Yes! This book was super fun! Angst. Spies. Second chances. This book had it all. The plot was well thought out. Lots of good conflict. All the feels with this book!! The journey back together for Yardley and KC was unique and special,
We do spend a lot of time in the characters’ heads reflecting on everything. It might have been a bit too much at times. Other than that, I loved this one!
The narrator is phenomenal! She has this way of making you feel every emotion the characters are feeling! I received this book from Macmillan audio and Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

This book blends sapphic romance with high-stakes espionage. We follow two spies, Yardley and KC, who are ex-girlfriends compelled to reunite when a critical mission goes sideways.

The book delivers solid espionage thrills with well-paced action scenes. This really reminds me of a lot of the spy movies I grew up on. Given the classic secret-agency trope, you definitely need to be okay with a large amount of suspension of belief.

The romance contains unresolved tension from their past and steamy make-up moments. Though marketed as a romance set in a spy world, the spy elements eclipse the relationship rebuilding. The romantic tension felt undercooked, with more mission-centric narrative than heart‑to‑heart growth. I wanted more from the romance.

Ultimately, if you really enjoy a spy-heavy read or sapphic second chance books, this one’s for you. It is a fun read, but definitely not too serious.

Two women on the brink of losing each other find each other again, and build back better and with full integrity. Really like the communication in this story, which is ironic considering before they found out they both are spies, these ladies were lacking in the comms department. They really grow into their emotional intimacy. Past the romance, the plot was high stakes action packed espionage.

The narrator did a fantastic job playing two distinct characters, plus, spy = multiple accents, and they nailed it.

Thank you Net Galley and Macmillan audio for a copy of the ARC!

Sapphic Spies…I repeat…SAPPHIC SPIES!!

I had a fun time listening to this audiobook! This was also my second book narrated by Mia Hutchinson Shaw this week and she is quickly becoming a new favorite narrator! Her voice is expressive and easy to listen to.

I loved the plot of this one but didn’t see too much of a comparison to Mr & Mrs Smith besides the fact that both MCs are spies and are unaware they are in the same spy agency and there is some deeper conspiracy to uncover. Don’t go into this thinking the characters are going to be turned against one another/need to fight the other.

But don’t let that deter you from reading this one~just know what to expect when going in. This might be a romance but I thought the plot to romance ratio was pretty even and really enjoyed how detailed the missions/action were…though it did get to be a bit repetitive in the middle.

Thank you Macmillan Audio for the audiobook copy through NetGalley!

This a mile a minute action spy novel. I could absolutely see this book being made into a movie because the audiobook felt like a movie. This was so much fun and the “they are both spies” trope is great way to introduce conflict without making them obnoxious about not communicating with each other.
The narrator did a great job though I will say I would have preferred this being a duet since there were so many female points of view that there were times that I forgot who was telling the story because the voice was the same for everyone. For a single narrator this was very well done.

A renowned CIA agent and her techie girlfriend are in the midst of a breakup when an op goes wrong and they suddenly realize they're both spies--and the agency has been keeping their identities from each other. Now, forced to work together right as they reckon with all the lies they've been keeping, they'll have to decide what matters more: being the perfect spy or living the life they've always wanted. This was cute, but the pacing in the third act felt off. I wish it had really leaned into the spy thriller aspect as well as the romance.

Overall, I had an enjoyable time listening to this, particularly the spy parts. I struggled a bit with the romance- I didn’t personally feel like there was much tension between the MCs. It was thinking about the past and then felt like a sudden switch to “newly in love”. Other people might like that, but I just didn’t feel the tension I would have expected when two peole who still have feelings for each other are working together (and “talking” and such).

As for the narration, the voice was soothing to listen to, but there were a few times where I struggled to know which MC was talking (had to back up a few times to listen to short sections again).

I have no regrets listening to it, but there are starting to be more sapphic romances out there (yay!), and this one was good, but there are others I’d recommend first.

If I Told You, I’d Have to Kiss You by Mae Marvel
Contemporary sapphic romance.
Yardley Whitmer is a spy. Second generation. Her skills have made her one of the elite in the business. With the spy business comes a lot of security clearance which means she can’t talk about what she does to anyone besides her direct coworkers. This has made her relationships difficult since she can’t say where she’s been, what she’s doing or even commit to future events. Lies don’t make a relationship easy and she holds herself back because of the job.
KC Nolan, aka Tabasco, is in love with Yardley but can’t seem to get through to her. Her job as a hacker for the government doesn’t make it easy either since she can’t share much. When she and Yardley end up on the floor of the Starbucks trying to protect each other, it becomes apparent they work for the same company and someone’s been manipulating them. They team up to find both the betrayer and discuss their feelings while doing a bit of undercover work at the same time. They can handle it. They are the best in the game.

🎧 I alternated between an ebook and audiobook which is narrated by Mia Hutchison-Shaw. A phenomenal performance with distinct sounds and emotions for the two main characters and several secondary. The tempo was pleasing even while there were arguments and spy stuff going on. While the POV changes with chapters, it’s not hard to follow since the book is third person. The performance ramps up the tension as the situation between the two proceeded. And grows steamy with the sexy scenes.
I did speed up the playback to 1.5 and slightly higher so I could read along with the audiobook.

Loved the two females in the spy game. Clearly each had excelled in their careers. Didn’t like the lying they had to do for security reasons. Great job on tracking the villain and adored the final scenes. Plenty of steamy scenes too for a romance.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley and publisher Macmillan Audio.

This is my first experience with Mae Marvel—literary and life partners Ruthie Knox and Annie Mare. I first finished reading If I Told You, I'd Have to Kiss You with my eyes in April. While rereading the book in early June—this time with my ears—I found myself marking additional passages, as well as revisiting some passages that had caught my attention during my first reading. During both readings, I not only highlighted quite a few passages, but also made notes of emphasis or agreement. As I have a final print copy of the book in my hot little hands [more on that later], I could share quotes with you . . . but, I would have a beast of a time picking just one quote, and I don't want to spoil anything. If you come across sections that you find especially striking, I'd love to hear from you—we could have a remote book discussion. I enjoyed Mia Hutchison-Shaw's excellent narration, which gave extra life to the story's diverse characters, some of which I had imagined slightly differently. Both experiences (e-book and audio) were enjoyable and valuable. People absorb input in different ways, for many reasons. Aren't we lucky that we have options that meet us where we are at any given time?!

There's a lot going on in Kiss You, as I affectionately (or lazily?) have come to call it. It isn't just a spy story. It isn't just a romance. And it for darn sure isn't a surface-level story. It's sexy, erotic, intimate, suspenseful, action-packed, and sometimes really funny—usually in a clever, sassy, or snarky way. There are spy gadgets, disguises, chases, escapes, vehicles galore, and teamwork; feminist and sociopolitical commentary; love, romance, trust, and deep relationships of all kinds; and competent, skilled, bold, powerful, and strong women in various roles. There are Southern expressions that bring situations to another level. Beyond main characters Yardley and KC, there is an extraordinary cast of supporting characters including (but not limited to) Irish hacker Kris; Yardley's and KC's handlers, Atlas and Gramercy; the first Black woman president of the United States of America, Ada Williams; and British agent Julia.

I found the strongly fem POV of the book refreshing. On top of that, for far too long, there hasn't been representation of so many people I love—and so many more I haven't yet met. I'm overjoyed to see greater representation of people of all types in books for folks of all ages.

Content warnings include death of a parent (in the past and mentioned in passing), neglectful or emotionally abusive parents, family abandonment, infidelity, and at least a couple explicit sex scenes.

While I wrote this review based solely on the notes I made while reading, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to attend a book discussion with Mae Marvel on the Sunday before publication. My thoughtful partner was looking for signed editions of books I've mentioned to him [more than in passing—I don't think he keeps up with all the books I read, and I wouldn't expect him to] and discovered that the authors were scheduled to appear at a romance-only indie bookstore in his hometown—Love's Sweet Arrow, in Tinley Park, Illinois. We spent a delightful afternoon listening to Mae Marvel talk about their books, writing process, marriage, and family. Author Becca Grischow moderated. Now I have additional books from all three authors to read. 4.5⭐

Thank you, @macmillan.audio for my free audiobook. #MacAudio2025 #macmillanaudio

📚 #BOOKREVIEW 📚
If I Told You, I’d Have to Kiss You by Mae Marvel
⭐️⭐️⭐️ / Pages: 344 / Genre: Spy Romance
Audiobook Narrator: Mia Hutchison-Shaw
Duration: 11 hours 27 minutes
Release Date: June 10, 2025
🥳#HappyPubWeek!🎉

Yardley Whitmer, AKA Unicorn, is a super spy at the top of her game. KC Nolan, AKA Tabasco, is a hacker extraordinaire who can hack into anything legally or not. Their relationship just ended because they couldn’t be honest with each other about their jobs. Still smarting from their breakup, they both get pulled into the same case, uncovering their real identities to each other.

The premise of this story is right up my alley. Watching this couple work together for the first time, really shows how compatible and perfect for each other they are. But instead of enjoying the revelation that they were both holding back because of their jobs, they just whine and moan about how untruthful they were to each other. So even the love scenes were ruined by sudden bursts of feelings, where instead of exploding in orgasms, they start crying over what their relationship means. Ugh, really? So, the spy action part of this story was awesome—four stars. The relationship two stars. Ergo, three stars overall for me.

Mia Hutchison-Shaw did a great job narrating the audiobook, although I’d rather read this one so I can skim over all the whining.

KC and Yardley have been dating 3 years, living together for the last one. Each lady, unbeknownst to her recently ex-partner, feels stuck; a victim of her own decisions who just wants to stop hiding her life from the woman she wants for a wife. Because what neither knows is that they are hiding the same secret: "I work for the CIA." That secret—and the lies they've told to keep it—is about to come out as an old friend of KC's tests a superweapon that could destroy economies and the CIA is left with no choice but to send Techie KC into the field instead of SuperSpy Yardley.


I am primarily a Romance reader so I expected to mostly focus on that when I received this ARC but this book is truly a great spy drama. It largely avoids common hackers-can-do-anything-from-anywhere tropes without commenting on it like most media would. Travel and downtime are acknowledged, covers can be blown, and programs are being run off physical drives with concern for storage size (because not everything fits on a standard 2GB thumb drive). That attention to realism carries through most of the spy content. There is some fantastical content (KC can drive anything apparently...) and I despise the double Doesn't Like Guns trope (I'd rather see at least one of the women hypercompetent with a firearm), but overall it feels mostly grounded. And as somebody who lives in the DC Metro Area (and watches too many crime dramas), it's nice to see Reston and Leesburg and Herndon mentioned instead of everyone for some reasom living in DC. Though I do wish somebody might have namedropped McLean at some point so I might see if the audiobook narrator would pronounce that one right.

On the Romance, it's decent. You could call it second-chance because they have technically broken up but I'd more classify this book as a relationship-in-crisis Romance. These two need each other like they need their next breath and the book is largely them coming to terms with how their jobs shaped them and affected their relationship, then how the Big Reveal changes what their future can look like. KC is a sheltered child genius, Yardley is a pageant queen. Unfortunately, we don't get too much beyond that characterization.

Still, I'm giving this book 5 stars in spite of the relatively flat and predictable characters. The spy plot is just that good.


The narrator does well at creating distinct voices for the two female leads. There are times I wish the enunciation were a tad better when speaking as Yardley but as somebody with a slight Southern twang, I understand how mushy words can get at times.

I received this audiobook through NetGalley as an ARC/ALC. Opinions are my own, but many thanks to Macmillan Audio for the opportunity.

This is a well-written, well-narrated, intensely emotional audiobook. Both the romance plots and the suspense plots are strong. I was hoping, based on the cover and the title, that the book would have some humor in it, but it doesn’t. Both the main characters are very negative about the chances of their relationship working out, which made the mood fairly dark and heavy.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

The Spy meets Casey Mcquinston in this absurd sapphic romance about a couple who unwittingly both work for the CIA. Yardley and KC were a perfect couple once upon a time, but after a relationship plagued by secrets and distance, they've decided to call it quits. Both dive into their jobs as agents of the CIA to cope with their heartbreak- until one mission makes them realize they have been working together this whole time. Yardley as a renowned spy known as The Unicorn and KC is the tech-savvy voice in Yardley's ear, better known as Tabasco. Laugh-out-loud funny, sexy, and entertaining If I Told You, I'd Have to Kiss You belongs on everyone's must-read rom-com list.

If I Told You, I’d Have to Kiss You is a sapphic, second-chance romance packed with action, heart, and just the right amount of spice. Think Mr. and Mrs. Smith meets True Lies, with two exes—both secretly CIA agents—thrown together on a mission that forces them to confront their unresolved feelings.

The pining is top-tier, the emotional depth is real, and the spy plot is genuinely fun and believable. The romance and action blend seamlessly, and the supporting cast (including spy-savvy grandparents!) adds extra charm.

The audiobook, narrated by Mia Hutchison-Shaw, is phenomenal—perfectly capturing both the tension and tenderness.

A must-read for fans of queer romance, spy thrillers, and second chances. ★★★★★

This was a fun but very cheesy read, even by romcom standards. The spy angle felt forced and wasn’t executed very well—it just didn’t click, even for someone who doesn’t mind suspending disbelief. That said, the narration was excellent and definitely made the experience more enjoyable than it might have been otherwise. A decent pick if you’re looking for something light and don’t mind a heavy dose of cliché.

Billed as a Sapphic Mr & Mrs Smith, If I Told You, I'd Have to Kiss You is a novel about two female spies for the CIA. Yardley Whitmer, “The Unicorn”, and her ex-girlfriend, KC “Tabasco” Nolan find out they are both spies for the same side…only after their breakup. While the plot originally sucked me in, I found the middle of the novel to be extremely repetitive and boring. I did like the representation of women, especially queer women, in the CIA but KC’s character was a bit insufferable to me. 2.5 stars rounded to 3

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to the audiobook If I Told You, I'd Have to Kiss You.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this ALC.

My ears were very neutral listening to Mia Hutchison-Shaw perform this book. There was no instant voice to ear love. Just friends.

This book! It might be touted as Mr. & Mrs. smith meets The Pairing (the book?). I heard more of queer ALIAS with mild Mission: Impossible influences.

I loved Yardley and KC. They were brilliant, badass, and steamy. Their field codenames were amusing. I enjoyed the action. The action and steam made up for any draggy parts.

A sapphic Mr and Mrs Smith during Pride month? Yes please!Was I a bit disappointed? Unfortunately, yes I was.

I think k it was the Smith reference as that’s not what it was except for spy’s that fight with each other. In this case They start off broken up and then keep breaking up with booking up in between. I just could not identify with the two MC’s let alone even like them. I didn’t want to provide spoilers so I’ll just say that there was a lot of things that were the exact opposite of Mr and Mrs Smith - things that make the story so engaging and entertaining. So it really missed the mark in using that as a marketing reference.

I consider the audiobook which probably make me like it better than I would have had I read the eARC as it made it a bit more understandable as the writing is a bit juvenile at times as well as scattered, convoluted and filled with cliches and bad jokes.
Also, there is a lot of toxicity coming from all angles. The relationship between each other as well as with the CIA is just problematic but. It addresses as such.

Lastly, the narration. It was performed by Mia Hutchison-Shaw and well, it wasn’t my favorite thing to listen to. While it helped in some circumstances to get through the prose, the vocals were hard to listen to. It was overly acted and incredible slow. This was a case where speeding it up to 2x was just so I could get through it as I wouldn’t have been able to listen had I not been able to alter it.

All that being said, it has a fun concept so some may absolutely get engaged. It comes out June 10th 2025


I am thankful to have gotten a complimentary audio ALC from Macmillan Audio through NetGalley to read which gave me the opportunity to voluntarily leave a review.

My rating system since GoodReads doesn’t have partial stars

⭐️ Hated it
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea (potentially DNF’d or thought about it)
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh, it was an ok read but nothing special
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! Would recommend to others
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! Will circle back and read again

Look, I am a simple bisexual flower. I love sapphics and I love spy story. So I love this beautiful romance spy. I love the characters and the romance and the plot. The action scenes were so te se and well written, so the romance part.
I’m totally in love with this book, I’m speachless!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the arc.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc and alc.

Unfortunately this book was not for me. I don"t think it was a bad book at all. However i had a hard time connecting with the plot and the characters. This is one I may try again in the future to see if I like better, but it is a no for now.