A bit too loose for a biography... although I could be wrong. Maybe some of it was based on fact... ( )

This book reads somewhat like a romance novel and a spy novel all in one. There's Nancy Drew like mystery, but in a much more adult fashion. Lola Montez has quite the sexual appetite. Then again, what female spy doesn't?

It took me a few pages to get into it, but once she actually gets to Spain, I couldn't put it down! And the whole thing is made even more exciting because it's based at least somewhat in fact.
I definitely recommend this one to anyone who likes strong female characters, good spy novels, historical fiction, or romance novels. ( )

Whip Smart was a very quick and enjoyable read. The main character is a woman whose attitude is, in many ways, ahead of her time. She is independent and assertive. At the same time she has the failings of all humans: a desire to be loved, a wish to be taken care of, fears and hopes. I can't say that I always liked her very much. At times I wished that I could reach through the pages and shake her. But I think that makes a character more real somehow.

I am not familiar with the place and time in history that this book is based on. Therefore I cannot speak to it's accuracy. I didn't find anything glaringly and obviously incorrect and for a light historical fiction novel, that's good enough for me. The places were described well enough that I could picture them in my mind. A cast of varied characters flit in and out of view. There are turns and surprises that kept me guessing at who was meant to be the black hat of the story.

I read this book over a couple of days but in actuality it took very few hours to get through it. Whether you love or hate Lola, she is a very compelling narrator. I found myself thinking about the book when I wasn't actively reading it and genuinely wondering how it would all pan out. And that's the mark of a successfully written novel, isn't it? To leave you thinking..

Whip Smart is a story about Lola Montez a.k.a Eliza Rosanna Gilbert. There's a period in Eliza's life that little is know about her. That's where Kit Brennan's story begins. Lola is a fascinating character. I think whip smart is an accurate description of her. Eliza was the kind of women that led life on her own terms. In today's society that's not such a big deal, but in 1842 it was huge.
Eliza was looking for adventure, and she desperately wanted to be a dancer. When an opportunity opened up to go to Spain to achieve her dream, she grabbed it immediately. Eliza was very free-spirited, and very spontaneous. Before she knows it she's caught up in a political uprising. She has to be on her toes, and watch her back constantly. However the heart wants what the heart wants, and her heart wants the dangerous Diego de Léon. This decision leads her into a luscious affair that is rewarding but perilous.
I didn't know a lot about Loa Montez before I read this novel. About 1/3 through this book I had to find out more about her. Brennen seems to capture the spirit of the real Lola Montez between these pages.Lola is quite a personality. The story line is entertaining. It has adventure, suspense, and, of course, romance. I was cheering Lola on the entire story. Although this book is fiction I think the author really does Lola Montez justice. In real life she lived life on her own terms just as she did on these pages.
Read more at http://www.2readornot2read.com/2013/02/review-whip-smart-by-kit-brennan.html#A3I... ( )

Lola Montez was a 19th-century adventuress who started in the UK, traveled all over Europe -- at one point, as the mistress to a King! -- then Australia and the US. She was known for a scandalous dance of her own invention, her romantic escapades, and her liberal use of a whip.

In this novel, Brennan imagines the year when Eliza Rosanna Gilbert transformed herself into Lola Montez (what actually happened is fuzzy, so Brennan takes liberties, which she acknowledges in her Afterward).

In 1842, Rosanna -- as she prefers to be called -- is facing a divorce trial from her husband on grounds of infidelity (on her side, scandalously). Virtually penniless, she finds herself a patron, of sorts, and decides to take acting lessons, where she is introduced to Juan de Grimaldi, a dance master for the Spanish court.

The novel is written in Lola's voice, and like her life, the prose is breathless, dramatic, punctuated with exclamation points and a variety of oaths, curses, and wails. I found it playful ('“¡Fabulosa!” he’d squeak, and “¡Deliciosa!” I’d gasp back.', p26) and dramatically emotive as Lola punctuates her story with commentary and coy asides. 

While reading, I was reminded a bit of Kage Baker and Carol K. Carr, with the mix of banter, snark, and history. There's a very earthy sense of sex and sexuality here -- not explicit, but obvious, if that makes sense -- and I found it hilariously fun.  There's a sense of heaving bosoms here, but not because Lola's met her One True Love -- no, Lola is on the run, working her wiles, and trying to come out on top.

I'm super excited for the sequel -- Whip Smart: Lola Montez and the Poisoned Nom de Plume -- because Brennan's Lola is a trip. ( )