Lauren Willig, as I may have already mentioned, is an absolutely delightful author. Her regency spy-romances are top-notch, well-written and brilliantly funny.
There has been much debate in my family about whether she is a romance novelist or a romance satirist. Her books may be affectionate parodies of Baroness Orczy's Scarlet Pimpernel, but her keen nose for what makes a great romance suggests that she knows full well what a happy ending reads like and has far more affection than parody in her veins.
Which is nice, because having an author who laughs along with you is the very best sort of author.
This book, in particular, was wonderful. The two main characters were a ton of fun and Willig treads the line between historical accuracy and post-modern humor with a niceness most others could barely aspire to.
Also, and this is a big deal for me, her characters are distinct. They have personalities that differentiate them and those personalities have depth. My hat goes off to Willig for another great addition to her series.