Code Word Romance

Starred review from January 1, 2025

Margaux "Max" Adams has hit rock bottom. Her prized restaurant has folded, and she is left owing a lot of money. Her life takes a monumental turn when she receives a visit from the CIA. Turns out that Max looks exactly like Prime Minister Sofia Christiansen of Summerland, and they need Max to go to Rome as a body double until a threat to the PM can be neutralized. Arriving in Rome, Max discovers that her handler is the one man she's always loved. Fighting secret assassins and impersonating a head of state are nothing compared to fighting the feelings that continue to grow as the two former lovers hide behind their disguises and indulge in their true desires. Who is trying to assassinate the prime minister, and how can a washed-up chef from Maine foil this international plot? Nothing is as it appears to be in this fast-paced action/mystery romance from Walker (The Takedown). VERDICT A sharply written novel with surprise comedic twists. Readers will enjoy this tale of two ex-lovers who are reunited by espionage and who ultimately find true love as they race through the beautiful streets of Italy, trying to stay alive.--Judy Garner

Copyright 2025 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2025
An American woman agrees to play body double for a European prime minister on the Amalfi Coast, bringing a former fling back into her life. At 29, Margaux "Max" Adams isn't just down on her luck: her pot of gold is bone dry. Following the pandemic--and after having borrowed thousands of dollars from her family and friends--the former chef was forced to close Frida's, her dream restaurant in Maine. After moving into a shoebox apartment with a perpetually stoned, ranch-dressing-loving roommate and isolating herself from her loved ones, Max now lugs boxed wine out of vans for a second-rate catering company. Then, at a wedding she's working, she's approached by a woman who says Max reminds her of Sofia Christensen, an assertive 30-year-old powerhouse who was recently named prime minister of a country called Summerland. While their life paths couldn't be more different, Max is aware that she and Sofia look eerily alike, almost as if they were long-lost sisters. Max would never have imagined crossing paths with the PM, but now the strange woman--who turns out to be a CIA agent--gives her an offer she can't refuse: Pretend to be Sofia while the government works to prevent an assassination plot, and receive $5 million for her trouble. All Max has to do is relax on a beach in Positano--under the guise of a vacationing prime minister with laryngitis, in case she can't master a Summerlandian accent--and soon she'll be able to pay her friends and family back every penny she borrowed. It sounds simple enough, until Max learns that her CIA handler will be none other than Flynn Forester, with whom she had a teenage summer fling. With Flynn back in her life, the sudden disappearance of the real Sofia, and the looming threat of a Scandinavian organized crime group, Max is in for the summer of a lifetime. Walker's adventure romance is a breezy read, full of hijinks and thwarted assassins, without any fear of actual death or danger. Max and Flynn have their sweet and steamy moments, but their relationship doesn't get enough time on the page to make it satisfying. An action-packed romp that brings the thrills but slows the romance.

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