The Secret Service of Tea and Treason
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Description
Two rival spies. One fake marriage. What could possibly go wrong . . .
'A funny, captivating and magical story! I loved the chemistry between the characters' @boekhopper
----
When rumours of an assassination plot against the Queen begin to circulate, Alice is immediately assigned to the case.
However, she won't be working alone.
Enter Daniel Bixby. Unflappable master spy and Alice's greatest rival.
Together they must assume the identity of husband and wife in order to gain access to the traitor party.
Alice is determined to remain professional. This is work after all.
But when an attraction starts to grow there may be more at stake than just the throne . . .
Tropes/themes:
1. Only one bed
2. Enemies to lovers
3. Strong female leads
4. Fake marriage
----
Readers are OBSESSED with the Dangerous Damsels series
'Incredible! Sensational! Fantastic! So charming your inner Lizzie Bennet will swoon' 5***** Reader Review
'OBSESSED. If you love playful dialogue and language, fun characters, and interesting worlds, I recommend' 5**** Reader Review!
'Witty and entertaining. A literary delight! Think Jane Austen meets Jack Sparrow' 5***** Reader Review
'Wondrous, whimsical, wiccan follow-up to its flying house pirate predecessor, building upon this magical, Victorian-soaked world deftly and capably' 5***** Reader Review
'SPECTACULAR. Just the sort of absolute madness which one needs in a book!' 5***** Reader Review
'Victorian lady assassins fighting the patriarchy, flying houses, AND . . . an ONLY ONE BED trope?! Fun fun fun' 5***** Reader Review
PRAISE FOR THE DANGEROUS DAMSELS
'As much fun as the English language will permit' New York Times Book Review
'Melds the Victorian wit of Sherlock Holmes with the brash adventuring of Indiana Jones . . . A sprightly feminist tale that offers everything from an atmospheric Gothic abbey to secret societies' Entertainment Weekly
'With secret identities, secret doors, and secret histories to spare, this high-octane layer-cake of escapism hits the spot' Publishers Weekly
Book Information
Characteristics
1 reviews
Mood
Protagonist(s)
Pace
Writing Style
Posts
The Secret Service of Tea and Treason keeps the same sarcastic, over-the-top humor that defines India Holton’s series — and I do appreciate that tone. But honestly, the whole A.U.N.T. agency just didn’t make much sense to me. They start out trying to protect the Queen, and by the end, they promote someone who literally endangered her (or at least seemed to). It felt inconsistent and kind of undercut the plot. Dr. Snodgrass was clearly not to be trusted — I could tell from the start that he wasn’t exactly a competent or “good” guy, so his storyline didn’t really surprise me. And while the book’s meant to be comedic, the way A.U.N.T. treats their agents — especially how they were trained as children, punished, and told to suppress emotions — felt way darker than the rest of the tone. What also really bothered me was how inconsistent the character strength between Alice and Daniel felt. The story keeps telling us they’re equally skilled and intelligent — rivals, basically — but then Daniel defeats everyone easily while Alice gets pushed around and doesn’t resist the agency much at all. It completely breaks the balance the book was trying to set between them. That said, Alice and Daniel were still a fun duo. Their relationship dynamic was unique, and I did enjoy their chemistry. And the epilogue was honestly the highlight for me — seeing all the couples again with their families felt like a sweet and fitting closure to the trilogy. Overall, it was funny and creative in moments, but the worldbuilding and logic fell apart a bit for me. Probably my least favorite of the series — still enjoyable, but definitely not what I hoped for.
Characteristics
1 reviews
Mood
Protagonist(s)
Pace
Writing Style
Description
Two rival spies. One fake marriage. What could possibly go wrong . . .
'A funny, captivating and magical story! I loved the chemistry between the characters' @boekhopper
----
When rumours of an assassination plot against the Queen begin to circulate, Alice is immediately assigned to the case.
However, she won't be working alone.
Enter Daniel Bixby. Unflappable master spy and Alice's greatest rival.
Together they must assume the identity of husband and wife in order to gain access to the traitor party.
Alice is determined to remain professional. This is work after all.
But when an attraction starts to grow there may be more at stake than just the throne . . .
Tropes/themes:
1. Only one bed
2. Enemies to lovers
3. Strong female leads
4. Fake marriage
----
Readers are OBSESSED with the Dangerous Damsels series
'Incredible! Sensational! Fantastic! So charming your inner Lizzie Bennet will swoon' 5***** Reader Review
'OBSESSED. If you love playful dialogue and language, fun characters, and interesting worlds, I recommend' 5**** Reader Review!
'Witty and entertaining. A literary delight! Think Jane Austen meets Jack Sparrow' 5***** Reader Review
'Wondrous, whimsical, wiccan follow-up to its flying house pirate predecessor, building upon this magical, Victorian-soaked world deftly and capably' 5***** Reader Review
'SPECTACULAR. Just the sort of absolute madness which one needs in a book!' 5***** Reader Review
'Victorian lady assassins fighting the patriarchy, flying houses, AND . . . an ONLY ONE BED trope?! Fun fun fun' 5***** Reader Review
PRAISE FOR THE DANGEROUS DAMSELS
'As much fun as the English language will permit' New York Times Book Review
'Melds the Victorian wit of Sherlock Holmes with the brash adventuring of Indiana Jones . . . A sprightly feminist tale that offers everything from an atmospheric Gothic abbey to secret societies' Entertainment Weekly
'With secret identities, secret doors, and secret histories to spare, this high-octane layer-cake of escapism hits the spot' Publishers Weekly
Book Information
Posts
The Secret Service of Tea and Treason keeps the same sarcastic, over-the-top humor that defines India Holton’s series — and I do appreciate that tone. But honestly, the whole A.U.N.T. agency just didn’t make much sense to me. They start out trying to protect the Queen, and by the end, they promote someone who literally endangered her (or at least seemed to). It felt inconsistent and kind of undercut the plot. Dr. Snodgrass was clearly not to be trusted — I could tell from the start that he wasn’t exactly a competent or “good” guy, so his storyline didn’t really surprise me. And while the book’s meant to be comedic, the way A.U.N.T. treats their agents — especially how they were trained as children, punished, and told to suppress emotions — felt way darker than the rest of the tone. What also really bothered me was how inconsistent the character strength between Alice and Daniel felt. The story keeps telling us they’re equally skilled and intelligent — rivals, basically — but then Daniel defeats everyone easily while Alice gets pushed around and doesn’t resist the agency much at all. It completely breaks the balance the book was trying to set between them. That said, Alice and Daniel were still a fun duo. Their relationship dynamic was unique, and I did enjoy their chemistry. And the epilogue was honestly the highlight for me — seeing all the couples again with their families felt like a sweet and fitting closure to the trilogy. Overall, it was funny and creative in moments, but the worldbuilding and logic fell apart a bit for me. Probably my least favorite of the series — still enjoyable, but definitely not what I hoped for.