Mae Marvel’s If I Told You I’d Have to Kiss You is a good read. For the most part, the spy shenanigans and the romance are well balanced, and the characters are fun. It’s a second chance romance and a spy hunt for a MacGuffin. In the last 20%, when KC and Yardley have officially decided to get back together, the tension slackens when it should ramp up. The MacGuffin hunt for the bad guy is less compelling when separated from the yearning for lost love and fragile hope. But, while imperfect, I enjoyed it. It did contribute to a crisis I’m having, which I’ll get into later.
KC Nolan and Yardley Whitmer are in that uncomfortable part of a breakup where they still share living space, but they are no longer a couple. Yardley is moving out of the house she had shared with KC, but her work trips are slowing things down. KC doesn’t know it, but Yardley is a spy, working for the CIA. Yardley doesn’t know it, but KC is the tech genius that who makes things happen on her mission. The Agency knows they are both spies, but has opted not to tell them. Until KC bursts into Yardley’s mission and oops! They breakup again because now they know the truth. As they work together to acquire the asset, find the MacGuffin, and defang the bad guy, they wrestle with what was real in their relationship. It turns out that the secrecy required by their jobs was a smokescreen for the real problems in their relationship – their fears and insecurities. The process of them falling in love again with their true selves was a true delight. There’s grief, yearning, and a joy in discovery.
I’m afraid that there are a lot of books I’m going to struggle with, or just not read, over the next few years, or maybe from here on. Books that involve the US government being the good guys is going to be a tough read. I ran into this with Scalzi’s most recent book, When the Moon Hits Your Eye. It was very hard to read about a US President listening to and respecting scientists while the current administration was firing scientists, listening to quacks, and gutting funding for science and public health programs. I had to put If I Told You I’d Have to Kiss You firmly into alternate universe fantasy in order to enjoy it. The authors helped (Mae Marvel is Ruthie Knox and Annie Mare) by making homophobia a non-issue and the US President a smart, caring woman). But it’s tough, even in an alternate universe, to accept the US spy agency as mostly good. I would also warn that the inciting incident for the MacGuffin hunt is a terrorist attack on Toronto that was inadvertantly-ish committed by US agents. In light of the current tensions, that was also hard to read. Unfortunately, I am committed to reading at least one more contemporary spy romance this summer.
I did enjoy this and I would read another romance by this writing duo. Maybe not another spy romance while the current administration is wreaking havoc at home and abroad. If that aspect doesn’t bother you, I highly recommend this one.
I received this as an advance reader copy from St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley. My opinions are my own, freely and honestly given.