REVIEW: Viper's Kiss by Shannon Curtis

Author: Shannon Curtis

Pages: ebook (53,000 words)

Genre: Romantic Suspense

Publisher: Carina Press

AMAZON: Viper's Kiss

Viper's Kiss was kindly provided to me by Netgalley for Carina Press

Synopsis. (Goodreads)

Librarian Maggie Kincaid yearns for excitement—but being accused of espionage is not what she had in mind. Wanted by the police, the FBI and the criminal element, Maggie goes on the run—and runs straight into sexy Luke Fletcher. Unfortunately, when Luke pulls out the handcuffs, it's not because he has something kinky in mind...

Security expert Luke is intent on seeing the murderous spy known only as Viper brought to justice. The un-spy-like behavior of his fugitive makes him suspect he's apprehended the wrong woman. Just as they give in to lust, new evidence convinces Luke that Maggie's not as innocent as she claims to be.

Devastated by Luke's inability to trust her, Maggie runs again. She's determined to clear her name, and if that means tracking down a notorious spy even Interpol can't seem to locate, then that's exactly what she'll do...

53,000 words

REVIEW: 3 out of 5 stars

Margaret Kincaid is an Information Services Librarian at the University of Washington, living a seemingly peaceful existence working and caring for her terminally ill mother, her life is definitely one we would classify as ‘normal’ until unwanted attention falls on her for her uncanny resemblance to a nude model.

Trying to avoid the attention she is now receiving, she is shocked when two agents arrive at her workplace to arrest her for murder and espionage, another case of mistaken identity but now she is wanted by everyone from criminals to the FBI rather than the teen boys at the Uni.

Her life is in complete and utter turmoil and has certainly taken on an element of danger, she is on the run for her life and people are being killed for reasons unknown to her. She is also now being called Viper rather than Ms April HotRod which certainly has her questioning the goings on.

Security expert Luke Fletcher has been hired by TekIntel and is intent on seeing the murderous spy known only as Viper brought to justice so when he rescues/captures Maggie, her reactions are certainly not what he expected and the feelings he has for her has him questioning his ability to lead the case.

Viper is wanted for stealing the prototype of an invisible suit which could possibly fall into the wrong hands and needs to be recovered, all evidence points to Maggie’s involvement since she has been working on the highly classified project but she is more than clueless about who Viper is and where the suit could be so sets out to prove her innocence.

There was a lot of action, twists and turns and dangerous encounters which kept the pacing even. The plot was predictable yet still exciting.

What I didn’t like: I feel the relationship between Maggie and Luke was rushed; she certainly failed her 90 day rule to avoid sexual involvement! You could see they had instant attraction and chemistry but it went against everything they both believed in – she was a wanted criminal (supposedly) and he was in charge of the investigation so falling into bed so soon was unprofessional and far fetched with so much happening around them.

Also a minor gripe but I also felt the security agents of McCormack Security Agency weren’t professional or competent at all, Maggie got the better of them a number of times and managed to evade them twice, she always seemed to be one step ahead of them although they were the ones with the professional security backgrounds.

I also wish the book was a bit longer so we could see more character development for both Luke and Maggie – there seemed to be a lack of balance between the action and the romance.

Besides these points, I did enjoy Ms Curtis’s style of writing; she drew me in and held my interest (even though I was rolling my eyes at times). Her characters were likeable, I enjoyed the HEA and I hope there will be more books to follow.

If you can get pass the believability of certain aspects of this book, it is an enjoyable, light and easy read.