My Beautiful Enemy by Sherry Thomas was a historical romance book club pick from The Ripped Bodice. I sped-read the first half and didn’t return to it last year. And then in February, I remembered, and it was so worth finishing.
Ying-Ying, aka Catherine Blade, is a badass. She was trained in martial arts because her guardian/stepfather, Da-Ren, was a Chinese warlord. She makes an enemy of Lin, a dangerous assassin, who relentlessly hunts her across the globe. When the story begins, she is hiding in plain sight in Victorian London society. She encounters Captain Leighton Atwood, a dashing man who reminds her of her only lover. It can’t be the same man, she killed him in Chinese Turkestan…but oh boy, it IS. And he’s engaged to someone else!
The novel vacillates between flashbacks of how they met from both their perspectives. Leighton was undercover as “The Persian” on his way to India, while Ying-Ying was posing as a man, mostly for safety, while on secret missions for Da-Ren. Years later, they have a second chance at love in England. If only people would stop trying to murder and betray them. They sneak around London searching for a jade tablet, and unexpectedly collect clues about each other. Fate brings them back together. They fall in love again, this time as their true identities.
Despite being a very plot-heavy novel, the romance between these dangerous people was so sweet. They fell in love in the Kunlun mountains in scenes reminiscent of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Catherine never let her guard down except around Leighton. She learned a harsh lesson when she believed he had betrayed her. Of course, a woman as deadly as herself can’t leave him alive. A warning: there is a tragic backstory involving pregnancy. They both have to overcome their pasts and reveal all their secrets, both for themselves and for each other. The banter is top-tier with spy vs. spy double-meanings. I didn’t predict exactly how it ended, even after attending the full book club discussion. That’s a testament to how well Sherry Thomas crafts romance and mystery. I really loved the magical martial arts elements, albeit not a major part of the story. But this man Lin is determined to get Ying-Ying, and so is she.
If you’re a fan of the Lady Sherlock series and spy romances, you’ll enjoy this novel. You don’t have to read the prequel novel.