The Spy

Princes of Toval #3

by Mell Eight

After spending two years away at culinary school, learning the arts of baking and magic, all Karl wants to do after graduation is return home to the kitchen where he grew up. However, when Karl's adoptive uncle asks him to do a little favor for him along his journey, of course Karl says yes. He needs to find a missing person, one who may have been captured somewhere in Yaroi, a neighboring country to Karl’s home in Toval.

Finding the missing person is hard enough. Add in each of their secretive pasts, and the implications and dangers inherent with being a Prince of Toval, and a simple rescue turns into a deadly adventure. Especially once Karl learns just why Ama was arrested in the first place. Karl’s chances of returning home to use his newly honed baking skills dwindle as escaping the situation with their heads still attached is proving to be almost impossible.

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, M M Romance, Magic, Royalty, LGBT

1 pages, Audio CD

First published June 10, 2025

About the author

When Mell Eight was in high school, she discovered dragons. Beautiful, wondrous creatures that took her on epic adventures both to faraway lands and on journeys of the heart. Mell wanted to create dragons of her own, so she put pen to paper. Mell Eight is now known for her own soaring dragons, as well as for other wonderful characters dancing across the pages of her books. While she mostly writes paranormal or fantasy stories, she has been seen exploring the real world once or twice.

For more information on Mell’s stories and future writing plans, visit her website.

Reviews

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Title: The Spy
Author: Mell Eight
Publisher: NineStar Press
ISBN: 978-1-64890-871-2
Buy Link: https://ninestarpress.com/product/the...
Reviewer: Teresa Fallen Angel
Blurb:
Princes of Toval 3
After spending two years away at culinary school, learning the arts of baking and magic, all Karl wants to do after graduation is return home to the kitchen where he grew up. However, when Karl's adoptive uncle asks him to do a little favor for him along his journey, of course Karl says yes. He needs to find a missing person, one who may have been captured somewhere in Yaroi, a neighboring country to Karl’s home in Toval.

Finding the missing person is hard enough. Add in each of their secretive pasts, and the implications and dangers inherent with being a Prince of Toval, and a simple rescue turns into a deadly adventure. Especially once Karl learns just why Ama was arrested in the first place. Karl’s chances of returning home to use his newly honed baking skills dwindle as escaping the situation with their heads still attached is proving to be almost impossible.
Total Score: 5/5

Reviewer: Teresa Fallen Angel

Summary:
Karl was a street child who, with his friends, was lucky to be taken in by members of the ruling class of Toval. So after years of finding his way, Karl was asked for a favor to find a missing person, Ama. Karl had special skills like many street children, but when you add his magical abilities he had a fair chance of succeeding. Karl found his way into the country of Yaroi where their dislike of strangers was only exceeded by their need to keep secrets for outsiders. He took a chance at looking in the place his rulers thought Ama might be. The dangers exceeded what he imagined, but he found Ama at the brink of death. This is the start of their journey a dangers lurked around every corner as Ama and Karl band together possibly finding a relationship and love beyond all expectations.

[Cynic530 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book so much that I was wiling to look past its flaws.

I love this world and its characters. I was happy that Karl got his own book taking place several years after the events of “The Chef”. I was happy to learn how his life had turned around, and I was excited to read about his adventure. I also liked Ama and can see how he would be a good match for Karl. Similar to previous books, I also liked the use of interludes to provide the perspective of the other main character while also advancing the plot in a way that felt natural.

There was a lot about this book that didn’t particularly work for me, though. The relationship between Karl and Ama was too much of an insta-love style romance. There was way more time taken to explain Karl’s journey to get to Ama (include how he used his scent to confused possible trackers), his time getting Ama back to Toval, and him exploring what it meant to be a Baron. There was surprisingly little time dedicated to their relationship throughout their journey or even when they got back to Toval. The most you really get is talking about how Karl felt drawn to Ama.

There were also a lot of really convenient things in this book, most notably the reveal of villains towards the end of the book.

Even taking all of the lackluster elements of the book into account, I still really enjoyed this book. If I was more objective, I would give it a more truthful 3 or 4 stars. But that’s the beauty of different points of view and subjective reviews. At the end of the day, I couldn’t give it anything less than 5 because I enjoyed it so much. It was such a nice conclusion to the series and a great way to say goodbye to this wonderful, unique, world.

[Bronwyn Heeley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the hell out of this book. I loved seeing Karl all grown up. I honestly don't really know what to say about this, except that it was so lovely both Karl and Ama taking care of each other, giving each other what would make them happy.

this one very much needs you to have read what came before in the series. Both to know who the Mc's are but also this book spoils ALL of the first two books.

troupes:
Foreced Proximity
Rescue Mission
Pinning
Baking
Action/adventure
CW: Attempted Drugging, Attempted Kidnapping, Depiction of Toture, Dense Discriptions of Food, Hospitalisation
I think this is also what you would call a Closed Romance, as there is no on page penatrative sex (let me know if I'm wrong)

[Deborah · Rating 4 out of 5]

good part 3, and possible end to the series

This engages from the start and holds the attention well. I’m not giving much away by saying this is a romance, one given time to build amidst all sorts of shenanigans involving royals, pariah states, found noblemen, and the cast of characters from the previous 2 books. All wraps up happily, no explicit descriptions of sex - in fact no real mention of it really. This reads as an end of the series, and I’ve no idea if the author plans to continue with this world.
Lots of mention of food again, travel food, bread, cake…
Don’t start here - there’s too much overlap with the first two books, both of which are worth reading, and you’ll know who everyone is if you do.

[Joe]

This one was a little too fraught for me. It needed more points of levity. The relationship felt like it didn’t have much time to develop as either one was usually in a caretaking role helping to nurse the other back to health.

This also misses the mark a bit for what a spy normally is in the fantasy world. It’s not something you raise your loved ones to be.

[Regina Long · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. Was lovely to get glimpses of the happy couples from books one and two. I also really enjoyed how much Karl loves to bake and how Eight describes the food and the baking process—so soothing and chill. I also admired the thoroughness of remembering that injuries sustained in battle have long term implications for unrelated things—like kneading bread. Very well done!

[Nix Buttons · Rating 3 out of 5]

same: nothing special, just a nice and easy read.

[Yvonne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Final book that brings all the HEAs together