I devoured this book. It’ follows Alex and King from the moment they meet right before their CIA training begins and goes to the present day (when they’ve crossed paths with Alex’s twin sister). There’s so much tension between the two, but it takes some time for the reasons behind it to reveal themselves. It’s delightful. Told in alternating perspectives and timelines, this book is such a fun follow-up to The Blonde Identity.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for the advanced reader’s copy in exchange for my feedback.

This book was action packed and everything I hoped for in a sequel to The Blonde Identity.
The chemistry between Alex and Mike was incredible. Their enemies to more vibe was perfectly written. I love the pacing and the way the dual POV made this story shine. The multiple timelines slowly revealed the way their relationship evolved over a decade alternating between the past and the present. These characters were endearing and the challenges they face as spies were intriguing. I was invested from the first page and I didn’t want to put this one down until the last word, and even then I wanted more from these characters.
I think you could read this as a stand-alone, but I know I enjoyed it even more because I read the first book.
Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to read an early copy via NetGalley, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

While I’d gone into this thinking it’d be a direct storyline to the first book (The Blonde Identity), I was pleasantly surprised to read more of Alex’s story.

Enemies-to-lovers spies follows Alex and Michael Sterling through the years as they go after the bad guys and slowly fall for each other.

An entertaining spy story. Lots of action and amusing banter. Skipping around the world and back and forth in time got a little confusing, but not really an issue. Thanks to the publisher for providing a copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary.

I thought this was quite a cute and cozy read. A super spy duo who are fighting for love while fighting for their lives. It’s not really a “keep you at the edge of your seat” type book and not a whole lot of surprises but King and Sterling sure do go on many adventures. While they keep trying to avoid each other, they always find themselves stuck back together…one time quite literally.

It’s in the rom-com category but I didn’t really see a whole lot of comedy. It’s about a world of second chances in love and well…living to see another day. Great book for young adults as there’s zero spice. Only one tiny allusion to it. Loved the twin sister spin!

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishers Australia for this opportunity!

This is the second book in the Blonde Identity universe. The first focused on Zoe, who as Alex’s identical twin got caught up in a spy adventure. In this book, we get to know Alex starting with her joining the CIA up to the plot points of the first book.

These books are fun, sarcastic, action packed spy love stories. They are light, quick and enjoyable reads. Alex is a great character who is witty, deadly and all together bad ass. I like that she was given some depth due to her backstory with Zoe and Zoe’s health issues.

We also get the perspective of King who is CIA royalty due to his family’s generations of service. King is strait laced and serious but also completely fierce and loyal.

The book has multiple timelines alternating from the present where Alex and King have been reunited after a year apart to multiple missions over the past decade where they worked together. I found the time jumps to be a little hard to follow and was flipping back a few times to determine where I was in time and who’s POV I was in. So while the format wasn’t bad, the switches were abrupt and sometimes hard to follow.

The tension was good as it built over years on intense missions. There were so many tropes included: forced proximity, second chance,fake marriage, one bed, touch her and die. It could have gone overboard but it was fun in the context of this setting.

Overall, this is a fun, easy and engaging read. I would recommend it if you are a romance fan and looking for something light (3.5)

Thank you @netgalley and @avonbooks for an advance reader copy of this book. It will be available on August 5, 2025.

Thank you NetGalley & Avon/HarperCollins for the advanced galley! I didn't realize this series was going to continue until I randomly found it on NetGalley's catalog, and I'm glad I got the chance to read it. I've always loved Ally Carter's books, and this one definitely didn't disappoint. There were moments I got confused about what part in their timeline I was reading, but the dates and locations at the start of the chapter were very helpful. It had my favorite romance tropes in a pretty cool spy story.

I read the Blonde Identity the week it came out and LOVED it and I’ve been waiting for the sequel ever since! And I knew it would be good but somehow it’s even better than the first!!!

Enemies to lovers gets me every time! And this one kept me more on my toes since there was 10 years between these characters to unpack. I read this in one sitting! I was kicking and giggling the whole time! It’s sooooo good!!!

I loved these characters and it had a great conclusion but I wouldn’t be opposed to one more “mission”!!….

Thanks @netgalley @avonbooks @theallycarter for the chance to read The Blonde Who Came In from the Cold. It releases on August 5, 2025.

Ally Carter has a masterful way of combining action and romance, with twisty tension and sizzling chemistry that will have you devouring this book in one sitting. This is the enemies-to-lovers, second chance spy romance you need in your life. It’s full of exciting locales (a yacht off the Amalfi Coast, a castle in Scotland, and a penthouse in Vegas), red herrings, spy craft and some serious pining.

Ten years ago Alex and King met the night before they joined the CIA. He was the legacy and she was the wildcard, and their mutual lust/distrust was forged over several joint. missions where they had to pretend to be lovers and/or a marriage in trouble. But when they wake up handcuffed to each other six years after they both went to ground, they have one last chance to complete their greatest mission yet. The one that if they solve, might just let them start a new life together.

Steam: 🔥
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, only one bed, spies, fake dating, he falls first, touch her and die

Summary in Brief

Alex and King have been spies for a decade, but they are brought together in an unusual situation where they find themselves working together again.

Genre + Plot

Tropes: Spy Romance, Second Chance Romance, Double Timeline, Enemies to Lovers, Who Did This To You, Sick Bed, Slow Burn

I’m a huge fan of spy books and loved the first one in this series, *Blonde Identity*. This sequel follows Zoe’s sister, Alex, and her spy partner, Michael Kingsley. I will say I liked the first book in this series a tad more, Zoe was so fun to learn about, and Sawyer was swoony. That said, Kingsley was definitely down bad for Alex and had his swoonworthy moments as well.

Second Chance Romance isn't one of my favorite tropes, and I really don’t enjoy stories that flip back and forth between two timelines. I prefer reading about the here and now, and I find it frustrating when the story keeps shifting.

That being said, I really enjoyed Alex’s character. She has a lot of insecurities stemming from her history with her sister and doesn’t think she’s good enough, basically. However, she’s such a badass spy, probably one of the best in the business. I love a strong female character, and she did not disappoint.

Michael Kingsley is a legacy spy and has been completely gone for Alex since the beginning. Although there was a bit of “Go home, Alex, you don’t belong here,” and “You’ll get us all killed, Alex,” which did *not* help her self-esteem, let me tell you. Still, they’re constantly thrown into spy situations together and have so many “fake dating” moments, which I loved. So much yearning between these two!

There was also a separate plot-line involving Kozlov. This is a very plot-driven book, which was fun, though we don’t get all the answers until the very end, as expected. But that ending and epilogue?? Oh my gosh, it was so sweet and beautiful, and I loved their family! So precious.

Final Thoughts

Overall, although I didn’t enjoy this one quite as much as the first, mainly due to the Second Chance Romance trope, it had a satisfying ending and a mystery that was solved! Definitely recommend if you’re a fan of Ally Carter!

This was just as fun as book 1! It will make sense as a standalone, but I recommend reading The Blonde Identity first.

Alex has always wanted to be a spy, and the day she begins her training she meets Michael Kingsley, CIA royalty, and go from almost-lovers to enemies - and will they go back to lovers? This is a funny adventure with heart and no spice, although unlike book 1 it does imply physical intimacy.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the arc!

This sequel to The Blonde Identity (which I loved) starts off with a bang: two longtime rival spies are tied to their chairs--and each other--without a clue how they got there. The story then boomerangs from past to present and back again, whisking all over the globe, filling in the blanks of their history over a span of ten years. It follows the rocky terrain of an enemies to lovers plot, if that plot were to fall into a raging river and down over a waterfall. There's banter. There's sniping and savvy. There's teasing and tradecraft. And tenderness. It's the slowest kind of slow burn in the best way. Mercy.

I have been such a huge fan of Ally Carter for years! Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book early. It was such a fun and witty action packed mystery. If you enjoyed book 1 in this series this is a must!

I have always loved Ally Carter’s writing. I was a total Gallagher Girl. Her foray into adult spy romances has been so fun. A blast of the past. Her books are fun and full of adventure. I tend to like the spy activities more in GG, but it’s still fun in the blonde identity series too. Reading this second book made me want to reread the blonde identity. The ending fell a little flat, but it was still a really fun read. I loved it.

This author is a master of the well paced, suspenseful spy story (and has been for quite some time). This one had great dueling timelines, lots of past secrets, and a sharp, slightly wounded, darkly funny protagonist.

An absolute delight from start to finish! The characters were vibrant and memorable, with witty banter that had me smiling the whole way through. Every interaction felt authentic, and the relationships were beautifully developed. It was the kind of book that made me sad to turn the last page

3.5 I read the blonde identity after reading the most wonderful crime of the year and loved them both. This was good. Great yearning, build up, and chemistry between the MCs. But some plot points didn’t work well for me. I’d still recommend if you like the first book because the dynamic between the MCs was very very good.

Spoilers: I didn’t buy the twin guilt FMC motivation. Why did the bad guy know about Zoe (and her heart condition) and not know she was Alex’s twin? And I also didn’t think that the object everyone was searching for was significant enough to put in motion the chain of events. I’d still recommend if you like the first book because the dynamic between the MCs was very very good.

Thanks NetGalley & Avon for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. This book was an absolute blast!! The tension between these two spies in increasingly dangerous situations was HIGH, and there was so much push and pull between them in both the present and past timeline. The love interest is a badass cinnamon-roll spy, and she's on a mission no matter the cost <3. They make the perfect partners — when he can stand to watch her put her life at risk. This book was seductive and unputdownable. I read it in two nights!

Romance: 5 || Plot: 5 || Characters: 4 || Writing: 4 || Pacing: 5 || Enjoyment: 6
POV: third-person, dual POV, multiple timelines

If you like: Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Gallagher Girls, rivals to lovers, and espionage, check out this book!

I will read absolutely anything by Ally Carter! I love espionage and spies, and this book certainly delivered. It was fast-paced and action-packed, and I read it in two days because I couldn't put it down! In addition to all that, this book was HILARIOUS. Alex and King's rivals-to-lovers dynamic was incredible. Ally has such a unique writing style that makes you feel like you're reading a report of the events after the fact. The different timelines were well integrated into the book, and I loved the several tie-ins to The Blonde Identity.

I had such a fun time with the book, and I honestly wish the book were longer because I could read about these characters for at least another 100 pages! I will definitely be picking up a physical copy when this releases so I can annotate all my favorite moments.

✨️Huge thank you to NetGalley and Harper Voyager US/Avon Books for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!✨️

This was a fun read with Jason Bourne vibes. Not super deep but it kept me wanting to find out what happened. I think I liked the first in the series better.