An Affair with a Spare (The Survivors Book 3)

What a great series this is! During the war with France, a group of 3rd sons were recruited for what we would call a special ops unit. Some of them survived and created the Survivors’ Club. Most of them still have nightmares.Lt. Rafe Beaumont, aka The Seducer, is a very handsome man and his specialty was getting information from women during the Napoleonic wars. The youngest of 8 children whose mother ran off when he was 4, he doesn’t trust women. He has been ordered to befriend a Frenchwoman in London as his superior, Lt. Col. Draven, thinks she is up to no good. Rafe’s problem is she seems to be the first woman not attracted to him.Collette Fortier is using an alias, Fournay, as she tries to get codes from the British Foreign Office to free her father from a French prison. She is attracted to Rafe but her father comes first. As he pretends to court her, real feelings interfere with his mission. Collette receives a letter that truly scares her, and she tells him her dilemma. Rafe decides to help her knowing it will harm him.The rest of spy versus spy is for you to read as I won’t spoil this wonderful book! It’s complex and very well written. I can’t wait for more of this excellent series!

3.5 StarsAn Affair with a Spare was a delightful read featuring a romance between two spies.Known as the Seducer, Rafe Beaumont is an irresistible charmer who uses his skills with ladies to uncover war secrets. His next mission? Seduce a young woman, the daughter of a notorious assassin, and find out what secrets she's hiding. But unfortunately for Rafe, Collette Fortier is immune to his charms. When Rafe tries a different tactic and offers friendship instead, Collette finds herself falling under his spell.Rafe and Collette's relationship gets off to a slow start as they're both aware the other is likely trying to uncover whatever they're hiding. And while initially Collette doesn't respond to Rafe's advances, she is definitely affected by them and is only holding back because of the situation with her father. The physical chemistry between the pair is fantastic and when they advance their relationship, the scenes are quite steamy. My issue with their romance comes with how much deception there was, particularly from Rafe. I guess I should have expected a lot of lying due to the fact they're both spies, but I didn't and I don't love tons of lying in my romances. The friendship they developed could have been great had it not been for the deceptive ways Rafe gained Collette's trust. Over time the relationship got better, but they still hide things from each other which kept me from completely loving them together.Throughout the book several of the other men from Rafe's unit make appearances. Jasper in particular shows up quite a bit in this book and I'm curious to learn more about him, so I'm happy to see that he's the hero in the next book. We get a few scenes with Neil and Ewan, the heroes from the first two books in the series which was nice. The men in the Survivors have such a unique bond that even when they disagree, it's clear they care about each other. I'm definitely looking forward to getting to meet more of the men in the group as some have only been mentioned up to this point.Overall while I didn't like An Affair with a Spare as much as the first two books in the series, it was still an enjoyable read and I'm excited to get to the next book, Unmask Me If You Can, soon.

I believe that Rafe deserved better.I have enjoyed the books in this series. And I have all the rest of them yet to read.I had expected Rafe to have a story which would be filled with laughter. He is not just lovely to look at, but he is also charming and very witty.I wanted him to find a young woman who was as bright and quick as he.Collette talks about hedgehogs when she is nervous. I wanted her to be quick and she had so many inner thoughts about everything, I got tired of waiting for her to decide and then act.Ms Galen is a very talented author. I have enjoyed many of her books. I believe it is just me on this one.I am a lone voice here. And I am sorry to be that voice. But I am being honest.Collette did not make me fall in love with her. She seemed too serious and self involved. She did not sparkle for me.On her behalf, I am happy that Rafe became enamored. Surprised but happy for her.I wanted to be immersed in laughter.I will move on to the next story in this lovely series. I know I will be thrilled and laughing and having a wonderful time.This one simply did not do it for me.

Rafe Beaumont is the most charming of the twelve men who make up elite Draven Club. These men served under Lt. Col. Draven during the Napoleonic Wars. They were all spares, born into noble families, but far enough down the line to require that they find a place of their own in life. These men chose to serve their country by volunteering for important, necessary, and impossible, missions, basically suicide missions. Of the thirty men who agreed to serve, only twelve came home. They each had a specialty. Rafe’s, to his embarrassment, is his charm with women, so his job was gaining information through pillow talk.Collette Fortier must get codes from the British Foreign Office to turn over to the French to save her father from dying in a French prison. She’s literally struck dumb being around Rafe – he is that beautiful to her – but she cannot give into her attraction. Her father’s life is at stake. What ensues is a complex, action-packed, fun, and sweet story that will keep you reading through twists and turns until the surprising end. I loved it.

Lovely to read that Rafe, the Seducer, was actually brought to his knees by Collette as he never thought he could love genuinely. Really enjoyed this Book 3 in the series and nice to catch up with the other Survivor characters. Well worth reading. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Interesting tale of a rake (to-be-reformed) and a (coerced) French spy.