Book Review: The Agent and the Outlaw by Lily Riley

The Agent and the Outlaw (Les Dames Dangereuses#2)
Publisher: City Owl Press
Pub Date: 19 May 2022
Genre: Historical Paranormal Romance

Panda Rating:

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📖 SYNOPSIS

The murder of a marquis, an accidental kidnapping, an elite vampire death squad, and a beast stalking the French countryside? All in a day’s work for a member of the les Dames Dangereuses.

As the most enviable comtesse of the tonne, Charlotte de Brionne was almost satisfied with her wealth, power, and rather tepid marriage, until her murderous husband betrayed her.

Now she has seized the chance to make a more adventurous start with les Dames Dangereuses, an order of women spies in service to the French crown. But her latest assignment is rudely interrupted when she is kidnapped by a crossbow-wielding madman, who turns out to be not at all mad only rather surly and annoyingly handsome.

Lieutenant Antoine de Valle has no idea what to make of the exasperating, untrustworthy, and frustratingly beautiful woman he’s suddenly saddled with, but his honor demands he see Charlotte safely home. Especially since it’s his fault she accidentally witnesses his murder of a marquis, ends up on the wrong end of a brutal vampire death squad, and barely survives an encounter with the Beast of Gévaudan.

In fact, the more Antoine tries to keep Charlotte safe, the more trouble they find themselves in. And the harder it is for Antoine to remember his honor in the face of Charlotte’s dangerous charms.

⚠️ CONTENT/TRIGGER WARNINGS

Murder, blood

TL;DR: This was an action-packed supernatural/paranormal historical romance set in an alternate 1700s France where the blood plague runs rampant and vampires have taken over Paris. Despite being a little [too] instalust/love, I liked the romance between Charlotte and Antoine, and I found their dynamic, banter and chemistry to be fantastic. I didn’t know whether they would fight or give in to their feelings and tear each other’s clothes off, but I do know it kept me on my toes and eagerly anticipating what would happen next. If you like a lot of action and a bit of mystery with your slightly angsty and intense romances, I’d recommend it!

While I enjoyed the first book in this series, I wasn’t overly wowed by it but I’m glad that I picked the second book up anyway cos I enjoyed this one a lot more! The Agent and the Outlaw is kind of a continuation of the story of the first book, The Assassin and the Libertine, but you don’t need to read that to understand the context of this second book. I really enjoyed the setting of the alternate 1700s-era France where the blood plague runs rampant and vampires have essentially taken over Paris. There’s a strong gothic and eerie vibe to the story that helps paint a bleak picture of this era and it’s perfect for the story.

Although this is told in dual POV from Charlotte’s and Antoine’s perspectives, I do feel like her character arc was stronger than his. While I admired Antoine’s thirst to avenge his sister and nephew, he wasn’t my favourite MMC. I don’t know if it’s just me but I found he had a bit of a weak disposition, especially compared to Charlotte, and it was a bit off-putting. 😂 I wanted his character to be more assertive and think a little before doing anything because that was wholly lacking and by the end it became frustrating! In contrast, Charlotte was fantastic. So far, this series has featured awesome, kick-ass, smart, and powerful women and I think Charlotte could be a new favourite. She’s a little saucy and snarky but also witty and it was so entertaining to read from her POV. I also found her dynamic with Antoine very interesting because she’s definitely the more dominant of the two and I loved that she’s the one who swoops in to save the day every time! That said, they had fantastic chemistry and I loved the way they bickered and bantered and how it really ramped up the sexual tension between them.

There was enough of a plot to keep the story moving and to tie the characters together, but the ending came across as rushed with the reveal and involvement of the villain and I wished we got a little bit more with the introduction of a new paranormal creature in this story. I wanted our MCs to talk more about what happens to Charlotte in this book and how Antoine dealt with the revelation. To be honest, I wasn’t keen on the fact he kept thinking of her as a monster for a good chunk of it, only for this to be swept under the rug by the end… 😅

Overall, this was a great addition to an interesting paranormal historical romance series! I love the strength of these FMCs, the way the MMCs fall to their knees for them, and the action-packed scenes surrounding their tasks and roles in The Order as Les Dames Dangereuses. We get some juicy info drops for the next book at the end of this one and I can’t wait to read about Van Helsing’s story.