THE (EX) SPY WHO (MAYBE) LOVED ME - Christi Barth

#2 in the Swan Cove romance series

ROMANCE WITH A TWIST - 4 stars

Plot - 4 stars - At the end of a trip, Blake has one final thing to cross off her to-do list: a one-night stand. And the hot stranger at the Maine airport bar might be perfect. Until, of course, he shows up in her town the very next day. And they end up working together. And those are not the only surprises.

Writing - 4 stars - I've read Barth before and loved her writing. This book definitely exceeds that expectation. She has created a warm environment in a typical small town, but the characters have much more personality and are unusual enough to capture the reader's interest. The joking is fun, witty banter is clever, and the action moved things forward quickly.

Characters - 4.5 stars - This is where the story shone for me. Blake is a strong-minded and independent woman with the analytical mind of a scientist. The fact that she's always trying to excel because of her family never lets her be able to let go in her personal life, except when she had a one-night stand with Wyatt. All her plans of secrecy fall apart when he shows up in Swan Cove at her work facility. Wyatt, for his part, is trying to settle into regular life after working as an undercover spy for the past several years. His life if all about secrecy, so he's also struggling to deal with their brief "relationship."

Title - 3.5 stars - This is a little awkward and long, but it seems as though it's (perhaps) an inside joke between the author and her husband?

Cover - 4 stars - The cartoony characters aren't my favorite, but they seem to be a popular trend at the moment for this genre. And the bright color definitely catches the eye.

Overall - 4 stars - This was an overall fun book to read. The characters are entertaining, with strong cores and believable personalities. Wyatt and Blake fit together well, complementing each other where needed. The uniqueness of Wyatt's employment (ex-employment) situation kept this book from being a typical romance. And Blake's dedication to her job made her strong, but her worry about her family name and expectations showed a more vulnerable side. I loved the banter between them, as well as secondary characters of Fitz and Hallie (brother and wife), Ana (Blake's snarky friend), and Everett (Wyatt's neighbor). I will definitely go back and read the first in this series and will eagerly await further installments.

This is my first experience reading something by this author. It was a delightfully fun and light read. Wyatt and Blake have a chance meeting when they are both stuck at the airport waiting for fog to clear so they can continue their journeys. Wyatt is a former black ops intelligent agent who must now adjust to life as an average guy after spending years saving the world. Blake is a brilliant scientist who is heading back home after a trip. They are instantly attracted to each other and spend one no-strings attached night together. They never expected to see each other again, but when Blake returns to her small hometown, who does she encounter by Wyatt himself. Turns out Wyatt is an artist and is a finalist in a competition Blake's lab is sponsoring. The two now have to work together as they will have to collaborate on creating a new piece of art. As much as Blake wants to forget the one night stand, they both can't deny the chemistry sizzling between them. There was also a grumpy/sunshine vibe going on between the two and Wyatt's vibrant and charming character paired well with Blake's play by the rules, stoic attitude.
The story was entertaining and the banter between Blake and Wyatt made the read a lot of fun. I enjoyed the story and look forward to reading more by this author. Thank you to Entangled Publishing and Netgalley for providing a complimentary copy. This is my voluntary and honest review.

The beginning of the story has a cute meet up that brings readers into the two main leads that has them in bed in the first two pages.
The story moves forward with the male lead wanting to teach the female lead that life isn't all about work and can be about fun. While the male read is trying to focus on a new life after retiring from the spy world.
The romance is stop and go constantly due to the female lead not wanting to open her heart.
The story is a sweet fast moving pace romance. Those who need a HEA will not want to miss this story.
Thank you to Netgally for a copy of The (Ex) Spy Who Maybe Loved me.

LOVE LOVE LOVED the second instalment from Swan Cove! Wyatt and Blake have such amazing chemistry that practically jumps off the page the moment they meet. Their story starts off as chance meeting with one night together and watching them grow together was truly wonderful.

The (Ex) Spy Who (Maybe) Loved Me was an absolute joy to read, funny and engaging with just the right amount of spice. Christi Barth is quickly becoming one of my favourite authors.

Woooo. Starting off with a steamy airport one night stand turns work partners. I loved the combination of STEM and spy to civilian life story lines really were super interesting and fresh story line i enjoyed!

THE DRAW ME SCENE. 🔥 IYKYK.

The banter was so so well done, and made the book super quick and fun to read.

It’s giving small town romance, women in STEM, one night stand to work partners and SEMI reverse grumpy / sunshine.

super fun bantery romcom!

“For fuck’s sake. Stop thinking of me as an artist. Start treating me like just a man.”

I've read several Christi Barth but this one was a bit harder to get through than some of the others. I think the quote above really sums it up -- our heroine just can't stop stereotyping which is so frustrating. It was also a huge bummer every time Blake put herself down, as if a scientist couldn’t also be someone fun to go to dinner with. Spoiler alert: I’m a scientist and know many of them, and they can be quite fun. So every time Blake was described as a boring, rigid, uptight person — with the excuse that she’s a scientist… well it was pretty insulting. So prepare yourself, as you just might not love this heroine like some of her others -- even if the writing is good.

Thank you netgalley and Entangled Publishing for allowing me to read this book. This book started off strong and ended strong but lost me in between. I wasn’t really a fan of Blake’s prickly personality or how back and forth the relationship was. I wish there had been more spy action thrown in and I wanted more chemistry between Wyatt and Blake. I do think when they finally got together they were cute and brought out the best in each other!

This was such a great romantic read by Christi Barth. I enjoyed both of these characters tremendously. What happens when a scientist meets an ex spy in an airport bar? One hot night together that was supposed to end the next day. Of course things don't always go that way, and when Blake's company decides to bring art and science together she comes face to face with none other than her one night stand, Wyatt.
This book has all the good feels of a great romance with a great story line to back it up. Both of these characters were extremely well written by Christi. Blake eventually learns that she can't always sacrifice everything for her work, and she's been putting her happiness on the back burner for far too long. Wyatt learns to adjust to civilian life, and learns that he is the true artist that his late aunt beleived him to be. I encourage you to not only look at the romance between these two characters, but pay attention to the deeper issues that they have experienced and overcome. You'll find that your heart strings will get pulled quite a few times.

A solid premise but ultimately didn't work for me. I've enjoyed her other books but this one fell a little flat for me.

I like the idea of this book. The author had a great concept. They just did not execute it well. It was kind of disappointing.

The plot was so good... it had everything to be a good book but somehow the author end up wanting to write something big that end up being meh.

You ever read something and a third of the way you get this feeling that something feels familiar but you can't put your finger on it. This was happening to me with this book until I realized half way through that I actually dnfd first book in the series.
This one is a steady improvement.
I liked Blake and Wyatt a lot more that Fitz and Hallie. It's not bad but it still felt like it was missing something. 2 stars.

Thanks to netgalley and publisher for this arc.

I was so excited for this plot but it really fell flat mostly because I couldn't stand the main female character, for someone so smart she was super dumb and annoying lol. The main guy was much more likeable but even their chemistry when together couldn't save this book and pairing for me. She was too rude and ridiculous for things she shouldn't have been...I almost stopped reading this book about 4 times throughout but figured I'd finish and see how it ended smh.

Absolutely hilarious. I loved the characters and how they played off one another. It was a fun read and I look forward to more by this author!

I enjoyed this story, particularly Wyatt’s transition from spy to civilian life as well as Blake’s strong and focused character. They complemented each other where she was grounded and stoic he was always trying to teach her to live her life, balancing work and fun. Perfect read if you're looking for something romantic, and fast; I always love a good intense start as an explosive chance meeting then finding each other again and navigating through the new situation.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you netgalley for the arc!

Wyatt Keene was a spy, legitimately, until his name ended up on a list for the world to see. Now, he's an ex-spy trying to redefine normal. Blake Montgomery is a dedicated scientist who has to escape her small town to get in some shopping and hopefully find a swoon-worthy fling. Enter Wyatt, as swoon-worthy as they come. What happens next meets all of Blake's expectations. Imagine their surprise when they both end up in the same small town and suddenly find themselves working together! Suddenly all bets are off, and the secrets kept become more than they seem. A thoroughly fun, unexpected read, Christi Barth's The (ex) Spy Who (maybe) Loved Me is well worth the read.

I really liked this book. The main characters were great to read about. I especially loved Blake, She was amazing and the third act break up was totally valid in my opinion considering her point of view.

4 Stars!

Ok so while this one took me a weeee bit longer to finish than I would have liked, I’m really glad I finished.

Wyatt and Blake have great chemistry from the beginning. Of course you can tell that their one night is not going to be just one night but are you really coming to this book for suspense and full on plot surprise? I’d hope not.

The way Wyatt pulls Blake out of her automated routine she calls life and the way Blake is able to pull Wyatt out of the hiding that he called life was beautifully done. I will say… I was MORE than annoyed at Blakes reaction to finding out that Wyatt was a spy but the author gets a big gold star for putting other characters in to speak some truth. Those are the kinds of friends we all need!

There were moments where I was left wondering if the extra sciency bits were necessary but they didn’t completely ruin it for me!

Overall, this was a good book that had a great ending. It would be amazing to get more from these two.

Than, you NetGalley for the early access.

3.5 stars

Blake and Wyatt don't plan on seeing each other after one night together, but fate had other plans. They end up together in the same small town and are paired up on a project.

It was nice how Wyatt supported Blake and got her to open up more. It was interesting, too, seeing how he readjusted to regular life after being a secret agent.

I did feel like the book was a bit long and I was disappointed we didn't get to see more of Wyatt in action using his skills. Overall, though, this was an enjoyable and fun book.

I wasn’t as enthralled with this as her other books but a solid rom com. Would have loved more detail at the end about the secret mission but an okay read