Gina RobinsonBesprekingen

Found this to be an enjoyable read yet...annoying. Well written and easy to follow story, yet I felt that despite it all the MMC was a bit too much and too set on not getting married when infact he's hoping to. I didn't like how the story ended. Felt it was too abrupt.

Spy Candy was about a woman who attends a spy camp. If that wasn't far fetched enough, so many "accidents" happen at camp that it should have closed. Instead, however, everyone stayed in order to experience more near death accidents. I get that this book was supposed to be tongue-in-cheek fun and escapist, but it wasn't even realistic enough to make it interesting. In addition, the romance was so weak, I'm not even sure I care whether the protagonists end up together or not. I'd read such wonderful things about this series, that I was really intrigued, but now I'm not even going to read the next one.

I loved the first book and quite liked this but I sort of always had second books in a trilogy because I get so invested in the characters that I want to know what the resolution is. So the 4 star rating is more based upon a personal bias than an actual assessment of the book itself. Love the characters love the story I just don't love the unresolved ending.

Um, well, okay....where to begin.

So Kayal goes away on a business trip. Gets food poisoning and is a victim of identity theft. Comes home to find her job is slowly being phased out and she's served divorce papers from someone she knew in college but hasn't seen since....or has she.

Justin, the soon to be ex-husband(?), is a young brilliant socially awkward genius billionaire. Who with a little spit and polish could be hot.

Nope, just couldn't buy into it. Especially the fact that Kayla is not a gold digger when all she can think about it the ten million she'll get when they get divorced in a year. Some convoluted idea to save his reputation so the stock holders don't go crazy over his quickie, secret marriage. I get the fact she's got a goal to be a fashion buyer for someone big....he happens to own an online fashion site that is trending....but why is she always trying to change him and using the "to impress your peers" line of thinking. Call it a seriously needed make over for a clueless guy and move on.

Oh and let's not forget about her flirting with his hot billionaire friend who just happens to have developed her favorite online game. (She's a secret gamer too.) Um, honey he's introducing you to his peers for the first time and your wedding was only a couple of days ago....stop flirting with the "hot" guy and pay attention to your hubby.

Yea, it all went wrong for me on so many levels. I don't care to find out what happens or if they find their HEA. Not even the cliff hanger of her finding his mother in their apartment saying "We need to talk" makes me want to keep on reading.

I won't give up on the author just this story. For those of you who enjoyed it, I'm glad it just wasn't my cup of tea.

What do you get when you mix and Outlander Look Alike, ComicCon, and Cosplay? A fun quirky book that make the nerd in me smile. A friend who knows I like Outlander and cosplay recommended this book to me and I am glad she saw it. It was like a sweet treat.
My only complaint is that it ended too soon. I would have given it 5 stars but I wasn't expecting a cliff-hanger ending. It's like pouring your bowl of cereal and then finding out you don't have any milk. You are poised for the meal but left hanging.
Needless to say I am going to buy the next installment in this series ASAP.

This book is the fitting end to the 4 book series. It finally provides the Happily Ever After to a series that included nerds, Comiccons, cosplay, cyber-attacks, jealousy, revenge, and celebrity. I was disappointed when I got to the end of the first book and saw that it wasn't finished but I immediately had to read the remaining 3 books in the series.
I had never read anything by Ginda Robinson before but loved this series and will look for more of her books like this to read.

assassin attempts foiled, interesting story

Spy Candy was about a woman who attends a spy camp. If that wasn't far fetched enough, so many "accidents" happen at camp that it should have closed. Instead, however, everyone stayed in order to experience more near death accidents. I get that this book was supposed to be tongue-in-cheek fun and escapist, but it wasn't even realistic enough to make it interesting. In addition, the romance was so weak, I'm not even sure I care whether the protagonists end up together or not. I'd read such wonderful things about this series, that I was really intrigued, but now I'm not even going to read the next one.

Booklist review:

Espionage is a game of misdirection and trusting no one. At least that’s how it seems to Mal Cox, former wife of CIA agent Tate, in Robinson’s (Live and Let Love, 2012) fifth Agent Ex novel. When an enemy agent wants to defect, Tate and Mal become a team since the agent, Sophia, looks so much like Mal. Fortunately, Mal is the CIA’s expert on creating convincing covers, so they decide that since Sophia is attending a science festival in Cheltenham, England, Tate, who also owns an American computer company, will become a mathematician attendee and Mal his adoring graduate assistant. As in life, however, everything that can go wrong does. Plans and counter-plans become the name of the game as British agents try to help the Americans extract Sophia. Meanwhile, Tate, whose declaration to Mal that sex with other women was part of his job precipitated their divorce, begins to wonder if Mal might be more important than his life as a spy. Slower than the previous books in the series, this addition still gives readers the adrenalin rush and romance they expect.— Pat Henshaw

I make this drink with blood orange soda and half & half. It doesn't have much substance, but it's sweet, frothy and enjoyable. This book reminds me of that drink. Nothing too heavy, all in good fun, but an enjoyable, light read.

My Booklist review:

Robinson’s third Agent Ex novel after Diamonds Are Truly Forever (2012) finds CIA agent Jack Pierce resurrected after an explosion has reportedly killed him. Now with extensive reconstructive surgery and rehabilitation, he’s been assigned to kill the man whose job it was to kill him. Jack is excited about this assignment; if only his adversary hadn’t set up his operation in the same community where Jack’s “widow” lives. After the CIA confirmed Jack’s death, Willow has rebuilt her life by establishing a candy business and is finally emerging from her grief. However, she’s suspicious when Jack, under the pseudonym Con, arrives. Although he doesn’t look like her late husband, he sure reminds her of him. As Con and his enemy play cat and mouse, and even engage in a deadly line-dance competition, Willow grows more and more certain Con is Jack. But what is he doing here, and why won’t he acknowledge her as his wife? Robinson again skillfully digs into the semisweet love life of those connected with the spy business, while adding a dollop of humor.— Pat Henshaw

By: Gina Robinson
Published By: G.R.
Age Recommended: Adult
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: 5
Review:

"The Union" by Gina Robinson was a wonderful western historical romance novel. This was a rather fast paced read that was suspenseful with some real'historical events from North Idaho's Silver Valley during the late 1800's. This read was of the old west mining town and a romance 'between an undercover agent who was posing as a mail order husband.'

The read will lead you to some very intriguing and well developed characters as well as some shady ones that will keep your interest until the very end. I found this author to be a very good storyteller of this 'love story' that will also keep you turning the pages to see what was going to happen next in this novel as the secrets to it all comes to out. I enjoyed how this author was able to present the unions and all of the corruption that was involved in it all.

If you are looking for a good read with lots of twist and turns with some surprises you have come to the right place for "The Union" will take you there for a very amazing read.

In 1899 Seattle prostitutes registered as seamstresses, but what does a woman do who REALLY is a seamstress? Unfortunately, the writing fell flat.. The external conflict was weak and all revolved around not having enough money for business, for friends, for love. While the heroine - the honest seamstress, and the hero - a sea captain - were both strong characters, but I never felt connected to them. The book had little suspense and had a slow pace`- I could skip many pages. It was a book I could put down easily and return to later. I guess I was never really hooked, but I kept reading because the historical detail. I would have liked more scenes from the madam's point of view. There was never really a strong villain and I think she could have spiced up the story. The romance was laughable at times and sweet at times... not the romance I was looking for

THE SPY WHO LEFT ME was a light and funny novel. It was action packed with a wife who wanted a divorce from her never around husband and he in turn didn't want to let go. Of course it was his career choice that got in the way. The story seemed to focus on the relationship which was okay. I really enjoyed reading it and would recommend it to anyone.

Rating: 4

Reviewed by: KellyR,My Book Addiction Reviews

DIAMONDS ARE TRULY FOREVER was the second book in the Agent Ex series by Gina Robinson. However, you most certainly do not need to have read the first book to enjoy the rollicking, tongue in cheek laugh-fest that was this book. Full of James Bond, Get Smart, Spy vs. Spy and lots of other pop culture spy references, Diamonds are Truly Forever was a laugh-out-loud fun read.

Drew and Staci almost died thanks to her loose lips and they are getting a divorce. She can’t lie and he was all about lies. But, despite it all, they are both very much in love with each other. When Emmett, Drew’s boss, sends Drew after some bad guys in his home town, Staci got enlisted into the mission. Staci wasn’t exactly safe herself; she was in the crosshairs of someone who needed her to die. Add a Mom who thought her husband was cheating on her, a couple of best friends who are wives of spies, a Canadian spy, and some hilarious bad guys and you have a great cast of characters.

Most of those characters are under-used in this book, which was both a positive and a negative. I would have liked the secondary characters to have been a bit more fleshed out, but leaving them very secondary helped to keep the book a great standalone read. The plot definitely overshadowed the characterization and the use of pop culture spy references as shorthand for the roles was unfortunate. It did not, however, take anything away from the plot.

The plot and the very self-conscious use of spy references are why this book worked so well for me. While we knew who the bad guys and the good guys were – there was no working to figure it out – the fun was in watching how everyone got from point A to point B. The plot didn’t stagnate anywhere or stay in any one moment too long.

Both the plot and characters were so over the top, there was no way to do anything but enjoy this book.

Supplied by publisher for an honest review.

RATING: 4

REVIEWED BY: Monique Neaves for MY BOOK ADDICTION AND MORE