Viva Jacquelina! Review

The inodimatble Jacky Faber is back, blackmailed by the British Intelligence into a new mission where she is sent over the hills and far away to the plains in Spain to be exact. . . And Portugal but that doesn’t fit the rhyme. Anyway, being Jacky her mission to spy on the French as they invade the Iberian penninsula doesn’t quite go as plan.

Jacky is intially on a tight leash while she’s in Lisbon, acting as translator to the surly General Wellesley who doesn’t fall for her charms. Rather they mutually ruffle each other’s feathers with insults and puffed up egos. But there is some respite as Lord Allen of the Dragoons is by her side. I’ll admit I thought he was just another one of Jacky’s many admirers but considering their closeness and how Allen seems to really admire Jacky’s high spirits despite British propriety and standing by Jacky’s side in battle. . I can see that she might really love him.

However, the what could be’s are brought to a sudden stop when the French brutally attack the village, targeting civilians as well as the army. A turn that Jacky is horrified by as they had previously been more honorable while she had been in the service. But war is hell and Lord Allen is cut down to a fatal condition and must be sent back to England. Worse, Sir Arthur Wellesley is demoted which Jacky hopes will be her chance to return home. That’s not to be, instead she is sent to Spain to continue her spying mission till the time for Weaslley to reinstated.

She is accompained by the swarthy guerilla leader, Pablo Montoya who wants to liberate his homecountry from the French and Napoleon’s brother, King Joseph. But after an ambush, Jacky has to walk thousands of miles alone, eating hallucinogenic mushrooms on the way to stave off her hunger I mention these because not only is it a funny acid trip but an important tool in Jacky’s arsneal later on.

But even though Jacky has no money, she does have her street smarts and finds a way to get to her targets in the royal palace of Spain while having some fun too. How so? She becomes a model and student of Francisco de Goya! Jacky has a long history of taking the time to learn useful skills and here, she gets useful knowledge to take her art to the next level and even learn oil painting which Meyer eagerly goes into the technique put into creating oil for oil paint and the teachings of de Goya. Meyeer just has a real love of imbuing all these little historical tidbits and instruction which makes the book immersive and educational. Jacky also learns to dance the flamanco and add several more Spanish songs to her repertoire from the Romani guitar player, Django.

But it’s not all skill-building and pleasure, Jacky has some amorous advances from the charming Amadeo and the sweet, young boy Cesar whom Jacky enjoys flattering since he’s so young. Unfortunately the attentions of Armadeo, makes the other art studet, Carmelita set her targets on Jacky with vengence. A lover spurned is always vicious especially as Carmelita considers herself a refined Christian lady and that having a “dirty maja slut” like Jacky to be in her presence is insulting in all forms. She’s a bigger pain than Clarissa Howe which is pretty impressive you must admit.

Not only are these social dynamics at play, but Jacky still has her action-packed mishaps like when she becomes the hero of the running of the bulls hence the cover art and ends up in the hands of the Inquisition!! And then a thrilling finale where Jacky finds her “people”, the Romani, as she gets the hell out of Spain and learns some valuable lesson in tarot reading and observational skills.

I was thinking as I read, how does Jacky manage to charm the pants of almost everyone she meets but I think I somewhat figured it out. It’s part of what makes her so entertaining to read. She is a girl full of life and she sets out to enjoy it as she can. She is a bit of foolish creature in that respect, she fully admits but it’s due to this tendency towards pleasure that she doesn’t overthink and is flexible. This also aids her in her misadventures as it allows her to think out of the box with strategies no one else could think of. Since she’s so open-minded, she is willing to learn and study so many different things hence her literal jacky of all trades that make her so valuable a spy.

Even so, her living in the moment also lends her to having a compassionate heart towards others no matter their nation. Something that is put to the test when she sees how low the French she formerly respected can go. As well as her having to turn back on her allies when she sees the hard tactics Montoya and his crew do towards their French hostages, depriving them of honorable and quick deaths.

But like I said even though some allies turn out to be disappointments, Jacky is never without friends or lovers. One Jaimy Fletcher has abundently recovered his sanity in Burma as he learns to clear his mind in Burma with the Shaolin monks under Chopstick Charlie’s protection.

Meyer has really put Jaimy though the wringer but I think it has made Jaimy a better match for Jacky as he is ridding himself of his snobbish personality, basing respect of a person on skill instead of class like he used to. He even admits that he has learned a bit about taking time to wait and strike, fighting smarter instead of harder. Before he wouldn’t have admitted a girl knowing more than him, and would have made her stay at home. Now I think he’ll be okay with them sailing the seas together under her ship banner instead of forcing her to stay at home while he acts all manly.

Plus he has undergone his own training of Bojustu, earning him the rank of novice and his own dragon tattoo, giving him some extra advantage whenever he is not under Jacky’s protection. Not only that, Charlie offers him a tempting proposition to open Charlie’s spice empire to America, a bit of competition for Faber Shipping Worldwide to be sure but it just goes to show their like-minded tendencies toward action and commerce on the high seas.

It’s another exciting Jacky adventure that I’m sure fans will enjoy even though the months spent painting do sometimes fill like a filler. But I’m very excited to see the possible reunion of Jacky and Jaimy on Boston shores.

Which is where we’re heading next and I can’t wait to see what will happen there when free-spirited Jacky is back on Puritan country. Will she be accused of witchery? Damnation? Treason? Who knows but she’ll find her way out of it, she’s the Puss with nine lives.