Book Review :: The Secret Service of Tea and Treason by India Holton

The Secret Service of Tea and Treason by India Holton
ISBN: 0593547276
Series: Dangerous Damsels #3
Also in this series: The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels, The League of Gentlewomen Witches
Published by Berkley Books
on 18 April 2023
Genres: Historical Fiction, Romance
Pages: 368
Goodreads

Two rival spies must brave pirates, witches, and fake matrimony to save the Queen.

Known as Agent A, Alice is the top operative within the Agency of Undercover Note Takers, a secret government intelligence group that is fortunately better at espionage than at naming itself. From managing deceptive witches to bored aristocratic ladies, nothing is beyond Alice’s capabilities. She has a steely composure and a plan always up her sleeve (alongside a dagger and an embroidered handkerchief). So when rumors of an assassination plot begin to circulate, she’s immediately assigned to the case.
But she’s not working alone.

Daniel Bixby, otherwise known as Agent B and Alice’s greatest rival, is given the most challenging undercover assignment of his life— pretending to be Alice’s husband. Together they will assume the identity of a married couple, infiltrate a pirate house party, and foil their unpatriotic plans.

Determined to remain consummate professionals, Alice and Daniel must ignore the growing attraction between them, especially since acting on it might prove more dangerous than their target.

Last updated on 12 November 2023

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What is The Secret Service of Tea and Treason by India Holton about?

The Secret Service of Tea and Treason by India Holton is the 3rd in the Dangerous Damsels series, and in this novel, two rivals are in for a wild ride. There are pirates, witches, and a fake marriage involved, and it’s all about saving the Queen.

Meet Agent A, also known as Alice, the top agent in the Agency of Covert Intellect. She’s used to dealing with tricky witches and bored rich folks, but when there’s chatter about an assassination suddenly she’s on the case. Only this time, she’s not going it alone (much to her annoyance).

“Reading is not a hobby,” she said. “It is a way of life.”

Enter Agent B, Daniel Bixby, Alice’s rival extraordinaire. As part of their now-combined mission, Daniel needs to pretend to be Alice’s husband, and, as they play the part of a married couple, they crash a pirate party, avoid being killed by witches, and stop some unpatriotic plans.

While Alice is dead set on getting the job down and being on their own way, she can’t help but have feelings for Daniel. Again, much to her annoyance. But that’s against the Agency rules. Acting on their attraction might be riskier than their target.

Review of The Secret Service of Tea and Treason

Once again, India Holton has created a superb story that is laugh-out-loud, creative, romantic and exciting all rolled into one. When I read The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels I didn’t know what I was getting myself into. But it was one of the most glorious books I read in 2022. Then I read the second book in the Dangerous Damsels series by Holton, The League of Gentlewomen Witches, and while I was a little more prepared for the hilarity and oddness of the story, it was still a wonderful read.

The Dangerous Damsels series

In The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels, we’re introduced to a Victorian England where pirates fly houses like they’re broomsticks or magic carpets, weapons and poisons are rife throughout the lives of our characters, but at the same time, so is the amount of tea and scones.

In The League of Gentlewomen Witches, we spend time with the witches of Victorian England, who are a lot more subtle with their magic than those lunatic pirates flying their houses about the place.

These two groups of people are constantly at odds with each other, trying to assassinate everyone, stealing and thieving, and getting up to mischief. But what the pirates and the witches don’t know is that, while they’re getting on with their own evil plans and schemes and plotting the murder of the Queen of England, there’s a third party that slips under the radar: the maids and butlers of these rich and fancy witch and pirate homes.

“Either the patisserie across the street had exploded or a fashionable woman was walking in through the doorway.”

That’s where we start our tale in The Secret Service of Tea and Treason. Agency of Undercover Note Takers (A.U.N.T) is ‘a secret government intelligence group that is fortunately better at espionage than at naming itself’. Alice and Daniel are Agents A and B, respectively, and they’ve been undercover in the witch and pirate world for a while now.

But all the while, they’re part of this secret service, a network of A.U.N.T agents spread through the homes of unsuspecting witches and pirates. And how flippin’ wonderful is that? 

My thoughts on this book

I absolutely love how each of these books sort of builds on the next. And if Holton writes a fourth book then it’s honestly anyone’s guess as to what it would be about and how it’s connected to the others.

Speaking of connections: the characters from the first two books feature quite a bit in The Secret Service of Tea and Treason and I think that’s one of my favourite features. I really enjoy series where the story is completely different, but they overlap and interweave like this. It builds into the world so much more, but also you feel like you haven’t really left the past characters at all. You get to see what they’re up to, even if they aren’t the main focus of the story.

“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a man and woman in possession of a false marriage license must be in want of separate beds. Unfortunately, when Daniel and Alice entered their suite in Starkthorn Manor, they found only one—which quite frankly would not have come as a surprise had they read more exciting literature than was their habit.”

If you like Victorian England, laugh-out-loud hilarity, quirky characters and magical elements, wonderful dialogue and subtle quotes to other classic books throughout, with a bit of romance, friendship and a lot of espionage … this book is the one for you! 

Do you have to read the Dangerous Damsels books in order?

While you don’t need to have read The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels or The League of Gentlewomen Witches to read this one, I do recommend reading them in order, as the characters pop up in the other books. It’s good to be introduced to the characters and the world in the order that Holton wrote them.

Overall thoughts

In case it wasn’t obvious, I loved this book. It was such a fun read, quirky and hilarious, and the characters are always spot on. I’m looking forward to future books that India Holton writes!

Have you read this one? What did you think?