ADELAIDE BECKET’S ADVENTURES By Tracy Cooper-Posey

I have read and enjoyed each of the Lady Adelaide novellas as they came out. And at the end of each one, I was left thinking, “That was wonderful, but tooooo short!” When this collection of the first eight novellas came out, I was so pleased to be able to immerse myself in our heroinine’sstory for a very satisfying longer read. It was well worth the re-read as well. I

From beginning to end this set captivates, entertains, is emotional, and just plain great writing. Don’t miss it. Adele is amazing, strong, female, smart, and simply incredible.

I love this series as we discover how Lady Adelaide is making her way in world directed by men. As a window she get a little more freedom and she will use to protect her country.

Each story is a great adventure wonderfully written and we see Adelaide blossoming little by little despite all what is happening to her. The possibility to read those without waiting between release is a real gift but tissue may be more than needed as you will be immersed into the story and sometimes....it's not what we hoped that happens

ReReading all of the Adelaide Becket adventures again all at once, uninterrupted and not having to go back and refresh my memory was just great! Each of these books is a new adventure with some reappearing characters and the flow of them all at once made for some great reading. Love this compilation!

Lady Adelaide Azalea Margaret de Morville, Mrs. Hugh Beckett is a widow with unique talents. Talents that draw the attention of an English spymaster. He convinces her to be an agent specializing in dealing with Germans. This starts a series of assignments that take Lady Adelaide all over England. Each story has plot twists that keep you completely engrossed in the story.
Tracy Cooper Posey transports you to Edwardian England. She explains the sights, sounds and smells in a way that makes you feel like you are there. We get to experience how the upper class treats a widow who married beneath her. I highly recommend this series!

What an addictive character to follow, Lady Adelaide, known as Adele, drew me in with her courage and aplomb. Adele is a remarkable character, especially for the Edwardian era when women were generally uneducated and therefore underestimated. Lady Adele is cheeky, daring, courageous and a character worthy of following in this delightful series. I absolutely loved the intelligent and complex character layers revealed by Adele as she experiences each new encounter in her life as a spy.

Each story is a refined historical version of a swift and exciting spy thriller which left me feeling like I'd been caught up in the middle of a suspense mystery novel with only the best bits to read! Historical details immersed me in the times by adding texture and flavour to the setting, behaviours and backdrop of the story. I thoroughly enjoyed being swept along on each of Adele's adventures with interesting new characters and of course the uncovering of plots and schemes that kept me guessing right through the story.

I highly recommend this series and am enjoying the unfolding journey of Adele's life as an agent. Definitely a series to be read in order, from the start, to appreciate how much Adele has changed and grown into her role as well as the introductions to the characters around her.

One of the most impressive aspects of this series of novelettes is the seemingly effortless way the author establishes not only the aura of the Edwardian era, but also the social mores and attitudes of that time: “Now, daytime hems were an inch or two higher, showing off ones’ boots and — among the most daring of ladies — an inch of ankle, too.” For a reader like me, who grew up in the era of miniskirts and hotpants, sentences like this go a long way to set the stage. The writing is succinct, straight to the point, and always kept my attention. It’s hard to choose what I liked the best; forced to make a choice, I’d say what is most striking about these stories is the almost haunting sense of place and time, skillfully woven and engaging all of the senses for a most enjoyable and immersive reading experience.

I have a love-hate relationship with boxed sets. On the one hand, I want to read a single book at a time and feel as if I can switch series or authors at will. On the other hand, as in this instance, it is a pleasure be able to read the series in order without having to stop and find my list of titles. In this collection we meet the newly-widowed Adelaide Becket, who seems to have little self-confidence and not much sense of self-worth. As the stories continue, Adelaide learns more about life, and herself, and her journey is a fascinating one. In my opinion, the series becomes a richer experience in this collected set. This is my honest and voluntary review of an ARC.

The author promises there are more Adelaide Becket stories — I certainly hope so!. (And, by the way, the titles are fascinating. To understand why, you have to read the books!)

Adelaide Becket’s Adventures (A Lady Spy Collection of Stories), by Tracey Cooper-Posey, is a compellation of the first seven novellas in the series. It’s a delightful series, and worth the read.
Book 1: The Requisite Courage, set in 1906, is the first in the series. Lady Adelaide, a recently returned widow to England, is recruited as a spy to uncover the threat to the king. Although short in length, it’s a great beginning to what, I’m sure, will be another terrific Cooper-Posey series.
Book 2: The Rosewater Debutante, Adelaide Becket, features our fearless feminine spy assigned to follow a young woman in her first Season. Bored beyond belief with her task, Adele, nevertheless, plows ahead with her appointed duties, realizing almost too late just how vital her role really was in this cat and mouse game against the Germans. Cooper-Posey just can't write a bad story. Every one I've read, and there've been many, are all top-notch adventures, filled with drama, wonderful dialogue, and delicious, detailed descriptions that take the reader into the very sights and smells of her character's environment. Always a joy to read one of this author's works.
Book 3: The Unaccompanied Widow, Adelaide Becket; wherein our heroine is on her own, without backup, dealing with yet another day in her life. A murdered man, her king seeking her undesired attention, German spies, and interesting people, as she sails from England to Ireland on the royal yacht. Always a great adventure when Cooper-Posey tells a story. Everything comes to life, lifting from the page straight into reality for the reader.
Book 4: The Lavender Semaphore, Adelaide Becket, gives us a gritty view of life in 1907 for children and women. Adelaide is attempting to entertain a friend visiting from Cape Colony, where she had once resided with her late husband, however, the spy business doesn’t make allowances for a personal life, or, perhaps, even friendships. Every story in this series comes alive, and reaches into the soul, especially for modern-day women, who need a reminder of how things once were.
Book 5: The Broadcloth Midnight, Adelaide Becket, gives an inside look at Adelaide’s frustrations and interactions with her fellow spies. We now get a closer examination of Torin Slane, and why her affections remain with Daniel Hargrave Bannister II. I appreciate the way Cooper-Posey shows the angst of an intelligent woman in a time when such was not condoned. She doesn’t paint Adelaide with a modern brush, and allows her to be the complex character she is. Love this series and look forward to the next piece of the story.
Book 6: The Salinghall Error, Adelaide Becket, brings Adelaide back in contact with her family. It’s been some time since she married “beneath” her station, but little has changed on the home front. I enjoyed the hypocrisy that’s exposed about her father and siblings, and that Adelaide maintains her own compass direction.
Book 7: The Indecent Agent, Adelaide Becket, brings Adelaide back to Cape Town for the first time since leaving there three years earlier. Cape Town was where she lived happily with the husband and son, before they were lost to her. This time she’s come to visit her friend, Isa, and encounters new dangers that will tear her life into shreds; shreds that may never come back together. A poignant chapter in this story, that wenches the heart. The best installment so far in this great series.
Can't wait to see what comes next.