I love spy books, and this one exceeded all my expectations. The relationship between the 2 leads was so cute, and I love the trope of people learning someone they know is a secret agent/spy/superhero. I would definitely read more from this author, and this is already the 2nd or 3rd I’ve read of their books, and I enjoy each one.

3.5 stars this was fine! second chance and spies and i think i just was bored? it could have had more action or more twists on who the bad guy was since that was pretty obvious since chapter 1.

If you like KC Undercover you might like this. The sapphic romance was the highlight for me, there's an identity reveal and a few spicy scenes. The job/spy stuff I struggled to keep up with

As a die-hard fan of movies like Mr. And Mrs. Smith, I was SO excited to read this book! I love a good spy story, especially when you had a twist to it.

The premise of If I Told You, I'd Have To Kiss You was solid. We start out navigating a break-up, going through the heartbreak right alongside the FMCs, only to discover that they're both spies working for the same agency... and have no idea the other one is ALSO a spy! Drama ensues, especially as they head off on a mission together, facing the realities of their relationship along the way.

I'm not going to lie: I lost the plot halfway through the book. The premise WAS solid, but somewhere along the line it fell apart a bit. I'm not sure if it was the confusing amount of characters, with codenames and nicknames.. many of which started with the same letter? Or maybe it was the complicated spy/computer program plot that hinged on "the world is in danger" but felt overly complicated? It might also have been the fact that we changed locations quite a bit, which made it hard to stay focused on what was going on. I also found myself perturbed by having to google certain things, like "clerestory windows".. especially in a cutesy romance book.

All in all, I had really high hopes for this book, but it unfortunately fell flat.

Unfortunately, I did not finish this book.

I love the premise, found myself very curious about the characters, but I couldn't get into it. There are so many great reviews about this book and I might give it another go when it comes out.

I loved this fun read. It combines two genres I enjoy, lesfic romance and espionage thriller. Kept me invested and entertained the whole way through.

This is a really fun concept with a nice balance of plot and romance. The writing was done well and I enjoyed this, but I found myself wanting a little more at times.

While enjoyable, I did feel as though the actual espionage portion of the book fell a little flat. The authors tried to accomplish a lot in the short duration of this novel and it was pretty rushed. KC and Yardley were interesting enough characters to read about, and their romance was enough to make this book worthwhile.

Spy?? I’m here. Lady gays?? I’m here. The cover?? I’m on my knees, I’m here!

I really wanted to love this book because I love the concept. However the spy part kind of fell flat for me but the romance was great, just not enough to keep me going unfortunately. DNF at 41%

Thank you, Net Galley and St Martin’s Press for the advanced copy.

As a queer woman I LOVED this book. It was so much fun and reading it. Love. We love Sapphic love. I was def rooting for them to get back together. Admittedly I did get a bit lost for the spy stuff. But. That’s okay LOL.
There was roughly 3 sex scenes and I honestly would have been okay without the sex scenes. That said. It wasn’t super spicy. But that very last sex scene where they used an adult toy? Very realistic in sapphic relationships.

Overall def recommend my fellow gays to read this book for funsies.

Thank you so much to NetGalley for this book I had a hard time jumping into it. I would rate this a 3/5 I think it was good but something I wouldn’t pick up again.

Super fun! Especially if you liked Mr. & Mrs. Smith.

This is a Sapphic romance where both characters are spies but are unaware that their partner is one too. This made for a fun, action filled & thrilling read. I enjoyed both FMCs but will admit I felt for KC more. There's plenty of spy action while also maintaining the romance.

A fun read!

First, love the concept of this book. Ms. and Ms. Smith should absolutely be a thing and I think the characters in this were great choices for those roles. My hang up with this book is that there was entirely too much spying in the romance and not enough actual romancing. I just said in another review that I do not read for the plot and this book has a lot of plot and a lot of technical mission details and my eyes glazed over the way that they do when I am reading NF and there are details about troop movements. I wanted more feelings is all.

<i>Thank you to the publisher and NetGally for the ARC.</i>

Second-generation spy Yardley Whitmer, code name “the Unicorn,” can do no wrong. With her combination of debutante-style charm and expert spycraft, she’s become an instant legend in the field. If only finally moving out of her girlfriend’s home were as easy as rappelling off the Eiffel Tower. But living a full-time cover story has slowly eroded her relationship with KC until there’s nothing left but lies.

KC “Tabasco” Nolan, hacker extraordinaire, can crack anything—except the code that would tell her the right moment to confess her secret job to Yardley. Now it’s too late, and she’s in danger of losing the best chance at love she’s ever had.

When an undercover shakedown goes wrong, Yardley and KC discover the unbelievable truth—that they are Unicorn and Tabasco, and they’ve both been working with the agency for years. To salvage the mission, they’re compelled to partner up and fly across oceans, race through winding European streets, and give in to inconvenient passion while hiding in an ambassador’s linen closet.

This book was so much fun. I love a romance with a solid plotline (which a lot of them don't so much). The high-action thriller side of this was a ton of fun and kept me turning pages. The characters were relatable. There were a lot of high emotions, and that elevated the book rather than drag it down. Overall, I really enjoyed this. 4.5⭐

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced digital reader's copy (ARC) in exchange for an honest review!

This book ended up not being my cup of tea. There were a few things that didn’t work for me, but I think readers with different preferences than me would enjoy the book!

First, both the protagonist and her love interest work for the CIA. Yardley (the protagonist) sees working for the CIA as unquestionably good and patriotic. Given the actions of the CIA in the real world, I disliked that the narrative never challenged the assumption that everything the CIA does is good.

This book seemed evenly split between the action/adventure plot (trying to get a weapon out of the hands of a bad guy) and the second chance romance. For me, it felt like neither half was fully explored or developed. I never totally understand the how and why of the spy mission and I also felt like I didn’t know the characters that well by the end of the novel. I didn’t emotionally connect with the characters or end up invested in their relationship.

The writing style also wasn’t my favorite because it was pretty heavy on describing the characters’ internal thought processes.

Overall, I don’t think I’d recommend this book if you have similar tastes to me. However, you might enjoy this book if you are a fan of spy novels and like your romance stories to come with a lot of action and external plot.

Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book!

Highlights:
- comes out June 2025
- open door spicy scenes
- spies on a mission
- secret identities
- 2nd chance romance

I absolutely love this book! Just enough spy thriller, romance, humor, and SPICE to make you read it in one sitting. Being from the South and having lived in the DC world this hit so many notes of familiarity for me with the caricatures of people I've encountered over the years.

I would love to come back to KC and Yardley's world down the road and I can't wait to read what the Mae Marvel team writes.

I received an ARC from Netgalley and the publisher for an honest review.

To be honest, I had a lot of high expectations for this one, especially given the fact that it’s so difficult to find good sapphic love stories. However, I was frustrated by the lack of character depths and how contrived the plot seem to be.

Great double spy romance with a twist. I really liked this story. And the main characters were made for each other. I liked the spy aspect of this romance. It was almost like watching a movie unfold. The romance was equal parts spicy and dramatic. There's some angst and a whole lot of action and drama. I would definitely recommend this book to my friends and family and I look forward to what's next from this author.

Mae Marvel introduces not one, but two powerhouse female protagonists in this captivating story! KC and Yardley are skillfully developed characters, each with a rich backstory that informs their current struggles. Their emotional depth and resilience make them both relatable and inspiring as they face real-world challenges while remaining dedicated to a greater cause.

The action and espionage elements of life in a spy agency are perfectly balanced—intense and thrilling without ever becoming unrealistic. The stakes are high enough to keep you on the edge of your seat, yet remain grounded, creating a story that’s both immersive and captivating without feeling overwhelming.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing this advanced digital copy in exchange for an honest review!

TLDR: I wanted to LOVE this book. I was so so excited to receive the arc, I started it right away. I will say I liked this book, but I unfortunately didn't love it the way I wanted to.

3.5 Stars, happily rounded up!

Review:
If I Told You, I'd Have to Kiss You had a lot of promise—a sapphic spy thriller with a romantic twist? Sign me up! But unfortunately, it didn’t quite hit the mark for me. The premise was fantastic, and there were moments where the story really shone, but overall, it felt like the execution didn’t live up to the concept.

The romance between Yardley and KC had potential, I like them both, but everything just felt very repetitive and the story was weighed down by too much introspection from them both - and them saying the same thing. The moment they finally get "back together" wasn't as big as I was hoping either. On the spy side, the action scenes were decent, but the stakes felt predictable, and the twists didn’t pack much of a punch. Some of the tropes, like the "we have to kiss for the mission" moment, were the moments I were hoping for and found myself smiling throughout.

While the book is a PHENOMENAL idea, written well and has all the fun spy-movie vibes, the pacing and dragged it down for me. I wanted to love this one, but it ended up being just okay. It’s a decent read if you’re into the genre, and do think it's worth a try if it's piqued your interest.

Thank you so much to Mae Marvel and NetGalley for this ARC.