Although I loved Walker's last offering, The Takedown, I couldn't gel with Code Word Romance. I was hoping for more dual spy action and less "normal girl in strange situation." The writing is still enjoyable and this is a fast read, but I found Max very difficult to like and that put a damper on the enjoyment for me. Others who enjoy second chance romance should still pick this up.

Code Word Romance
Carlie Walker
Pub: 3/18/25
4-4.5☆

#gifted Thank you @berkelyromance for the free book #BerkleyPartner #Berkley

Two exes. One mission. A trip she'll never forget...

Max is just your average girl. She works odd jobs, has a soul-crushing amount of debt and just happens to have an uncanny resemblance to Europe's youngest female prime minister, Sofia Christensen . . .

So when the prime minister receives a credible death threat, the CIA approaches Max with a a life-changing amount of money if she pretends to be Sofia on the prime minister's annual Italian trip.

It would be a dream if it weren't for those pesky assassins and Flynn, Max's ridiculously hot handler - the man who broke her heart years and years ago.

With her life now on the line, Max knows she has no choice but to lose herself in the role. But losing her heart to Flynn again? Now that's a risk that she isn't willing to take . . .

My Thoughts: This was so much fun! It was unique, well written and highly entertaining. It was just the quirky, part high-stakes spy thriller, part second chance romcom I never knew I needed and legit couldn’t put down. Absolutely add this one to your list.

What I loved;
✨ Second Chance
✨ Fake Dating
✨ LOL Humor
✨ Bodyguard Romance
✨ Thrilling Romcom
✨ Italian Setting

Thank you, Berkeley Pub for my e-copy.

Code Word Romance is a fun, fast-paced rom-com with a touch of spy thriller. Max is recruited by the CIA to pose as a double for a prime minister in Europe. Flynn is her CIA handler and the teen love who broke her heart. Calvin, Max's roommate, was a great side character who helped save the day

I read this author's previous book, The Takedown and really enjoyed it. Code Word Romance was a similar fast read but felt lighter on romance to me.

Pick this one up if you enjoy: a second chance romance, an Italian summer setting, banter .

I had so much fun reading this one! The plot felt unique, while also bringing some early 2000s romcom vibes that I will forever adore! Imagine being offered five million dollars to be a body double for a prime minister?!
Pros: a lot of money and a vacation in Rome.
Cons: people are trying to murder the prime minister, which by default means her too. Oh! And she’d be forced to work with the only man she’s ever loved, and who broke her heart. It’s filled with fast-paced action, fun banter, romance, and mystery! Get ready to binge-read this one!

I think I have a new auto-buy author. I loved Walker's book Takeover, but this one was somehow even better. I was pulled into what should have been a ridiculous plot, but feel real with layers of character and plot that pulled at my heartstrings and kept me on the edge of my seat as I raced through reading it. This book delivers on both the spy thriller and romance genres equally well which I have found to be rare, but this is the exception to the rule because it is done effortlessly. The plotlines, the characters, the banter, the setting - made this a book I never wanted to end. I hope there are so many more Carlie Walker books to come.

The cover and the wording of the blurb, etc, points toward romance, which I think is important for those cruising for their next romantic read. The expectations of romance are different from the expectations of a thriller, though this has thriller aspects. I don't know if "romantic-suspense" is still in use anymore; it has a long and stellar history, beginning with (in my own reading experience, when I was 13) Mary Stewat's Madam Will You Talk.

Max is down and out when she is approached by a woman from the CIA. They need Max for an emergency body double for a (gorgeous) PM. Right there, of course, is the trope splitting point: readers wanting Le Carre-level verisimilitude will raise a couple of eyebrows, muttering, "The CIA would never hire someone off the street" but if you're a romance reader, the prospect of the heroine doubling for an internationally respected Prime Minister she happens to resemble uncannily, and her handler being a very hot ex, is just the ticket. The realistic deets of the weird, high-octane stress spy world aren't the focus but the backdrop.

So begins a wild ride through Italy as Max pretends to be Prime Minister Sofia. Bullets (and lobsters, and pigeons) fly, and the world is filled with sinister assassins, but Max learns on the run, while the embers of that romance fire up again hotter than ever. There is plenty of wild action, and grace notes of humor, and Max gets to rise beautifully to the occasion, which is exactly what I want in a romantic-suspense novel. What a fun read!

⭐️ 5/5
🌶️ 2/5

Thank you @berkleyromance for the free book!

I absolutely LOVED this story! I was immediately drawn in from the start as we jumped right into the middle of a high-speed motorcycle chase! I just love it when stories start strong like this, making my heart race even though I have NO IDEA what’s going on. SO FUN! The rest of the story was just like this too.

Our FMC, Max, just so happens to look exactly like a Prime Minister of a foreign country, who just so happens to be the focus of an active assassination plot… Yikes. When the CIA shows up at Max’s place of work with an offer she can’t refuse (💰), she is shocked when her new handler turns out to be the guy who completely shattered her heart over ten years ago.

While Max and Flynn learn to work together despite their history, dodging assassins and feelings, they find out that what drove them apart wasn’t what they initially thought. With a few lingering stares and a handful of ‘let me bandage up that wound for you’, things between these two start heating up and I couldn’t get enough!

This was definitely a more mild romance, but I enjoyed it all the same. I found the storyline oh so exciting and I couldn’t wait to discover who was truly behind the PM’s assassination attempts! With a cast of hilarious side characters, Code Word Romance kept me interested from beginning to end! I cannot wait to read more from Carlie Walker!

Unexpectedly going undercover as a decoy for a powerful politician in gorgeous Positano? I'm interested. Her CIA handler is the guy who ghosted her as a teenager that she's been pining after ever since? A recipe for a fast paced, charming second chance romance with great atmosphere, over the top situations, and humor.

A fun, identity swapping, spy romantic comedy.

This was silly and sometimes downright ridiculous, but that was half the fun. It’s also a rather sweet, second chance romance. I adored Flynn and how much he cared for Max.

Essentially, this book is a fun time as long as you don’t take it too seriously.

Thank you to Berkley Romance & PRH Audio for the review copies! It’s that time of year where I’m itching for fast-paced romances that feel like I’m going on a vacation while reading.

Max is searching for purpose. Her restaurant had to close during the pandemic, leaving her with a huge amount of debt, including to her parents and best friend. And, she just so happens to look nearly identical to Europe’s youngest female prime minister. Who is in danger, but wants to go on her annual vacation to Italy. So the CIA offers Max millions of dollars to come to Italy as a body double for her. But when she get there, she learns that her handler is her ex - the one who got away.

If that sounds like a bonkers plot, it was. It was a quick, lighthearted read with some great action. I wanted a little more time spent developing the emotional relationship between Max and Flynn, but I loved that there was never a slow moment, and overall had so much fun reading it. I could imagine reading this on a beach or the flight to a vacation, but I also enjoyed it at home, imagining I was in sun drenched Italy instead of chilly Seattle.

This book is so much fun. I needed a little adventure in my life, so when I saw this book, I was immediately interested. Carlie Walker is a new author to me, and I can confidently say I’d read another by her. I really enjoyed this one.

The location was also a big draw. I just love being an armchair traveller and getting to experience new locations through the eyes of characters. And who doesn’t love Italy? Carlie did a great job of giving us enough glimpses of Italy to satisfy my wanderlust. 

I really liked both Max and Flynn as characters. Max is somewhat closed off after a bad relationship experience (with Flynn, as we find out quickly). I don’t always love this as a character motivation, to be honest. I mean, I “get” it. I just think it’s overused in romances. I’m happy to say Carlie had me leaning in this time; it didn’t actually bother me. We got enough background on the characters to make it make sense. Flynn was a good book boyfriend for Max. I loved the banter between them; there were some genuinely funny moments. Bonus points for the awesome secondary character in Giorgio, the owner of the hotel they stay in. He is just so sweet and funny and wonderful.

The plot moves along at a great pace. Fast enough to keep me sucked in but not so fast that there is no opportunity for the characters to develop their relationship. Despite the hijinks, there are also enough quiet moments between Flynn and Max to balance it out, making their relationship believable. 

Overall, an entertaining read if you’re looking for something with a bit of action in a great location.

This book was so much freaking fun. It has romance, it has tension, it has action and adventure. It’s smart and well-written, witty and engrossing, and I could not put it down.

This one was such a fun one and definitely unlike anything I’ve ever read, in the assassin body double way.

The main character, Max is such a multi-layered character that you can’t help but fall for. Everything that she deals with and the guilt she carries that leads her to accept the decision of the mission is so sad to me. I’m so happy with the way everything turned out for her.

Flynn is such a golden retriever even when he’s trying to be just a bodyguard and stoic as ever and stay in character. I will say, how he handled things in the past was so messed up, but I totally get it because he was a teenager. Teenagers mess up and do dumb things. I’m glad that everything was talked out and explained. I loved the communication in this so much.

The side characters, such as Calvin were some of my favorites. I also loved Giorgio. They were both hilarious additions to this novel. Anytime they came in or talked or even had small parts in this, I was laughing so hard.

I loved the setting of this. It was truly an Italian Summer to the fullest. It made me want to visit Italy more than ever.

This was my first novel I’ve read from this author, but the romance combined with the comedy and mystery/high-stakes of this just makes me want to read everything this author has written ever.

This is almost an exact five star read! So good!!

This was such a fun one! I *love* books with a spy/mission focus, and this one has one of my favorite micro tropes, bodyguard romance!!

Max is a chef who lost her restaurant and buckets of money during the pandemic. So when she is approached by the CIA to serve as a decoy for a female Prime Minister who is uncannily similar in appearance, she says “Why the heck not?!” Given a swift make over and flown to a luxurious resort in Italy, Max feels like she’s won the lottery, until she realizes her handler is her first love who broke her heart! Ope! Walker delivers high octane physical chemistry in combination with forced proximity/forbidden atmosphere that was just delightful. There is mystery of who wants to assassinate the Prime Minister, bombings, knife fights, and motorcycle chase action, funny comedic relief, and Max and Flynn working through their past relationship ending with vulnerability. All these ingredients delivered in a romantic Italian setting, make for the perfect spring/summer rom-com!

I GOBBLED THIS BOOK UP.

Thank you so much to PRH Audio for the gifted audiobook and to Berkley Romance for the gifted finished copy and eARC via NetGalley! These are my honest thoughts.

THIS WILL BE THE BOOK OF THE SUMMER. It was so much fun and will make the perfect beach read this year! There was adventure and twists I did not see coming. I loved both our main characters and their redemption story. I loved the premise of this story, and all of the side characters. I kept trying to figure out who was who! It felt a little like a John Wick-adjacent story... who will be the assassins???

The audio was also super fun and fast paced! I was sucked in instantly and consumed it in a day!

FIVE stars. So fun! This one is out March 18th!

This book was hilarious. The humor hits from all directions especially when it comes to her best friend Calvin, and he's the smallest of the characters in this book, lol. Max is a chef, going through some hard times, she's catering for weddings and someone from the CIA tells her that they will pay her the big bucks to act as a decoy, little did she know she was not alone in this because her EX is her handler and I was all for it. Max and Flynn are hilarious together. Until things get a little crazy, but I am not going to lie how everything unravels was pretty funny, and her best friend popping up? lol, it was GOLD. This book is packed with so much action, I was here for it this book should be a movie lol.

I really enjoyed this second chance romantic suspense spy thriller that involved Max, a broke chef who lost her restaurant and owes her family and friends a lot of money, reluctantly agreeing to pose as one of Europe's youngest female Prime Ministers while she's on vacation in exchange for a large financial compensation.

The CIA approaches Max because she bears an uncanny resemblance to the PM and they want her to act as a decoy on her Italian vacation while they try to capture the assassins who are trying to kill the PM. Little does Max expect to find herself reunited with Flynn, the one who got away and who is now her CIA handler. Things go from weird to crazy as the two find themselves fighting off assassins and running from the paparazzi.

Great on audio narrated by Stephanie Nemeth-Parker and perfect for fans of books like The bodyguard affair by Amy Lea, The bodyguard by Katherine Center or authors like Tiana Smith. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy and @prhaudio for a complimentary ALC in exchange for my honest review!

That was a very thrilling fun romcom romance to read. Loved everything about it, the chemistry of caracters was just amazing.

thanks to netgalley for this ARC, this is my honest feedback.

This was a fun read! It’s an action filled, spy thriller with a second chance romance! It definitely kept me on my toes! But, I did find myself wanting something more from the characters. I wasn’t quite as connected to them as I would have hoped. It also got a little confusing at times.

After Max's restaurant failed during the pandemic, she's burdened with significant debt and guilt from borrowing from family and friends. So when a CIA operative shows up at her door and promises her five million dollars in exchange for being the body double of the prime minister of a small foreign country, she can't help but accept. But she didn't expect her high school summer fling and first love, Flynn, to end up being her handler--or the shear number of assassins that seem to be after her, er, the prime minister.

I was a HUGE fan of Walker's first book, The Takedown, and this one brings similar campy action-adventure-romance vibes (with a summery Italian vacation spin, rather than home-for-the-holidays vibes). Although I tremendously enjoyed this one (and thus the five-star review) it didn't hit quite the same as the first. Mostly, the ending wrapped up way too quickly. It seemed like Max just all of a sudden figured out who was behind everything, called them out without any evidence, and then that was that. The end. I think the mystery elements could use work, but literally everything else--the romance, the action sequences, the dialogue and descriptions--were stellar. Perhaps as someone who reads a lot of mysteries, my standards were just too high for that element. But overall, this is an extremely fun read, perfect for summer beach or poolside reading.

Thanks to Berkely for my eARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

5 stars - 8/10