The Agency for Scandal by Laura Wood

I have been really crap with my blog this month (this year!) but reading this book made me want to share again. I just don't know how Laura Wood does it, but as always I fell straight into her story. I loved Izzy immediately and I even enjoyed the romance, which is my least favourite genre. Laura even manages to do the "oh no, there's only one bed!" trope well!

There were so many lovely quotes throughout that are sure to inspire you to pick up this gorgeous book. I feel I do have to warn of possible mild spoilers but I don't think anything that would actually spoil your enjoyment at all.

This one made me laugh out load, imagining the type of men Izzy's friend usually lusted after...

Teresa's usual taste leaned more towards men who looked like they slept in caskets inside a Transylvanian castle, supped on the blood of virgins, and burned with a crackling intensity as they read their own terrible, endless poetry.

I'm pretty sure I have the same reaction every time, who doesn't love pockets!?!

Her eyelashes flickered as she reached into the pocket of her gown - a ball gown with pockets!

This should definitely be a rule:

I stood straighter in the mirror (wearing a crown seems to have the effect, and I wondered idly if women should wear them all the time).

This one keeps making me laugh:

"Did I die?" I croaked, because honestly, if there was a heaven, then I thought lying in Max's arms was a fairly likely place to end up...

..."Of course you didn't die." Sylla's scowling face appeared over Max's shoulder. Perhaps this wasn't heaven after all. "You were barely grazed by a bullet and then you collapsed in an unnecessarily dramatic fashion while Romeo here flung himself at your body and started weeping."

I really wouldn't be surprised if Sylla's character did such a thing:

"In fact, there are one of two particular files I wouldn't mind getting my hands on."

"I'm not going to marry someone just so that you can get into his files..." I laughed. "That came out wrong."

"Well, no,"Sylla said sensibly. "You should probably marry him because you love him. The files would simply be a nice bonus."

There are many more wonderful moments in the book but these were a few that stood out for me. I'd love to know if you had any other other favourites. Let me know what you think!

I couldn't find anything quite right to match with this book so I created own Agency for Scandal cocktail. Shake with ice - 40ml gin, 20ml cherry almond liqueur, 10ml creme de violette, 20ml lemon juice and a dash of sugar syrup. Strain into a glass and top with rose cremant.