what happens with him. I did receive an ARC from Hidden Gems for an honest review. After I read this book I did go in and buy the series as wanted to be able to reread the book and see what happens with the rest of the characters. This was a HFN as you did see their story but some loose ends which does not take away from the story and could be left there.