A review by thischarmingreader
The Spy and I by Tiana Smith

adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Real talk. I wanted to like this more than I actually did. I mean, it was okay- a decent read, but it was missing that oomph, that it factor, that thing that makes me giddy and/or heartbroken.

Dove Barkley is a corporate penetration detector. She creates cyber attacks for corporations to detect their vulnerability. Her older sister invites her out for dinner to one of their favorite restaurants which Dove agrees to go to after her magazine interview for a local Washington D.C. magazine featuring her in their 30 Under 30 issue. 

The interview with reporter, Sam, is a little interrogate-y, but she doesn’t notice because Sam is incredibly attractive. Right. Because women lose all sense of self when in a professional setting with a hot man. 🙄

At the restaurant she’s approached by an unknown man who clearly thinks she’s her sister, Madison. Suddenly armed men are in the restaurant and the unknown man is shot in the head. Dove takes the briefcase he had offered her and runs. Who just happens to pull up on a sexy motorcycle to whisk her away from danger? None other than Sam, the not so much a reporter. 

Turns out he’s a spy. Her sister is also a spy. And the CIA needs Dove to impersonate her sister for a meeting in Prague with a shady arms dealer in order to catch a big fish arms dealer. 

What follows are some spy capers and misadventures. A lot of forced proximity and what should be sexual tension. That part was a big miss for me. I didn’t see why Mendez (oh, that’s Sam’s real name) would be so into her so fast or vice versa actually. 

You know how I can tell I’m not super  into a book when I’m listening to the audiobook? I keep turning up the speed. I’m normally a 1.3-1.5x girlie dependent on the narrators. This one I ended up advancing until I finished it at 1.8x. My husband was like “are you listening to chipmunks?”

So, bottom line: if I used half stars, this would’ve been a 2.5, but I always round up. 😁

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