Booklover Book Reviews

It is 1842, London, and the gorgeous, ever-capricious twenty-two year old Eliza Gilbert, (a.k.a. Lola Montez) is in deep trouble and seeks escape from a divorce trial. Desperate to be free, Lola accepts an alluring offer of a paid trip to Spain, provided she fulfill a few clandestine tasks for Juan de Grimaldi—a Spanish theatre impresario who is also a government agent and spy for the exiled Spanish queen, Maria Cristina.

Lola soon finds herself in Madrid, undercover as a performer in a musical play. But when she falls dangerously in love with the target, General Diego de Léon—the “perfect Spanish soldier, lover and horseman”—Lola becomes a double agent and the two hatch a plot of their own. Disaster strikes when the plot is exposed and Lola is forced to flee on horseback to France, with a dangerous group of Loyalists in hot pursuit. Will Lola’s reckless daring, feminine whiles, and signature whip be enough to save her life, her lover and her cause?

She will have to be bolder and more whip smart than ever before.

Written with zest and a passionate, fiery fervor by debut author Kit Brennan, Whip Smart irresistibly whisks readers into a vivid journey through 19th Century, France, England and Spain, riding sidesaddle with Eliza Gilbert, the hot-headed Irish girl, as she transforms into Dona Maria Dolores de Porris y Montez—a.k.a. Lola Montez, The Sensation of Europe! (Astor + Blue Editions)

My teaser:

My heart is beating like a sledgehammer and will surely break. I can barely hear the man’s soft, measured voice above my agitated thoughts. 

I am really enjoying this novel – it is hard to put down, with a heroine whose plight you become invested in and surprises around every corner.

It has only recently been released in ebook format and will be available in paperback in the New Year.

Find out more about this book - WHIP SMART Lola Montez Conquers the Spaniards by Kit Brennan ( Amazon | B&N | Kobobooks )

Looking forward to reading your teasers!

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.