She needs a fake husband. He needs to protect his best friend…Ever since I caught my boyfriend getting hot and steamy with another woman, I’ve thrown myself into my career. But now I’m ready to move from being the super-efficient office manager to an operative with Quade Security and Investigation.Just as soon as I prove to my boss that I’m kick-ass enough to do the job.So when my grandmother … job.
So when my grandmother asks for my help, there’s no way I can say no. Her former love has a mission for Jayden—my hot colleague and best friend—and me. What more could I want?
***
The last thing I want is for Isabelle to be is an operative. She’s my best friend, and I hate the idea of her being in danger. Unfortunately, our boss has other plans.
Isabelle and I go undercover at a resort for happily married couples. But forget moonlight walks and hanging out by the pool. To maintain our cover, we have to participate in activities that would make a nun blush.
Clothes come flying off, and we agree to temporarily be friends-with-benefits while there. No strings attached. No complications. Nothing could be simpler. Right?
Wrong—because there’s another reason we’ve been lured to the resort. A reason that will put our hearts to the test…and our lives on the line.
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Original review: https://myshelfbooks.wordpress.com/2020/06/16/review-while-you-were-spying-by-stina-lindenblatt/
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
This book has rather good foundations: undercover agents in a spa for couples, fake relationship, unresolved sexual attraction between the main characters and a fairly interesting mystery. That was the recipe for great, but the outcome leans way harder in the so-so spectrum.
I would point out two main strengths of this story. The first chapters when they are full on faking and realize they may want to do more than faking is one. They are kind of cute with each other adn there is even a little bit of room for sense of humour. The second would be the action scenes, but sadly they are pretty rare and they mostly happen in the beginning and the end. Not enough of them to ignore some of the weakest aspects of the story.
I also have several complaints. The mystery should have been an important part of the book, but it is poorly developed and during most of the time doesn’t make any sense. Can anyone tell me what are Jayden and Isabelle investigating in the spa? Because, there is no crime, no proof, no anything… They built a conspiracy theory out of smoke. It was pretty weird. The other big complaint would be the characters. They are pretty plain and sometimes even annoying. Their love story is not one I will remember. Even if I believed in it…
While You Were Spying” was one of the best romance books I’ve read about “fake relationship” and “Best friend” tropes, it was so entertaining, funny, drama filled with sexy moments, and just the right amount of emotion. Absolutely loved it and one of the best books I’ve read by this amazing author. Can’t wait to see what she writes next. Just can’t wait to get my hands on it. Go grab your copy today. Happy reading everyone!
So I did like it, however there was something missing that I just never got. It was fast paced so it kept you pretty entertained. I liked Isabelle and I read this book in one go. I also liked Jayden and he was trying to protect his friend not thinking that she was strong enough to go out in the field, my opinion she is a grown as woman she can decide..Anywoo so they do get there assignment which they have to fake a relationship and you know that nothing stays fake, feelings will get blurred, lines will get crossed and sexiness will happen, this my friends I enjoyed it, and the secondary characters liked them too. and Yes I cracked up my issue was there really was no suspense to me I just felt everything was contrived.
rcvd an ARC at no cost to author…(netgalley) voluntarily reviewed with my own thoughts and opinions
This was my first experience reading this author’s work and it was a nice enjoyable read. Jayden and Isabelle are co-workers and friends and end up working undercover together. At times, I found myself thinking it was an overly long read, but then the plot and the chemistry between the two kept me interested and wondering what would happen next. Overall an enjoyable contemporary romance read. I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC for NetGalley.
3.5 Stars!
The combination of best friends, a famous grandmother, and the perils of being an operative, creates “While You Were Spying” by Stina Lindenblatt. A captivating beginning drew me into this suspenseful romance, with characters that are interesting, caring and distinctive. This is the first book from the author’s brand new series Love Undercover, and it can be read as a standalone.
Complimentary copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley.
3.5-3.75 stars. This was a cute book. While You Were Spying is Jayden and Isabelle’s friends to lovers story. Jayden and Isabelle are good friends who work together. They both work for a security firm, where Jayden is a security guard/investigator and Isabelle runs the office. She is itching to work out in the field and has been training in the hopes that she will get an assignment. Jayden is fiercely and vocally against this for her. He doesn’t think she is tough enough or can hack it, but he is also worried she will get hurt. But then Isabelle’s grandmother’s friend, a man who runs a couples resort, needs an undercover investigator to find a thief on his resort property. Isabelle gets her chance to take the case with Jayden acting as her husband. The two go undercover to investigate and soon find that the resort is more like a couples therapy retreat, complete with mandatory classes and sex therapy. Lines get blurred, their relationship gets complicated and they soon find themselves falling for each other.
I enjoyed this book. It was a relatively light, easy read with some cute and funny moments. The mystery was a little convoluted, hard to follow, and at times not believable. But there is a fun story, a cute couple, kooky characters and funny circumstances. I liked Jayden and Isabelle. I didn’t totally love how against Isabelle wanting to be a security investigator Jayden was. He was a little rude about that. But I did think they ended up being a good match who had fallen for each other without even knowing it, while they were friends. I did think they were a bit lacking in chemistry, but I wasn’t too bothered.
Overall, this was a fun read. I enjoyed Jayden and Isabelle’s story. This series seems like it’s going to be a good one and I look forward to reading more.
I received a complimentary ARC – early release copy of this book in Kindle format from the author for review purposes.
I love this author she is kinda an auto buy for me and I have read many of her other series. But this was the first one I didn’t love. I had a tough time finishing it. I think its because it moved very slowly and I didn’t really love the male lead, Jayden.
The plus is that its a offshoot from her last series and is a brand new series about guys who work at a private detective agency. Izzy is their office manager who the guys don’t want out in the field until she comes up with her own case and she wants to take Jayden with her as he is the PI and they have to pretend to be a couple.
It was a fun story once it got going and I enjoyed the dynamics between Jayden and Izzy. She is a very fun character and I loved how she pushed Jay’s buttons. This is a friends becoming more romance and once it started to speed up I started to enjoy it.
I received a free copy of this book from the author.
We tend to have a stereotype of who can work in security and who can’t. It’s a male dominated field. Typically they’re much better at shutting off their feelings than women. That’s about it…other than physical strength.
So when Isabelle expresses the desire to do more for the security company she works for her bestie – Jayden tries to put his foot down of course it just makes her want it even more. When she brings a job to the table that requires a couple do the investigating Jayden has no choice than to go along with Isabelle on this case.
I liked the start of this new series by Stina Lindenblatt. It was a cute story with a clueless Hero and a determined heroine. If you’re new to Stina’s books give this one a try.
While You Were Spying is a fun, intriguing, full of mystery, friends-to-lovers read. It was like reading a fun romcom wrapped up in a James Bond movie with lots of extra steam.
Isabell’s grandmother has a job for her, but the only trouble is she’s not an agent, she’s the office manager at Quade Security and Investigation. Isabell’s dream is to become a field agent and this may be her chance to finally prove herself, but there is one other problem with her plan, the mission requires a partner as the resort she needs to check out is for married couples only. There are only a few operatives who work for QSI and only one who might actually be available, her best friend Jayden, who isn’t exactly her best supporter behind her dreams.
Jayden, is Isabell’s best friend and work college, but he has no desire to ever see Isabell working out in the field. The work can be dangerous, as evidenced by his last mission where he was shot and is now in a sling recovering. When their boss teams up Isabell with him to check out the lead her grandmother gave them he isn’t exactly happy about it. Every mission has the potential to be dangerous, even a recon mission. Jayden’s intention is to keep her close and keep her safe so she can return to the desk job where he doesn’t have to worry about her.
Checking into the resort as a happily married couple is the least of their concerns, they are best friends after all and really do enjoy each other company. Attending seminars on strengthening their relationship in and out of the bedroom…well, that is another matter altogether. Their friendship lines get blurred and going back to being just friends may be harder than they thought, especially when trust becomes a bigger issue in solving the case.
Jayden and Isabelle are a favorite couple of mine. They’ve been friends for two years and neither one of them will acknowledge the heat that’s been building between them. Until Isabelle brings a case to Quade Security that she wants to investigate herself. Jayden isn’t crazy about her being in the field so he agrees to go along with her to pose as her husband.
It’s funny to watch them as they’re forced to interact as a married couple. It gets more interesting as it gets a little dangerous for both Jayden and Isabelle. You won’t want to miss how it all plays out.
Definitely 5 stars!
While You Were Spying is my first book from Stina Lindenblatt and it was a bit of a mixed bag for me. While touted as romantic suspense, it felt much more like a friends-to-lovers office romance with tiny hints of danger sprinkled in here and there.
That’s not to say it was all bad. In fact, I happened to really like Isabelle. She was smart, strong, savvy. I liked how she took it upon herself to go after the job she wanted. She had a lot to prove to not just herself but also her brood of uber alpha co-workers. No one more than her best friend, Jayden.
Oh Jayden, a good guy with the best of intentions. I liked his protective side. And his flirty side that came out when he and Isabelle were made to work together. What a tangled web of lies and deceit they uncovered. I liked that when everything hit the fan, Isabelle stuck to her guns and proved in her actions just what she was capable of.
Jayden and Isabelle’s sexual chemistry was off the charts, but I found the emotional connection between them lacking a tad. And, to be very honest, the whole ‘you can’t do this job’ route that Jayden kept sprouting made me want to shake him. But I thoroughly enjoyed how Isabelle put him in his place and made him face facts. Overall, While You Were Spying was ok. While I wanted more suspense and intrigue, there were a good handful of laughs (courtesy of Isabelle’s grandma), plenty of steam and a heaping dose of love.
This was an enjoyable enough read, but it was a tad predictable. Jayden and Isabelle are best friends and the attraction they’ve both studiously ignored is about to be front and center when they take on a case as a bit of a favor to an old family friend. It’s just too bad that said family friend has a plethora of issues going on at his couples’ resort…in Huntington Beach. As someone familiar with the SoCal area, I would’ve found a resort like this to be more believable further south, like closer to the OC or San Diego. But I digress. So Jayden and Isabelle check into said resort, they find that they’re enrolled in some spicy marriage classes, and the predictability begins. There were a few twists that were at least somewhat interesting, but on the whole, this was an average read with some entertaining moments to break it up a tad.