Format Read: e-book copy provided from publisher for review
Number of Pages: 293 pages
Release Date: April 22nd 2013
Publisher: Entangled – Brazen
Series: Love Undercover, #1
Formats Available: e-book, Kindle Edition
Purchasing Info: Goodreads | Publisher | Amazon | B&N | Kobo

Book Blurb:

He’s undercover. She’s in over her head.

Yoga instructor Kylie Roberts is the good twin. At least she was—until an accident forces Kylie to step into her twin’s sexy stilettos at a posh Hollywood “men’s club.” But nothing could’ve prepared Kylie for the dead body in the club’s parking lot or the ridiculously hot detective who insists the killer is targeting her regulars.

Detective Trevor McCade needs Kylie’s help to draw out the killer. It means long nights undercover and long dances where Kylie’s body tempts him with sensual promises. Dances that leave them both wanting more. But despite Kylie’s hidden identity and the danger lurking in the shadows, it’s only a matter of time before Kylie and Trevor take this undercover operation under the covers…

Our Thoughts:

Stella: Lover Undercover is the 1st book in Samanthe Beck’s brand new sexy Love Undercover series, and the second novel of hers I’ve read. I loved her debut novel Private Practice, so I was very excited to start Lover Undercover, but I got my first big surprise at the very beginning when I saw that the heroine was about to start a striptease in a strip club! O_O That sure was a setup I haven’t come across before in romance novels!

Anna: Oh well Stella, that set up was one of the reasons that made me want to read this story too! Because to be completely honest, I wasn’t that much impressed with Samanthe Beck’s debut novel, like you did, on the contrary. I couldn’t even finish it, despite the good writing style. But Lover Undercover’s premise sounded way too intriguing for me to pass the opportunity to read it!

Stella: Really? I loved the story, the characters and the writing in Private Practice, but yes, let’s get back to Lover Undercover. Don’t take me for a prude, but if I had made attention to the blurb before starting the book maybe that would have put me off from reading it. There is just something about a stripper heroine that rubs me the wrong way. Maybe I’m old-fashioned that way that I only want the hero to see the heroine naked 😉 So for me it was quite a shock seeing the heroine start to get ready to strip lol. (Truth be told she is a “tame” yoga instructor and is just filling in for her sister who can’t dance due to a broken leg.)

Anna: Well, I didn’t really care about that, on the contrary. The fact that the heroine worked as a stripper in place of her sister just intrigued me beyond words. I really wanted to see how the author would pull off such a different setting and I’m so glad to say that she managed it remarkably good. Even though Kylie worked almost naked she didn’t come off as slutty or anything like that.

Stella: I agree. Despite my misgivings of the heroine’s (albeit temporary) profession, Samanthe Beck not only made her stripping numbers tasteful, hot and incredibly sexy, but the fact that she undressed in front of a club full of men didn’t detract from her genuinely nice and wholesome character. For crying out loud she was a virgin prior to meeting the hero! See the big contrast of a virgin heroine working as an exotic dancer/stripper? Lol! 😀

The dancing was hard, but not as hard as she’d first imagined. Self-consciousness faded after a while because the customers didn’t really see her, they saw a willing canvas upon which they projected their own fantasies. Dancing at Deuces equated to a strange Halloween party. She wore a costume and pretended to be something she wasn’t.And everyone more or less bought the pretense, except Trevor. He’d seen through her act right from the start. Looked at her, looked for her, and seemed genuinely intrigued by what he found, instead of projecting an identity or expectation onto her.

Anna: Oh the virgin part…! That was maybe the only part that made me roll my eyes and make me feel that it was maybe too much for the story, but again Samanthe Beck managed to change my opinion. I have a thing for virgin heroines in modern society, I find that it is quite unbelievable for a 20 something girl to be a virgin nowadays, or maybe really rare, but again, Beck handled everything in such a way that I found it rather fitting. That, plus she made me wonder how she would fare in the Historical Romance genre… Irrelevant I know, but given how good she pulled off the virginity part, I can’t help but wonder 😛

Stella: Yes, well I found it a bit too much, forced and improbable. It’s not the being a virgin at 25-30 that bothered me, I don’t have a problem with a modern heroine waiting for someone special or just not having had the opportunity to do the deed with someone. I mean Kylie wasn’t a prude, but still being ok with showing her breasts and bouncing around in a thong when she hadn’t been intimate even with one man? It just sounded a bit hard to believe that she was so confident on stage and could get in the character of the sexy vixen without the sexual experience. And dancing on a stage while blinded with the lights is one thing, while giving private lap dances is another…

Anna: Well, given how it was explained why she hadn’t been intimate with someone, I just felt convinced. Maybe the explanation just worked for me or maybe because I really loved the whole story I just didn’t really pay much attention on that part 😛 I tend to do this occasionally! When I’m sucked into a story I tend to brush off some details that I would otherwise be rather harsh about them 🙂

Stella: It wasn’t something that detracted from the story or made me delve on it, just something I noticed.

Anna: Yeah, I know exactly what you mean. But well, I was rather busy at drooling all over the place about Trevor, so everything else, just felt of little importance 😛

Stella: Oh yes, Trevor. *sighs and dreamy eyes* He was dreamy! He was wonderfully intense, intuitive yet playful when the mood lightened. He was a hero I fell in love with in mere seconds. He exuded such raw charisma, his sexual power was titillating and his chemistry with Kylie was off the charts, whenever they were on scene the air sizzled with their chemistry. They were combustible together!

Getting tangled up with her bent all kind of rules, but when she turned and opened the door, all he thought was, Hell, no. Following instinct rather than reason, he reached over her head and slammed it closed. She jumped, but stubbornly faced the door. He leaned in, trapping her with his body. Inhaling her familiar scent, he said, “You’ve taught me something about myself.” Into the swelling silence she released a pent-up breath.

“What’s that?”

“I like bad girls.” He grazed his teeth along her neck, provoking an aroused little moan from her.“One in particular, I can’t resist. I may have to take you into protective custody.” He braced her palms on the door, nudged her feet apart with one of his, and then sent his hands under the hem of her T-shirt, up the silken ladder of her ribs. She moaned again when he cupped her breasts. Her hips shifted restlessly against him when he squeezed.

“Oh, God. Are you frisking me?” Helpfully, she stepped out of her flip-flops.“I’m unarmed. I promise.”

“You were born with weapons, and you know it.” Tugging her bra out of his way, he feathered his fingers over her puckered nipples.

I also loved that besides the sexy hunk he was, he was also gentle, thoughtful and tender towards Kylie.

Anna: Yeah he was! He is the kind of hero that I can’t help but fall in love with myself 🙂 Add to that the fact that he is a cop and I’m a goner. I just have a thing for hot cops or agents or spies, you name it! And the chemistry between Kylie and Trevor was sizzling hot like you said! And that was one more reason that I couldn’t possibly put this book down. I had a pretty rough time with romance books lately but Lover Undercover just ended a really bad strike a had with the genre!

Stella: Oh yes, in my starry eyed gushing I failed to mention that Trevor is a very hot cop *yum* 😀 I’m right there with you Anna, I love cops, special agents, spies, there is just something about the raw power, restraint, responsibility they exude and that thrill of danger also gives me the good kind of goosebumps 😉 lol

Anna: Oh Stella, remind me to discuss at another time about great books that feature a spy or special agent, I’m in desperate need of your knowledge 🙂

Stella: Will do, I can always do with more recommendations! 😉 So yes, Trevor was one of the highlights or THE highlight of the novel. Samanthe Beck gave us some well developed, great and interesting characterisations in Kylie and Trevor and their attraction was more than flammable! However, I have to mention that Lover Undercover also featured a second couple, although just mentioned them: Kylie’s sister Stacy and Trevor’s partner Ian (the next book will be about them). And well, it irritated me that their romance had to be crammed into Lover Undercover, I would have preferred if we only had Kylie and Trevor. Even more because I found the whole Stacy-Ian romance subplot disappointing and frustrating. I thought that it was completely out of character of Ian to jump Stacy after only having known her for a few hours of interrogation… So seeing that he fell for her in no time and wanted to move in irritated me. Maybe after we see the details of what really happened in the next book I will better understand this insta-love, which developed between them, but right now that was a big downside of Lover Undercover, and what really spoiled my enjoyment of the story.

Anna: Oh Stella, you’re on my mind! I was about to mention those two right now. Although I agree with you that their story, even though briefly mentioned, was a little bit disappointing, I couldn’t help but feel irritated for a whole other reason. From the little we get to know both Stacy and Ian, I wasn’t all that impressed with them, especially with Stacy. And their romantic story, done in haste, just made things worse. So, now I’m not all that eager for the second book and their story to be completely honest. Stacy felt like a complete brat to me and why would I feel excited about reading more of her bratness?

Stella: Ugh, don’t even get me started on Stacy. I kind of hated her. She was selfish, irresponsible, bratty, and SO egocentric. I really wanted Kylie to just leave her in a ditch and not bother anymore… I really fear picking up book #2 in the series because the book is kind of doomed if you hate the heroine… Well, we’ll see, maybe Samanthe Beck will change my mind 😉

Anna: I can’t agree with you more. I felt the exact same way about Stacy, I mean Kylie was just doing whatever she wanted and all Stacy could do was think about her perfect ass… Kylie even had to leave their place while she was tired and feeling like hell just for Stacy to feel special and have a sexy encounter with a guy. So not cool… So yeah, I don’t really feel excited about Book 2 but I don’t think I’ll go as far as not reading it. Ian is still a cop, so maybe there’s something good to come out of it yet 😛

Stella: No, I definitely won’t skip Book #2, I discovered a new favourite author in Samanthe Beck, I love her gripping and evocative writing, so I’ll give Book #2 a chance, who knows, maybe I’ll even grow to like Stacy… and yes, Ian was lovely 😀

Verdict:

Stella: Lover Undercover was my second Samanthe Beck novel, and though I didn’t love it as much as Private Practice (due mainly to Stacy and her romantic subplot), it was still an addictive and hot story I devoured in no time. Although I enjoyed it, several details left me a bit undecided compared to my univoque enthusiasm for Private Practice (like the heroine working as a stripper, the irritating sister and the inclusion of her romance, etc.). But despite these misgivings Kylie and Trevor were a memorable couple, whose smexy scenes will remain vivid in my mind for a long time. Samanthe Beck is an author not to miss, and you’d better discover her writing without delay!

I give Lover Undercover 4 stars!

Anna: I picked up Lover Undercover feeling more intrigued than excited about it, since my first attempt at reading a story written by Samanthe Beck was a bit of a failure. And I’m so glad that my intrigue won out! Lover Undercover is hot and sexy and cute and well written and everything that makes me love a romantic story. Add to that a pretty well developed mystery and you can easily understand why I couldn’t possibly put this book down. A must read!

I give Lover Undercover 4.5 stars

About Anna

Anna is a psychologist from Greece.You can almost always find her with a book stuck under her nose,so it's no wonder that all her friends make a joke of her.Apart from reading she dreams of the day she'll be able to travel around the world!Anna also blogs at Books to Brighten your Mood.

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