I loved this book from the beginning to the end. The surprises made for a great story and a fun read. I enjoyed getting to know these characters and seeing them fall in love.

Thank you Entangled Publishing and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this novel. All thoughts and opinions are my own. The book stared off with a bang and pulled you right in, however, after it got a little slow but eventually picked up and was it pleasant read. I would definitely read this author again. The plot was very interesting learning about spies and scientists and their projects.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

Blake is a brilliant and very type A scientist who decides to have a one night stand while waiting for a plane delay. Wyatt is a former international spy (and hopeful artist) transitioning back to the civilian life and the other half of the one night stand. These two part ways thinking they will never see each other again only to be paired up for a science and art project. They both decide to keep their hook-up a one time thing. But of course, the more time these two spend together, the more that line gets blurred.

Ahhh I wanted to love this one more than I did. The storyline set up was interesting and I haven't read another spy romance so I was excited for this idea! I think my two disappointments were with the character development and spy storyline. Blake and Wyatt had incredible chemistry at their first meeting, but I just didn't feel the same spark between them after their second meet-cute. Honestly, how they talked to each other a lot of the time frustrated me. I also had expected more action from this book. I wanted to see Wyatt use his spy skills or rescue Blake or save the day somehow. Overall, the ex-spy plotline fell flat for me and was a missed opportunity.

Review in progress and to come.

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review

This was an entertaining, well-written book. It was fun, steamy, fast-paced and kept me reading. I wanted to find out what was going to happen and didn't want it to end. I enjoyed this book and will look for more books by this author.

Take one ex-spy attempting to make a new life as an artist in a small town. Add one Scientist, trying to have a wild weekend before going back to her staid, boring life in small town America. The result is fireworks!

Wyatt has to show his CIA handler that he's adapting to civilian life after his career in espionage is blown. A chance meeting with a beautiful blonde after their flights are delayed is a great start to his new life. Blake promises herself a wild weekend in NYC and she ends it with fireworks in the arms of Wyatt. Neither realise that that ONS is going to come back and bite them!

I love romances set in small town America. They are total catnip for my city living self! Swan Cove is a hoot, everyone knows everyone's business and poor Blake had to live up to impossible professional and personal standards.

Wyatt is a great character. He shows how tough it is to switch to "normal" life after having to always be on guard. Blake is so much more than the caricature Rich Girl she could have been painted as. She uses her brilliance for the good of all, not just glory for herself.

Blake does prevaricate quite a bit, so much so I'm pretty sure she gave me whiplash from all the back and forth she went through about having a relationship - even a short term one with Wyatt. Wyatt's protective and secret sniffing talents don't just leave him overnight and I loved how he wheedled out trouble in the lab.

Great characters, witty banter, smexy chemistry and genuine LOL moments.

Easy read! The plot is a little slow and redundant at some points, but the SPICE! It makes up for it. There are only a handful of scenes but the slow burn between is so juicy.

This has a fun concept and was entertaining. I like Christi Barth’s writing style - it’s easy to read and engaging. The book starts out very well – the first meeting between Blake and Wyatt sparkles with banter and their chemistry is great. It’s sexy and steamy and sets up the story really well.

Their dynamic continues to be quite fun over the course of the book. I really like romances where one of the couple has, in the past, had some kind of dangerous profession and is struggling to adjust to civilian life and I liked how it was portrayed here.

The rest of the plot is okay. I personally found the artist competition a little bit forced as a concept to bring them together, and the other aspect of the plot – namely Wyatt’s suspicions about a conspiracy happening under his nose – could have been fleshed out a little bit more. That part of the book was shaping up to be interesting but a lot of the conflict happened off-page. I think stories like this need to be one or the other, to me – either showing Wyatt completely adjusting to civilian life with no suspense element, or really go for the drama at the end. The book didn’t commit to either so it fell a little bit flat at the end for me.

But overall the book is a good one; it’s entertaining and fun to read, and I enjoyed the dynamic between Blake and Wyatt a great deal. It was steamy and they had great chemistry. I would recommend this if you’re looking for a fun small town romance with the hidden identity trope. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a free copy of this book.

Content Notes: References to past violence / gun violence / knife violence, death of a parent (in past), references / discussions of the September 11 attacks, terrorism, gender essentialist language, sexism in STEM / sexism in the workplace, on-page sex, infidelity / cheating (in past).

Good lord I seriously love this author and the way she writes her characters. What a fun book! Loved Wyatt, Blake and the small town of Swan cove. This well written story had it all, humor, an element of mystery, feel good moments with Blake's research, get even with jerks and some pretty steamy interactions with this great couple. Science aspect of the story was brilliant and very entertaining. Such an interactive couple, loved every moment of it.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC copy of this book.

you had some spy aspect in this as well. this book gave me the feels. i was drawn by the title of the book and then i was sucked in completely. really liked this and want to find more of her books.

The (Ex) Spy Who (Maybe) Loved Me by Christi Barth is a standalone novel. We meet Wyatt Keene, our hero, who spent 15 years as a Black Ops spy for the government, and due to a breach for a number of agents, he was retired from his job. Wyatt is at a bar, not used to being a civilian, always looking at people; but then he notices a beautiful woman, and decides to approach her.

Blake Montgomery, our heroine, is a scientist, who works out of a lab in Swan Cove; and is at the end of her trip to New York, and sits at the airport bar, awaiting if her flight will be cancelled due to a storm. She meets Wyatt, who is a sexy hot stranger, and spending time talking; when the flight is cancelled, they end up in Blake’s hotel room for a one-night fling.

When Blake is back home the next day, she is told that she is being paired up with an artist, and to her shock she sees Wyatt. At first, she is angry, that he was now in her home town, but in a short time, since they have to work together, she learns that his aunt died, and left her house to him. Blake and Wyatt become friends, with him trying to resume a normal life being an artist, and Blake is determined that their one-night fling will only be that one night. In a short time, sparks fly between both of them, with amazing chemistry. Blake is intelligent, a workaholic, totally focusing on her scientific work. Wyatt loves resuming his love of art, but still very observant from his spy days. I really loved Blake and Wyatt, as they made a great couple, with lots of steamy chemistry between them.

What follows is a small town sweet romantic story, with espionage, and scientific research, and a wonderful couple. Blake and Wyatt both have fears; such as Wyatt becoming aware of another scientist in Blake’s workplace that makes him suspicious; Blake has lots of pressure from her wealthy family, deciding if she wants an upcoming promotion. When Blake overhears Wyatt talking to his former boss, she learns about his being a spy, she becomes very angry. Will Wyatt be able to convince Blake the old days are over?

The (Ex) Spy Who (Maybe) Loved Me was so very well written by Christi Barth. This was a wonderful fun romance, with a fantastic couple, excellent secondary characters, and in wonderful small town atmosphere. I suggest you read this book, it was a fun read.

3.75 stars

Christi Barth was a new-to-me author when I took a chance on her book, Tempting the Prince. It was a solid hit for me. Then came Imperfect Angel which left me wanting more, so with a title like this one, I had to read it.

While the plot grabbed me right away in the first chapter, when Wyatt and Blake come face to face on her turf, the instant hate on her part really threw me. Later in the story, I understood her a bit better, and the struggle she faced was more internal than truly with Wyatt. However, it never failed to irk me when Blake took her frustrations out on him. At the same time, I understood how she felt safe enough with Wyatt to allow him to see them, which tells me she intrinsically trusted him but didn’t trust herself. The back and forth became a little redundant sometimes, but I could see the baby steps forward in Blake, so I hung in there. And while I had hoped for a bit more suspense, overall, I was entertained. I may not have connected well with Blake, but I absolutely understood Wyatt’s struggle with letting his past employment go. When the job you love and have a passion for is yanked away through no fault of your own, it’s an epic struggle coming to grips with that. Wyatt’s grappling was right on the money.

Despite some elements not being to my liking, this story still kept me rooted in their world when I had time to read, and that’s the most important thing to me. I still enjoy Ms. Barth’s writing and look forward to what comes next from her. If you enjoy forced proximity, small-town, enemies-to-lovers romance, you’d be doing yourself a favor to pick this one up.

The name of this book really says it all and was certainly a reason for me to want to read it. I love Christie Barth’s books and this did not disappoint. Wyatt, one of my favorite names, is a retired spy turned artist and in a competition WITH smart scientist Blake. The competition pitted teams of scientists and artists together which by the book Blake does not want to participate in. The story involves Wyatt keeping his past from Blake, and from everyone in their small town. It had great dialogue and was totally a fun read

I was a little disappointed in this rom com. I usually love rom coms and I’m not super discerning when it comes to them, but I had a hard time getting through this one. It seemed to move at a much slower pace than I’m used to for a light romance, and I expected it to be significantly more exciting since the main male character was an ex spy trying to adjust to civilian life. The action does pick up but not until about 75% that was only about 10% of the book being exciting. I did like that the female main character was an intelligent, independently wealthy woman who didn’t really need saving. Too often in rom coms the woman has “little woman” complex and needs the male main character to help her become financially stable or she is woefully blind to the chemistry and attractions that are clearly being directed at her. It was refreshing that Blake was so self aware and perfectly capable of being on her own. And I love that Wyatt loves that about her. Clearly they had chemistry but I just think the story moved too slowly to keep my interest.

Thank you to Netgalley and Entangled Publishing for the free eARC for review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Fun, romantic and engaging! I loved the mix of romance and action. It reminded me of the best romcom movies with spies and romance. I hope there will be more books like this in the future!

Blake Montgomery is on a whirlwind trip to New York, visiting friends and shopping, enjoying the anonymity of the city. She plans to have a hot interlude with a stranger, but hasn't found anyone suitable just yet. Fogged in at the airport, waiting for her flight, she meets a man at the bar who strikes up a conversation. Their night is hot and spicy, and she goes home, satisfied that it was good, now it's over, and she'll never see him again.
Wyatt Keene was a black ops agent, until a few days ago, when he became just an average guy. His name and cover were on a list that got sold to a foreign government, so his choices were a desk job or retirement. He opts for the latter, which allows him to pursue his first love of drawing and painting.
Blake goes in to the lab and learns that she will be paired up with an artist in a contest for what she feels is a waste-of-time publicity stunt designed to bring in funding. And, of course, the artist assigned to her just happens to be Wyatt. So now they must work in close proximity for 6 weeks, pretending that they didn't know each other previously. They can't escape their chemistry or each other. Wyatt, while working on his art, is trying to convince everyone in town that he's a perfectly normal, average guy, but he hasn't quite been able to leave the spy life behind...

I loved this book, and couldn't put it down. It was a fast read, and I just had to know if they would end up together. I appreciated the women in STEM representation, as well as the discussions about therapy. The scientific writing, to me, a non-scientist, was detailed and believable. Rather than insta-love, which feels kind of unreal, Blake and Wyatt had an insta-connection, which they built upon throughout the story.

It was interesting to watch two completely different people tackling what was essentially the same issue, and I found it rewarding to watch them find their ways through. The both had issues and concerns with trust, not only in each other, but in themselves.

It turns out that this is the second book in a series, so now I feel compelled to add the first one, Hottie On Her Shelf, to my tbr. And any others that may follow The (Ex) Spy. Definitely worth checking out if you love close proximity, women in STEM, small town romance, and a bit of spice.

*I was given a digital ARC by NetGalley and am voluntarily writing this review.

I had fun with Wyatt and Blake! The snark and banter was perfectly woven into the ex-spy artist versus nerdy PhD. Habits are hard to break. They both needed to open up to new possibilities.

Overall, this wasn’t bad. I went in with an open mind, and I was rewarded with a decent story.

If there was one thing that annoyed/irritated me it’s the FMC constantly falling back on “I’m a scientist, he’s an artist, it’ll never work!” whenever she thinks about the MMC.

I did like seeing Wyatt get his vindication of sorts when his suspicions turned out to be correct about the big science event.


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Thank you to the publisher and Turn the Page Tours for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I love a well-written Rom-Com…this is definitely one!
Their banter is so well-written that I found myself laughing spontaneously. It would just sneak up on me. The plot is unique and so well-done. Wyatt Keene is bored, sitting in an airport lounge scoping out the other people and trying to figure out how to be himself after 15 years of being a covert agent; never being himself. He sees a very attractive woman and decides to try to be “normal” and see what happens. Blake Montgomery had a to-do list for this little junket that she just completed. So far, the last item alludes her: a one-night stand with a stranger. When Wyatt approaches Blake, she figures this is her opportunity to complete her list. She and Blake have a wonderful evening, expecting to never see one another again until they both end up at Cygnet Labs in Swan Cove. The reason the artist in Wyatt becomes an agent is touching. The reason Blake only has anonymous liaisons is kind of sad too.
If you like well-written Rom-Coms with a wee touch of intrigue, lots of delicious banter and a cast of characters that you will adore or abhor, try this book. Guaranteed a winner. I volunteered to review an ARC of this one through Entangled and NetGalley.

Title: The (Ex) Spy Who (Maybe) Loved Me
Author: Christi Barth
Publication Date: 03/20/2023
Publisher: Entangled Publishing, LLC
Pages: 150
Genre: Romance
Format: Kindle • NetGalley
NetGalley Rating: 4.0 ⭐️
Amazon Rating: -
Goodreads Rating: 3.80 ⭐️
My Rating: 3.5 ⭐️

Blake got exactly what she wanted… or did she?

Wyatt filled a void without blowing his cover… or did he?

Blake longed for a one night stand with an irresistible no strings attached stranger while far away from her nosy small town of Swan Cove.

Wyatt, an ex spy trying to adapt to his new artistic identity couldn’t resist the temptation.

Their sweaty overnight encounter undeniably left each of them wanting more but they knew it just wasn’t meant to be. Blake was worried about her future as a Montgomery and the expectations created by her family and Wyatt was determined to fit in as an average civilian and not an ex government spy.

I thought the characters were cute and played into each other well. There were a few times I wish the author would have elaborated on things that happened. It just skipped forward leaving me wishing there was more to it. Definitely a slow but steady pace read. Also, I’m not a fan of longer chapters and every chapter was a 20 minute read but, that’s solely a personal preference and not a jab to the book itself. Overall cute read, just not my favorite romance. I’d absolutely try more books by Christi though!

Thank you Christi Barth, NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for this ARC in exchange for my review.

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