Spy's Honor

Janto is the crown prince of Mosar, but his country is succumbing to an unwarranted attack by the larger, greedier country of Kjall. In a last-ditch effort to save his country, he goes to Kjall as a spy on the trail of information that could alter the course of the war. Posing as a slave, he meets Imperial Princess Rhianne, whose uncle, Emperor Florian is responsible for the terrible war crimes against Janto's people. Rhianne is nothing like her uncle. Where he is greedy, hard, and inflexible, Rhianne is generous, loving, and eager to learn.

When Rhianne becomes a pawn in her uncle's war, things take a turn for the personal where Janto is concerned. He and Rhianne both learn that sometimes there are no good decisions. But Janto proves a worthy hero. He makes decisions for the good of his country, even when it means denying his deepest desires.

Amy Raby puts her characters in a perfectly impossible situation. There seems to be no way these two can come together, but as this is a fantasy-romance, she pulls off a happy-ever-after that is hard-won, believable, and satisfying.

Raby excels at world-building. Using an admirable economy of words, she paints vivid scenes and situations with clean, efficient brushstrokes. Her characters are flawed enough that they have room to grow and they worm their way into your heart within the first few pages. The pacing is swift, the story spellbinding, just like in Raby's first fantasy-romance, Assassin's Gambit.

The events of Spy's Honor take place before those of Assassin's Gambit. It was a delight to see the hero of Raby's first book, Lucien, as a younger man before he became ruler of Kjall. It's also exciting to see the consistency of Raby's magic system, my favorite aspect of which is the animal familiars used by some of the mages in her world. The hero in Spy's Honor has an unlikely familiar, a ferret named Sashi who steals every scene he is in. The bond between Janto and Sashi is endearing and plays an important role in the story. I especially love Sashi's bloodthirstiness as he chants "kill, kill, kill," whenever anyone threatened Janto.

The romance to plot ratio in this book is about 50/50. The story is intricate but not complicated. Raby shows a mastery of weaving together several threads. There are political plots, family relationships, a war carried out on several fronts, and through it all, the romance develops beautifully. I flew through the pages to find out whether Janto could save his country at all and if he could do it while not alienating Rhianne, who has as much loyalty and love for her country as he does for his. I also HAD to find out if these two get the happy-ever-after they both richly deserve.

A highly-recommended read from a fantasy-romance author who is proving she has the sticking power to help shape the genre.

The way this book was written, the second in the series, it should have been the first! If i'd known better i'd have read this book first, then "assasin's gambit" second. But nonetheless, i did still enjoy reading it.