Ten years ago, they joined the CIA.

Six years ago, he left the game.

Five years ago, they fell in love.

One year ago, she ran out into the cold with absolutely no intention of ever coming back.

And two minutes ago, they woke up, bloody and bruised and handcuffed together in the dark.

They don’t know where they are. They don’t know how they got there. And they have absolutely no idea who is after them or what this nameless, faceless villain wants.

The only thing that’s clear is that, after ten years of covers and chemistry, secrets and lies, these two rival spies have been sucked into their greatest mission yet, and now they’re going to have to team up to stay alive. (If they don’t kill each other first.)

I absolutely loved the first book in this series, so I knew I had to pick up this sequel. While this book did not quite capture my attention as much as the first one, which was an easy five stars for me, I still had such a good time with this story. It was funny, romantic, action-packed, and filled with the kind of witty banter that makes these characters so much fun to follow. There is some language throughout the book, but no spice, which I really appreciated.

This time around, we follow Zoe’s sister, Alex, and finally get her love story. I do not think you necessarily need to read the first book before jumping into this one, but having that background definitely adds to the experience since we already know that Alex is a spy with quite the mysterious past.

The story takes us through both the past and present as we learn how Alex first met King, a fellow spy who eventually became so much more. In the present day, Alex is trying to leave her old life behind and enjoy something resembling peace and quiet. Of course, when you have spent your life as a spy, the past does not exactly stay buried. Before long, both danger and King find their way back into her life.

As the story jumps through different points in their history, we get to watch Alex and King cross paths during one outrageous mission after another. Their relationship is complicated from the very beginning. There is attraction and chemistry, but there are also secrets, lies, betrayals, and plenty of reasons why neither one completely trusts the other. Eventually, those complications turn them from lovers into rivals, which leads to some hilarious situations when they find themselves on opposite sides.

I especially loved the banter between these two. Alex and King have so much chemistry, and their constant back and forth made their scenes incredibly entertaining. They know exactly how to push each other’s buttons, yet underneath all that rivalry, it is obvious that their feelings have never completely disappeared.

When danger brings them together again, they are forced to work as a team while becoming tangled in a much larger conspiracy connected to their past. Loyalties are questionable, information is being withheld, and neither Alex nor King knows exactly who they can trust. That becomes particularly complicated when trusting each other has always been one of their biggest problems.

For two people who have spent their careers lying, keeping secrets, and manipulating situations for a living, building a real relationship is not exactly easy. I really enjoyed watching Alex and King work through their history and slowly learn how to become partners instead of constantly treating each other like rival operatives. Their second-chance romance felt like an important part of their character growth rather than something added alongside the spy storyline.

I listened to the audiobook and really enjoyed the dual narration. The narrators brought Alex and King to life and made their banter, chemistry, and ridiculous situations even more entertaining. My one struggle with the audiobook was keeping the timeline straight. The story jumps back and forth through different years, and without being able to visually see those timeline changes on the page, I occasionally had to stop and figure out exactly where we were. It became a little confusing at times and probably contributed to why I was not quite as engrossed in this book as I was with the first one.

Still, I had a fantastic time with it. I laughed. I swooned. I was on the edge of my seat. And I loved following Alex and King through all their crazy spy shenanigans.

If you enjoy rivals-to-more, second-chance romance, action-packed spy adventures, lovable characters, witty banter, and plenty of chemistry, I definitely recommend picking this book up. Ally Carter has quickly become an author I am excited to read more from, and I cannot wait to see what she writes next. I am officially a fan!