Book review: Lying and Kissing by Helena Newbury

The blurb:

I'm just a CIA languages geek. I'm happy to sit safe behind a desk, eavesdropping on the phone calls of a man whose Russian accent makes me heady. But when a field op goes wrong, I suddenly come face-to-face with the man I've been fantasizing about. Gorgeous, ruthless…he'll do whatever it takes to get what he wants. And he wants me.

Suddenly, I'm under orders to become his girlfriend. Learn his secrets. I have to seduce him! It's meant to be about the mission but the more time I spend with him, the more my feelings run out of control. The way he looks at me, the way he touches me…I'm falling for this man. But if he finds out who I really am, I'm dead.

My thoughts:

Having read and enjoyed Alaska Wild, I thought I’d try another of Helena Newbury’s books right afterwards. Lying and Kissing is the story of Arianna, a CIA languages geek who spends her days transcribing intercepted conversations until she’s suddenly elevated to work in the field. Her job? Get close to Luka Malakov, a Russian gangster whose voice she’s been obsessed with for months. It turns out there’s as much chemistry in person as there is in her one-sided love affair, and the lines between her heart and her job start to blur. 

I found this book compelling because although I knew what the outcome had to be (it is a romance, after all), I couldn’t see how two main characters who were such polar opposites could find a way to exist together. The way the story unfolded was quite clever, and for the most part, believable too. Despite Luka’s occupation, he’s not as cold and heartless as he first appeared, and I found myself rooting for the bad guys as the plot became more dramatic.

If you like your women smart, your plots twisty, and your men alpha, I’d recommend this story.

Free via Kindle Unlimited