REVIEW đźđźđźđźđźThings We Never Got Over is AMAZING! Iâve read almost every single one of Lucyâs books and this is one of her very best. If you are a fan of Rip from Yellowstone, you will LOVE Knox Morgan! I related to Naomi (aka NotTina) in a lot of ways, and the supporting cast of characters rivals the folks from Blue Moon, the series that made me fall in love with Lucyâs writing. This is a story that calls to you while youâre busy adulting, so good luck ignoring that siren song. Better make time in your schedule over the next couple days, because itâs very hard to resist! đźđźđźđźđź
If youâre a fan of the audiobook, Sebastian York is the male narrator for TWNGO. I wish Iâd known that when I read it, because I would have heard his voice in my head the whole time!!!
“April White writes the kind of books I love to read: romantic but suspenseful, smart yet so consuming. And youâll love this cast.” – Amy Harmon, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and New York Times bestselling author
Code of Ethics, an all new enemies to lovers romantic suspense standalone in the Cipher Security series from April White, is available now!
Smartypants Romance is the right place for April Whiteâs Cipher Security series, because these books really make you think! It took me a while to finish this one, not because the story and characters arenât compelling, but because the storyline is complex.
Itâs not my favorite or the series, but I do love that we get so many characters from the Knitting in the City series, especially Alex!
Thanks to Penny Reid and April White for the opportunity to read and review this book.
There are three things you need to know about Oliver Curran:
1) Heâs a privileged playboy who happens to be a code-writing genius
2) For once in his life heâs trying to do the right thing
3) Someone wants him dead.
Dallas is a close protection specialist at Cipher Security whose bodyguard skills have already saved Oliverâs life once. But when the assassin gets too close to her uncooperative client, Dallas takes the party boy away from the city where heâs the social king, to the Yukon wilderness where sheâs a master of survival.
If Dallas has to put her life on the line for a self-absorbed guy she doesnât respect, then Oliver has to take orders from the too-serious woman he canât charm. But living wild brings out their true natures, and suddenly funny is hot, capable is dangerous, and trust is the strongest survival skill of all.
‘Code of Ethics’ is a full-length enemies-to-lovers romantic suspense and can be read as a standalone. Book #3 in the Cipher Security series, Seduction in the City world, Penny Reid Book Universe.
âIs there something else I can help you with, Mr. Curran?â
âOliver,â I said automatically, my eyes still looking in the direction Quinn had gone.
âExcuse me?â
âMy name is Oliver,â I said, my eyes finally meeting hers, and I dug for my nicest-guy-in-the-room default. âYours is Dallas, right?â
âCorrect.â
She started walking toward the elevators again, and I couldnât think of a reason not to follow. I assumed it wouldnât get me anywhere to go after Quinn, and Dallas seemed to be the only one who cared that I was still in the building.
âProprietary tech is the only game in the marketplace right now. If my code leaks, my program turns into the equivalent of generic drugsâworth pennies instead of millions.â
Weâd reached the elevators, and she turned to face me. I was surprised that she wasnât taller, because her vibe was all ferocity and overbearing disapproval. âYou didnât ask for my opinion, but Iâm going to give it to you anyway,â she said.
Of course she would. Women like her couldnât help themselves. They had to be rightâall the timeâout loud. I sighed, too exhausted to bother to dig up more charm for her.
âMillions are just zeroes and ones in an account,â she continued. âThis is your life, and I think the Russian will do a lot worse than try to knife you if he manages to catch you alone.â
Iâd just hit the button, but I whipped around to face her. âThe Russian? What are you, partners?â
The woman almost rolled her eyes at me, and I was glad to get a rise out of her. It was way more fun than panicking, which was my other option.
âI heard him swear in Russian,â she said in a voice that was back to ice queen inflection.
âYou speak Russian,â I scoffed.
âEnough,â she said. The elevator doors opened behind me, and Dallas reached a hand past me to hold them.
âWhat did he say, then?â I asked. She took a step forward, crowding me back into the elevator.
âTy moy, suchka.â
âWhich means?â I asked, taking a step forward when I realized that sheâd managed to make me move with just her body language.
She let go of the elevator doors. âYouâre my bitch,â she said, and I had to jump back as the doors closed between us.
About April White
** Vivian Award Nominee, 2021 **
APRIL WHITE has been a film producer, private investigator, bouncer, teacher and screenwriter. She has climbed in the Himalayas, survived a shipwreck, and lived on a gold mine in the Yukon. She and her husband share their home in Southern California with two extraordinary boys and a lifetime collection of books.
Her first novel, Marking Time is the 2016 winner of the Library Journal Indie E-Book Award for YA Literature, and all five books in the Immortal Descendants series are on the Amazon Top 100 lists in Time Travel Romance and Historical Fantasy. Code of Conduct was an RWA Vivian Award finalist for romantic suspense, a Next Generation Award finalist for romance, and RONE Award finalist for suspense. And Deathâs Door is a Grand Prize winner of the Next Generation Award, and a Foreword Reviews Award finalist. More information and her blog can be found at www.aprilwhitebooks.com.
I was so excited to find out that the folks behind Smartypants Romance have done something fantastic to help us get through this strange and difficult time: they have made the entire Smartypants Romance collection available in Kindle Unlimited for at least the next three months! This is a wonderful opportunity! I was able to read many of these books as ARCs before they were released, but I missed a couple and I can’t wait to check them out in KU.
In addition, three books have already been released as part of the Spring launch, and these are also available in KU. The remainder of the books that have yet to be released will enter KU one week after their release on other platforms. Links for all available books can be found below.
My favorites from the Fall launch are Prose Before Bros by Cathy Yardley, and Happy Trial by Daisy Prescott, and so far from the Spring launch, Code of Honor by April White.
Since this was a Smartypants romance book, chances were good that I would like it. However, I was happily surprised that I LOVED it! I haven’t read any other books by this author, so I’m definitely looking forward to going back to the first book in the Cipher Security series, Code of Conduct.
I used to read a lot of mysteries and suspense stories: Mary Higgins Clark, Patricia Cornwell, Anna Rivers Siddons, Nevada Barr. Since getting back into romance books, I haven’t read a lot of suspense, but Code of Honor is a nice mixture of the two. Is it a romance book with suspense, or a mystery with a side of romance? Either way, I loved it. It was fast-paced, and interesting, and fun, with a dash of sexy sprinkled here and there. I liked Anna and her relationship with her twin sister, Collette. I loved Darius, and the peek into Iranian culture that his character and his family gives us. I loved that Anna referred to him as a Disney prince throughout the story. It really did paint a lovely picture.
The thing I like best about books from Smartypants Romance is that they often contain characters we love from the Penny Reid Universe, in this case, Cipher’s two big kahunas, Quinn and Dan. April White captures them both perfectly, and as I read Dan’s lines, I could hear them as if they were spoken by Stephen Dexter, who narrated Dan and Kat’s book in the Knitting in the City series, Marriage of Inconvenience. It was a wonderful, unexpected bonus.
When I finished the book, I was all set to give it four stars. Then I read the acknowledgments, which bumped it up to five stars for me, because the mystery in the book was based on REAL LIFE EVENTS. Now I want to read the book all over again, after I’ve read Code of Conduct, of course! Thanks to the author for the opportunity to read and review this book.