The Agency: cover reissues and contest

To Y.S. Lee, The Agency is…

A love letter to Victorian London, in all its glory and hypocrisy

A desire to see different kinds of people in historical fiction: the poor, the brown-skinned, the marginal

A teasing homage to the Victorian detective novel

A radical possibility for a poor girl in 1850s England

How I LOVED these books, let me count the ways:

1. Feisty female lead character who is a spy (also a diverse character)

2. Mary's intelligence and resourcefulness

3. The Agency is for women only

4. The romance 

5. Mary discovering her background (reminded me of Sally Lockhart)

6. James isn't going to "make" Mary do anything

7. Victorian London - love this setting

8. The action

9. The danger

10. Being in the Queen's household.

I wish there were more Mary Quinn stories but I'm really glad more people will discover them again. After I read the first one, I begged Candlewick for the ARCs of the rest. I rarely ask publishers for ARCs, but it was too hard to wait for these books to come out! Want to see what I thought of each book, check my reviews here.

Y.S. Lee has a Ph.D. in Victorian literature and culture and says her research inspired her to write Book One of The Agency trilogy. “Women’s choices were grim in those days, even for the clever,” she says. “The Agency is a totally unrealistic, completely fictitious antidote to the fate that would otherwise swallow a girl like Mary Quinn.” Y. S. Lee lives in Ontario, Canada.

http://yslee.com/

https://twitter.com/yinglee - @yinglee

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Y-S-Lee/73653078249

Need more convincing? Read a sample chapter from book #1 or listen to the audio reading.

Have I sold you on these books yet? 

Well, you're in luck! Candlewick is gifting one lucky reader a complete set (all four books). 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Top Ten Tuesdays: Historical Fiction

This week's topic is Top Ten Books you would give to a new reader of...historical fiction.

I really love a good historical fiction novel. For those who love the TV show Reign, here are books I would recommend.

- meme from The Broke and the Bookish

What historical teen fiction books do you recommend?

Top Ten Tuesday

This week's topic is Top Ten Favorite Books With England Setting. I spent a semester abroad in Bath, England during my junior year in college and LOVED it! I can't wait to go back and I hope I get to go next year. England is always in my heart and I love reading about it. I 'll focus on the teen books and try to create an adult list later in the week.

- meme from The Broke and the Bookish

Courtesy of  www.freeworldmaps.net

Harry Potter series - hands down, part of all time favorite books

The Agency series: Love this series - the spy agency plus the romance

Countess Below Stairs - fantastic book about after the Russian Revolution where a Countess flees and ends up in England working as maid.

Sure Fire: Twins discover a father they've never met is a spy, who gets kidnapped and needs their help.

Angus Thongs and Full Frontal Snogging: best friends, romance, and laughter - lots of laughter

The Season: Regency romance about three girls and their first season (and a potential murder)

Enola Holmes series: Sherlock's sister trying to uncover the mysterious disappearance by her mother and trying to live in London undetected by her brothers.

Bewitching Season: Magic, romance, and a plot to harm the queen

Sorcery and Cecelia: Cousins and best friends write letters to each other sharing details of evil wizards.

Ruby in the Smoke: A favorite from my youth - Sally, a recent orphan, searches for a ruby and clues to the death of her father