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3.45 AVERAGE
3.45 AVERAGE
Super cute Spy Romcom
Gave me the same feeling all of my favorite spy romcom movies did (The Killers & The Spy Who Dumped Me)
What you need to know:
Mistaken Identity
Spy x Hacker
Single POV
Fast paced action
Closed door
Huge thank you to Berkley Romance for this ARC
Gave me the same feeling all of my favorite spy romcom movies did (The Killers & The Spy Who Dumped Me)
What you need to know:
Mistaken Identity
Spy x Hacker
Single POV
Fast paced action
Closed door
Huge thank you to Berkley Romance for this ARC
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
2.5⭐️
Thank you so much to Berkley Romance, Netgalley, and PRH Audio for the advanced copies of this book. All thoughts and opinions are still my own.
I was really excited for an action rom-com featuring a female hacker. Unfortunately this just didn't quite hit the way I had hoped.
Let's start with what I did enjoy.
I have no idea if Tiana Smith has a background in programming, but she actually did a great job with the programming aspects. The heroine is an ethical hacker (or penetration tester) and while simplified somewhat, her tactics were actually accurate.
As a professional programmer, I'm always nervous reading a book about coding because it's not always... quite right. But this book did a great job and I was really impressed.
I also thought that the chemistry between the characters during close scenes was written fantastically. This book doesn't ever feature on page sex, but the characters had palpable tension and chemistry from the get-go.
Unfortunately the romance and plot itself didn't deliver in what I wanted.
This book is about spies, mistaken identities, hacking, and undercover ops. By definition, it should have been fast paced and engaging. But somehow it dragged the whole way through.
The opening scene where Dove is drawn into the scheme, was fantastic. But everything from there on dragged.
I felt like we spent more time in Dove's head listening to her inner monologue than anything else. Rather than experiencing things first hand, we listened to her describing things second hand. With long, long tangents about her feeling for her, her situation, her sister, and Mendez (over and over and over again).
It became repetitive and also lost the action feel because we didn't get to experience the action ourselves.
And this internal monologue led to my other issues with this book. Dove was constantly repeating herself, going on long tangents about Mendez's forearms during chase scenes, crying over her sister during fights... it was just bizarre.
Instead of being focused on a car chase, she describes the way the hero's hands look grabbing the window. So the actual action scenes felt cheapened and less dangerous.
Overall I just don't think this book committed to a tone. It wasn't necessarily rom-com-y. There weren't laugh out loud, silly moments. It didn't play into the silly chaos. But it also didn't go action heavy either.
So in the end I was just feel very underwhelmed by the entire thing. How can a book that ends with a building explosion be boring? No idea... but this one succeeded...
Thank you so much to Berkley Romance, Netgalley, and PRH Audio for the advanced copies of this book. All thoughts and opinions are still my own.
I was really excited for an action rom-com featuring a female hacker. Unfortunately this just didn't quite hit the way I had hoped.
Let's start with what I did enjoy.
I have no idea if Tiana Smith has a background in programming, but she actually did a great job with the programming aspects. The heroine is an ethical hacker (or penetration tester) and while simplified somewhat, her tactics were actually accurate.
As a professional programmer, I'm always nervous reading a book about coding because it's not always... quite right. But this book did a great job and I was really impressed.
I also thought that the chemistry between the characters during close scenes was written fantastically. This book doesn't ever feature on page sex, but the characters had palpable tension and chemistry from the get-go.
Unfortunately the romance and plot itself didn't deliver in what I wanted.
This book is about spies, mistaken identities, hacking, and undercover ops. By definition, it should have been fast paced and engaging. But somehow it dragged the whole way through.
The opening scene where Dove is drawn into the scheme, was fantastic. But everything from there on dragged.
I felt like we spent more time in Dove's head listening to her inner monologue than anything else. Rather than experiencing things first hand, we listened to her describing things second hand. With long, long tangents about her feeling for her, her situation, her sister, and Mendez (over and over and over again).
It became repetitive and also lost the action feel because we didn't get to experience the action ourselves.
And this internal monologue led to my other issues with this book. Dove was constantly repeating herself, going on long tangents about Mendez's forearms during chase scenes, crying over her sister during fights... it was just bizarre.
Instead of being focused on a car chase, she describes the way the hero's hands look grabbing the window. So the actual action scenes felt cheapened and less dangerous.
Overall I just don't think this book committed to a tone. It wasn't necessarily rom-com-y. There weren't laugh out loud, silly moments. It didn't play into the silly chaos. But it also didn't go action heavy either.
So in the end I was just feel very underwhelmed by the entire thing. How can a book that ends with a building explosion be boring? No idea... but this one succeeded...
I thought this was a romance, but it's more action/comedy with a bit of romance. I still loved it, great for readers of either genre!
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Did you ever wish Jason Bourne was the main character in a romcom? Boy have I got something to tell you!
Here’s a fantastically entertaining romance laced with mistaken identity and espionage set against an international backdrop.
Dove and her sister Madison are polar opposites. Dove is an introvert who work with computers (as a penetration tester, ahem) while her sister is a globe trotting photographer. Growing up in foster care left the two tighter than most siblings.
When Madison returns home for a quick stop, the girls agree to meet for dinner. But Dove shows up to the restaurant early, and in a wild set of coincidences, she happens to know the right Princess Bride quote, accepts a secret briefcase, narrowly avoids a gunfight, and manages an escape with a sexy spy, Mendez.
But Madison goes missing and Mendez assures Dove he can help - after all, he’s Madison’s CIA partner (her what now?). Despite her confusion and fear, as the mission becomes more dangerous, Dove finds herself conflicted. She’s falling for Mendez, but in a world of spies, who can she trust?
It’s super fast paced and so much fun, reading like that aforementioned Bourne movie but with laughs and flirty banter abound. I read the two books in this series in the wrong order, but both can stand alone. And I had a blast with each one!
adventurous
challenging
inspiring
fast-paced
I didn't connect with the main characters as a couple. I felt like they barely interacted and we didn't see much of a conversation before he was rubbing his hands up her arms trying to take her to bed. I didn't trust that he had any feelings or attraction to her based on the numerous times he told her he was under orders to flirt with her. After repeatedly being told this I can't understand why she had any interest in him.
So I am not big on suspense romance but this one looked funny so I took a chance and received an ARC. It was funny. Dove looks very similar to her sister, who unbeknownst to Dove works for the CIA. An operative mistakes her for her sister and hands her a briefcase with documents and then someone immediately kills the operative. She runs. Mendez works for the CIA and is looking for Dove's sister. They believe she has turned on the CIA. Dove knows she would never turn her back on her country but how in the world can she prove it. Sparks immediately fly between Dove and Mendez but now they have to go to Prague to find the bad guy and hopefully Dove's sister. Dove is a penetration tester. (I had to ask my IT husband if that was a real thing or just made up for this romcom. It is really called that.) She tests company's security systems on their networks to make sure they are safe from hackers. It is very fast paced and the romance just involves flirting and kissing which I definitely would have liked more action in that department but they are running for their lives. I will definitely check out more from this author. I enjoyed the banter between the two main characters.
-"Well, I am a penetration tester. Most guys have their own theories about what that means."
-"Well, I am a penetration tester. Most guys have their own theories about what that means."